For a while now, I’ve been seeing ads for this site called Helium. They seem to advertise heavily on Google. Anyway, I’ve been meaning to ‘test drive’ it before blogging about it here at JMMO, but I never really had the chance to explore it. And, I don’t think I will be able to anytime soon. So, I thought I’ll blog about it here anyway and ask you all for feedback. So, if you’ve given it a go, please let me know what you think of it.
From what I know, it basically asks people to write on various topics. And, it looks like folks make money with it by:
1) Writers get a share of advertising revenue (on the articles that they published);
2) By referring other writers to join; and
3) By joining contests at Helium.
I’ll be interested to know if people are really finding a good source of revenue from the site. At the moment, I haven’t really heard much about it by way of feedback.
Technorati Tags: helium, online money ideas, web content, writers, writing
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{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m a Helium writer and can give you some examples of earnings.
If you have 500 to 600 articles on the site, you can expect to earn between $50 and $60 a month.
I know someone else with 1,000 articles on the site, they netted $1,000 in 9 months.
As for me, I have 170 articles on the site now. It’s taken me six months to build up to that total, so I’ve spent a lot of that time with a much smaller number of articles on the site. Result? I’ve only just cashed out my first $25.
I’ll leave it to you to work out what the hourly rate is!
I haven’t used their service, but I have taken a good look at their Helium Marketplace where you can write articles on specific topics ordered by customers and compete with other writers to have your’s published:
http://thearticlewriter.com/blog/2007/08/23/the-helium-marketplace-dont-make-this-terrible-mistake/
A Helium representative replied to my negative review and I posted that review on my site too.
I don’t recommend the Helium Marketplace as I see no point for writers to compete against each other. Sure, if your work is rejected then you can still submit it to regular Helium, but at the rate Marisa mentioned!
I am a professional writer and wrote for Helium for awhile but in terms of getting paid for writing, their rate are horribly low. If someone is looking to make money writing, they are better off checking out associatedcontent.com, or the site I write for now- suite101.com- which is the best site I have found so far….
Marissa: Sounds like a lot of time investment for very little return. Why and how do you do it?
Matt: I think I lean towards agreeing with you on that. It seems to me that writers have much better options than Helium.
Mary: It does seem like it! I’ve never tried AssociatedContent but have heard some good feedback about it. I used to write for Suite101, when they had a different pay scheme. They were all right back then, but things changed so I left. I heard that they’ve fixed a lot of stuff now and writers are quite happy with how things are going again. Anyway, thanks for sharing your input on this!
I’ve been trying Helium–they posted an ad on craigslist–and so far I’ve made eleven cents. I don’t know whether to go to Vegas or Atlantic City to try to double it.
They have discussion groups which have attracted a bunch of extreme right-wingers. I’m surprised to see that on a site that’s trying to attract writers since these folks are so rigid. I think between the big bucks and the Thou Shalt Nots, I’ll be leaving.
The site is a scam. I have written for them and in six months of labor, I have made a lousy 96 cents. Also, their star rating system is so out of wack. If you are not in the 25 percentile for writing or rating, you won’t get these little stars. I mean, I am not in grade school so little stars do me nothing, but when my friend was chosen four times from a marketplace publisher, she still struggles to get even one star. So the stars are pretty much no good and should be given to the first graders that love them. Most of the reviewers do not understand how to rate because most don’t know how to write. I have seen the worst writing in my life there. My third grader writes better than some of those on there. One added note, my friend had a couple of publishers that chose her work and paid into her account. She still didn’t have enough funds in her account after the publisher paid to cash out. What a mess.
Hey,
You should all check out Helium’s Marketplace now. They have really revamped the whole thing since the comments above. Better pay, more publishers, shorter deadlines, instant pay…
Now they take all of your money if you don’t have one rating star. They lie and cheat you out of your hard earned money. They promised to pay for lifetime earnings to gimmick you and push you to sign up. Read the fine print! They will do everything they can to make the most off of you regardless if it is ethical or not!
Joe, that’s just an idea they are discussing with the members. They have not said yet they will actually do it.
I think it’s very positive they discuss things like that with the members before they decide it. You don’t see many other sites that ask their members’ opinions like Helium does.
Well, I hesitate to agree that I’ve seen some horrific examples of writing at Helium (since we all have bad days), but some of the worst grammar, spelling, syntax, etc., somehow rises to the top of the ratings on a consistent basis. So I’m concerned that writers who really are producing “magazine-article” quality are being rated by folks who can’t write their way out of a game of Scrabble. It may be a tougher racket to send out queries and spec articles, but I’ll rely on a literate editor any day.
Helium just ended a program called Rewardathon where some of the writers made more than $1,000! And they say they are planning to run it again.
