Article Removal: Three of My Readers Think eHow is a Scam
Three people who write for eHow have contacted me in the last week, declaring eHow is a scam. I asked for their reasoning behind their opinions, and without exception, they all cited the removal of some of their articles from eHow’s data base.   Article removal –which has been dubbed “article sweeps” by some frustrated eHow writers– has occured a few times in the last several months. During the “sweeps,” eHow sends out emails to inform writers that one or more of their articles have ben removed from eHow’s website and data base.   Most of the time, these emails give a reason why each of the articles were removed. Sometimes, however, there is no explanation (which eHow says is because the articles were rejected by editors during a time when articles were either marked “accept,” or “reject,” with no reason option for the editors to choose from).
One writer even told me that she feels the article removals are completely arbitrary (well, “nonsensical” is the word she used), but I have to disagree.  Some of these writers sent me copies of their articles, or links to the cached copies online, and I could immediately understand why every one of the articles were rejected.   Most were not in how-to format. One writer argued that her article about gardening was DEFINITELY how to.  To be fair, two of her steps were actionable and in how-to format. Her other seven steps were informative. Well-written, but informative and not actionable. That’s not what eHow requires.  For further explanation about eHow’s article requirements, read my three-part series on “How to Write for eHow.”  The posts explain eHow’s requirements, and “how to eHow” by applying those requirements to your eHow articles.
So — bottom line: is eHow a scam because they remove articles that they feel don’t reflect what they require of their writers and articles. No. First of all, eHow has to maintain a level of professionalism and integrity, and to do this they have to remove some sub-par articles.  Secondly, for eHow to be a scam, they’d have to take money from their members. Nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve earned thousands from eHow, and it’s never cost me a penny to be a contributing writer.
I’m confused by the 4th paragraph. Is it part of the article? A comment by a disgruntled eHow writer? Doesn’t seem complete or to fit with the rest of your info.
Crystal´s last blog ..One of the Many Joys of Retirement
Sorry about that, Crystal. Big oops. LOL Yes, it was part of a comment from a disgruntled eHow writer. It must have been on my Windows clipboard, along with the article I typed up. When I copied and pasted, I didn’t see it at the bottom there. :\
eHow could learn ALOT from many other platforms out there in cyberspace. There should be very little need for these “article sweeps”, in the first, had they employed many of the same proactive ‘quality assurance’ requirements that similar website platforms, like Info Barrel do. For instance, Info Barrel has a mandatory initial 10 article manual review process by their owners. Had eHow done this, there would be very little need for these massive, site-wide article sweeps.
I recently had a very lucrative article deleted by Ehow as “offensive”. It was a simple article about how to remove mildew from the bathroom. I have critiqued the article over and over and can simply find nothing that a person could deem offensive.
So I wrote to Ehow and asked them why my article was deleted when there is an article which is entitled “How To Finger a Girls Gspot” which has not been deleted.
I suppose the murder of innocent mildew is more offensive to the Ehow staff than borderline pornography that anyone with an internet connection can see (including children).
What in the world are they thinking?
As of yet, Ehow has not responded to my complaint, and the vile “fingering” article is still able to be viewed.
I am completely done with Ehow.
Christopher, I don’t know about your case specifically, but I know that some cleaning articles were removed because they gave incorrect, potentially dangerous information. One person had an article about mildew removal removed from eHow, and couldn’t understand why. Their article suggested mixing bleach and ammonia in order to get rid of the mildew. Basic science (or a quick Google) would have told the writer that that combination could have killed someone, if they had followed the directions. Again, I don’t know what your article was about, but perhaps the editors thought the information in yours was equally dangerous.
eHow is definitely a scam as they simply do not pay. I joined, wrote several articles with many views, and my total earnings are still $0. You’d do better flipping burgers.
BT,
No offense intended, but I am willing to bet that you made at least one major mistake in writing your articles for eHow. (Incidentally, you don’t say how long ago you joined, and how many articles comprise your “several.”)
Writing for eHow (and anywhere else online, for that matter) is a learned skill that does have a bit of a learning curve. Once you learn the basics, it’s a pretty easy ride to earning passive income on eHow. The thousands that I have banked with my less than 300 articles is proof of that.
Incidentally, to be considered a scam, you (the user) would have to have been scammed out of something (money, property, etc.). eHow took nothing from you. Your articles simply are not earning at the moment. My guess is your mistakes fall into at least one of these categories: 1) too new (haven’t been on eHow very long), 2) Poor topic choice 3) Poor title 4) Poor SEO skills, 5) Saturated topic, 6) Poorly written, 7) Common sense or
Too informative. Most times, the problem is among #s 1-7. I will discuss #8 in a later blog post here.
I was caught by your comment about being “too informative” and that is so true. Sometimes, I wonder if my articles don’t earn on certain topics because I can cover them quite well. These are generally more informative articles than strict how to ___ explicit instructions.
I write for IB, too, and I like that they have several formats. I get to practice all kinds of writing.