I write how-to articles for the eHow web site and am very pleased with my earnings. As of fall 2009, I've earned more than $20,000 on eHow.com in total monthly residual income payments for my online content articles. I only made $29 my first full month on the site (November 2007) but now, with just under 400 articles, I've earned over $1,000 a month for more than a year.

When I started writing for eHow's Writers Compensation Program, there was no discussion of eHow earnings nor the potential to bring in a good part-time income with the site. I discovered it for myself, and shared my method and success tips in my eHow eBook.

Here's what I wrote in this Hub in early 2008:

Several months ago, the online content company I worked for as an independent contractor announced there would be a month off between contracts. Since I depended on the contract for a large portion of my freelance writing income, I had to start looking for a replacement quickly.

I knew about eHow already, but had never written for them directly. They recently launched a Writer's Compensation Program, which offers writers a share of the ad revenue earned from the pages they write.

Many are reluctant to sign up with eHow because the site is secretive about how earnings are calculated and what share of the ad revenue writers receive. I decided to give it a whirl with an article I had been planning to write for the content company. I figured I had almost nothing to lose. I would have been paid $11 for the article otherwise, and was curious what it would earn on eHow.

So far, one of my first eHow articles has earned $35.28 in 2.5 months. If it continues at the same rate for the rest of the year, it will earn $169.34 in 12 months. [In fact, the article went on to earn over $287 in 12 months.]

Shortly after I wrote my first article and saw my earnings begin to pick up, I started writing more short how-to articles. Money was part of the motivation; as a freelance writer, money is important.

I also enjoyed sharing my knowledge on the Web for others to come accross and hopefully benefit from. I chose topics I knew about and could research easily from my home library, so the writing process was pretty smooth.

Another reason I kept writing was knowing that I was writing "for myself" now. My rights to my work were mine. I retained control over my article, and could edit or remove it at any time. I could also use my real name if I chose, and have a byline to show others.

I also liked the fact that I didn't simply receive a one-time payment. With eHow, I would keep earning money for the articles I wrote months ago.

I have over 350 articles in my eHow library. I'd like to create a large enough collection that I can keep earning substantial passive income from eHow even if I quit writing altogether. I figured, if my articles earn an average of $3 a month, all I need to do is divide my passive income goal (say $4,000 a month) by 3 and that's the number of quality articles I need to have online (1,300 ... yikes, that's a lot of writing.)

I enjoy freelance writing, so writing "for myself" at places like Hub Pages and eHow makes sense as it allows me to create streams of somewhat residual income that continue long after I've published the articles.

HubPages is great for longer articles and essays; eHow only works for short how-to style pieces. It's good, as a writer, to have both platforms for my creativity.

As far as I know, the share of ad revenue from eHow is the only stream of income from the site, although you can also link your eHow articles to your website, Hub pages or other things you'd like to promote. They do not have an affiliate program for referring new writers, as Hub Pages does.

If you're interested in another stream of income from your online writing, check out eHow. You might be surprised ... I was.

After 24+ months of writing eHow articles professionally, I've discovered through trial and error what works best and what categories and topics are the biggest earners. I have answered dozens of emails and personal messages to eHow users, giving them tips on the best ways to increase their eHow earnings. Since I am a passionate advocate of passive and residual income streams, I love to see writers succeed at eHow and other revenue-sharing sites.

I decided to write an eBook on eHow and residual income to summarize and expand on the eHow writing process, maximizing residual income and sharing my own earnings at eHow as well as the success of many other writers there.

I wish I had had this information when I started writing for eHow, but at the same time it was a great learning process for me. I'm continuing my eHow writing as well as building up other passive income streams at the same time. I love that my writing will keep benefitting me down the road.

Choosing good writing topics for eHow is important for maximizing your earnings, especially as the how-to library grows and more topics are taken. However, there's always a niche that still needs to be covered.

New technology is a great area, as there is a time lag between when the items are released and people start writing about them.

Think of your hobbies and consider doing a how-to series on an aspect of that ... for example, how to care for motorcycles or how to care for different animal species.

Even if a topic is covered, you may be able to write a better article that drives more traffic by choosing your keywords carefully. I use Wordtracker and Google's Adsense Keyword suggester tool to come up with new ideas.

eHow recently launched how-to videos, an excellent niche for you to consider as it is virtually unexplored and wide open for video titles. Use a digital camcorder and simple editing tools to create basic how-to videos that can then be uploaded to eHow.

You'll still need to give the steps in written format, but having a how-to video will put your submission way ahead of the game.

As the web 2.0 grows daily, video clips are huge. Get in on this trend and earn more money from ad revenue and affiliates.