Associated Content Vs. Helium

For those of you who have been wanting to know what site pays better, Associated Content or Helium, then here you go. I write for both Associated Content (AC) and Helium. I started out with Helium and later learned about Associated Content. I would have to say that Associated Content is much more profitable and more enjoyable then Helium!

I started writing for Helium about 2 months ago. I have posted about 19 articles with Helium. Off of those 19 articles plus 4 poems. I have earned less than$0.90. Yea that's right a whole 90 cents! Doesn't seem fair does it? Especially seeing that they are making lots of money off of the advertising revenue that they receive when readers look at the article.

A few weeks later I started writing for Associated Content (AC). Well since then I have resubmitted those 19 articles to AC as well. Out of those 19 articles and 4 poems, to date, I have earned $69. 80 off of about 14 of those articles plus about $5 in page views alone. Now for the page views...that's a really low amount because that's only after to updates and with me having only a few articles submitted before the updates.

I could have made about $20 more but, AC doesn't pay up-front payments for poetry, although you do get your page views. Another thing was that 4 of my articles did not receive up-front payment because they were 'too popular' do to being posted on Helium. The sad part is that even though they were 'too popular' and are in the top for of search engine results, they have only earned me a whopping $0.10! Whew, I wish I would have known that when I started writing online and I wouldn't have wasted my time with Helium.

Is Helium worth it? Yes and no. If you are writing for as a hobby then Helium is great! It's also a great place to submit your pieces AFTER they have been published on AC. That way you won't have to worry about them being 'too popular'. As for making money at Helium- it can be hard unless you are an expert. You can make tons of money with Helium if you win contest and get chosen by Marketplace which can now pay up to $150. But that's the whole problem- if you win! There scoring system for winning is not really fair, either. Since your articles are rated by other writers it can be kind of difficult to get to the top and win contests. One reason is because everyone has there own opinion on what is good. Another reason is that you have your other writers that when the vote, they just click a button and never read the articles for which they are voting on, which can tip the scales in a not so good direction. Now Helium as a new "star system" the more you write the more blue stars. Well for those who are looking for more blue stars, well, all they have to do is set at the rating table and continue to point, click and submit. Never actually reading the articles. While I am sure that most of the honest writers would never do that, some folks are sure to be doing so to earn their new stars.

Is AC worth it? YES! Since there is no 'raters' and AC actually has real workers to read them it makes it a lot more fair which, in return, makes Associated Content a lot more profitable. AC doesn't go by ratings. They go by quality and quantity! They actually offer you an amount $3-2o for each article if it is acceptable. To be acceptable it has to be written as you would write for any other company of course, 400 words or more, proper grammar and spelling (if you make a few mistakes it doesn't matter but your offer will be lower), and they do ask that you don't write about something that already has 5 million articles about it. Associated Content has Submission Guidelines that are very easy to understand and the requirements are also easily met. Its very easy to earn with AC. While it does take a 3-4 days usually to get your offer, it's well worth it. You write the article, submit it and with in a few days AC will give you an offer and then once you accept the offer it will take about 2 more days to publish (which means its actually on the internet in a readable form). I would have to say it's well worth it!