Helium.com - Is the Paid-to-Write Freelance Site Really Worth Your Time?
Before you can make a judgement, you need to know the basics on how Helium works. First you sign up and then you are allowed to submit answers to questions on the site. The site wants to users to generate different points of views on the same question. Once you submit an answer to a question, it is immediately ranked. Then you are taken to a page where you can rank other articles about the same topic that you wrote about. The system is unique, innovative and very user friendly.
The rating system is also quite unique. Instead of just the usual rating out of 10, or out of 5, Helium articles are rated by a different method. When you want to rate articles, you don't have any choice which article you want to rate. You are given to random articles about the same topic, and can either vote Article A is much better, Article A is slightly better, they are the same and vice versa. Although it is a fair system, you will be spending a lot of time reading and you are not given much freedom which articles you really want to rate.
The Helium site displays AdSense Google ads, and via the money it generates from these ads, it gives back some to it's writers, a bit like Associated Content. For every page view your article receives, you generate some revenue, usually only about 1 or 2 cents per page click. And as your article stays on Helium forever, you continuously generate money over time without having to do any extra work.
It sounds glorious doesn't it, but is it really worth your time?
Well the answer would have to be yes and no. Helium is worth your time if you like writing and enjoy sharing your knowledge to other people around the world. Your work is immediately published and is automatically ranked. The money would be an extra bonus, but Helium is for you only if you have a real passion for writing.
If you are intrigued about the monkey making opportunities that Helium offers and only write for those features, then no, sadly Helium is not worth your time. Unless you write thousands and thousands of articles, or you have some exotic way to advertise and attract people to read your articles, you will be making a poor sum. It could take months and months just to reach the $25 payout minimum, which by the way pays by Paypal.
I myself was in it for the money, and wrote over 10 articles, with most of them ranked in the top 5 of their categories. Yet over a week, I only made $0.02 cents. That is not a typo. Just 2 cents. As you can see, the money making opportunities Helium provides aren't really there unless you are an absolutely dedicated writer.
Also when you submit an answer to a question in Helium, and your work is automatically ranked, well no one knows how that system actually works. They give no clue on how the automatic ranking system works on their site, therefore not giving you the opportunity to write articles that will receive better rankings. I did a few experiments on Helium; one of them was based on keyword density. I wrote an article about geothermal energy and copied geothermal energy 15 times so the article reaches the 30 word minimum. This is a 100% keyword density, yet the article only was ranked 4 out of 7. So it could be a safe bet to say that 50% of the automatic ranking system is based on keyword density.
So overall, unless you are a really dedicated write, don't care about the money features and have a lot of time, then no, Helium is not worth your time. A better alternative is Associate Content, which has a $3 minimum for each article you write, and has no payout minimum. You can sign up here if you're interested.
Published by Michael Cardiosk
YAY View profile
A Guide to Paying Online Writing GigsA guide to the places that will pay you to write online. - How to Make Money Writing for HeliumHelium is a site that pays you for writing articles and answering questions about a number of topics including, religion, computers, automobiles, business and the list goes on.
Helium-get Paid to Write Using AC Articles!You can get paid to write for Associated Content so why not use those non-exclusive elsewhere. Try Helium and others will rate your article and you get paid!- Associated Content VS. HeliumA comparison of writing sites Associated Content and Helium
- One Good Reason to Join HeliumMy reasons not to join Helium and stick with Associated Content. But one good reason to still join Helium.
- Tips for Freelance Writers: How to Choose Freelance Networks
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- Helium.com: A Good, Solid Site for Posting Writing of All Kinds
- If you really love you write and like to share you knowledge, then YES, Helium is for you
- If you just in it for the money, then NO, Helium is not for you.
43 Comments
Post a CommentBeware...there is no contract with helium because they can change the contract on a whim.
I found this below quoted comment elsewhere and I agree...
"The state attorney general will also question the nebulous ever changing contract Helium unfairly rail roads their writer into agreeing to.
So, everyone, please write to the state attorney general consumer protection division in Massachusetts to complain about Helium. They will not reveal your name to Helium so you can still access the site and need to have no fear of being banned.
If enough people complain we can get the site shut down.
Spread the word.....Complain, complain, complain. Otherwise Helium will continue to get away with abusing their writers."
i have just read with disgust, an article insulting our writing prowess. is anything under 400 words get written by bigots? just asking. and by the way, i believe that the person who wrote such a sour comment, would never match me pound for pound. i represent all helium contributors in my hit-back comment. by the way, have a merry christmas or is it--thanksgiving?
Nice evaluation, thanks for sharing. :-)
Thanks for your input. The minimum for Associated Content is not $3. I am getting $2.11- $2.50 something like that. But I just started. I am glad that at least I get paid something for my article.
I have been with Helium for a good few years now and like everything, it takes time to make money on there. You have to put in the time, effort and energy in order to make a reasonable amount of money.
I have had no trouble making money on Helium {having written well over 200 articles, most of which are high-ranking}.
Those who say that they have only made a few cents here or there, well, they simply have to put in the time and effort to write concise, understandable and interesting articles that people want to read.
If you love writing, and are dedicated to writing, then making money on Helium should hold no problems at all for you.
I am a member of the community.
All I can say is it's a great learning experience.
Yeah, I think I'll pass.
Helium is truly exploiting writers. It is slavery.
In order to continue to earn money, you must rate articles on a regular basis.
This means that you are not paid for your work based on advertising dollars, but you are paid only if you continue to write or rate.
Also, the moderators and channel stewards are in competition with the writers. IMO, this is a conflict of interest.
Thanks for the advice. Helium is not for me.
Helium is full of arrogant, narrow-minded bigots who believe that the only good writing is bland writing that does not exceed 600 words. The average Helium article is a load of poorly written, uninformative rubbish.
Furthermore, the Helium moderators have special privileges which allow them to rate down articles written by people whom they do not like or who threaten their supremacy.
I no longer bother to write original content for Helium. I write articles in my own authentic voice elsewhere, on sites where the financial return and/or the spirit of the community is a lot better. I then pick out a couple of paragraphs from these, change the wording to match the blandness Helium wants, add a starting and closing section and toss the lot into a vaguely relevant Helium topic. If this extra ten minutes brings in some extra pennies, good, if not, I haven't wasted much time. The ratings I get mean nothing at all to me because the system is so corrupt.
I find I can get by with a rat