If you’re starting a DIY project, eHow is a great place to start. eHow is ranked in the top 250 most popular sites on Alexa which means it gets huge traffic. Articles in eHow range from how to file your taxes online to how to build a stripper pole for your house. You can also find recipes for great food and awesome drinks or information on how to housebreak a dog. With such a wide range of topics you can almost always find what you are specifically looking for, or you can just browse through the various sections and find out how to do things you didn’t know you didn’t know how to do.
eHow is written entirely by the public. As soon as an author creates an account, he or she can start writing. To promote more writers, eHow has what they call a writer’s compensation program. To the unknowing public, views, ratings, recommendations, and friends “affect” how much money you make. The truth is they just give you some percentage of their paid ads (Google Adsense is one of a few different affiliate programs they use). Having more friends, comments, recommendations, etc.. might help you generate more traffic which will lead to more clicks, but they don’t have a direct effect on the amount of money each writer makes. Technically, even the quality of your article doesn’t guarantee you’ll make any money on eHow.
I have made a decent amount of money with my articles about how to make various cocktails. If you’re looking to make money on eHow, making friends, commenting articles, and getting involved in general will help generate traffic, but if you want to make money, get people clicking your ads. You can’t ask people to click your ads (it’s called click fraud and will get you banned), but you can write about installing subwoofers in a car and recommend people shop around. In they event the reader is inspired to click on the OnlineCarStereo ad below your article…. *grin*
Regarding the actual content, there are a ton of very well written contributors who give great directions that are easy to follow and actually very helpful. Unfortunately, there are also tons of very poor writers who believe making money on eHow is all about publishing 500 useless articles. 99% of the stuff these authors write is garbage! If you want to contribute, don’t worry about writing duplicate content (EDIT: Someone pointed out that writing duplicate content could lead to copyright issues. What I mean is don’t be afraid to write an article about something someone else has written. There are dozens of articles about “how to many money on ehow.” As long as you write your own unique content in your own words and cite any sources you might have used, you’ll be okay); everyone learns and teaches a different way, so you might just help someone who would have otherwise been lost. Either way, eHow is a great resource for finding out how to do just about anything!
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August 26th, 2009 at 12:54 AM
Great Blog you have going here. I just started at E-How myself and I have found everyone to be really great there.
I also write web content as a freelancer and have several blogs. I can already tell, the information on your blog could prove very helpful.
August 26th, 2009 at 1:40 PM
Just checked your page Larry. $110 for 50,000 hits sounds like a steal! I’ll be sure to check out your other stuff. I’m glad you found my page to be helpful. Hopefully I can continue to deliver relevant and interesting content for you
August 26th, 2009 at 6:18 PM
Hi Blake,
I appreciate your sending me a note and asking me to come read your blog. I just signed up on eHow yesterday. I don’t know when I’ll get around to writing my first article. Soon, I hope.
Meanwhile, just trying to get the rhythm of the site — etiquette, friending vs. ignoring, etc.
Looking forward to hopefully making some coin on here. I write on HubPages but that’s not lucrative for me.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:20 PM
My mother actually turned me on to eHow…and I think it’s probably the most wonderful thing ever. I just got started on it last week and I’m enjoying the heck out of it! I can see what you mean about the more useless articles though…some of them aren’t helpful at all! It’s mostly great content though, and a really awesome site.
Anyway, you’re on my friend list, if you want to check some of mine out my username is aloza. Keep up with the blog, you’re a great writer!
August 27th, 2009 at 12:21 PM
Wow, thanks! It looks like you’re off to a great start with eHow. I’ll continue to check up on some of your articles! Thanks for publishing USEFUL articles. It’s painful just how bad some of the stuff on eHow is. lol.
August 27th, 2009 at 4:19 PM
Hi Blake,
This is really great. But the only thing which makes some of them from writing on ehow is the restriction on money making for “US only residents”. Another thing you mentioned about duplicate content in this article. But we need to be even careful about copyright infringement.
