Imagine my surprise when I logged in to my eHow account this afternoon to find a pop-up telling me the Ehow Writer's Compensation Program (WCP) is no more. At first, I freaked out because I've been working really hard on increasing my residual income on the site. In fact, I added around 40 new articles last month and increased my income by about $95 dollars. I'm extremely glad I did, because according to the email I received, Demand Studios is now the exclusive platform for writing new articles for eHow.com.
What Does this Mean for Ehow Writers?
This change could be good or bad, depending on your status with Demand Media. I have been writing for Demand Studios for well over a year and I'm very familiar with the requirements. Some eHow writers were automatically approved for DS based on their track record at eHow. Current DS writers and those that were pre-approved will be able to continue submitting articles to eHow through the DS platform. The only change will be the way the articles are submitted and that they'll be reviewed by a copy editor prior to publishing. This means your articles can be rejected and you'll have to actually research and site references for your how-to's.
For writers who were not pre-approved to write for DS, you'll have to manually apply to become a writer through Demand Studios. You'll need samples, a resume and actual skill. I know this is going to cut down on the amount of bad content on eHow, but I feel badly for those writers who aren't professional-level but still produced good content for the site. You'll have to take your chances with the application process.
The good news, however, is that everyone will continue to receive payment from eHow for the articles already submitted prior to this announcement. You don't have to be accepted to DS in order to keep getting paid for your previous submissions. What upsets me most is that I can't continue to build on my highest revenue share payment. I stayed motivated writing for eHow because I'd already come so far. Starting over again doesn't appeal to me, particularly when I'd have to deal with copy editors on titles of my own choosing. I think it's about time to focus my attention on Suite 101 and keep collecting my eHow payment each month.
What Does this Mean for Demand Studios Writers?
Current Demand Studios writers will probably accept this change most easily. We're accustomed to the site's standards and formats. The only real change is the copy-editing process prior to publishing our eHow articles. I admit that I don't normally perform as much research for my eHow articles as I do for my DS articles. If I'm going to do the same amount of research for rev-share, I'd rather post the articles on Suite 101, as I make much more money there than I do at eHow in residuals.
Demand Studios writers will go through the "Create Assignment" tab on the work desk, which used to be "Suggest Assignment" and follow the instructions to write for eHow. Keyword research is still just as important, but DS also suggests rev-share titles you can claim from the list of available assignments. In my opinion, however, it's better to do your own research and come up with your own titles. You'll make more money that way if you decide to proceed.
My Thoughts on the Changes at Ehow
I don't know if I'll write any more articles for eHow. Right now, I'm a bit shocked and worried, but I suppose this is the risk we take when we bet on sites like eHow. I felt this coming for quite some time. The eHow forums are constantly filled with complaints and I'm sure it's just easier for Demand Media this way. I can't say I blame them, but I'm more than a little disheartened.
For the time being, I'm going to focus on building residuals at Suite 101 and through my own blogs. I loved the WCP while it was around and I suppose I must take solace in knowing that I'll still receive payment for the work I've done over the past year. Once I get used to the change, I may try submitting a few articles through DS and see how they perform. I'll keep my readers posted if I do decide on this path, but for now, I'm taking a break from eHow.
What are your thoughts and concerns? Will you continue to write for eHow or look for a new income stream?
17 comments:
I, too, am already a DS writer but I haven't written anything there for quite awhile. I think I will focus on other sites as writing for DS was a huge stress for me and I don't think I can do that again. This is when I'm glad I didn't put all my eggs in one basket!
I don't write much for DS anymore, but the qucik upswing in my eHow earnings over the past few weeks made me decide just this weekend to go back to a regular eHow schedule again. I guess that's shot to hell now. I also have an eHow blog, so that is probably not something that I can continue.
It occurred to me just a little while ago what a shock it must be for the people who wrote and marketed eHow ebooks. That was a big part of the income of several people. I can just imagine how that feels to have that wiped out with one email.
Every new thing that I hear from eHow makes me more and more happy that I stopped writing for them last year.
I write for DS, too (occasionally) and I honestly think that at some point, eHow will do away with the whole WCP, even for existing articles. Either that or they'll sweep 'em all out.
It was good while it lasted ... but most good things come to an end.
You have provided so much great information on the changes with eHow. I was completely surprised when I logged on yesterday and saw the changes. Personally, I was a new writer for eHow, so it does not affect me too much.
I have written for Demand Studios for some time, and I have been pleased with the results. I prefer not to do work-for-hire assignment, simply because I would like to retain rights, but Demand Studios seems to be addressing this.