Well, I can say that I have been offered the chance to write articles for .20 a word and I am not to sure if I want to try it or not? I wrote a poem for poetry.com, and all they did was try to get me to buy things with my poem on it. They write me saying I am voted some kind of poet of the year, or something like that. What I want to know is, when do I see some money out of it? That is how I got hooked up with Helium. Therefore, I do not know who to trust? If there is someone out there that does, please write me and let me know.
Helium is both legit and scam. They do pay, but the whole system is shady. I have seen my earnings lower overnight, which doesn’t make sense. Also, once you write for Helium, you will never be able to offer your work for full rights and most editors do not want work that is already out there. You give away your rights and give away your earnings overnight in some cases. Your better off taking your writing and submitting it to places and if you are turned down for publication, you will still retain all rights to your work. Helium does not allow that with their terms. Also there used to be a lot of publishers at Helium, but now there arent as many. Publishers don’t even like dealing with Helium. Your work should shine and one place to put out the light of your work is putting it on Helium. They might not get you buy anything like poetry, but they take your pennies and decrease them overnight. Which would you have?
Good point. Thanks for your input. I take pride in the songs I write. The way I write my songs is through poetry. It starts off as a poem then I put music to it. I do not want someone to take one that I have put my heart and soul into, just to get ripped off. Thanks again.
hmm…I have been in this feild since last five year and also have seen lots of disasters in the industry. Every google update brings something new and innovative…There are lots of ways to generate money from this business but people from the third word countries are working at very low prices and thats why there is huge competition. But I suggest you that you can earn money form this.
http://www.websiteation.com
I have been writing for helium for the last year or so and by goodness I make money. If you can get your head around it, it really is worthwhile and if anyone wants help, just contact me. I love the place with a vengeance and can really help anyone that wants it.
Hi well i am thinking quite a lot here there are people who say Helium.com doesn’t pay good and some say they do! Well let me say some stuff about the site!
I have been a member for 2 months now and firstly, my earnings were veeeerrrrrrrrrrrry slow! I only earned 4 cents in May and 5 cents in June and most of july i only earned 3!! Until… the date came 23rd july i started writing frequently and my balance was at first 12 cents adding the totals of the three months. But as i wrote more from 39 articles to now at this moment 100. I have actually earned another 20 cents which is bigger!!! The last few days of july my balance went from 12 cents to 21!! and it is rising much quicker!! Right now it is 35 cents! But i should say, Helium isn’t a good place to earn income until you have hundreds or thousands of articles!!! And i am ashamed that they pay a cent a day most of the time! A CENT? That isn’t good enough! They have updated the website if you have a look! But the earnings are still poor!! But yeah your right Rachel!! The more you put effort in it, the more they reward you!!!!
Yes I am right. This month so far my earnings are 347 dollars. Press my name, take a look at my articles, not because I want more, but to show you that it really is possible. An article takes me about 10 minutes to draft. Then I leave it for 24 hours and wait to see what I missed off the article. Many write without looking to see if their article has typos and expect to be rewarded for work which isn’t thought out.
If I can do it so can anyone and Yes, earnings at the beginning of the experience are slow. It’s part of the build up but why put up with a one off payment like other sites pay you when what you are doing at Helium is actually building a financial future, as all article pay for ever.
Yes, there are those with many typos that receive a little more money. Take a look at the number one rated articles and notice tons of typos.
wow rachel 347 dollars? how much articles do you have on the website?
ill check you out just give me your full name which you have used on helium i can’t seem to find you!
Helium: The good and the bad
I have been writing for Helium since April 2008. I believe it has help me build a small foundation in consistency, content, and editing. Without a degree, breaking into the publishing industry is a lengthy process to say the least.
Writing content for Helium on general topics is not lucrative at all, and once you post the article, you can no longer sell exclusive rights, so essentially the article belongs to Helium because most publishers want exclusive rights. So, if you choose to write for Helium, save your greatness, innovation, and passion for another market. Not only will you make very little money, but you will find raters will not appreciate it, especially anything hardcore or controversial.
If you just want to write to share information with others such as laundry tips, recipes, banking strategies, etc…, Helium is a great place to write, as they have a great community of supportive people willing to share.
The Marketplace is the best thing about Helium. Publishers request articles on various topics with specific instructions and pay rate. You compete with other writers for the job. The downside is that if your article is not chosen, it automatically transfers to Helium. T
he downside if your article is purchased is that you often have no idea where or when to find it to use in a portfolio since many publishers use a Pseudonym. I question the reasoning behind this.
Also, in the publisher’s contract with Helium, they are not allowed to contact you directly for further submissions if they like your writing style. Direct contact with publishers is vital for
building rapport and revenue.
Writing for Helium has been a learning experience for me. However, devoting all of my time and talent to writing and rating for Helium is not a good idea.
