What is Helium?
Most writers won't make a serious income with Helium. It takes a lot of high quality articles and patience before most writers are able to cash out. On the plus side, once you post your articles on Helium, they keep earning money forever. It's best to look at Helium is both a long-term investment of your time and a way to put together a writing portfolio.
Why Write for Helium?
Competition is Motivating
Because of the way Helium works, it motivates me to write better. It's easy enough for me to compare my articles to others and see what needs improving. It helps me develop writing strategies.
Even though other sites like Associated Content will pay you more money for your articles, I like to write for Helium first. It often results in a better article.
Victoria's Articles on Helium
This is where I toot my horn!
These are some of the articles I've posted on Helium. My highest earning articles are usually about topics I already know extremely well. "Write what you know" might be a worn out phrase that everybody gets tired of hearing, but it's good advice.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't experiment with other topics. It does mean that when you write about topics you don't know as well, you'll have to work harder to craft an article that makes you sound knowledgeable.
Flying? How to prevent lost luggage at the airport - Air Travel & Airlines
The root word of travel is travail. Its an old Fre more...0 points
Non-toxic slug control for your garden
The humble garden slug is a ravenous curse to gard more...0 points
What to do when the airline loses your luggage
Its that moment of dread: You waited and waited at more...0 points
What type of Internet portal is best for promoting your work: A website or a blog?
The pat answer is: It depends on you and your busi more...0 points
Tips for finding online freelance writing jobs
There are many different ways to find writing jobs more...0 points
Helium's Rating System
It ain't about stars...
Helium has a unique system for rating articles. Here's how it works:Each topic on Helium can potentially have dozens or even hundreds of articles, all by different authors. For example, one Helium topic entitled Getting over writer's block currently has 93 articles. Each author has a different take on getting over writer's block. The quality of each article varies.
The article at the very top is #1 because of peer ratings. Helium writers are also editors. After a writer publishes an article, he's taken to a screen that asks him to compare and rate two articles. The articles are about the same topic, but they are by different authors. If he rates article A as better than article B, then article A climbs up the list.
The rater won't see who the authors are, which means it's harder to "game" the system. Articles are truly rated based on their own merit.
At least that's the idea. The fact is, not everyone rates fairly. Many people rate articles without even reading them, which I imagine is why the most awful articles sometimes make it all the way to the top.
Other times it's just a matter of people not being able to agree on what makes one article "better" than another. Some favor an article because it's more entertaining, more informative, or because they prefer the opinion expressed. Others will rate down an article because it's full of misspellings.
The system is pretty good, but it's far from perfect. While most Helium writers want high ratings for their articles, it's not always the best indicator of quality.
Good Books for Writers
Improve Your Craft
The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk Jr.
A little reference book that every serious writer should have.0 points
On Writing by Stephen King
It's not a step-by-step guide to writing, but there are gems in this semi-autobiography. Stephen King has practical advice that he learned from his own experience as a writer.0 points
How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing by Paul J. Silvia
Although this book is aimed at students and professors, there is solid advice here that any writer can benefit from. It's a fast read, but it's full of great tips. Especially good for anyone with a hectic schedule who 'just can't find time to write.'0 points
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Anne Lamott gives a humorous yet realistic view on what it is to be a writer. A fun way to dispel any illusions we might have about writing being a glamorous, easy way to make a living!0 points
Why Bother Rating?
It makes me cross-eyed...
Because you're rewarded with pretty gold stars that appear right under your name. That way, everybody on Helium knows that you're no slacker!Actually, the real reason is because the more articles you rate, the more likely your articles will be rated by others. It's not a waste of time after all.
Tips for Getting High Ratings on Helium Articles
Stay on topic
Articles that have little or nothing to do with the topic they're supposed to address are automatically less valuable.2 points
Write for topics that have few articles
The less competition you have, the easier it is to get to the top.2 points
Write for topics that you know well
If you have a lot of knowledge and passion for the topic, it'll make your article shine.2 points
Double-check your spelling and grammar
Misspellings, typos, misused punctuation, and poor grammar can really hurt your article.1 point
Pay attention to format
For every new paragraph, press that "enter" key twice. An empty space between each paragraph makes the article much easier to read.1 point
Write shorter paragraphs
Readers on the Internet have short attention spans. Make your point clearly and succinctly.0 points
Rate other articles
The more you rate, the more you bump your articles up in the queue to be rated by others.0 points
Use simple words
Use common words that anyone can understand. Flowery writing does not equal good writing.0 points
Can You Earn Money with Helium?
Bottom line: Where's my cash?!
Will you make a lot of money? No, probably not. Most Helium writers aren't making big bucks. Many writers aren't even able to cash out after several months of writing for Helium.
