There has been some serious outrage at eHow's newest article sweep, most of which I think is unfounded. I can completely understand being upset that a high-earning article has been deleted, but I don't think the blame should be transferred to eHow. They are simply trying to clean up the site which has suffered as a result of articles that haven't met their guidelines.
I currently have 140 articles on eHow and I have NEVER had an article removed - not in this sweep or any other. I think those of us who have written for Demand Studios understand the quality of work they're looking for, and so we have a lesser chance of having work removed.
As for those who have had their work removed, I can't make any judgments, but I believe that eHow has genuinely found something wrong with the article. This could be anything from the wrong format, poor grammar, outdated information, incorrect information, spam or promotion of a single product or advertisement, etc.
I've been reading the eHow forums, and several people have posted the articles they have had removed in hopes of receiving some feedback. At first glance, every single one of those articles fits into one of the above categories. I don't believe for one second that eHow is deleting high-earning articles to replace them with editor articles. This would make no sense, because eHow is losing money when the high-earners are deleted, as well.
I don't think there's much to worry about if you write according to the TOS. I do understand how it would be upsetting to have your articles deleted, and I feel badly for those of you who were affected. However, I do feel there is a bit of a "they're out to get us" feeling amongst many of the members that is unwarranted.
I don't think the articles are being replaced with editor articles. The redirection to similar articles only lasts a few days until the article is removed from the Google SERPs. Then, there's no more redirection because the article doesn't exist anymore. I don't think eHow is trying to steal traffic from high earning articles. This is just their way of trying to keep readers at the site when they happen to click on a deleted title that still shows up in the search engines.
This isn't the same thing as stealing traffic or stealing revenue. It just isn't. You are still the owner of your content, which eHow has removed from their site for their own reasons. You are free to do with it what you like, including posting it on other residual sites or your own blogs. They aren't keeping the content and continuing to profit from it while no longer paying.
I've also heard that many people are upset that poor articles written by unnamed editors are remaining on the site while articles of a higher quality are being deleted. I think this is also unfounded. We have no way to know which articles have been reviewed and how many have actually been removed. Simply coming across a crappy article and immediately assuming that eHow approves of it and thinks it's better than one of yours doesn't make much sense.
In this case, you just have to have a little trust in the site. If you don't trust them anymore, it might be time to move on. In my experience, they have never been unfair. Again, I can't know if this is true in every case, and I feel badly for anyone who feels that their articles were removed unfairly. I can only report what I see, and that's eHow removing articles that do not conform to their standards. If someone doesn't agree with said standards, they don't have to submit any more content.
I know it can be frustrating and upsetting, but I think if we all try to do our very best work, this problem will be a thing of the past (for the most part).
I continue to support eHow in their efforts to clean up the site, as I think all members should. This will only result in the site being realized as a source of real information which DOES have some editorial standard. We wouldn't want them to end up like Bukisa, would we?
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Ehow Article Clean Up - Is the Anger Unfounded?
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Residual Income Update - My Best Month to Date
Well folks, it's that time again! I've made a huge leap in my residual income earnings this month. In May, I made around $208 total in residuals, but I made much more this time around. Here's the break down of what I did in June:
Ehow just updated and I'm proud to announce that I've made a total of $177.36! My goal was only $150, and I only wrote about 15 new articles in June, so I am VERY happy to surpass that goal by so much. My earnings increased by about $40 since the last monthly update.
I'm not making as much as I would have liked by now, but that's my own fault. I haven't been writing as much as I had hoped due to other projects, but I'm still extremely happy and impressed with my earnings so far. My goal for next month is $200 - and I'll be writing up a storm to hopefully surpass that meager goal as well. I hope to add at least 20 new articles in July.
I have decided to go a different route with Suite, and I've chosen a new topic that I think I can write about.....well, forever. It's a topic on which I'm very knowledgable and I think I can do well there, because I don't see many other in-depth articles on the subject. So, next month I'm going to dive back in.
However, my earnings are as high as they've ever been even with my failure to submit anything new. I'm averaging about $2.00 per article per month, and I think that's fantastic. I'm very happy there and I can't wait to start writing again.
If you're thinking of joining Examiner.com and you haven't yet, please consider using my referral code - 12327. It doesn't cost you anything, but it will help me out considerably. :)
Bukisa has continued to earn it's usual. I made $14.68 there this month with 29 articles, and I haven't contributed anything since March. Bukisa is a low earner compared to the other sites listed here. However, I won't complain about the extra cash every month. Eventually, I might be paid what the articles are worth. You live and learn, I suppose.
eHow - $177.36
Suite - $35.00 (I can't reveal the exact amount, so this is an estimate.)
Examiner - $31.38
Adsense - $150.00 (Again, not an exact amount, as it's against the TOS.)
Bukisa - $14.68
--------------------------
Total: $408.42 (Give or take a few cents due to the rounding.)
I'm counting the entire Adsense payout, since I'll be receiving it from June's payout. Taking this into account, if I only counted what I made IN JUNE, I'd be at $318.82. This is still significantly more than I made last month in residuals, and I hope to see it continue to climb over the next few months.
How was your month? Do you have any residual income successes or failures you'd like to share?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Your Old Road is Rapidly Aging.....
.....Please get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand. For the times they are a-changin.
I usually try not to post rants on this blog and instead focus on providing helpful information. However, since this is the one tiny corner of the internet in which I don't have to apologize for my opinion, I figure there's no better place to present my feelings.
I considered quitting the blog, the forums, and all other means of online social interaction today. This is normally my first reaction to these things. I don't have to deal with it, so I won't. My feelings are easily hurt and while I can take criticism, or even blatant disagreement with my views, I can't understand personal attacks, no matter how subtly executed.
