A $15/Per Article Writing Gig - It's For Real! Get Ongoing Work

I recently started writing for eHow.com. It's a community site similar to AssociatedContent.com, another site I also contribute to. I like writing for both sites, because they each offer something unique.

And yeah, I know $15 per article is peanuts for some, but when you consider that you can write about basically anything you want and that it takes anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to write an article, that works out to $30 to $60/hour. OR, looked at another way, earning almost $63K to $125K/year writing simple articles. I'll take it every time.

So, how did I happen upon this gig?

How I Got the eHow Article Writing Gig

I obviously applied because I got a response notifying me that they wanted me to start contributing articles in my specialty.

Note: I apply to a lot of stuff and don't remember every company. Also, many have corporate identities different from the names the general public may know them by (eg, eHow's corporate identity is Demand Studios).

At any rate, they sent me a welcome email and an offer to write 10 articles for $15/each. Now, I wasn't thrilled, but once I learned that I could write on anything I wanted in my niche (freelance writing, small business), I was like, "Let's try it for one assignment and see how it goes."

The thing that originally put me off writing for eHow are the attachments they send along with the welcome email. It is a copy of their style manual, invoice submission form and W9 Form. Also, I had to learn the ins and outs of uploading an article to their site.

As a side note, the thing that will cause me to procrastinate forever on a new project is getting through the procedure. I abhor learning new procedures. But usually, it's not nearly as bad as I make it out to be.

It seemed overwhelming to have to absorb all of this for $15/article. But, like most things, it appeared more monstrous than it was. It took me about 45 minutes to go through and grasp an understanding of everything.

Once this was complete, I wrote the 10 articles. It took me about five hours to write and upload them. The actual uploading took about an hour, because I kept playing around with category choices and going back and editing them. So, it could have been shorter.

My articles are much longer than many on the site. They have to be a minimum of 400 words, with the optimum being 400-600 words. My articles tend to be 500-1,000 words (I like to give value, not snippets).

How to Get Paid from eHow

Once the articles were submitted, I sent my invoice to the editor assigned to me, and within two weeks, had a check in had for $150. On the website, they say they only pay via PayPal (which I prefer). But, I got paid via check. I don't know if they reserve the checks for writers they invite to write for them, or not.

They do have a Writer's Compensation program where you earn money via revenue sharing. So, maybe that's what the PayPal payments are for. I don't know. I haven't earned enough for a payout via the revenue sharing model (my articles have earned almost a dollar). The minimum payout is $10, which is good because it's low. Most sites make you earn $25 or even $50 before they'll pay out. For more on writing for eHow for pay, click here.

Getting Continuous $15 Article Writing Assignments

Once I turned in my first assignment, about a week later, the editor who initially contacted me sent me a second assignment - this time for 20 articles (at $15/each). He gave me a week to turn these in.

I wrote all articles in one day, which was the most I'd ever written in one day. A $300 day for pretty easy work.

Why I Like Writing for eHow

I like writing for eHow because (i) I can write what I want; (ii) because of this, the assignments go faster; (iii) there's little to no research required; and (iv) the possibility of repeat work.

Also, it's kind of nice to have assignments that don't require you to think, think, think so much. For example, when I write sales copy, I have to do research, come up with an angle, research keywords, etc. This is draining. Comparatively, writing articles for eHow is "easy, breezy" work.

I contacted my editor, asking him for more bulk assignments and letting him know all of the different genres I write across (interior decorating, staffing/HR, real estate, online marketing, small business, mortgages and crafts). He said he would keep it in mind, as they have several sites they might be able to contract with me for and that he'd pass my name along to anyone else in the company he knew of who could use my services.

And, about a few days after that, he dropped me a line, letting me know that he had given my contact info to someone else in the company who may need my services. This person didn't contact me (my editor had told me that there was a chance that his colleague may have already found someone).

BUT, I'm convinced that he passed my name along because of the quality of my work. Some of the articles on eHow are pretty cheesy and basic, barely breaking 400 words (I don't think some of them even are 400 words). I could have turned in work of this quality, but I didn't want to.

Number one, every time someone reads one of my articles, I want them to come away with a sense of understanding - like they learned something. And number two, it's a pride thing. I value my work and don't want to clog up the web with anything less than my best on any given day. Face it, we all fall short, but there's a bar that must be met at all times. I'm aware of the bar I've set for myself.

So, the next time you run across an ad similar to the one mentioned above, apply. It's the real deal. For feedback from others, click here to go to AbsoluteWrite.com's forum which discusses writing for eHow. You can complete eHow's online application here.

FYI, eHow only accepts original material. View my profile and original articles on freelance writing here.

About the Author: Yuwanda Black is a freelance SEO writer. She blogs at InkwellEditorial.blogspot.com and is the author of How to Make $250+/Day Writing Simple 500 Word Articles.