I also write for Suite 101, and will be investing a lot of time in my articles over there. I'll keep you posted on my blog at http://mdonnadesigns.blogspot.com/2010/04/ehows-new-structure.html.
This just shows the importance of the need to diversify your residual income streams. I'm really glad that I was able to branch off of eHow and get going on Suite 101. Before the news of the merger, I had already started to contemplate writing for another site, and the end of the WCP has confirmed my decision.
I don't think I would bother with DS to write eHow articles. I like to write Abouts and Lists on there since I can't ever seem to drag out the how-tos to the required word count. I'm just going to write more for Suite and another residual income site instead.
I am confused about the comment that says Demand Studios is addressing the rights issue with work-for-hire. When we write for Demand Studios and they pay us up-front we lose our rights to that article completely. Do they plan on changing that agreement?
Well... that is distressing, especially seeing that I was just starting to contribute regularly to eHow. I have written for DS on and off for 4 years. I am not a fan of DS, I find them very difficult to deal with over any issue. I have also found that challenging an editor on anything can make it difficult to articles approved.
While they pay better then a few other articles sites that I write for, the pay is not worth the headache that comes along with it.
I was a newbie writer at eHow, but I really enjoyed their business model and how the WCP worked. I do think that the WCP worked well enough so that other sites will soon spring up utilizing the same model. The loss of eHow's WCP will certainly leave a gap until then, though. :(
Well, the changes were not surprising. I've been writing for DS for a few months now. The editing process is stringent. The editors will reject pieces ...for a newbie this could be discouraging. But it's business as usual.
Nice blog and informative, thanks. I followed the link from the eHow forums and am taking in all I can about DS. I am venturing into other arenas but will give it a try at DS. I don't know how I will cite any of my natural remedy articles as I don't go with mainstream medicine too much.
I like all the resources you have on here, awesome!
Ehow writers, please feel free to vote in my poll at my blog, thanks!
Well, I for one am rather excited about the change. I have been writing for Ehow for over a year, but have not published much with them lately because I tend to have a lot of technical issues with the site. I currently do the majority of my articles through textbroker. I am working almost exclusively on up front pay articles because I need to make a lump sum of money for our baby due in October. I have been searching for a higher paying up front site and have wanted to apply to Demand Studios for quite some time. I have been repetitively putting it off because I am not a "professional" writer, I need to do a resume, etc. However, to my surprise I was notified not only of the change at Ehow but that I have automatically been accepted to Demand Studios as well. So, I got something I have been wanting by my previous work history instead of having to actual put forth more effort. Of course I have not started to write for DS yet. I may discover that I do not like it at all or it might be the greatest thing for me yet. Who knows. But as for now, I am excited and anxiously awaiting to receive my confirmation email so that I can start writing at DS. That's just my two cents on the matter. Good luck to all of you, no matter what you decide to do. :)
I was a DS writer first, and quit them and wrote only for eHow. I am worried ehow will dump WCP completely! I tried numerous to apply for Suite 101 but they never accept me. Guess it's self publishing for me!
With over 300 articles on eHow (mostly craft related) with step by step original photos of my projects.....this was a disheartening announcement. Though I started writing occasional articles for DS last August, DS no longer allows their writers to upload their own pics, so guess what? People like me are SOL. DS is constrictive to anyone's creative nature. Looking for other outlets and open to ideas....
I've been a DS writer for two years and published 100+ pieces of content there (including 15 rev-share articles) but since building up my residual income had not added anything new in over a year.
After taking a couple days to review the changes and get used to the loss of the WCP, I've decided to publish more rev-share articles on eHow through DS. The lifting of the earnings cap is a huge positive.
I'm of the same mind as Veryirie - my eHow articles have always had lots of screenshots of software processes and I don't like the idea that I won't be able to use those on DS. I don't plan to write for DS much, but I'll give it a try.
I am so glad I pulled my articles off eHow a few months ago. I can't even go on about the lack of trust and other issues involved. I also have written for DS and wrote almost 400 articles for then over three months. No more. Enough of Demand Media for me.
I am not writing at Suite 101 and making far more money in residuals than I did on the same articles published on eHow.
There are other gigs out there and I'm pursuing them as well. eHow turned out to be such a disappointment. I would be celebrating my one year anniversary now if I were still published there.
I did this recently and like other posters stated, its pretty stressful. I wrote for eHow for nearly 2 years and even though I was pre-approved at DS, I turned off by that whole lengthy agreement, orientation slide show, mandatory bio, etc.
While I can appreciate someone wanting to separate themselves from the other content mills, the comments here explain why they are always hiring.
Though SEED is in the beta phase, they are a little more reasonable in their communication.
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