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Saturday, January 23, 2010

Is Writing eHow Articles Still Worth It?

There's been some grumbling lately among eHow users who wonder if it's still worth it to write on eHow; their concerns running the gauntlet from low views and earnings to questioning eHow's commitment to the Writers Compensation Program to anger about member articles being posted on the eHow UK site.

eHow community forum posts, members' blog posts, and comment sections on related blogs have all been witness to the complaints and dissatisfaction expressed by a number of eHow member-contributors.

I've been asked my opinion on these topics a number of times, and the most ironic is when the person complaining about low earnings either has very few eHow articles or no concept of keywords and basic search engine optimization (SEO). If you aren't writing, or if you aren't writing about topics people are searching for information on, don't expect to make money. It doesn't make sense to me to not give a site a chance and still complain about low earnings, or to not invest the time to find out how internet writing works in regards keywords and web searches, and think you'll make real money online.

Some eHow complainers have an agenda: one in particular has come to the forums to bash eHow while promoting another revenue-sharing content site, one which I have reviewed on this site and find vastly inferior to eHow in regards current earnings potential (although worthwhile in its own place). Sure, if another site is better, by all means, use it and share the information with others. But in this case, the highest earners trail eHow top earners by a mile.

Whether truly confused about their lack of earnings or intending to stir up discontent, the grumblers have asked me what I think.

So here's my answer:
Absolutely, writing eHow articles is still very much worth the time invested. My recent articles are all earning excellently and while you're wasting time complaining, I'm researching profitable niche topics for my next eHow article.
eHow has been very profitable for me, just excellent for building residual income, and it can be for you, too. Make the time to write articles, do the research to learn how to write for the web if your earnings aren't what you want them to be, and don't waste time griping.

What's preventing you from earning $1,000+ a month on eHow?

15 comments:

Gayle said...

Thank you Maria, for this observation. I, too, think eHow is definitely worth it. I have had my earnings cut in half in the last three months, but I am making money. I don't know why people have to complain, when time would be better spent researching and writing articles.

Janet Ford said...

AMEN! Well said.

Maria said...

Gayle and Janet,

I am in such good company on eHow with you kind and lovely ladies! So glad to have had the chance to meet you both. Keep up the writing and I will too (if new baby Nicholas lets me get a minute at the computer!)

~Maria

Eve said...

I, too, had my earnings cut in half by eHow sweeps. So, even though nobody asked me, I guess for me, it's not worth it anymore. But I'm not bothering to rant and rave - I'm just concentrating my efforts elsewhere.

Peggy said...

Yes, I agree, Maria, that eHow is still worth it. Some days my articles earn better than other days but that's the nature of the beast. And griping really gets you no where. Write! Write! Write!

Silhouette School said...

Maria,
Congrats on the baby! He's beautiful!
Melissa

Rachelle Williams said...

I got hit a little by the sweeps at eHow as well, but I am still earning a decent amount of money. I have slacked off from writing in order to devote more time to other projects, but I will never stop writing for eHow.

Kidgas said...

It is interesting, and I am not sure what has happened. I have seen my revenue drop at eHow by over 2/3 from last month. I would expect some variation but am wondering if there has been some sort of change. I guess I will have to see what the future brings.

Katrina said...

I'm a little concerned. I started mid-Sept. and wrote 12 articles that month and made payout. October I only wrote 6 articles and made one and a half times Sept. earnings. Since that time I have added to my library significantly (currently waiting for article #100 to publish) and still earning the same as October with 18 articles.

I think February will be a time for me to take a break from eHow articles and build up other sites. Maybe things will settle out a bit and get back on an even keel.

Lindsay said...

Glad to hear you're still doing well with them Maria. I really should get a copy of your ebook to review. I have to start putting more affiliate links in my writing site to make it worth the effort I put into it. ;)

Unknown said...

"the most ironic is when the person complaining about low earnings either has very few eHow articles or no concept of keywords and basic search engine optimization (SEO)"

This is coming from 99% of all the complainers..."I'm not making any money WHY?"

Um you keep writing 100 iterations on how to make a muffin..Plug that stuff into a keyword tool and you will find a series of problems.

One of the most negative and vicious writers who wants to sue is the absolute worst. I think I may just BUY this woman Micro Niche so she can see for her own eyes what the problem is.

JadeDragon said...

Great observation Maria - but I also believe that had some of the writers not questioned the UK site that it would have swamped our earnings. Take a look at the ehow uk stats like these ones: http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/ehow.co.uk?p=tgraph&r=home_home

It will be interesting to see what the make up compensation is this month.

Darla said...

This is great. I agree that ehow is still worth writing for. I do take exception to the comments that everyone doesn't know what they are talking about and that is the reason.

SEVERAL have made decent money AND experienced a significant drop in revenue.

EHOW has admitted this has impacted members. MANY of the ones complaining have had their profiles drop from Google search.

Some have had articles drop from Google completely, due to the UK issues. Others articles still appeared and yet were linked to the UK site. Since about 60% of traffic is from search results - you do the math.

Can some be helped with better SEO and promotion - for some yes.

This is great handling of the topic but is a bit dismissive of a very real and significant problem for some members who have seen revenue drop like a stone.

Ehow will be blamed for missing profiles but truthfully most people don't search by profile name - but it is a credibility factor. Ehow UK was earning 11K per month - how much of that was due to US articles we may never know. One thing I do know - it would have continued on if others had not spoken out.

Is ehow still a good site... I think they are exceptional. Are they infallible??? Only God is infallible.

Maria said...

Darla,
It's still impossible to say that the UK factor is the only one involved in earnings fluctuations. I have had articles earn $400 one month and $50 the next, but it's not because of anything eHow did or didn't do. Yes, eHow UK may be a factor in some cases, but be careful about pinning all eHow disappointments on this one situation.
~Maria

JP said...

I don't understand how people who speak up about a problem end up being lumped into a bad category. The result of speaking up about the UK thing served many purposes and did answer questions. It feels like you're letting eHow off the hook and pulling a line from Rich's book about "bad SEO". Some people really got hit and eHow admitted that it impacted the earnings. It seems like we are still saying "I don't know", when the truth is out.

I optimize, SEO, make money, and speak up when I see something wrong. I think people can do both. I seriously wonder how many people secretly thought "thanks complainers" when they saw the little bump in money, no matter what they thought or knew about the UK thing. You got extra money.

It is really not that I want to think bad about a company. If I was more friendly with them I am sure it would be difficult for me to think the company that helped me grow is doing anything wrong. I get that, really, I do. But, it feels like eHow can do no wrong and when long time members step up and block people and use half-truth it is frustrating to a junior member who once learned how to do this from them.

All I want are good places to write.