Though I plan to continue writing for Helium, I’m off to branch out. I suggest those of you who are serious and passionate about writing do the same!
My e-mail to helium:
“Please cancel my account and remove my articles from you’re site. I have violated the user agreement and placed a duplicate article on more than one title on you’re site. I do not wish to but I will continue to do so until all articles my are removed. It is ironic, by paying writers virtually nothing, you entice them to you’re site through the guise of their own pathetic egos, because, after all, they are getting paid to write they must be special. The entire rating system is all intended to further inflate their ego in order that they view their own ads while you guys make money. What you essentially do is pay people to view their own advertisements. What’s more ironic, my highest payed article, a whopping $.03, happens to be my lowest ranked one, while the highest rated counterpart received the least- nothing in nearly a year.
~Sincerely, Jacobs
to be honest, i am not sure if they really pay for the pageviews! This is because when i don’t write enough articles, my earnings actually slow down. but when i write more, the earnings increase rapidly. and plus, why should they freeze your earnings if people are still viewing your articles? They say your earnings will stop if you don’t write for several months. Above i wrote a comment explaining my earnings and at the moment it is at $1.20!
plus when i said that i started writing loads my earnings had doubled! when my balance was 36 cents. i suddenly started earning 2-5 cents a day. And at that time i stopped writing for a bit and guess what happened? My earnings slowed down too! I started earning a cent a day again! And right now at this moment i’ve chosen to write loads and have done so recently, and guess whats happened? My earnings are rising to 2-5 cents a day again! Its wierd don’t you think? You guys try writing loads of articles soon as possible and see if the same thing happens with you! I’m sure i’m not alone!
I have around 1500 articles and my earnings are well up over the previous amount that I said. Press my name and you get to my page and you can see for yourself. Serious writers can make serious money.
Wow, Rachel. If you only invest 10 minuter per article, which I doubt because I’ve written a few articles for Ehow, you needed 250 hours to write those 1500 articles. You can’t write a decent article of value in 10 minutes. Nevertheless, you failed to reveal or document what your earnings are that are “well up over the previous amount,” so I used your previous amount of 347 dollars. You’ve earned $ 1.388 per hour for your effort. If you worked 40 hours per week, you’d earn 55.52 weekly. If you’re posting this sort of stuff on the Internet anyway and not getting paid then Ehow and Helium make sense. If you think you’ll make your living this way, you’re dead.
I have checked some of Rachel’s postings on Helium and if this an example of their top rated writers, I believe their system isn’t going to be one that will encourage us new writers to achieve very highly. I don’t say that to be cruel, but writing an article in ten minutes isn’t going to give much depth or substance. I think I will put my efforts elsewhere. Especially when you consider how little can be made there.
I’d like to point out that Helium is a pretty solid writing site. As another poster suggested, once you pass a certain number of quality articles you begin to earn more.
When this article above was written Helium may have only offered ad revenue sharing and contests. Now Helium offers a fuller Marketplace and upfront payments on most articles.
Lately I make about 40-50 dollars a month in page view payments (ad revenue) from Helium and a minimum of 100 a month in up front payments usually. Also their stock content program has netted me about 20-30 dollars since it was launched.
Not bad for a site that allows you to keep rights to your work so that you can republish them as non-exclusive later down the line.
I stumbled across this site again and thought I should post an update.
I’ve written an article at my new home, HubPages, here:
http://hubpages.com/_Marisa/hub/Heliumcom—Writing-Fun-or-Money
The bottom line is - yes, you will hear writers say they’re making money, but only those who have hundreds if not thousands of articles on the site. If they sat down and worked out how many hours it took to write those articles, then work out the hourly rate based on 5 years’ earnings, they’d realise they would make a better hourly rate cleaning toilets.
Let’s face it, no one can assume Helium will live forever so it’s silly to rely on 20 or 30 years of future earnings to make it worth the effort.
BTW - Associated Content is good but only pays US residents. I’ve heard one or two people say nice things about Suite101 but no one will be specific. What took me to HubPages was coming across a couple of people who are genuinely cashing out $1,000 a month on a couple of hundred articles.
Note that Rachel, who advocates Helium so strongly, is listed there as a “Senior Steward on the … site”.
Unbiased viewpoint? I think not.
Why would being a steward of any kind alter what view I have of the website. Stewards are people like you who are members. I earned my position on the site by what I write, and many others can as well. In fact, they have recently encouraged members to apply to become stewards. My position has nothing to do with bias. I am a member of other sites where I have been the equivalent of a steward though you don’t see me running around the internet praising them. When I say something it is because I am a sincere person and believe what I say. I for one would love to see any one of you succeed as I have on Helium because I believe the opportunities afforded by them are better than on any other writing site.