Associated Content vs eHow Writer Compensation Program
Are you into making money through writing how-to articles? Then, probably you’ve already heard or you’re already a member of either or both of these websites that allow writers to earn from submitting articles - eHow.com and Associated Content . Not yet? Read on.
While checking out some new blogging jobs over at the Problogger job board, one ad caught my attention because of my obsession with bulleted lists and how-to types of writeups. It’s an ad from eHow.com inviting writers to join its Writer Compensation Program. It immediately reminded me of Associated Content, which also pays writers to submit their written work.
Although similar in agenda, the two have considerable differences:
Sign Up Stage
Signing up for both of these programs is quite easy and won’t take you more than a few minutes. But if you’re not from the US, the social security number requirement from eHow might pose as a setback. I don’t know how to deal with the SSN requirement so I stopped there. Associated Content doesn’t have any requirement
But from just reading the FAQ’s of both sites, I’ve learned the following information on how you can make money from submitting articles:
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There are certain topics (niche market) that you should write a lot about to earn a decent amount of money. Both sites update their members about the most requested topics.
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The more articles you write and traffic that your articles receive, the more chances of earning more.
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Using SEO techniques can work wonders in getting your articles more pageviews.
eHow’s Writer Compensation Program looks easier to earn from though because according to the FAQ’s, your article will go live immediately after submitting it while Associated Content makes a writer wait for a few days for the article’s approval.
Show Me the Money
As to how you get paid and the basis of payment, here’s the deal:
eHOw
The payment gets processed via PayPal and is done before the end of the following month.
Q. What is my payment based on?
A. You get paid per article. Your article’s earning potential can be based on a combination of several elements, including the amount of times it’s been viewed and its category. The more useful your articles are to the reader, the more money you could make.
Associated Content
The payment is processed via PayPal, too. However, usually payments are sent every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (except for holidays).
The amount of money you make at Associated Content is unlimited. All of the content you publish can earn you money via performance payments, which pays you $1.50 for every thousand page views your content receives. Some Content Producers earn hundreds of dollars per month in performance payments alone. In addition, sometimes we might make an upfront payment offer for your text or video content (offers range from $3 - 20).
Conclusion
Associated Content’s upfront payment for articles is clearly what killed eHow. However, eHow may not be far from cooking up something similar.
I started submitting articles to Associated Content a few weeks ago. And so far, my two articles earned me a whopping 8 cents! I’m not complaining because I haven’t yet exhausted the means to make the most out of these programs. But if I can find more time to compose useful articles on most-requested topics, I’m thinking that participating in programs like these can be great sources
Have you signed up for these programs yet? If so, what do you think of them? Got any tips to share?
Tags: article-writing, Associated-Content, eHow, make-money-from-web-content, make-money-from-writing, PayPalRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Ideas on Making Money Online, Show Me The Money, Web Content
16 opinions for Associated Content vs eHow Writer Compensation Program
Mommy2Lots
Nov 6, 2007 at 12:26 am
Great overview.
I write for AC and have been thinking about ehow, but with AC, I almost always get an upfront payment and am also doing pretty well on the page view bonus.
Since articles go live right away on ehow, to me that says there is no upfront pay, which makes AC better in terms of pay.
It seems that with ehow I may have to work harder to get page views, while with AC, articles pop up in google, live, yahoo (and others) search results all the time.
Almost every time I search for something online, an AC article pops up somewhere in the results, usually near the top.
However, I don’t come across nearly as many ehow articles, so I’m inclined to believe that ehow would be best for submitting non-exclusive content already published on AC or elsewhere.
David
Nov 30, 2007 at 3:37 am
I published an article in eHow and liked the way it went, but when I set out to sign up for payments I discovered that the page they use to collect my tax information was not secure. I thought it strange, so I used the eHow “contact us” link to inquire about alternative methods of signing up. No response… I guess they are too busy selling advertising to bother.
wylisa
Jan 2, 2008 at 6:03 am
those are very good sites. There is another site that pays members for content. wyplanet.com or http://www.wyplanet.com
Rynn
Jan 4, 2008 at 4:33 pm
This sounds like a writing sweatshop to me. A few dollars PER article?! As a young freelancer, I typically make between .50-$1 PER WORD, and that is on the low end of the spectrum. I can’t understand what would propel someone to do this, other than a burning need to see one’s name in print. I am not trying to be aggressive, I just feel that as a writer you shouldn’t sell yourself short.
Tal
Jan 28, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Nice article. Very informative. For more regarding this issue, visit this site - http://www.5min.com/Video/What-is-Associated-Content-3670629
Sabah
Jan 31, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Nice write-up on the differences betweeen AC and eHow.com!
I’ve been publishing on AC for almost two years now, and recently launched The AC Daily (www.theacdaily.com) to showcase some the talent on the site, and provide tips for writers at all skill levels. When you know what topics to write about, and how to write QUALITY articles, the payoff can be substantial.
