Writing for Helium.com

It’s been nearly two years since I first began to write for Helium.com, and it has been an interesting and somewhat profitable experience. My earnings for this period are about $70, and I have accumulated a number of articles which are #1 on the topic in question.

How does Helium work? The most important aspect of Helium is the questions, which are generated by Helium writers. It might be “Which breed of dog is best?” or “Is Obama a Muslim?” or “Do fainting goats really faint?” Different writers answer the same question and their answers compete against one another as writers rate articles against one another.

Each answer has its own web page with Google ads, and the payment for writers is based on a sharing of the revenue. If your answer is rated #1, or even #2-#5, it is more prominent and more likely to be clicked on, generating revenue, but even the lowest rated article can potentially generate income.

Helium has changed its policies since I joined. When I first joined there was no minimum word count for an answer, and so it paid best to give short answers to lots and lots of questions. But some people abused the system— I saw some “answers” that were really just typewritten gibberish with no actual words involved. So Helium established the minimum and began to place greater emphasis on quality.

Currently, the best way to write for Helium is to take it more seriously, as if you were writing an article for Wikipedia. Research your answers, and perhaps write it up on your word processing software before transferring to Helium. It’s best to choose a topic on which you already have some knowledge, to minimize the amount of research needed.

There are other ways to earn on Helium. There are Marketplace articles, in which a publisher will offer a certain amount of money for an article. Writers write the piece to order and the best piece gets the money. There are also writing contests that pay.

Payout on Helium may be a bit confusing. You don’t get the money until you have reached $25, and you must request your money on the last day of the month. If you don’t make that much money in a month, let it accumulate for a few months.

Helium, like Triond, Shvoong and others, is a good way for someone with writing skills to make a little money. It does take work, and you must not take it for granted that every word you write for Helium is going to get high ratings. But it’s a great way to build your writing skills.