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?

eHow Anniversary: 2 Years, 2.3 Million Views

Today marks the second anniversary of the date I first created an eHow profile, WriterGig, and clicked publish on my first eHow article. What an adventure it's been! What started out as a casual experiment introduced me to the very real concept of residual income and led to a complete shift in my business model and life as a work at home mom.

My post Work from Home Writing eHow Articles was the first time I blogged about writing for eHow, about a month and a half after I started on the site. I had already seen the earnings potential and encouraged my fellow writers and work at home moms to give eHow a try. Needless to say, I'm glad I gave it a go.

Eight of the articles I wrote in late 2007 have earned over $100 each; several of those have more than $500 apiece accumulated thus far ... and continue to earn. Compare that to most of the writing freelancers do on a daily basis for one-time pay that's not always very good -- this is why I do virtually no conventional freelancing at this point: I've transitioned to writing primarily for "myself" and retaining rights, and the resulting revenue, to my work.

I have tried several revenue-sharing content sites and while each has its own merits, eHow remains my top site for residual earnings on a per-article basis. Its age, page rank, site layout and article/ ad format create a combination that is favorable to writers and allows me to spend more time writing and less time on promotion. The fact that I have received 2,369,954 page views to date is a testimony to eHow's ranking as a site (and of course, keyword research and basic search engine optimization on my part).

Last year, I attended weHow, the 2008 eHow User Event held in Santa Monica, CA and had a wonderful time, as well as received the Top Earner community award -- it was a thrill! This year, I won a place on the trip through the Passionate Project People contest for my "I Did This Project" on making window cornice boards. I was really excited about the trip this year, which was held in San Francisco this past week, but was unfortunately unable to attend due to the timing.

As part of my eHow adventure, in 2008 I wrote my eHow eBook, How to Earn Passive Income on eHow.com, in response to the many inquires I received from other writers and work at home moms who wanted to know how to succeed on eHow. It remains a strong seller to this day, further increasing my eHow-related income while giving others valuable information.

How has your experience been with eHow so far? If you're not on the site, why not? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks to Bloggers, Affiliates for eBook Sales

The most important element to sales, I think, is getting the word out. It's pretty basic but hey, if people don't know about your product or services, they can't make a purchase. With my ebook on increasing eHow earnings, I've been blessed by some great folks who helped get the word out, some as affiliates, some as bloggers, some as both.

There are some great resources to be found by following these writers' links. I am currently addicted to several of the blogs you'll find below.

So ... thank you to Suzanne, aka eBayCoach, Pat with Smart Passive Income Blog (an awesome site!), Felcia, at No Job for Mom, Airel, aka acole on eHow, and Pam, aka BlondieWrites.

I have to thank Lindsay with Writing for Your Wealth for having me on her site (and a nod to Julie Mayfield for telling me about Lindsay's blog!), Michele Tune at Writing the Cyber Highway and Jessie, aka covewriter, for mentioning me in her eHow-related posts, and David Sarokin for including the book as a resource in his popular eHow articles.

Thanks to those who found the book helpful and spread the word just because.

And of course, a huge thank you to the good people at Demand Media for the wonderful weHow experience, and for creating a site that allows any user to participate, network and earn money online.

Recession Survival through Income Diversification

While discussing the economy and how to survive job layoffs, a reporter asked me what advice I would give to someone anticipating financial storm clouds. I replied,

Diversify income as quickly as possible. If money is coming from only one source, you're too exposed. Have several sources of income, a side job, a product you sell, something else that brings in money other than your 9-to-5.

As a freelance writer/ online marketer, this is true for me as well. Writing just for one client, for those who ghostwrite or write for a byline, can be risky. I saw this firsthand in the past year when friends of mine on the WAHMs Who Write Forum were let go from Demand Studios, Writers Research Group and other large companies. Suddenly they had no work or very little, and their families were counting on their income.

My income comes mainly from the following, in no particular order:

• eHow ebook
• eHow articles
• Affiliate sales, primarily Amazon, HostGator, CommissionJunction, SiteBuiltIt!
• Adsense, especially on my home & garden blog & pets site
• Private clients (two are editing gigs, one is writing)
  
• HubPages
• Bukisa & InfoBarrel

Having income from a multitude of sources is my basic business model as a freelance writer and WAHM. I would be bored with just one avenue, but it's also a hedge against income loss as I could bring any one of these income sources up to a higher level if my primary sources dropped or dried up.

