Freelance Writers: Does eHow (aka Demand Studios) Owe You Money? They May and You Have Only 7 More Days to Collect

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May 24, 2011

Recently, I received an email from eHow. I’d written some articles for them back in 2008, and was still receiving monthly residuals for them. It wasn’t a lot but for 20 articles that only took me on average of 20 minutes to write, I was amazed that every month, I was still receiving money from them. 

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So, when I received the email from eHow, I opened it, but immediately trashed it because I thought they were asking ME to pay THEM for content. Let me explain.

eHow Earnings: Why eHow May Owe You Money

write-for-ehowAs of May 5, 2011, eHow is removing what they call “WCP articles” from their site. WCP stands for Writers Compensation Program. Articles submitted by freelance writers under this program paid residuals. But again, as of May 5th, no longer.

I’ll miss the payments; they were great “Margarita Wednesdays” money.

How I Almost Threw Away My eHow Freelance Writing Earnings

I received the following email from eHow:

As you may recall, we sent an email on May 5 letting you know eHow has decided to close the Writer’s Compensation Program (WCP) and remove a number of user-generated articles from the site.

Since we’re extending attractive offers to a select group of great writers (like you) to purchase the articles they’ve written for eHow, we want to ensure you are able to view your offer right away. The final deadline for accepting the offer is May 31, 2011.
 
If you are unsure as to how you access the new WCP console here is the link for your convenience (link was given). You can sign into the console using your original eHow username and password.
 
Best,

Thank you for taking time to read this important message. We look forward to helping you through this transition in any way we can. For additional information, please email us at [email address was given].

The eHow Team
###

I get a lot of email, and I skim read a lot of it just to clear my inbox. So, when I read this message the first time, I misread the part that said: “. . . we’re extending attractive offers to a select group of great writers (like you) to purchase the articles they’ve written for eHow . . .”

Then, a few days later, I ran across an article discussing the eHow payout to freelance writers. So, I dug back through my emails and found the email from eHow and re-read it. I was like, “Oh, THEY want to pay ME for content.”

Making Money Online Writing: 20 Easy eHow I Wrote in 2008 Continue to Pay Dividends Every Month

And I was shocked at how much for just 20 articles I wrote back in 2008. And don’t forget, I’d received residual payouts for these articles every month, in addition to an initial upfront payment of $15 for each one. In essence, this content that only took me a few hours to write had MORE than paid for itself over the years.

So, like the freelance writer in the linked-to article just above, did, I took the money and ran.

Writing for eHow: How to Collect Your Money if eHow (aka Demand Studios) Owes You

Bottom line: if you’ve ever written for eHow, check your inbox for the email above. Then, follow the instructions within. The subject line will be something like, “Important eHow Deadline Approaching – Have you reviewed your offer?‏”

If you can’t locate this email and/or didn’t receive one, log into your writer’s control panel with eHow (this link came in the above email: https://myarticles.ehow.com/SignIn.aspx). Once you log in from this link, you’ll have info on your offer, and can decide whether to accept the payout, or deny it, as well as other info on how to proceed, no matter which decision you make.

The deadline to respond to eHow’s offer is May 31, so don’t delay.

Wish I’d spent more time writing for eHow while this program was around. You’d be amazed just how much those articles wound up being worth. Some writers received thousands of dollars in payouts from eHow, as discussed in the comments section of this linked-to post.

Related Post Coming Real Soon

Within the next couple of weeks, I’m going to write a post detailing why I no longer write for sites like eHow (Demand Studios), and why I don’t think any freelance writer should – once they reach a certain point in their career.

Stay tuned!

Tell Us Your eHow Story: Did you see this change coming? Have your freelance writing earnings been affected as a result of eHow dismantling the WCP program? Will you continue to write for sites like eHow/Demand Studios? Let us know in the comments section below. And, don’t forget to subscribe to get the special “Memorial Day Deal.

coverP.S.: Want to write and sell ebooks online for a living? You can! Get the guide that shows you how to start a successful self-publishing career — start immediately.

P.P.S.: Want to start a successful career where you have the mobility to live and work where you please? Visit our freelance writing bookstore for a ton of opportunities (freelance writing and internet marketing) to get you started.

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9 Responses to “Freelance Writers: Does eHow (aka Demand Studios) Owe You Money? They May and You Have Only 7 More Days to Collect”

  1. Heidi says:
    May 24, 2011 at 7:05 pm

    Yes, it’s a good idea not to delete emails saying they would like to pay you! Glad you found it – perhaps now you can take a few friends with you to Margarita Wednesday! haha Looking forward to the next post…

  2. Yuwanda says:
    May 24, 2011 at 9:41 pm

    I know, right!

    Gots to be more careful when reading email; that’s definitely made me slow down the last couple of weeks.

  3. Mike says:
    May 24, 2011 at 11:19 pm

    I’m not good about reading my emails unless it’s a business email or friend and family… I may need to pay more attention!

  4. Debra McDougal says:
    May 25, 2011 at 9:07 am

    Hey, Yuwanda

    I read this with interest because I was about to apply for a writing position with Demand Studios. Are they going out of business and if not, how are they going to get the content they need? I was wondering if they explained that in your email.

  5. Yuwanda says:
    May 25, 2011 at 9:45 am

    Debra,

    eHow / Demand Studios still pays freelance writers to submit content, so you can apply with them. It’s just the WCP program that’s being discontinued.

    FYI, their guidelines are MUCH more stringent than they used to be, which is one reason I stopped writing for them.

    Good luck!

  6. Susan says:
    May 25, 2011 at 3:36 pm

    DMS (they changed their name to Demand Media Studios) pays twice a week, which is great, but they can be extremely picky. Some editors will rip apart your work. Some don’t care and will approve anything. I know they are expanding and have recently signed on Tyra Banks.

  7. Yuwanda says:
    May 25, 2011 at 8:53 pm

    Susan,

    Thanks for the clarification the Demand Studios name change.

    I didn’t know they paid twice a week — that’s great and good for any freelancer looking to write for them.

    As for accepting/rejecting content, one of the reasons I stopped writing for them is the time I spent trying to get content accepted. The rules don’t seem to have any consistency to them, which made it an unwise use of my time.

    That’s one of the reasons I like AssociatedContent.com. As I write for no upfront pay, when I post there, I can upload and move on — not constantly have to remember 5011 rules in order to get a piece approved. This fits my writing business model; for someone else it may be different.

    In my upcoming post on why I think freelance writers shouldn’t write for sites like eHow after a certain point their careers, I’m going to get into all of this.

    Thanks for stopping by and sharing.

  8. Shiromi says:
    June 19, 2011 at 10:04 pm

    I declined the buyout offer, and didn’t start posting my articles elsewhere until just the other day, almost three weeks after they were supposed to have been removed. Only now i’m discovering that they weren’t removed after all. Some were, but big moneymakers are still on there. I’m sure they’ll argue that it takes time to remove these articles, but it’s been three weeks, and this is inexcusable. Is DMS going to pay me for the three plus weeks that they used my articles without my permission?

  9. Yuwanda says:
    June 20, 2011 at 11:46 am

    Shiromi you’ll have to ask them. Good luck with it.

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