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I have been doing some freelance writing since January of 2009.  What started out as a curious hobby has now turned into a full time addiction.  I was not aware that there are sites out there that pay you to write simple articles.  So far I write for three different sites.  And I want to share what I've learned about these sites so you can try writing too!  The money trickles in slowly in the beginning.  But if you stick with it you can earn good money through freelance writing!


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*** NOTICE ***
On April 5, 2010, eHow announced that it would no longer be accepting new writers through eHow.  You now must join through Demand Studios and use that as your writing platform.  I have no idea how this works so I will not recommend it at this point.  From what I have heard, Demand Studios is hard to write for.  I will try it and will let you know how it works out for me.  For any of you who have written for eHow, as it stand for now, our live articles will stay on the site and will continue to earn and will will still get paid each month as usual (yippee!).  We just can't publish new articles, with some exceptions by those who have been accepted at DS and are waiting for their accounts to be activated.

eHow.com
Write simple "How To" articles.
Registration is quick, easy and free!
Minimum payout is only $10.00
You get paid monthly through PayPal.
You earn money through advertising revenue.

You can register-HERE!

Pros and cons of eHow.
eHow is probably the best site to join to get your feet wet.  The good thing about eHow is that it's easy to register and you can start writing right away.  And you can expect to start earning fairly quickly... it will be pennies to start but you will love watching those pennies come in (and it gets better so keep reading).  The bad thing about eHow is it seems to be run by just a few people and they do a really lousy job at running the site (sorry eHow but that's how I feel!).  Their customer service stinks, the site is very glitchy, and they seem to enjoy taking articles down with no warning and no explanation.  So don't take it personally if you get a article removed.  It happens to even the seasoned writers!  So it almost always happens to beginners.  It happened to me.

So why do I write there?
Because the potential to earn is BIG!  Some writers are making over $1,000 a month.  Most writers who have been there at least a year and have a couple hundred articles are making anywhere from $100 to $500 a month.  But it takes time, a little experience, and a lot of writing to get to that point.

How you earn money:
You write a "How To" article (don't be scared... it's easy!).  Google ads appear next to your article.  Each time a reader clicks on one of the ads Google earns money from the advertiser.  Google passes some of that advertising revenue on to eHow.  eHow passes on a bit of that revenue to you!  So the secret is trying to get good google ads on your article.  Google scans your article and automatically puts up ads to match your content.  I was hoping that my article on How to join an ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK fan club would pull in a lot of Engelbert advertisements but it didn't.  And that article is only earning me about 75¢ a month so far.  On the other hand, my article on How to MAKE MONEY by selling handmade greeting cards has a lot of card related articles and that article is pulling in about $5.00 per month.  So it's really hit or miss.  Some people use Google tools to look up high paying keywords.  That stuff is too complicated for me.  So I just write whatever I feel like writing about and take my chances.

How you keep earning money:
Once you write an article it can continue to earn money for as long as it's on eHow (which can be forever unless eHow deletes it or you delete it).  Some articles will earn a steady income every month.  Other articles, like seasonal articles, will have bursts of income once a year (like my Easter Bunny Cake article).  Never delete an article just because it has not earned anything.  I've had some articles earn ZERO for a couple months then suddenly it will earn a buck or two a month after that.  You can, however, go back now and then and tweak some early articles if you think it will help.  But for the most part I just leave them alone and spend my time writing new articles.

Never do this!
Never, ever ask anyone in a public forum or through private messages to click on the Google ads on your articles.  It can get you banned for life.  And don't click on your own ads either.  Google can track you by your IP address and if they detect click fraud they will tell eHow and eHow will shut you down.  Will you get in trouble if you click on an ad now and then?  No.  So if you accidentally click on an ad do not panic.  The google police will not come to your door!

Don't do this either!
This is just a helpful tip... do NOT waste your time leaving comments on other people's articles.  When you join you will get a bunch of people inviting you to be your friends.  Then they will bombard you with requests to RCRR their articles (read, comment, rate and recommend).  Forget it.  I used to devote one hour per day doing all that crap and it's not worth it.  And don't worry if people are not leaving you comments or if they rate your article only with only one star (there are one star trolls out there and eHow is looking to change the rating system).  I never even bother to look at the comments.  I just write and go on my merry way.