Your articles are wonderful and informative.
Thanks.
August 27th, 2009 at 7:29 PM
As a eHow contributer, I can vouch for the truthfulness of Blake’s blog. eHow is a great place for writers to share their expertise and show off their writing style.
August 27th, 2009 at 7:47 PM
Blake, I appreciated your blog regarding ehow very much. There are a lot of good writers on the site, but sadly, yes, there are also a lot of very BAD writers. It’s okay, we can deal, right? The problems I have with ehow from time to time are technical in nature…I hope they solve them soon. Other than that, it seems to me they could raise their payrate (smile) but then, that’s probably what everyone wants. My articles are mostly recipes, with a few other items thrown in, but I’d love having you check them out. nancycarol
August 27th, 2009 at 8:03 PM
Great article on eHow..Glad I checked it out
Thank you
August 27th, 2009 at 11:56 PM
Blake, I just posted an article on ehow about How To Live In Las Vegas Without Gambling. Would appreciate your checking it out as I’m going to check your post on Twitter.
August 28th, 2009 at 12:49 AM
Wow, that’s a great blog about Ehow, Blake. I’ve only been at it a couple of weeks and can use all the advice I can get! I do love Ehow!! :)
August 28th, 2009 at 6:48 AM
At my ripe old age I have a lot to say about a lot of things. But unfortunately I am a bit slow on all this technoease. So I have to read a lot! Just yesterday I had a Nephew show me how to create a Link. Hoo, boy! Your stuff is helpful. Thanks, Leo Burrell
August 28th, 2009 at 8:05 AM
I am disgusted with the lack of resolution received from the technical department of eHOW. I am NOT BEING COMPENSATED due to technical issues UNRESOLVED after many attempts. I am not a computer novice and am hating eHOW for taking too long with a mean real LACK OF CONCERN. Little follow up has been done to really resolve the issue and the contact over the e=mail has been uneffective.I have done as asked and still aren’t enrolled in the WCP. YOU say you are getting paid money .I fail to see HOW with the failure of the WCP for me!!!OVER AND OVER I HAVE FOLLOWED THE LIST OF QUESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS>Maybe you can write a resolution of this problem for me.
August 28th, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Hey there.. Found out about this PropBlog of yours you have going here through a mssg. you sent me on eHow. I think it’s a great site you have going here, and I wish you much success!! If you would check out a few of my articles on eHow, I’d appreciate it. I’ve only written a few, but I’d appreciate some honest feedback on my writting since I’m just starting out. Thanks. Here is a link to one of my articles:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5225540_stop-siblings-arguing.html
And also, how is it that I try to comment, rate and recommend new friends, but the favor isn’t returned? Any ideas on how I can stop wasting my time helping other writers on eHow who don’t take the time to do the same for me??? :(
August 28th, 2009 at 10:40 AM
@MightyPen – It is really a big friendly community. I usually accept all friend requests and request anyone who’s articles I like. The more friends you have the more traffic you’ll get. I also usually try to return comments; although, if they just say “great article” and don’t leave anything insightful, I don’t bother replying.
@babaji – Excellent point about copyright. I guess I figured that if you were writing in a different style and giving directions in your own words, you probably wouldn’t be copying someone’s work. I’ll edit that in!
@Michael – always a pleasure to read your articles on eHow. Keep up the good work.
@nancycarol – They do occationally have some technical issues. I’ve lost more than one article to their servers! Very frustrating! I also found out the hard way that if you write a requested article and it is not accepted, they will delete it (and the earnings that came with it… a lesson that cost me $5. *sadface*) Overall, I can’t complain for the awesome service they’ve provided. And I did check out your articles.
