Easy ways to make money for kids

I write how-to articles for the eHow web site and am very pleased with my earnings. As of fall 2009, I’ve earned more than $20,000 on eHow.com in total monthly residual income payments for my online content articles. I only made $29 my first full month on the site (November 2007) but now, with just under 400 articles, I’ve earned over $1,000 a month for more than a year.

When I started writing for eHow’s Writers Compensation Program, there was no discussion of eHow earnings nor the potential to bring in a good part-time income with the site. I discovered it for myself, and shared my method and success tips in my eHow eBook.

Here’s what I wrote in this Hub in early 2008:

Several months ago, the online content company I worked for as an independent contractor announced there would be a month off between contracts. Since I depended on the contract for a large portion of my freelance writing income, I had to start looking for a replacement quickly.

I knew about eHow already, but had never written for them directly. They recently launched a Writer’s Compensation Program, which offers writers a share of the ad revenue earned from the pages they write.

Many are reluctant to sign up with eHow because the site is secretive about how earnings are calculated and what share of the ad revenue writers receive. I decided to give it a whirl with an article I had been planning to write for the content company. I figured I had almost nothing to lose. I would have been paid $11 for the article otherwise, and was curious what it would earn on eHow.

So far, one of my first eHow articles has earned $35.28 in 2.5 months. If it continues at the same rate for the rest of the year, it will earn $169.34 in 12 months. [In fact, the article went on to earn over $287 in 12 months.]

Shortly after I wrote my first article and saw my earnings begin to pick up, I started writing more short how-to articles. Money was part of the motivation; as a freelance writer, money is important.

I also enjoyed sharing my knowledge on the Web for others to come accross and hopefully benefit from. I chose topics I knew about and could research easily from my home library, so the writing process was pretty smooth.

Another reason I kept writing was knowing that I was writing “for myself” now. My rights to my work were mine. I retained control over my article, and could edit or remove it at any time. I could also use my real name if I chose, and have a byline to show others.

I also liked the fact that I didn’t simply receive a one-time payment. With eHow, I would keep earning money for the articles I wrote months ago.