Constant Content Writer Tutorial

The goal of Constant-Content is to bring together writers and publishers. We are positioned to act as agents for writers and provide quality services for publishers looking for content, maintaining one of the web's most complete catalogs of articles, tutorials and reviews.

Our guarantee is to provide a place that publishers come to look for content, but your work is to make sure that you know how to maximize your presence on the site. Articles can be sold through the catalog and the articles can be purchased as a result of requests from buyers. The point of the following document is to outline the procedures and guidelines to help you use our system in the most efficient manner possible. We will make sure that you know how to answer requests, submit documents, comply with our editorial guidelines and as a result sell the most amount of content possible.

Getting Started with a Writer's Account

Registering as an author and creating your account is simple.  At the top of the home page look for the "register" link on the menu.  Click this link and when directed, click on the appropriate choice—you are registering to become an author. 

The author registration is a one page form that must be filled in completely.  In order to register you need to have a Paypal account (we need a way to pay you when you make a sale!) When asked for your Paypal Account, please enter the email address associated with your Paypal account.

The Registration Form

• The "Author/User" name section is where you should enter your writing name. You can use your real name or a pen name—it's your choice. We suggest choosing a proper name as opposed to a more conventional internet handle (ie Jim Stewart not Jimbo262) as the name should convey professionalism. Note: This will also be the username to sign into your writer's account.
• Then enter your real name.
• You will also need to establish a password to be used every time you login to the site.
• Fill out your address and phone number.
• You can determine the type of emails you wish to receive in connection with this account.
• Agree to the terms and conditions. Among the terms and conditions writers should be aware that Constant Content retains 35% of the gross proceeds from each sale (writers earn 65 % of each sale). The site's proceeds are used to pay affiliates and referring authors, and to maintain Constant-Content.com. You can view the exact percentage breakdown through the link provided in the terms.

NOTE: Please note that the author confirmation is only completed once the confirmation email is clicked. If this does not happen, or you fail to receive the confirmation email, make sure to contact support.

The Writer's Menu

Once you have logged in, visit the main page and look again at the menu on the bottom left side of the screen.  This is what you will see:

Click on "Submit an Article." This page constitutes the work form that will accompany each submission. Your articles should be uploaded to our site in the following formats. Write the article on your computer first using Notepad, WordPad, MS Word or any other similar writing program. Remember to keep all your articles saved and organized on your computer or disk so you will have them available if you need to resubmit or remove them from the site for any reason.

The Submission Form

The form requires you to select a category for your article.

Firs things first if your article is for a request please tick off that this is the case and select the request that this article is for.  This will ensure that the requesting customer is informed as soon as the article is approved.

Click on the arrow for the drop down menu and then click on one of the choices that describe your work: articles, tutorials, reviews, blog entries. Again, click on the arrow to choose a category that best suits your work from the menu. Then, simply click on the appropriate category. In some cases your category may require you to narrow down your topic further. For example, if you select travel as a subcategory your page will update and you may choose to select one of the places listed from the menu.

Next, you will type your title as it appears in your document. Either use the Auto-Capitalize or capitalize your title yourself. Note that doing this improperly will result in your article being rejected immediately. If you need help figuring out how to capitalize properly, pick up any book and see what's happened.

Make sure to accurately count the words in your document excluding the title. This is a good yard stick to guide your pricing. Pricing your article is up to you, but the site provides a link of sample pricing that writers may consider. Your prices may be adjusted later if you choose. It's one of the few fields that writers may edit at any time—even after the article is months old. The specific licenses and what they mean will be described further into this tutorial.

The short summary will accompany your article's title and explain what your work is about in a few sentences. As customers search for articles in any given category, they will see a title and this short summary. If they are interested, they may click on the article to see more specific details about the article and also the long summary.

The long summary should contain approximately 1/3 of the article. This summary is not indexed by search engines. The idea is to provide customers with an adequate sample of the article to determine whether or not it suits their needs. This is also the place to demonstrate your writing talents. Cut and paste some of your article's best paragraphs here.

Keywords are important in allowing the system to find your article when customers are searching particular topics. Pick two or three of the most relevant keywords and list them in this box. Don't overdo it or the system will disregard them.

Finally, the Best Offer checkbox allows authors to indicate they would be willing to negotiate on the price.

When your submission form is complete, click on the "Next Step (Submit Files)" button.  If you filled in all the required fields you will see:

Your submission has been completed!