What you can expect to earn:
From my own experience and from all the reading I do on the forums I can give you a pretty good estimate as to what you can expect to earn when you start out.  For your first month, if you make even a $1 or $2 that's good!  If you make the $10 payout that's excellent!  One man I know through the forums made something like $1.34 his first month and on his one year anniversary he earned over $1,200 in just ONE MONTH!  And he continues to earn around $1,000 each and every month.  You can check him out here and I suggest you to read some of his very helpful articles that he has listed on the page I just gave you.  And you must also print out his free eBook and read every word!!

How you get paid:
eHow will pay you once you reach their $10 payout minimum.  You will get paid through paypal the month after you reach payout, usually in the beginning of the month.  So if you earn more than $10 in July you will get paid all your earnings in the first week of August.  If you earn only $8 in July it will carry over to August.  If eHow deletes an article you do not lose what it earned up to the time of deletion.  If eHow bans your account (and it happens) you will not get paid.

About the forums.
I highly suggest you visit the forums and read the posts.  You will learn a lot there.  But remember, not everyone in the forums is a pro and sometimes they give bad advice.  Usually the more seasoned writers will join the conversation and put the readers on the right track.  And some posters are outright mean.  Ignore them.  Tip: I suggest you set up a separate ID if you plan on posting on the forums.  Some posters love to flag newbie articles just for the fun of it and when I first posted on a forum I lost 22 articles the next day. I was not a happy camper.  Now I never post with my writing ID.

Just keep writing!
Once you start writing you will be able to tell which articles are earning the most money and which are not.  And although that might help you to decide on what to write about in the future I find that you should just write and write and write and write some more.  Write about stuff you think is interesting and write about stuff you think no one needs to know and write about stuff you think is silly and write about stuff you like and write about stuff you don't like.  Just write!  You never know what type of article will bring in money.

My advice:
Write every single article on a word processor and save it!  I can't stress this enough!  eHow is full of glitches and so many times I was half way through an article then I'd click to move to the next step and the entire article would be GONE!  This happens often!  So write and save your work elsewhere.  Then if eHow deletes an article you still have it and maybe you can publish it somewhere else.  I also keep a page with a list of all my titles.  This comes in handy when articles disappear and you can't figure out which ones got deleted.

Write short articles so you don't waste a lot of time while learning the ropes.  Stick to 3 or 4 steps.  Here is a good example of an short article that is earning money... How to relieve ACID INDIGESTION with BAKING SODA and VINEGAR. I thought is was a stupid thing to write about but it's earning me about $3 a month so far.  It took me maybe 10 minutes to write.  Ten articles like that will earn $30 a month.  One hundred articles like that will earn $300 a month.  See how it works?  Cool, huh?

Use only 1 lead photo.  You do not have to put a photo for each step.  That's a big waste of time.  People are picky about copyrights on photos so either take your own photos or grab some royalty free images at stock.xchng. They have a great selection of images and I use them all the time (just make sure you grab the free ones and not the ones with a watermark on it).  There are other sites with royalty free images... Flickr: the commons, Sunipix, Morguefile, and if you can't find what you want there do a search here, or read this for even more suggestions.

Skip the tips and warning section on eHow.  Some people have tips and warnings longer than the article itself which is just plain silly!

Don't sound bloggy.  Beginners (including me) tend to write articles that are not really suited for eHow.  They may last for awhile but if someone flags it eHow will take it down.  That does not mean you can't add your personality in the article.  Just don't go on and on about stuff that is not necessary.

Experiment a bit.  Try writing about all kinds of things. You are allowed to do research on the internet to get information.  Just change the wording so it's in your own words.  Don't be afraid to write about silly things.  My silly articles are some of my best earners!

Once you start writing you will find that everything you do during the day will make you want to turn it into a "how to" article.  I even sleep with a notebook by my side in case I get an idea in the middle of the night!  It quickly becomes an addiction.  It really does!

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