I had lunch with a friend of mine, and told her how I have been writing for eHow for a couple of weeks now. She asked how it works, since eHow writers don’t get paid an upfront flat fee. I figured that this was an excellent topic for a blog post. So… here’s what I explained to my friend:

What eHow Writers Write

eHow writers write about anything they want, basically.  Of course, eHow’s terms of service state that articles can’t be obscene, illegal, etc.  And, because the theme of the site is “How to,” all of the articles must follow that format; they should be written as instructions for the reader to easily follow.   Poetry, personal stories, and personal “bloggy”-type observational articles are not permitted.

How eHow Writers Earn Income

eHow writers earn income according to an algorithm that is not public knowledge. eHow’s FAQ page states that earnings are definitely not based on something as simple as number of page views. Instead, it is a combination of views, ratings, and the overall usefulness of an article. Earnings are paid per article, but not as a flat fee. The earnings are accrued in the form of commissions, day by day. Some articles (based on the aforementioned criteria) can earn several dollars per day, while others will never earn a cent. Earnings updates are performed daily, and usually at about 10:30 Eastern time.

How eHow Writers Get Paid

Currently, eHow only offers payment via PayPal. eHow pays monthly (I have been at eHow for just a couple of weeks, so I haven’t received any payment yet… although I have had the delightful experience of seeing my earnings build day by day). I’ve found out from other writers that eHow generally pays on the 5th of each following month (meaning if you earn $20 in January, you’d probably get paid on February 5th). eHow states that they pay “on or around” the 10th of each month. eHow issues payments each month to writers who have accrued at least $10 in earnings. If your balance at the end of the month falls below $10, your balance is carried over to the following month. (In other words, if you earn $3 in January, and $8 in Februrary, you will receive a payment of $11 at the beginning of March.)

So far, my earnings for November are $14 and change, so I know I’ll definitely be getting a payment in early December. It might not be much, but I’m going to treat my husband to a movie night for the two of us. He might have to pay for the popcorn, though.