Choosing eHow Keywords with the Google Keyword Tool

Wondering how to write eHow articles that pay? Well a helpful guy named Nate (barrelroll on eHow) has written a free, one-page guide on how to pick profitable keywords with the Google Keyword Tool. Nate has been writing on eHow for less than a year and his earnings have grown to over $650 per month.

Take five minutes and see if you can't learn something from Nate's free article about using a free keyword tool. It's the most 'to the point' explanation I've ever read.

Last Chance to Get Two eHow Ebooks for the Price of One

Next month Janet Ford, author of How to Write for eHow is pulling her popular ebook to make way for an updated version to be released this fall. While it is still available, the book has been reduced in price to $15.

The best part? Purchasers of this book are eligible to receive the updated version when it comes out for free. Janet advises that buyers will need to provide the email address they used to purchase the book, along with the clickbank receipt number as proof of purchase.

This is a great opportunity to get two ebooks for the price of one from one of eHow's most successful writers.

Related Information:

Interview with Janet Ford
Compare and Contrast Review of Four eHow Ebooks, including How to Write for eHow.

eHow Featured in Time Magazine

Time Magazine has discovered eHow. A recent issue includes a short piece about using eHow to make money. The article features eHow writer Maria O'Brien.

The article points out that eHow has paid its writers more than $1 million in the last two years. Those are some impressive eHow earnings!

eHow Ebook Author Interview: Cyn Vela

Cyn Vela is the latest in the eHow Ebook author interview series. Cyn reached the $1400/month threshold with just five months of writing and 286 articles under her belt! She has written a Writing for eHow ebook explaining her techniques.

What follows is her interview. Thanks to Cyn for participating in this series!

1. What led you to begin writing for eHow?

I am a blogger/webmaster. One of my blogs is dedicated to helping people (primarily moms) find ways of earning money from home. I heard about eHow as a potential money-maker, and put it on my list of companies to research and report on. Several months later, I registered for eHow to check it out. I only intended to stick around long enough to be able to tell my readers about the site and its earning potential. I was hooked after a couple of weeks. :)

2. How many articles have your written?

I’ve written two hundred eighty seven articles for eHow so far.

3. Do you have a background as a writer?

Yes and no. I’ve been writing stories and such since I was a child. I majored in English, but was not really formally trained as a writer, so to speak. I never took journalism or creative writing classes. I always wanted to be a writer “when I grew up,” though, and the internet has made it possible for me to do it successfully.

4. What can you tell us about your eHow earnings?

My eHow earnings both thrill and surprise me. I started writing for eHow on November 12, 2008. That month, I made just over $16. Last month I made more than enough to cover every one of my major bills. It’s insane and exciting.

5. What are your goals concerning eHow?

I aspire to continue to write quality articles and write to the best of my ability.

6. What motivated you to write an ebook?

I told a friend about the site, and encouraged her to register and start writing. She’s a newly-divorced mother, and I knew she could use extra money. I wrote her a crazy-long email, writing in detail each of the little “tricks” I use in order to tweak my articles into money-makers. She took all of the tips I gave her and ran with them. Her first month, she made over $100 using and applying the things I’d told her. I was happy for her, and amazed that my tips helped her earns so much so quickly. That email that I’d sent to her naturally evolved into the “Writing for eHow” ebook.

7. Tell us a little about your ebook and what it covers.

It’s an easy-to-understand book that covers simple-but-powerful tricks. It’s less than 30 pages, and covers things like understanding SEO, finding strong keywords, promoting your articles quickly & effortlessly, and so forth. It’s written in a really conversational but instructional tone. I have written ebooks before, and I like to write in a voice that my reader can relate to and understand without feeling as though I’m talking over their head or “dumbing it down” for them. I’ve gotten a lot of great feedback about the tone of the “Writing for eHow” ebook, so I’m happy.

8. What else would you want us to know about eHow and your experiences there?

eHow is by far, hands down, the best site I’ve found that can help a person work at home. The earning potential is amazing, the work is simple and rewarding, and there is such a sense of family among the writers. I’ve researched and written about traditional jobs, telecommuting, data entry, and other jobs.... but eHow stands out as the best way to earn money online as far as I’m concerned. My daughter turns 17 on June 29. That means one year until she’s able to start writing for eHow. After witnessing my success on eHow and my enthusiasm about the site, she’s really looking forward to writing for eHow; it will help her earn spending money for college without the stress of holding a traditional job. :)

Other eHow Author Interviews:

Janet Ford
Annalise Kaylor
Anthony Delgado

Why have multiple accounts at eHow?