Ed Warde
Feb 3, 2008 at 7:52 am
Associated Content (AC) allows the Content Producer (CP) to be as productive as they want. While the upfront payments are small the potential for payment from page views is significant if the CP wants to spend the time marketing their work.
Ed Warde
Feb 3, 2008 at 7:53 am
Associated Content (AC) allows the Content Producer (CP) to be as productive as they want. While the upfront payments are small the potential for payment from page views is significant if the CP wants to spend the time marketing their work. For an example of a typical article go to: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/539383/how_to_make_a_unique_frame_for_your.html
Momie Tullottes
Feb 3, 2008 at 8:05 am
Sabah is right and her AC Daily site is wonderful.
I have gotten some great upfront payments as well as page view bonuses from AC.
By the way, Mommy2Lots above is me, too. :-)
Rich
Feb 13, 2008 at 8:36 am
I think you oughta give eHow a try. The whole concept of stationing user generated content on the site is fairly new on the site. If you’ve seen the original eHow, it was all content provided by hired writers. Just last year, eHow opened the site to the public to contribute their own How To articles. It never hurts to just give it a try. I’ve heard positive feedback thus far and, plus, it’s quite easy to write the articles since they are instructional and step-by-step. The articles contributed get indexed high on the search engines for the nature of the article is resourceful.
10 things you can do to make extra money while at work as a passive income - My Investing Blog
Feb 21, 2008 at 4:36 pm
[…] eHow.com and Associated Content can be pretty lucrative if you’ve got some time and ability. This site lays out the differences between the two in depth. Skill needed (1-10) - 7 Time involvement (1-10) […]
Shane M
Mar 7, 2008 at 9:54 am
I currently use Associated content and recently started. Already I’ve made around 25 dollars from upfront payments after about 2 days of some writing. I find it fairly easy and rejected articles are given advice on how to resubmit or make more acceptable.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/176493/shane_mccray.html
Aly Adair
Mar 23, 2008 at 12:09 am
Thanks for the interesting comparison. I believe all freelance content producers want to make money for their efforts. However, there are reasons other than money why people write for social media sites like Associated Content or eHow:
1. I do not have a Journalism degree or formal writing training that is needed to make big money, but I do have an MBA and expertise in certain areas. My reason for joining AC a year ago was to explore my interest in writing and test my ability to produce quality content and photos.
2. The name of the game in social media is volume and advertising. My questions: Can I find a focus of interest from a universe of genres and niche topics that will lead me to bigger earnings opportunities? Will I find hidden talents?
Will my AC portfolio of content be a good resume for proving I can attract advertisers, since I have no other writing education/experience on my resume?
It is also important to look at earnings from a social media site over time, since this is where the opportunity is to earn bigger money. I can analyze my AC portfolio of articles each week to see which articles are still bringing in page views. This is important if you want to narrow your niche rather than just producing content for the day’s top searches on Google. If content does not continue to produce money over time - what is the point?
FYI - I have produced 315 articles and 3 slideshows on AC. To date, I have earned $1764 for articles and won a $1000 contest prize for best AC slideshow in 2007. These combined earnings put me at an average of $8.69 per piece. At around 600 words per article, this breaks down to around $.014 per word.
This is not exactly what Rynn (above) earns per word, but when I started at AC - I was so green at writing for the Internet, I was lucky to be offered $3 for an article. I am happy with my progress at becoming a better writer and hopefully we can all move to the next level one day.
Best wishes,
Aly Adair
Dahloan
Apr 25, 2008 at 2:45 am
I have just been playing around with Associated Content for about nine months. I maybe write about ten articles a week. I only get turned down on upfront payment for about one a week. After you submit at least three articles, they are pretty good on accepting most anything of a relevant and interesting topic you might submit. I began making about 4 to 5 an article, and am almost consistanly making 6 now. I do not do any SEO searchers or I could make more. i just write on what interests me. IF you can put the time in, and magamize your money by search word, your earnings are limiteless on AC. I probably make around $150 a month, just toying with it. Think what I could do if i was serious? I’ve tried other outlets, Helium, E How, Constant Content, and I can guarnetee that AC is the only sure way I have found to make money online. I know people who make a living off of Associated Content. They are fair, and I have never had a problem with payment. After three months on pay pal, pay pal gives you a debit card, so I get paid via a debit card now. I get about $50 a month in page views. NOt bad for doing nothing. Think what I could make if I took it seriously. Try Ac
Justin
May 5, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I just published an article on ehow to promote my business, http://barefootstudent.com.
It was an article on starting a moving business while in college. Pretty simple, you can see it at http://www.ehow.com/how_2277366_start-moving-business-college.html. Anyway, within 20 minutes it was indexed in Google and I found it in a search. Don’t know about making money from writing articles but instant seo!
Al Tibbets
May 15, 2008 at 12:36 am
From reading the comments listed above, the bottom line is pretty clear.
If you’re interested in writing you might pursue this as a fun project and you can pick up some spare change along the way.
If you’re interested in making money, don’t bother. Any minimum-wage job pays better.
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