Helium is a bit vague about how the earning system works. It's based on a combination of how good the article is, how valuable or popular the topic is, and how much advertisers are paying to splash their ads on that topic.
It can be hard to predict which articles will do well. Most of my articles aren't getting more than a few cents a month, while one article earned over $40 within a few months. You just never know.
Quality AND quantity matter when it comes to making money on Helium. High quality articles will usually get high ratings and more readers. Articles on hot topics (personal finance, entertainment, etc.) will generally earn more money than articles about, say, dung beetles.
Also, the more articles you write, the more you'll get a feel for the topics that pay the most.
Earning Inconsistencies
It continued to be a high performing article until late October or early November. As of November 13th, it hasn't earned more than a penny this month. Around this time, it was nudged up to rank 1.
Why? Was its previous ranking somehow a "sweet spot"? Have people suddenly stopped looking up information about slugs? (It's not the slug's best time of year, after all.) Who knows. I can't figure it out.
Warning!
- Write an article
- Rate articles
- Invite a new member
If your account goes dormant, it's easy enough to re-activate it. Just do one of the things on the list.
Sign the Guestbook
Do you write articles for Helium? Has any of this information been helpful to you? Leave feedback here.
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- RapidRater RapidRater Nov 23, 2009 @ 11:45 am
- The rating system is not anonymous at all. If you search on the title of the article, you will pull up everything submitted, including the articles you are about to rate, with current rankings displayed.
The rating system is a joke. After being faced with having to rate interminable navel-gazing articles about writing for Helium I was starting to die of boredom. I then developed the following method. It requires 10 seconds or so per article pair in 95% cases. I've been applying it over the past couple of days. It has increased my rating score by over 10% to well above 80%. Note that it does not actually require any reading of the articles, let alone any evaluation of the content.
1. Look at what is in the display box for each article, no need to scroll down.
2. If one is a single block of text and the other is divided up into paragraphs, vote for the divided one and move to next pair.
3. If one repeats the article title, vote for the other one and move on.
4. If one shows headings and the other doesn't, vote for the headings and move on.
5. If one shows an obvious spelling/grammatical error, vote for the other one and move on.
6. If none of these criteria differentiate one article from the other, you have a choice. If you are interested in the topic, read on and vote according to your opinion of the content. Otherwise, press skip and start again. You've only lost a few seconds.
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- Mary Spiro Mary Spiro Oct 24, 2009 @ 12:47 pm
- Very good article Victoria. I have not tried Helium yet but might if I care to branch out. I wrote one article for Associated Content that earned a whopping $4. But my best experience so far has been with Examiner.com. I would say they pay roughly 7/10 cent per page view. Using Twitter and other means (like Digg etc.) I promote my articles. I only write on one topic (science) and I have built a niche readership in that area. I have a day job as a science writer at a major university so the two roles play off one another. Since March 25, 2009 when I started with Examiner, I have earned over $2,000 (ave. $285 per month). Earnings vary. But, this has been a nice way to make extra money and TO IMPROVE YOUR WRITING. I post 1-2 times a week and I know it has helped me overall. Here is a link to my profile as the Baltimore Science News Examiner if you care to check it out. http://www.examiner.com/x-6378-Baltimore-Science-News-Examiner and my twitter account http://twitter.com/Mary_Spiro
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- That's very useful That's very useful Oct 7, 2009 @ 2:11 am
- If you want to earn about $30 - $50 per article the best place is constantcontent.
Got to this site here - http://www.constant-content.com/?aref=30818
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- unique_freak77 unique_freak77 Apr 11, 2009 @ 4:49 pm
- Lots of info in this lens! Thanks great intro to Helium since I'm new to it. :)
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- Sage Sage Jan 4, 2009 @ 12:56 pm
- Regarding earning inconsistencies, lack of payment transparency, People who have not been paid, or believe that Helium is a scam, can and should complain to the state attorney generals office of consumer complaint in the state where Helium does business. I believe this is Massachusetts.
Also, complain to the fair trade commission and various scam alert sites or the US governments scam alert divisions. You can also send copies of the complaint to a congressman asking them legislate against unethical writer sites. You can write one letter and send copies to all the agencies.
If enough people complain, Helium will be investigated, and may have to compensate unpaid fees or face disciplinary action.
Even if the site is not doing something totally illegal but just skimming by and operating in an unethical manner, it can still be disciplined, particularly if enough people complain.
These agencies need to be alerted to scams before they can investigate
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by Victoria_Neely
Hello! I'm a freelance writer who began using Helium in June 2007. By the end of September, one of my articles made over $40.
As of November 2007, I ha...




