Crystal Ray Passes Ten Million Page Views

Earlier this week, Crystal Ray hit a major milestone in her Associated Content career, soaring past 10 million page views on her AC library!

Crystal has been writing for AC for close to 4 years. In that time, she’s published more than 1,500 pieces of useful and highly searchable content and developed an extensive following (including 451 fans in the AC Community). Her specialties include interior decorating and home improvement, and earlier this year she won a Best of AC Award for her excellent gardening guides.

So, what’s the secret to Crystal’s success? Check out this tutorial she published in her second year on the site. The tips she provides are just as useful today as they were back in 2006.

Associated Content up-and-comer Han Van Meegerin got inspired by Crystal in his first months as an AC Source. Earlier today he published this testament to her achievements. He also conducted an interview with Crystal, which touches on a wide range of subjects, from her early days as a writer to her reflections on how AC has changed over the years. You can read Han’s full interview with Crystal here.

Be sure to stop by Crystal Ray’s AC profile, check out some of her awesome content and congratulate her for reaching this major milestone!

AC's New Home Page

You may have noticed that our home page has a new look. We've simplified the design to encourage visitors to search and browse AC’s library for useful information on any topic. As always, it prominently features a topical selection of high quality content from many different Sources.

We’re proud of the library you’ve created, and we want to encourage people to dive right in. You’ll also notice an ongoing count of the total size of the AC library – it’s currently over 1.2 million pieces strong!

Stay tuned for a new version of your AC Account page. We're working on a new layout that features additional stats to help you keep track of your success. More details of that project coming soon!

Check out April's Award Winners

Congratulations to Associated Content's Best of AC and Best New Source winners for April!

Our monthly contests acknowledge and reward some of the most talented AC Sources, old and new, publishing extraordinary content in a wide range of topics.

Our Best of AC winners last month were Stacey Laatsch (Book Reviews), Michelle M. Guilbeau-Sheppard (Crafting) and Juniper Barber (Green Living) - three amazing writers who distinguished themselves in their respective categories amongst a large and diverse group of nominees.

Our Best New Sources for April were Stacy M, Alex Stanton and Radell. Each of them are off to a great start, having published more than 50 pieces of content and reached Clout 4 or above in their first months on AC. Stop by their profiles and welcome them to the AC Community!

We'll be looking out for three great new Sources in May, and giving out Best of AC Awards for Computer & Video Games, Local Coverage and Wedding Guides. If you'd like to nominate yourself or anyone else for one of these awards, please do so on the AC Forum or by emailing your nomination to community@associatedcontent.com.

Town Hall This Wednesday on Using SEO to Make Your Content More Discoverable

This Wednesday, May 6th, at 8:00 pm EST, Associated Content is hosting a Town Hall.

Hosted by our in-house SEO expert Miguel, this Town Hall will review ways to use SEO to make your AC content more discoverable. He'll cover topics like keyword density, title writing and effective search tags.

Basic Search Engine Optimization is an essential part of publishing for the Web, and it's simple once you've gotten the basics down. Sign up to attend here.

If you are unfamiliar with SEO and would like to do a little background reading before Wednesday evening, visit this article by Mutha.

New York Area Meetup on Monday, May 4th

AC is having a meetup! Join us on Monday, May 4th in New York City.

There will be food, drinks, socializing and a brief presentation from AC.

You will even meet a few AC employees in person--we're fun!

When: Monday, May 4th from 6:30-8:00 pm
Where: Connolly’s, 121 W. 45th St between 6th and Broadway, 2nd Floor
Who: AC contributors, AC employees, and people interested in learning more about AC

Email Community [at] associatedcontent.com with questions or your RSVP!

We'll share photos of the event next week.