While I’m a firm believer that Constant-Content customers deserve to see the entire article before they buy, Constant-Content only requires that writers post one third of the article in the “content excerpt” (formerly called the “long summary”) section of the submission form. This excerpt can be the first third of the article or it can be a series of excerpts.

If you choose to post only a portion of the article, it’s smart to include a line that explains that the text is only an excerpt. For example, you might add a line at the end of the sample that says, “End of excerpt. Article continues to cover key point 1, 2, and 3.” Otherwise, customers may think that what they see is what they get. They may be unfamiliar with the Constant-Content system and unaware that excerpts are encouraged. By telling potential customers that there’s more involved, you’ll avoid having customers think that the article doesn’t have much substance or ends abruptly.

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This morning another Constant-Content.com writer mentioned that he had written a blog post about pricing articles on Constant-Content.com. Since he’s based in the UK, he has to deal with conversion rates from US dollars to pounds. I found that interesting. Here’s a link to his post in case you’re interested in a UK perspective:

Constant-Content Pricing Strategy for UK Writers

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By Celeste Stewart

Have you ever received an article rejection notice from Constant-Content.com that says, “We can accept only content that is able to be verified as original to the author”? That one’s frustrating because you know you wrote it. You know it’s yours.

Trouble is, Constant-Content doesn’t know it. This can happen if you originally published the article under a different byline or when a byline doesn’t exist at all. It can also happen when your article appears in multiple places online with several byline variations.

For example, let’s say you posted an article on EzineArticles under your own name and you think it would be nice to post for usage rights on Constant-Content. If you use a pen name on Constant-Content, the editors may not be familiar with your real name. Technically, they could look it up, but then there’s that finicky issue of allowing your content to appear with two different bylines. In addition, even if you use the same name for both submissions, if the article has been on the Internet for any length of time, it’s possible that the article appears some place other than where you originally posted it. In our EzineArticles example, people are allowed to copy and paste your article. While they’re supposed to leave your byline intact, it’s not unheard of for some publishers to omit it. Guess what? Your article won’t be easily verified as original to you the author anymore!

While frustrating when it’s happening to you, in a way, this is a safeguard against the content of all of us Web writers. I know I wouldn’t want someone copying and pasting one of my articles and then trying to resell it on a site like Constant-Content.

To avoid this issue in the first place, make sure that any articles you submit for usage only on Constant-Content are clearly attributable to you. Not that I’d ever try to submit this blog post to Constant-Content, but if I wanted to, I’d put “By Celeste Stewart” up at the top of the post as I did for illustrative purposes above. I’d also submit it to Constant-Content.com as soon as possible to ensure that I beat any content scrappers that might copy and paste the content and make the question of originality just murky enough to lead to a rejection.

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If you’re a Constant-Content.com member, you’re likely familiar with public requests. Writing articles for these requests is a terrific way to potentially earn a few extra dollars as well as impress a Constant-Content customer enough to request additional articles specifically from you. Since public requests go out to the entire membership, there’s no guarantee that your article will be selected. For example, if a customer requests a single article about asthma, dozens of writers may submit articles on that topic for consideration. So, how do you make sure that your article sells?

Be unique.

If you suspect everyone else will write about the symptoms of asthma, write about the lastest treatments or preventative measures. If the request is fairly specific, such as if the customer wants an article detailing the symptoms of asthma, then you’ll need another way to be unique.

It’s safe to say that most of the writers will uncover the same general symptoms, right? Their articles could look similar. In this case, you might try engaging the reader by opening with an illustrative introduction such as, “It’s the middle of the night and you wake up gasping for breath, only the air refuses to enter your windpipe. . .”

Another option is to dig deeper into the topic. While the other writers might describe the same four or five symptoms, what else can you bring to the article? 

• Can you find statistics that tell you which symptoms are most prevalent?
• Which ones are often mistaken for other conditions?
• Which ones require emergency aid?
• Which symptoms can be treated without much cause for alarm?
• Can you differentiate between age groups (for example, are asthma symptoms in infants, childrens, adults, and the elderly different? If so, write a separate article for each group).

Be unique.

This doesn’t mean go off on a  bizarre tangent or use weird punctuation marks. Assume the basic article has already been written several times over and make sure that your article goes beyond the basics with an engaging voice, more details, vivid examples, credible statistics, or some other quality that makes your article unique.

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Another new Constant-Content.com writer wrote to me the other day and indicated that he planned on writing for a specific niche and that niche only. While his chosen topic is definitely a good one, I encouraged him to think beyond it and be open to different markets.

For example, let’s say that you want to write about gourmet food and nothing but gourmet food. On Constant-Content, it’s doubtful that you’d have a long line of customers waiting to buy articles in that niche. Some, sure, but not all that many. However, if you could take your niche topic and make it appealing to customers with sites that aren’t focused on gourmet food, you may have a better chance of selling the article.

Think about the types of articles that are selling on Constant-Content at any given time and then think about how your chosen niche could appeal to the customers buying those other articles. For example, if you notice a lot of sports and parenting articles selling, then it’s safe to say that customers are looking for sports and parenting articles. How can your topic, gourmet food, fit in? How about a piece about gourmet tailgating for foodie sports fans? How about an article covering how to make sophisticated baby food or teaching children simple gourmet cooking concepts?

If you’re stuck in a niche, try a few cross-over niche articles and see what happens.

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