My friend, Kate, posted some excellent information on the eHow forums about why someone would want to have multiple eHow accounts. She graciously agreed to let me share it with all of you. The question posed was why would someone want to have multiple eHow accounts? Kate's answer:

I do it for several reasons.

1. If you have a particular expertise, you might find it reflects better on your credibility to keep 'How to Build a Computer' out of a library containing 'How to Make Super Duper Pancakes Like Grandma'.

2. Some of us have been targets for forum retribution... our articles have been given poor ratings or flagged for violations, we believe, as a result of forum conflicts. I don't use my other IDs to post in the forum and the articles for those IDs have never been attacked.

3. When applying for other writing jobs, I may want to use my eHow ID in a resume. Not all the articles I have written are suitable for all my clients.

4. A niche ID can be used to promote a niche blog.

The reasons vary from person to person, I am sure.

Excellent info! I only have one eHow account and I used my real name because of reason #3 in Kate's list above. Now, however, I am less interested in applying for other writing jobs and am more interested in working for myself. As I start to branch out with my online writing, I plan to create different online personas for different subjects I write about. I was first exposed to the idea in Potpiegirl's One Week Marketing.

My reasons are twofold:

1. It protects any keyword research I might do.

2. It is a kind of online branding. Once you begin to develop a lot of online content, it makes you a little less of an authority if someone clicks on your profile and sees articles written about everything from hot tubs to paying down debt to making the perfect chocolate cake.

At the moment, I'm a little more concerned with the branding aspect than the keyword aspect but I think they are both good arguments for creating multiple accounts where allowed.

Thanks again to Kate (Limowreck at eHow) for letting me share her list!

Passive Family Income and the Power of eHow Income

Passive Family Income illustrates how to use eHow to make over $400/hour. This is powerful!

eHow Ebook Author Interview: Janet Ford

Janet with Richard Rosenblatt, CEO of Demand Media, which owns eHow.

The eHow ebook author interview series continues with Janet Ford. Janet is the author of How to Write for eHow: The Ultimate Guide to Writing on eHow.

Anyone interested in making money with eHow would do well to listen to Janet, who expects to make $20,000 this year with over 400 articles! (Be sure not to miss her special offer at the end of the interview.)

1. What led you to begin writing for eHow?

I was looking for ways to promote myself as an expert in my field (dogs) after I published 'Guide to Ethical Dog Breeding'. I decided writing articles on my given topic was the way I wanted to go to acomplish just that. Ehow ranks quite high with Google so became the logical choice as a platform. I didn't anticipate making any sort of income from ehow when I started out. I figured a few cents here and there would be a nice pat on the back for my efforts but not my main priority.

2. How many articles have your written?

As of this writing, I have 466 published articles on ehow.

3. Do you have a background as a writer?

I did take some creative writing courses in college and wrote 'Guide to
Ethical Dog Breeding' and have worked the last 10 years on my memoir 'Love
You to Pieces', which is due to be handed over to my editor very soon.
Incidentally, I even met my editor on ehow!

4. What can you tell us about your eHow earnings?

My husband was laid off just before Christmas of 2008. He is currently
drawing up plans for working from home. Normally, you'd have to panic over the unemployment running out but ehow has afforded us this luxury.

5. What are your goals concerning eHow?

Financially, my long term goal is to make $30K a year off ehow earnings. I'm on track for making $20K or better this year so I do believe this goal is quite attainable.

6. What motivated you to write an ebook?

I found myself answering many questions about writing successful ehow articles by new members on a regular basis. Many of these questions were so similiar that I felt an ehow guide was in order. I wanted to inspire others to have the same success that I was enjoying. There is nothing special about me or my article topic choices. Anyone who has a good command of their
spelling and grammar can do this.

7. Tell us a little about your ebook and what it covers.

How to Write for eHow was fashioned after ehow's step-by-step style. I have assumed nothing when writing this guide, even filling out your profile for maximum benefit is included. Writing your article is captured in depth, not only filling out the publishing wizard but the explainations on why I suggest specific ways or styles. I've strived to ensure all the basic monetizing, SEO, keyword usage and writing were covered but also took the time to share tips and tricks I've learned during my 19 months of writing for ehow. You can literally sit down with my manual style ebook and go from opening up a new account to writing and promoting your first article and then just repeat it over and over for different articles. Those who have already begun writing for ehow have found a lot of the tips and tricks I share helpful as well.