I don't like being at odds with anyone. I don't like being responsible for harsh feelings or disagreements in any form. I believe that kindness and understanding are far more effective than disparagement in every instance. That being said, I can only stand idly by without defending myself for so long, and I've got a few things to say.
Writing for content sites is NOT the same thing as freelancing for private clients.
There are so many old-school writers out there who don't seem to differentiate between the two. Gone are the days when it's necessary to send hundreds of query letters en masse every week to secure work. I rarely take on private clients and not because I'm incapable, but because I like to choose my own deadlines and write on the topics of my own choosing.
This doesn't make me any less of a writer. Good writing is good writing whether it's posted on Examiner.com or printed in the New York Times. However, that' s beside the point. What I'm really trying to get at here is the difference between writng for content sites and freelancing for clients.
Here's a prime example. I read a blog post today, which I believe is in direct response to advice I gave to a fellow writer on the WAHM forum regarding Examiner.com. I told this writer that she should try it out and if it doesn't pan out, she could always quit.
I'm sure you, my dear reader, will see the wisdom in this advice if you have any experience with content sites, particularly residual income sites. But the blogger deemed it as "the worst advice ever," and then went on to say that it's irresponsible to quit a writing gig or enter into it knowing that you may quit.
When it comes to content/residual sites, I respectfully disagree.
When a writer stops writing for a residual income site, it doesn't "leave a void to fill." There are hundreds of people creating content for these sites. The site isn't out any money or time because you stopped contributing. In fact, they'll continue to profit from your contributions (as will you) even after you're gone.
Continuing to write for a residual income site when the earnings aren't there simply because you signed up seems a bit silly. In this situation, often quitting and cutting your losses is the best route, and you can never know which sites will perform well for you until you try them. I've tried almost all of them. Some I've kept, and others I've discarded.
I've "quit" writing for several sites (which still pay me monthly for my contributions) because I found others with higher rates. I fail to see what's wrong with this. Would you stay with a client who paid $10 an article if you found another who paid $20? Most of us would not. We'd finish out any obligations and move on to bigger, better things.
Quitting Examiner.com is not the same as abandoning a client who relies on you. I really feel that there has been a blurring of the lines when it comes to content sites and freelancing for private clients. They are two very different things and require two very different approaches.
I would never bail on a client or advise anyone else to do it, either. However, I stand by my advice that quitting a content site if it's not working out is the smart thing to do. This doesn't make you irresponsible or untrustworthy. In fact, it shows that you're smart enough to realize where your time is best spent writing - and where it's not.
This brings me to my next point...
I KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY I MAKE!
I write for upfront pay so that I can keep a weekly paycheck and pay my bills. Doing this work, I make more than enough money to support my family. However, when it comes to residuals I write in my spare time for extra money. To me, it's worth every second I spend doing it for the monthly payments I recieve. Someday, I hope to rely on this income solely. Does this make me any less the writer than the person who writes full time for a magazine or website? I think not.
I can decide for myself if a site is lucrative enough to pursue. If it's not, I stop writing there. Where's the problem with this?
I can also share my experiences with others who wish to know them and trust them to use the information to their own benefit. I would never insult my readers, friends, and colleagues by assuming that they aren't intelligent enough to find suitable gigs for themselves.
Another thing that irks me (and this is the last one, I promise) is when people shoot down residual income based on the short term returns. While I may have only earned $2 for an article in a month, it will generally continue to earn this amount every month. If I make less than this per article per month for several months, I call it quits and move on.
It takes time to decide if a site is right for you or lucrative enough to continue with. It's a gamble, and some writers aren't willing to take it. I used to be one of them, but no longer. I don't fault others who can't or won't try it. I know what it's like to need money right now and there was once a time when residuals weren't an option for me. Now I have the time to pursue these sites and I'll experiement all over the place and leave anything that doesn't work in the dust.
It's insulting when people insinuate that I don't understand or know how much money I'm making. I keep extremely detailed records for each residual income site I pursue. If the earnings don't live up to my expectations, I continue to collect my monthly payments and move on to something better.
I know that I won't always be paid what I'm worth by doing this. I know that some of my articles will make only a small fraction of what they may generate for the site on which they're published. However, this is a chance I'm willing to take to establish a long-term passive income.
So far, I've found three sites which have met my requirements on article earnings - ehow, Suite 101, and Examiner. The latter two may not work out in the long run, but for now I'm earning at least $24 per year per article. If my earnings drop below this, I won't contribute there anymore, no matter how irresponsible someone else might believe me to be.
When it comes to residual income, you can't just take a very small sample of earnigns and use this to make a decision. I have 10 articles on Examiner.com. I've made around $19.00 so far this month. That's $1.90 per article. Well, many people would scoff at that amount and call me an idiot for writing for such low wages. THIS ISN'T HOW IT WORKS!
I've only made $1.90 per article THIS MONTH. That means that if my earnings don't increase at all, I'll make approximately $22.80 per article per year. That's perfectly fine with me, especially when it takes me a total of around 30 minutes to write one article (including keyword research) and about 20 seconds to promote it on Twitter, which is the only promotion I do.
This puts my hourly writing rate at around $45 per hour for Examiner, which is what I average writing for upfront pay. If I begin to make less than this, it's not worth it, but please don't insinuate that I don't understand how to value my own time and work.
I'm not in this for the glamour or the fun. I'm in it to earn a living, and that's what I intend to do, regardless of anyone else's perception. I will retaliate no further, but I did feel that I should say something in my own defense here. I have no hard feelings for anyone, but I am sorry that potentially positive relationships with fellow writers have been made impossible by a difference of opinion.
Sometimes the online world is a little too reminiscent of the real one....
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