Once your article and submission form have been sent, it's then up to the editors to review the article. The articles are run through iThenticate plagiarism checking system and then reviewed by the editorial team. The process can take up from 2-5 days.

Author Utlities

Account Status Page

This page give you the basic metrics of your account. Articles under review, offers received and new messages.

My Profile

This is the public version of your account, and should be taken very seriously as it is the first impression for customers. As you will note this the place that a customer viewing your account would initiate a private request or contact you. If you click 'Change Image/Bio' you can personalize the page with a photo and add a small bio piece.

Inbox

This is where all correspondence is handled as well as all internal notifications. If you aren't receiving emails to your personal email, you can always double check in your Constant-Content emails.

My Content

The "Your Content" section allows you to search for your own articles by category. Authors can also search by sold along with other search criteria. Or, simply scroll through all your articles. Some writers have hundreds of articles posted to the site so these features are handy tools for navigating your through your own content. Clicking the edit will allow you to change the viewable aspects of the articles, such as the pricing, the long and short summary or even the category. This section of your account also will allow you to see the sale status of each article.

My Sales

This is for convenient viewing of your sales, the price they sold for and the license that it was sold under.

Received Offers

If you have opted to allow offers on your article when you submit it, you will have an opportunity to accept, refuse, and counter. This section will, at a glance, let you know how many offers you received. Accepting an offer does not necessarily mean that they will purchase the article, but it is a good way to move an article that might have never been sold.

Requested Content

Requested content gives you access to all public requests and your own private requests. Click here for more information in the Request System. You can attach an article that you have on the site that you think fills the request from this page. Please do not send articles that have not gone through the system to fill requests, this type of action will get your account suspended.

If you receive a private request, read the terms and decide if you can fill the request. A sample request might look similar to this:

Title: Travel (Vacation Destinations)
Number of Articles: 10
Word Count: 500-800 each
Price: $30-$50
Comments: I need articles about resort locations in "hot" spots around the world. Think tropical or subtropical like Barbados, Hawaii, Mexico, etcÉI want a quick description of each resort (describe some highlights) and add some local flavor—the major attractions. Also, I need this by the end of the week.

Private requests are not visible to other writers. Once you read the request you may deny or accept the work. You will naturally want to post a message expressing your intent. You may also want to ask the client other questions which they may then respond to. The private request system is a place where you can maintain a dialogue with your client keeping in mind that no personal contact information should be revealed as per the terms and conditions of the site.

Recently Sold Content

This section reveals the last twenty-five articles sold on the site. It does not list authors; however, it does show the type of license sold, the amount it sold for, the article's category and the date it sold.

Keeping an eye on this page will give you an idea about what type of articles are selling, which should inform the decision that you make about articles to write.

Edit My Account

You may change this information and update your registration if you move, change your email, open a new Paypal Account, etc. For security reasons if you want to change you email address or your Pen Name, please contact support.

License System

The following is how the license system breaks down the terms of usage for the buyer. Even though the site will help to suggest pricing, understanding the following will give you guidelines to price your content.

	Usage	Unique	Full Rights
Add to website, magazine, newsletter (unchanged)
Add links to content
Add to multiple websites, magazines, newsletters (you own)
Article is removed from Constant Content once purchased
Add to multiple websites, magazines, newsletters (you don't own)
Change content (adding words or removing words)
Remove writers name or byline
Take credit for writing content
Resell content

Constant Content authors write about many subjects. Buyers often do not place either public or private requests. They simply shop the site for articles of interest. Consequently, writers may write about any subject and it may easily sell even though no request was placed.

Writers will find other useful tools on the site that may prove helpful navigating Constant Content. The Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) section will help you to understand the site's policies and practices. It will also answer most questions frequently posed by newly registered writers.

The Writer Guidelines and Tips for Submitting Content sections should be read by all newly registered authors. These sections will acquaint you with Constant Content's expectations for submitted work.

Finally, visit the www.constant-content.com/forum Writers Forum to communicate and exchange ideas with other writers. You must register to use the forum. This area is also a place to communicate with Constant Content staff with questions about the site or article rejections. Buyers also use the forum to post possible projects.

End Note

At Constant Content, we want all of our writers to succeed, make sales, and get their writing talent noticed. Your success is, in part, a success for us too. Thank you in advance for choosing us to showcase your work. If you encounter any problems with registration or submitting content—if you have any questions not answered in this tutorial or elsewhere on the site, use the author support link on the main page or visit the forum to post your questions there. Staff and writers are always eager to add their support.