8. What else would you want us to know about eHow and your experiences
there?

I'd like to see ehow members take the time to enjoy the social aspects of the website. eHow developers go out of their way to make ehow a social experience. This also aides in your getting noticed as a writer on the site and, therefor, increases your readership. Aside from that fact, the majority of ehow members are more than happy to help one another in our common quest
of becoming more successful ehow writers. Questions are always answered quickly on the forums by a variety of people. Those experienced with other work from home type websites can attest to the fact that an active forum can make or break the experience.

As far as my ebook is concerned, I have it sale priced due to having a sequel coming out very soon which will be more than double the size and a bit different format. Those who purchase this sale priced ebook will be eligible to get the new ebook FREE of charge when it comes out. It will be a limited time offering so they will need to keep their receipt and my url handy. I'll also be posting an announcement in the forums of ehow. Another reason to stay social! ;-)

eHow Ebook Author Interview: Annlise Kaylor

The second interview in the eHow Ebook Author series, is with Annalise Kaylor. Annalise has written about not only her eHow experiences, but her experience writing on many sites around the web, in Writing Online: Making Money and Residual Income with Online Content. Thanks so much to Annalise for participating in the interview!

1. What led you to begin writing for eHow?

To be honest, I sort of dismissed writing for eHow at first, because I had been writing for another site. But, a couple of colleagues at the other site convinced me that eHow was a great place to re-purpose content and earn some additional income. One thing that turned me off was the lack of site editing, but I am glad that they've started to incorporate that more in the site as of late. I think it will bring the quality of articles up significantly, and in turn will help people make more money. Once I got to eHow, I really enjoyed their easy step-by-step format, which is unique to their site. It makes writing online for money easy and fast.

2. How many articles have your written?

As far as eHow writers go, I have not even hit 30 articles. I admit that I have been slacking lately in that area. Part of that is because I also write for Demand Studios, the company that owns eHow, and I create a lot of content for them. However, my articles still earn money every month, despite the fact that I haven't written a new article in about three months. It is a testament to the power of residual income. Outside of eHow, however, I have close to nearly 700 articles on the web. At least!

3. Do you have a background as a writer?

I do. I started as an editor for a consulting firm years ago, and then decided to focus more on my writing. I love to do both. As an internet junkie, I focused on the strategies behind writing for the web early on, which has helped my success today. In fact, a lot of my freelance work now involves consulting with businesses or traditional newspaper reporters on how to make the switch to writing for the web. It's an art all its own, and I feel fortunate to have gotten my feet wet early. That said, I know many, many people who have never written anything before who are wildly successful with sites like eHow.

4. What can you tell us about your eHow earnings?

My eHow earnings pale in comparison to what some other writers, such as WriterGig, make. However, I am fairly certain that if I were to be more prolific on the site that would change. I think it is important to point out that eHow earnings continue to come in month after month, long after the work is done. I've taken entire months off writing online and still made enough to cover my mortgage, car payments, bills, etc. eHow earnings won't happen overnight, just as they wouldn't for any other site, but if you stay focused and motivated, you will be rewarded month after month with income.

5. What are your goals concerning eHow?

Other than being more prolific and getting back into creating more content on the site, I don't have any specific goals. It's motivating to see the monthly earnings start adding up, but that only happens when more content is produced. I would also like to see one of my articles as a featured article of the day.

6. What motivated you to write an ebook?

I am really passionate about writing and about putting my love of writing to work for me. I know many freelance writers who think writing online is a waste of time. But, while I am submitting book proposals or writing freelance jobs, I have online income earning for me. I wrote my eBook for a couple of reasons. The first was to make the concept of writing online easy to understand for the average person and to share what I know. The second was to answer a call for demand. A lot of my readers and online friends had been asking me how to start doing what I was doing. I found myself spending a lot of valuable writing time replying to emails from people who wanted to get started with online writing themselves. My eBook filled both those needs.

7. Tell us a little about your ebook and what it covers.

My eBook is designed for someone who is at the beginner or advanced-beginner level of writing online. While it has some new search techniques and ideas for people who have been writing a long time, my next book, due out in June will cover the advanced material for people who have already built up a nice library of content and want to take their online writing income to a new level. My book covers the basics of SEO, how to effectively use keywords, and the common mistakes online content writers make when they first start out. One thing I also share is an easy, three-step system to evaluate keywords so people can write smart and not hard. I also review sites that pay people to write and the pros and cons of each site. I also offer affiliate marketing basics and how to use it in online content writing.

