Anyone do articles on eHow?

[x3xsolxdierx3x]

lol....ok....I'll take the plunge here a bit....afterall, I really shouldn't come onto a forum saying I'm not a huge fan of them, unless I have some reasons to substantiate....besides, I do know that alot of writers do really quite well for themselves monthly....

Here is why I am skeptical, and uncomfortable, with providing content there:
(In fact, I removed all 150+ of my articles, and moved them elsewhere recently)....

1) Like I had said in previous post, I had sent them upwards of 5 emails, periodically, over the course of 2 months. I gave them a significant "benefit of the doubt", however every one of those emails went unanswered.

2) I'm a bit hesitant to write there because I'm beginning to see something like 'article saturation'. I do know that they don't like the same, or similar, articles written.....and have deleted articles for less......At this point, with thousands of people writing for them, it's simply impossible to write a "how-to" article about something simple, that would be searched for very frequently. Those topics appear to be taken.

3) Not every query can be answered with a "How-to" articles, which is why I sometimes feel that a strictly "How-to" format can be a little "limiting" in the long run.....I'm not sure if its the best idea, for longterm growth and viability, if they just limit themselves to "How-to" articles.....yes, there are ALOT of things that people can write about, however, many of the "good", high earning, topics have been taken already.......situating oneself there, seemed really quite difficult....

4) It wasn't until after I began visiting similar websites that I began to notice things that I had wished eHow would address. I know ALOT of people make great money writing for eHow, however, I don't feel comfortable writing for a company that isn't transparent about earning's distribution. They could simply say "We give the write 75% of Google Adsense revenue share", however, I can't really find the percentage distribution anywhere on their website.......at one point, I was advised to avoid any website that doesn't, at the very least, reveal its revenue distribution percentage.....

5) I do realize that the argument for these massive site-wide article sweeps is that they are necessary in order to ensure "quality" of the articles in their database.........some similar websites manage to maintain quality control without one day surprisingly delete the top-earning articles of their most dedicated and longterm users. .....it doesn't make sense to a writer when their articles are approved, but, then, once they begin earning significantly, they are deleted 3 months down the road, with a very vague rationale......

6) I also realized that they made it very easy to see every article that every member has ever had deleted, and the reasoning, just by injecting different screenames into the URL that is provided to that writer upon deletion. I'm not sure that I'm a big fan of this.....doesn't really safeguard the privacy of authors.....if I had articles deleted, I wouldn't want the whole world knowing it......

....I plugged in some of the highest earner's usernames, and noticed that alot of articles were deleted, and I could really figure out why....it was weird to me.....and, left me with a feeling that, no matter how hard I tried, that I would never be able to meet their expectations. And, it's very possible that my articles could be accept, yet, deleted, for very little reason, 3 months later, once they really begin to earn.....

.....just some thoughts....perhaps, I'm wrong....but, that's what I see from my own experience with them.....

What is every else's thoughts? I know some people make a great monthly passive income there, so I completely understand why people would gravitate to it.....I just don't see it as a wise investment of my own time and effort, in the long run.....and, the countless blog posts/articles that I read only seem to validate that....

[x3xsolxdierx3x]

Originally Posted by prosaic

I had 15 articles with them. In the last sweep they removed 3. My 3 top earners. They claimed one was "common sense" (it was not) and the other two were "spam" (they were not). Until I experienced the sweeps, I thought the rantings of other writers about their top earning eHow articles being deleted were over the top.

Now that my top earners were deleted and replaced by DS articles on the exact same topic at that URL I sure do believe.

I'll only write for eHow now if I need to get backlinks. Period. I won't waste my time for any other reason. I make about $10/month from my 12 articles - just enough for payout.

"Now that my top earners were deleted and replaced by DS articles on the exact same topic at that URL I sure do believe."'

WOW....if this is the case, then that is VERY shady, to say the least....

Could you provide an example? ....the reason I ask is because I have heard of numerous reports of this same thing occurring.....

[axelnobel]

Hello


1.Post flyers.

Post flyers on laundry machines, on bakery's or on any places where it is allowed. You can put flyers on laundry machine on tips that you think is relevant to that place. Maybe put a flyer about an article on "how to care for dark-colored clothes." Since Thanksgiving Day and Christmas is ahead,you can also post flyers on tips on "how to cook turkey," or "how to shop for Christmas gifts." .

And if you have a food, or kitchen related article, you can post a flyer on bakery shops or restaurants for it.

2.Since each Ehow articles has a long url, it would be hard to put that long Ehow web address on a flyer, right? So what you do is you can make a blog specially for your Ehow articles and just put a link on each of your Ehow articles that you would put on your flyer. So anyone who sees your flyer that's interested on reading your articles can just visit your blog, and links on your blog on your specific article can then direct your readers on your E-hows.



