*Update: eHow is no longer accepting applicants. If you would like to be published on the eHow site you will now have to apply through Demand Studios.

Of the many ways to get paid to write online, posting content on revenue-sharing article sites is one of the easiest. These types of sites contain a vast number of articles on all kinds of subjects, the majority of which are written by non-professional writers. Stay at home moms, grandmothers, and industry professionals are all making a steady income or just a little cash on the side writing about the things they know and submitting those articles to revenue-sharing sites.

eHow is one of the more popular of the paid writing sites. The main reasons for its popularity are the ease of use, high traffic, and decent compensation program. There is also a forum on eHow where many of the members interact to swap tips and give input on improving the site.

The format for content on eHow is instructionable “how-to’s”. Each article submitted must tell the reader how to accomplish a task in actionable steps. However,good eHow articles are more than just 4 steps of a sentence each. An introduction paragraph is required and each step is usually elaborated on to give the reader a full understanding of the subject at hand.

Joining eHow is very easy. First you will need to register with their site to become a member of the community. From there you can immediately begin posting content. But before you do that, you will need to sign up for the “Writer’s Compensation Program” to get paid for your articles. This will require you to have a Paypal account for receiving compensation payments as well as require you to submit you social security number for tax purposes.

Once you are registered and signed up for the compensation program, you can begin submitting your how-to articles. You will need a unique title for each article which may require some creativity depending on the popularity of the subject you have chosen to write on. It is also advised to add one or more images that complement your article. These can be downloaded from free stock photo sites (don’t just grab an image from Google images, those are often copyrighted).

Once you hit “publish” your article will be live on the eHow website. The money you will earn from your article comes from the advertising that eHow displays around and within your article. As your content brings in readers, those readers will click on an ad or purchase something from a link. eHow makes money from those actions and shares that ad profit with you, although the exact break down of profit-splitting is proprietary.

Don’t expect to make a lot of money from writing just one article. You will need to write many articles to start to see some decent and consistent eHow earnings. It will also take some time for your articles to mature before they begin to generate some revenue, so be patient. While there are some people making over $1000 a month on eHow, most people make much less. But that is passive income that keeps coming in month after month long after you publish an article, so you really can’t beat that.

Overall, eHow is a great way for almost anyone to get paid to write online. You have nothing to lose by giving it a try except a little time spent writing. There are also a few resources that will help you maximize your earnings on eHow by teaching you how to chose the best topics and optimize your articles. I recommend you look into some of those resources before getting started.