8. What else would you want us to know about eHow and your experiences there?

I think eHow is a great place for writers to get their feet wet and earn a legitimate online income at the same time. The communities and groups can provide a lot of answers and support for people who are new, but they can also help seasoned writers, as well. I would advise writers to remember that eHow, like all sites, isn't going to make a writer rich overnight. It is a process and does require time to build up a bank of online content.

eHow Ebook Author Interview: Anthony Delgado

What follows in an interview with Anthony Delgado, author of Need Extra Cash? Write Articles That Pay. Anthony is a husband (his wife also writes for eHow), father of two, and is currently in school, studying to become a minister. Of particular interest to me was that eHow now provides 45% of Anthony's family's income, helping him to juggle all these roles.

Thanks to Anthony for participating in this interview.

1. What led you to begin writing for eHow?

I started writing for eHow in October of 2007. The month prior, my wife signed up and she was just having a lot of fun with it. I started writing just for fun. I wrote exclusively about whatever I was doing or whatever I thought was interesting. Needless to say, earnings were pretty meager. I didn’t start taking the writing seriously until August 2008 when I decided to put my SEO knowledge to the test and see what it would do for my earnings.

2. How many articles have you written?

Currently, I have 450 published articles.

3. Do you have a background as a writer?

No, not really. I have an aptitude for it, but never actually wrote for anything other than school. Since eHow, I have had several blogs, written for many other sites and now am an editor for the Marketing Department at Handmadenews.org.

I do have a background with the internet. I’ve been building web pages practically since the beginning of the internet. I also have some experience with networking. I think this knowledge is what makes me successful on eHow, not my ability to write.

4. What can you tell us about your eHow earnings?

At this moment, I am making about 45% of my family’s income off of my eHow earnings. This is a slight drop from a couple of months ago, but I have not written a whole lot in the last few months. Even still, the money keeps coming in consistently.

5. What are your goals concerning eHow?

I’m not planning on doing a whole lot with eHow for the time being. I discussed this with Rich about a week ago. Someone had told him that I was leaving the site; that’s far from the truth. I’m available for anyone to message me through eHow, just I always have been, to answer questions and help. I receive several messages a day from people who have questions or want me to analyze a specific article. It’s a joy for me to help. For time purposes though, I need to avoid browsing the groups and forums, so I have backed off of that. I am also focusing on other ventures, but do plan to return and write more on eHow in the future.

6. What motivated you to write an ebook?

Originally, I did not intend to sell the book or even publish it in book form. It was going to go up on a website for free with some Adsense code, so I could make money that way. It took me well over four months of testing, research and a lot of trial and error to get the information to where it needed to be. I wanted to make sure that anyone who used the info would be successful. By the time I had completed the ebook, my earnings had tripled simply because of the handful of test articles I wrote on eHow. They went from about $90 in August 2008 to $270 in November. In that period, I only wrote 55 articles. That’s an average of $3.25/article/month and most of those began earning more once they had matured (30-90 days). December earnings were enough that I decided to quit my “day job” and go back to school like I had always wanted.

If I could jump $180 in earnings in three months, anyone can. Since then, I have literally written hundreds more articles and my earnings have increased exponentially. Like I said above, eHow now accounts for 45% of my family’s income.

Back to the motivation side, I really just want to see others succeed like I have. The price for the book is minimal in comparison to the reward. I also developed a free keyword tool which I think everyone should take a look at. It will make a huge difference in the amount of traffic you get to your articles.

7. Tell us a little about your ebook and what it covers.

The big thing my ebook offers is a video walk through that I made for all of us visual learners. It really helps to make the things I am talking about more cohesive and understandable. “Need Extra Cash” is not just an eHow book. I have many bloggers using my book successfully. Others have also found success on AC, Suite101 and Bukisa by using it. There are two primary elements. It includes the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) concepts as well as ad targeting methods. Neither of these are an exact science, so it is more of a guide, so that you can find what works in your niche, rather than a specific, step 1, 2, 3. I actually teach about SEO a bit, rather than just give the methods, so that customers can adapt to use it on other sites. I also included a handful of other resources, such as page layouts for maximizing ad revenue, for those that have blogs or their own sites.