@tammierene – Hopefully you got a little bit out of my article then. When you’re picking a topic, be sure to think about the type of ads that are going to come up on your page and write content that makes them attractive to click ;-)
@leo – I’m glad you found it helpful. This site is actually a really good source for you. I try to bring up useful and helpful topics for people who might not have already been exposed to them.
@talksmuch – Wow! I am really sorry to hear you’ve had such a bad experience with eHow. Both my wife and I have accounts and neither have had any problems receiving payment (total of over $500 between the two of us). I have heard that only US residents can receive payment if that applies to you. Also, I know if Google Adsense suspects that clicks were not generated authentically, they will not pay you (even if they were legit clicks). Since I don’t have any experience with this problem, I don’t really know how to help. You might consider contacting Google though to find out if they believe you are in violation of policy. Make sure to take screen shots of your earnings. I hope you are able to get everything resolved.
August 28th, 2009 at 12:54 PM
This is a great article, Blake. Thank you for sharing it. I’m still fairly new to eHow, but I have been enjoying reading what others have to say. I also love the community feel of eHow. :)
August 28th, 2009 at 10:25 PM
@Gina – Honestly, some writers just won’t comment back or contribute. Don’t let it get you down too much. Just remember that the number of comments/ratings you have doesn’t affect how much money you make. It’s all about the number of visits. Just keep plugging along and don’t let them get you down ;-)
@renae – Yeah, eHow is a very welcoming group of people. Everyone likes to scratch everyone elses back which is a good thing. I hope that you continue to enjoy it! I also hope you keep checking us out here at propsblog and enjoy the community here too!
August 29th, 2009 at 11:41 PM
Great article, I’m still not sure how the many views it takes to make money, the FAQ’s don’t seem to go into that so I’m interested in understanding how that works. But I appreciate all the articles and ones like this especially.
August 31st, 2009 at 7:23 AM
Good job on this. I’m running a little experiment with eHow (http://freebloghelp.com/ehow-how-much-can-you-earn/). Feel free to stop by my blog for updates (freebloghelp.com).
August 31st, 2009 at 9:56 AM
Hello Blake,
I have been to eHow many times to find out how to ‘fix’ things. Some of the posters are much better than others or it could just be that some communicate their message in a way I understand.
I had no idea that anyone made money there, I guess I just never thought about it.
I will have to look into it a bit more & not just when I have an issue. ;)
Thank you for the info!
September 4th, 2009 at 12:51 PM
Great article! I love eHow. I love promoting fitness and eHow is a wonderful venue. The contributors on eHow are professional and always helpful – you really could not find a better group. I don’t know IF I will ever make money on eHow – but IF I can motivate one person to at least start thinking about fitness then eHow has been a success for me.
Keep posting those great articles!
September 12th, 2009 at 2:54 AM
Good stuff! I love ehow and met some wonderful people on that website!! Thanks for the invite.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:49 AM
Great job on this. I initially started using eHow to promote my other blogs but it turns out that I can actually make money there as well. It’s easy to become addicted when passive income start rolling in!
October 29th, 2009 at 9:56 PM
I have read a few articles of yours and your blog. You are a great writer in this area. Very interesting. I do not know that my blog would interest you but feel free to check it out. http://www.multi-purposemom.blogspot.com. I am also on e-how. I made the mistake of THINKING I had signed up for the WCP and could not figure out WHY I had not earned a dime. Oops!!!
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:24 AM
It’s not entirely true that eHow is entirely produced by the public. The owner of the site recently stated in a magazine article (forget which one, sorry) that 80% of the site’s content is produced by the sister company Demand Studios, which has an editorial staff overseeing free lance submissions. Only 20% of the site’s content comes from riff raff (like me!)
About the high number of crap articles, it is a well-known, but rarely discussed fact that bad articles make more money on eHow. The people who make and claim to make tons of money on eHow have some of the dullest, dumbest, and overly general articles. However, eHow benefits from these crap articles just as much as the authors benefit, so there is no rush on eHow’s part to make the site’s content better quality.