How do you diversify your income sources?

Top Earning eHow Articles

Inspired by a post on the eHow Community Chatter forum, I've decided to share a screen shot of my highest earning article amounts.

I remember when I first posted about my eHow article earnings on a writer's forum. My initial article had earned less than a dime, but I wanted to share the info with other writers. Months later, in another post about writing for residual income, another poster scoffed about "WriterGig's six-cent eHow articles."

Now, just over a year later, I am please to say that that article has earned me over $100. I guess I had the last laugh after all. But I hope other writers, especially other moms and dads struggling to make ends meet during tough economic times, will take note and be inspired about the potential from online writing, on eHow and elsewhere.

Following is a screenshot of my highest-earning eHow articles. You can click the image to enlarge it.

(image copyright 2008 WriterGig)

I don't share the titles because some were quite original and I'd rather people find their own niches rather than try to duplicate mine. There is plenty of room on eHow and plenty of titles not yet written, so I encourage everyone to find their own groove, so to speak.

Learn how to Increase Residual Income on eHow.com to build your own passive income online. After one year of writing eHow articles with the site's Writers Compensation Program (WCP), I am consistently earning over $1,000 a month in residuals ... and I am planning to double and triple that in the coming year. You can too ... buy my eHow ebook and learn how, today!

What's the most you ever made from a single online article, on eHow or elswhere? Do you prefer to write for up front payment or long-term residual income?

Passive Residual Income Monthly Report

Interested in my passive, residual income progress? Well, my monthly report is here ... but I must be honest, it is with some trepidation that I post this month's totals.

I have never written about my "regular" freelance writing money, as it's not my style to discuss personal income. However, I have shared my residual income and eHow earnings from the beginning, since this was just "extra" and with eHow's vague earnings detail, I thought of it as an encouragement and service for others.

But as my readers know, I have been slowly replacing my active income with residual income streams. While I am still doing some paid freelance writing and editing, I'll soon be focusing all my work time on building ongoing income sources.

For privacy reasons, I've decided that I will no longer give monthly totals. However, I will explain HOW to achieve significant residual income, talk about maximizing income streams in detail, and I may let you know income amounts for specific sources throughout the year. For example, one month I might talk about my eHow income and the next, about Bukisa residuals.

I think through this blog I have clearly demonstrated the value of residual income streams, the unlimited possibilities of online income and that it is achievable, even by busy, overworked stay at home moms like myself.

WriterGig's Residual Income Report October 2008

eHow $1,615.17

eJunkie $646.72

CJ $115.72

Lulu $111.79

Amazon $110.38

HostGator $50.00

Adsense $4.40

TOTAL $2654.18

It was my best month ever for online residuals, and exceeded my expectations by quite a bit. My only overhead was getting my computer fixed (tax deductible $150) and webhosting ($15). I already deducted the cost of affiliate payments and host fees from the other numbers.

Sales of my eHow eBook (which is a great guide for those trying to maximize eHow earnings, by the way) were good, and I expect them to be even higher in November with the revamped sales page.

P.S. If you know me in real life ... no, I'm not rich yet. My residuals covered property taxes and unexpected income loss this month. We're still working toward our debt-free goal. ;)

P.P.S. I'd love to hear about your residual income progress or new sites you're trying. Also, let me know if this was an encouraging post for you. Please share in the comments section, below.

New eHow eBook Site

I just completed a new landing page for my eHow ebook. I've realized from the beginning that my sales page needed a ton of attention, but it wasn't until reading more about the importance of a good sales page that I decided to quit writing eHow articles for a few days in order to get this done.

New eHow eBook Sales Page

It features cool graphics like this one (I know, you want to click it ... cool, huh?)

In additon to the new page, I've revamped the eHow ebook affiliate program. Affiliates now receive 50% of the sales revenue they generate and can link directly to the sales page, rather than just to the checkout page at eJunkie.

While eHow was the largest single contributor to my residual income for October, my eBook was a not-too-shabby second. If it did that well with a crappy sales page (yeah, it was bad) I am expecting great things for November.

Stay tuned for a post about writing a killer sales page ... it's on my list of things to do! What's on your to-do list these days?