8. What else would you want us to know about eHow and your experiences there?

A quick note on time: eHow has allowed me to do something that no one is really doing in this economy. Because of my success with eHow, I quit my job in December of 2008 and wrote a mass of eHow (45%) articles and Bukisa (5%) articles. This made up about half my monthly budget. At the end of December I started school. I’m attending about ¾ time, working towards my Bachelors in Theology and Ministry. In the meantime, I only have to work 20-25 hours to feed my family because of the supplemental income I get from eHow. eHow is an awesome opportunity for anyone who needs to make a radical change in their life like I did, or just get a little extra.

I sincerely wish everyone on eHow the best success and am here to answer any questions.

A New eHow Author and Ebook Review

You “meet” the most interesting people on the eHow forums! I want to introduce you to Annalise Kaylor. Annalise is relatively new to eHow, but she is not new to writing online. In addition to doing freelance work, she is the managing editor and a SEO specialist for a major online university.

Her background is important because, like several other successful eHow authors, Annalise has written an ebook designed to help others make money by writing online.

I recently finished reading her book, Writing Online: Making Money and Residual Income with Online Content, and wanted to share my thoughts with you in this review. I have also added Annalise’s ebook to the compare and contrast review I did of the other three eHow ebooks. That post has proven to be very popular with eHow writers overwhelmed by the decision of which eHow ebook(s) in purchase.

Now for the review. Annalise’s book covers eight topics, in addition to an introduction and summary:

· The difference between passive income and residual income
· Understanding keywords, keyword phrases, and SEO
· Writing content to suit keywords
· Other online writing tips
· Websites that pay you to write for them
· Adding to your passive income with affiliate programs
· Other options for earning passive income
· Marketing your content and your site

The following sections are the ones that I thought were especially worth highlighting:

Understanding Keywords, Keyword Phrases, and SEO

If you’ve spent any time on the eHow forums or invested in any of the other eHow ebooks, you no doubt know a thing or two about keywords and SEO. It’s not hard to educate yourself on the basics of this topic and as I began reading this section I found myself a little bored with the basics being covered again. (Of course if you’re a beginner in this area and don’t know much about these topics, you won’t be bored at all; the book does a great job covering the basics.)

As I continued reading, however, I was pleasantly surprised to learn about one keyword technique that I hadn’t seen covered anywhere else. And Annalise also lays out a system of analyzing keyword results that is unique. In a later section she shows you how to use this system when writing your articles.

Other Online Writing Tips

This section is short, but sweet so don’t skip it. It’s a bullet list of information written by someone who knows her way around writing for the web.

In re-reading the book for this review, I was surprised to see an issue addressed that recently received a great deal of attention on the eHow forums. I also like her ideas for getting more articles (and therefore more money) from your content.

Websites that Pay You to Write for Them

This section will be especially valuable for anyone looking to branch out beyond eHow (and really everyone should plan to do this at some point to avoid the “eggs in one basket” syndrome).

Annalise has had some good success writing for another website and her section on this site and the section on eHow are the most detailed. Two other sites are covered with a little less detail, and the section ends with a bullet list of other sites to look into.

Adding to Your Passive Income with Affiliate Programs

If you’re currently using affiliate marketing you aren’t going to find anything new in this section. If, however, you’re an affiliate marketing beginner (or you’re wondering ‘what is affiliate marketing?’) then you’ll find this section will give you a great overview and answer a lot of your questions.

The book even explains how to add an affiliate marketing link to you articles, which is one of the basic questions many web writers have but are afraid to ask on message boards or forums for fear of looking foolish.

Do I think the ebook is worth purchasing?
Yes, I do. I’m a big believer in these ebooks because, the fact is, if you even pick up one suggestion that you begin using you will likely recoup the cost of the book a much more. I’ve written 160+ articles on eHow and I’m still learning.

I can even handle a little repetition. Obviously with each eHow ebook I read I get less and less new information because I’m getting the basics again. But I find that even though I may have read something before, reading it from a different author or source causes me to “hear” it a little differently.

If you’re a beginner, this book is full of great tools that will help you earn more with your eHow articles or other online writing. If you’re already writing or have read other eHow ebooks, you’re likely to pick up enough new stuff to make it worth your while. Either way, there is a money-back guarantee if your earnings don’t increase within 30 days so there’s no risk.

So what’s the bottom line?