Calling Cards

[x3xsolxdierx3x]

Originally Posted by axelnobel

Hello


1.Post flyers.

Post flyers on laundry machines, on bakery's or on any places where it is allowed. You can put flyers on laundry machine on tips that you think is relevant to that place. Maybe put a flyer about an article on "how to care for dark-colored clothes." Since Thanksgiving Day and Christmas is ahead,you can also post flyers on tips on "how to cook turkey," or "how to shop for Christmas gifts." .

And if you have a food, or kitchen related article, you can post a flyer on bakery shops or restaurants for it.

2.Since each Ehow articles has a long url, it would be hard to put that long Ehow web address on a flyer, right? So what you do is you can make a blog specially for your Ehow articles and just put a link on each of your Ehow articles that you would put on your flyer. So anyone who sees your flyer that's interested on reading your articles can just visit your blog, and links on your blog on your specific article can then direct your readers on your E-hows.

These are GREAT ideas, regardless of the Platform someone decides to write for! Unfortunately....I would not want to exert this effort in posting flyers, only to have potential readers find that the article had been Deleted in an 'article sweep'......it would just make for a confusing experience altogether.....

....and, for all we know, eHow could delete the article called "How-to Care for Dark-colored Clothes", stating that it was "Common-sense"......I would want to take that risk, but, that's just me....

Don't forget to back-up all your articles, on an external Word document, regardless of where you write.....

great ideas though......

[blakesmommy21]

I'm completely frustrated with Ehow. After having my highest earnings last month, I had another 15 articles deleted in the most recent sweep. I'm starting to think that some of the DS articles are taking over articles written on Ehow directly by Ehow's contributing writers and if it is really happening, it's sick. Some of the DS articles are worse than articles by Ehow contributing writers (which is also weird in itself because some of the DS editors are ridiculous).

They make the concept of the site seem so easy and encourage people to sign up and contribute, and then you follow their directions to write a good, factual, step-by-step article and it gets deleted anyway. I always back up my work, but it's funny how articles that get deleted by Ehow are accepted at other sites and generate good comments by readers. The only frustration with that is that I seem to experience better earnings over at Ehow, well, maybe aside from Suite101.

Overall though, very frustrated with Ehow right now.

[x3xsolxdierx3x]

15 articles?!?!?!

....what kind of 'reasons' did they list for those deletions? "Commonsense"? SPAM?

[x3xsolxdierx3x]

Originally Posted by blakesmommy21

I'm completely frustrated with Ehow. After having my highest earnings last month, I had another 15 articles deleted in the most recent sweep. I'm starting to think that some of the DS articles are taking over articles written on Ehow directly by Ehow's contributing writers and if it is really happening, it's sick. Some of the DS articles are worse than articles by Ehow contributing writers (which is also weird in itself because some of the DS editors are ridiculous).

They make the concept of the site seem so easy and encourage people to sign up and contribute, and then you follow their directions to write a good, factual, step-by-step article and it gets deleted anyway. I always back up my work, but it's funny how articles that get deleted by Ehow are accepted at other sites and generate good comments by readers. The only frustration with that is that I seem to experience better earnings over at Ehow, well, maybe aside from Suite101.

Overall though, very frustrated with Ehow right now.

Believe it or not, 15 articles is actually quite low compared to some of the reports I have read (one lady reported having 30+ articles deleted at one time!)....now, I know that many articles probably deserve to be deleted, but, do they at least give writers a 'heads-up' to edit/modify their articles, before they delete them?....I don't understand how an article that was approved over a year ago could be deleted now......hm....seems kind of "cruel" if you ask me....if the article met their standards then, then why doesn't it meet their standards now..... ?

there HAS to be a better way to approach that.....

Sometimes I'm kind of glad I don't write for eHow any longer....it breaks my heart to read some of these reports especially when people are relying on that income, only to have top earners deleted out of the blue.....

[x3xsolxdierx3x]

I was wondering if anyone Else here had these kind of experiences with eHow? What compells people to still write for them?

[Willowsidhe]

I understand that many people are fed up with eHow, but my experiences have been the complete opposite. I've had only one single article removed EVER (out of 175) and it was deserved. In fact, I knew it would be removed eventually and it never earned a penny, so it wasn't too upsetting.

I don't think eHow is removing high earning articles just because (or to replace them), as that would hurt them financially, too. In my opinion, the articles that have been removed just don't conform to the site's standards.

That being said, I know I would be terribly upset if my high-earners were pulled, so I can't blame anyone for being bitter or choosing NOT to write for the site any longer. They've always been fair to me, however, and until that's no longer the case, I will continue to write there.

[netlexis]

So far, eHow has been a good experience for me. I've just lost one article in the sweeps, but I understand the reason. As for earnings, it works out to be about .80 an article for me (with earners & non-earners). It usually goes up a little each month. It's all a matter of SEO and following their rules. For more good info, check out Willow's.