The book sells for $25 but is being offered now at $15 with the discount code NEWYEAR. When you go to the site and add the book to your shopping cart, you can enter the discount code and see the discount taken before you complete the purchase process. I mention that because I know I always appreciate seeing the discounted amount before I have to enter any payment information.

A Tale of Three eHow Ebooks: Which One Is Right for You?

NOTE TO READERS: A fourth ebook review has been added at the bottom of this post.

In the sidebar of this blog you will find links to three ebooks about writing and making money with eHow. You will also find talk of these books on the eHow community forums, where all three authors are active.

So you may be wondering which of these ebooks is right for you?

First let me say that the reason I have all three books and link to them from my blog is because I have had the opportunity to meet all three authors and found them to be sincere people who are committed to making the most of eHow. I can also vouch for the fact that all three have earned significant income from their eHow articles.

I do realize, however, that it’s not possible for everyone to invest in all three ebooks. With that in mind I thought it might be helpful to write a compare and contrast ebook review so that readers might know which of these books would be the best fit for them.

How to eHow: The Ultimate Guide to Writing on eHow by Janet Ford

Length: 82 pages

Price:$27 $15

Summary: The titles promises an “ultimate” guide to writing on eHow and you can see from the number of pages that this book definitely delivers. With comprehensive sections on creating a profile, navigating eHow, and using the forums, etc. this is the ideal guide for beginners.

More experienced writers will be interested in the sections on brainstorming ideas and earning affiliate commissions with eHow articles.

What makes it stand out: Easily the most valuable part of this ebook is the section on article promotion. Twenty different methods of promotion are covered.

Moneyback Guarantee? Yes, within 60 days, no questions asked.

How to Earn Passive Income at eHow.com: Residual Income for Web Content Writers by WriterGig

Length: 34 pages

Price: $25

Summary: This ebook approaches eHow from a passive income potential perspective. While basics are touched on, this focus of this book is maximizing income. The author shares how eHow differs from traditional freelance writing and shares her passion for creating residual income

What makes it stand out: The section on eHow Income Potential paints a picture of what is possible with eHow. Information on specific writers’ earnings are included.

Moneyback Guarantee? Yes, after trying method for 30 days.

Need Extra Cash? Write Articles That Pay by Anthony Delgado

Length: 25 pages

Price: $19.99

Summary: This book is probably the least eHow-specific. Rather, it’s a primer on SEO (search engine optimization) which you can use to choose profitable eHow topics. If you’re an experienced eHow writer, you won’t have to wade through sections on choosing an avatar, etc. You’ll get right to the meat of choosing profitable keywords and using them in your articles.

What makes it stand out: Anthony includes a section on Finding the Balance Between Traffic and Revenue that takes the basic SEO information most experts offer and takes it a step further. The sections on titles and writing an article also worth a read.

Moneyback Guarantee? Yes, with conditions.

Writing Online: Making Money and Residual Income with Online Content by Annalise Kaylor

Length: 27 pages

Price: $25 (currently $15 with the discount code NEWYEAR)

Summary: Annalise is a web editor, SEO specialist, and freelance writer so she approaches this book with a wide array of experience. The book is geared toward those who want to make money writing for established sites (like eHow) that pay (or revenue share) for content. She also focuses on increasing earnings by maximizing content and affiliate marketing, etc .

What makes it stand out: The section on 'Websites That Pay You to Write for Them' is definitely unique to this book. There are also some techniques in the SEO and keyword sections that I hadn't seen before.

Moneyback guarantee? Yes, if your earnings don't increase in 30 days.

Another eHow Writer to Watch

In October I attended an eHow writer's conference at the Demand Studios home office in Santa Monica, California. There were 17 writers in attendance and one of them was Anthony Delgado.

Anthony is a husband and father of two small children who has made the move to earning all his income online. One of the ways he's doing that is by adding eHow articles at an amazing rate.

Recently he crossed over the 300 article mark and is now headed full-steam to 400. Besides being a prolific writer, he's also a pretty cool guy.

Anthony has also written an eBook called Need Extra Cash? Write Articles That Pay. Anthony's book is a wealth of information on writing for search engines and would be of benefit to both eHow writers and writers for other websites and blogs as well.

If you'd like to get an idea of what is possible with eHow as far as earnings, you'll want to watch Anthony's progress. It's going to be exciting!

eBook Review: How to Write for eHow by Janet Ford

Janet Ford is a legend on eHow. At the recent eHow summit I attended she received the award for most friends on eHow. In my opinion, that is due to one thing: her willingness to share with others what she has learned. That quality is truly evident in her new ebook, How to Write for eHow: The Ultimate Guide to Writing on eHow.

But Janet is not just a friendly writer. She's a website designer with SEO experience and she knows her stuff. She was among the first to see the revenue-generating potential of eHow and she's created enough income with eHow that her husband has quit asking her to get a "real job."

First the nitty gritty. How to Write for eHow is 82 pages long and it covers everything from creating a profile to promoting articles. Each section includes not only the basics, but Janet's tips for success in that area.

Janet has included writing tips, information on keywords, and a great section on the importance of eHow friends, which is of course her specialty.

Janet attributes much of her success at eHow to the social promotion of her articles. She uses sites like Digg and Stumbleupon with great skill and she shares her approach in the book. In fact, her section on Promoting Your Article includes information on the twenty different social networking sites that she has found the most effective.

My favorite section of How to Write for eHow is Earning with eHow, where Janet touches on the kinds of earnings she's seeing and the amount of time she puts in. She also explains how to move beyond the money earned from eHow directly and to begin earning with affiliate programs and your own site.

In short, I can highly recommend Janet Ford's book. It is well worth the $27 price. Anyone who reads it and follows the advice in it will earn back that amount and much more.

eHow vs. Your Own Site

Pat at Smart Passive Income has a pretty good conversation going on his blog. You may remember that Pat set an eHow goal to write 5 articles/day for a year in order to generate a large passive income stream.

It seems that a commenter on Pat's blog told him he thought he could make more money by posting those articles on his own site, rather than a revenue sharing site like eHow. That got Pat thinking and now he's asking for input.

So why would someone want to put content on a revenue sharing site rather than creating their own and keeping 100% of the advertising revenue?

In my mind, and the mind of many of those who commented, there are two great reasons.

First, a site like eHow allows you to write about anything and everything, without focusing on a niche.

If you look at the compilation of articles by the average eHow author, you'll see a wide variety of topics. That's one of the things that most eHow authors enjoy. Do you know how to change the oil in your car? Write an eHow about it. Got a good banana bread recipe? Write an eHow about it. Know how to get out of jury duty? You get the idea.

Those articles would not make for a very compelling blog. At least not as far as Google and other advertisers are concerned. But they can represent a nice little residual revenue stream at eHow.

Another great reason to write for eHow is that the site ranks so well in major search engines.

It can take a lot of study, a lot of effort, and frankly, luck, to get a blog or site of your own to rank well. Not to mention time. I think most would agree that developing your own site is much more time consuming than cranking out how-to articles in the eHow template.

With eHow you need only focus on creating the content and let eHow do the rest. While it's true that a little bit of study regarding keywords and search engine optimization will help with your eHow success, it's not mandatory the way it is in getting a site to rank well.

There are other reasons that eHow is a great resource for some:

• No web hosting to secure
• No domains to purchase
• No out of pocket expenses
  
• No need to know HTML
• You have Demand Studios and Richard Rosenblatt behind you.

Sounds great, huh?

So why would anyone want to set up their own blog or site instead of writing for a revenue sharing site like eHow?

First, there's the issue of control.

The revenue stream you generate from eHow is completely dependant on eHow sticking around, staying profitable, and continuing to share revenue with writers. With your own site, those things are within your control.

Secondly there is profitability.

eHow is a revenue sharing site. With your own site the revenue you earn is 100% yours.

But if you, like Pat, are trying to decide which way to go, my message to you is that you don't have to do one or the other. In fact, a site like eHow can work very well in conjunction with your own site(s). They can create links for each other and send traffic back and forth.

eHow articles that fit with the topic of your blog or site can be highlighted there and those that don't can stand alone on eHow.

I'll be eager to hear what Pat decides and, either way, watching his experiment unfold.

eHow Writer Featured on Local News

eHow writer Desula was featured on her local news station about ways to earn money from home. Way to go Desula!

For the time being you can view it here:

eHow Author Work from Home Video

The video in on the right hand side of the page.

Here's an eHow Writer to Watch

Pay Flynn at Smart Passive Income has set out to write five eHow articles a day for a year. His goal is to see how much passive income he can make by doing that.

He has committed to update his earnings once a month, although for now he is updating more frequently.

This will be a fun experiment to watch!