Review of Helium.com (update)
See the first part of my review of Helium.com here.
Read an insider’s view of Helium here.
Well, it’s been almost two weeks and I’ve written two articles for Helium.com. You can see them here. One is about Linux, one is about raising teenage sons. For my efforts on those two articles (about an hour total), I’ve earned…three cents! I’m in the money now! Click on the image to see a larger screen shot of my earnings and of the important fine print.
I started to wonder if this is what I could expect for all my work at Helium, so I poked around the members forum. I found an informative discussion about the pay, where one long-time member stated the following:
I’m just trying to keep things in proportion. Every time someone posts to ask where the money is, there are writers who appear to say you CAN make money. Well, you can. But the people who make really good money have contributed several HUNDRED articles, including articles on topics outside their existing knowledge (which means they had to do research, too). That means they must have spent long hours devoted to Helium. If I had that much time I’d have finished my non-fiction books and I’d be busy promoting them. I might also have finished my novel. And I’d be selling on eBay. All those things have the potential to be more lucrative than Helium.
So the correct answer is, yes you can make some pin money on Helium, as a nice bonus to doing something you enjoy. But if money is your priority, go somewhere else.
You can follow the full discussion here.
For even more detail about Helium earnings and how some people are making pretty good money, see this discussion. (Scroll down to a post by Paul)
So I still think Helium.com is a very impressive site and a great way to gain some exposure and learn to write. It can even make you some money. It won’t become a full-time income, though. Sign up with that in mind and you’ll have a good experience.
Next week we’ll feature a guest poster who has written over 900 articles for Helium and is making good money.
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Thats true. Im also a member at helium and so far I wrote lke 5 articles and earned 4 cents. lame. I did work hard, But o well…
I have also started writing articles for Helium a couple of weeks ago and have so far earned about 4 cents. However, when I joined Helium, I was excited about the opportunity to write and contribute to the website with the POSSIBILITY of making money. I knew from the beginning that this would NOT be my big money maker, but I am happy to be able to have the experience of getting my articles published and even have them ranked against my peers. I still feel that Helium is a great site to earn experience if you enjoy writing…yes IF you enjoy writing. If you are joining Helium because you think you can make alot of money writing for the site, then I think you have misjudged the premise of the site.
I agree completely, Annette. Did you see the reviews by other Helium.com writers with far more experience than I have? They’re here:
http://www.ivetriedthat.com/category/heliumcom/
Hi Joe, thank you for the link for other reviews at Helium.com. I did get a chance to take a look at them. At first I was afraid to take a look at them because, I like the Helium website very much! I was afraid to read “the truth” at first but when I did read the comments, I found no surprises about the site and that made me happy to be a contributor.
I want to also say THANK YOU for THIS website, “I’ve tried that”. This website is a terrific eye opener to the current-day scams. I just came upon this website this morning and I am forever greatful for the info here!
Thanks for the kind words!
The “no surprises” aspect of Helium.com is one of its best features. It’s a lively, supportive community of writers. Just don’t plan to get rich and you’ll enjoy your time there.
I posted a reply last week on this so I guess it was deleted. The catch with Helium and again I say I hate to be the grim reaper is that you have to be voted as number one to make any money. The up side is that you do get some kind of exposure if your article makes it to the top twelve.When a search is done under that particular topic the results usually come up in the first page of the search engine.
I joined Helium also , I was sent an invitation to this site. So, having the writing gene in me , I thought what the heck! Give it a try.
I did write a few articles for there and some got rated well and my poetry bombed right away. I was in shock, it was well written. Ok so I can deal with criticism.
I don’t mind doing the rating either, as it is a learning thing. I have read about many things and had the desire to learn more , so I went and looked up more on these subjects, like the Quran, Humanisn, Creationism, etc… I like this site and will keep writing and learn more to improve myself.
I am also a member of Helium.com and I believe it’s important to remember the learning experience from this membership, not the money to be made. You must go to this website NOT with the intention of making money but with the intention of loving to write and read as well. I feel Helium is a great site for this purpose, especially because you have a chance to get your articles rated by your writing peers. This feedback can be very important to the up and coming writer of any genre. Of course, the allure is always the money. We’re all looking to make a buck or million. There are contests on this site though that can get you great exposure to the real world of writing. I do agree that you have to write hundreds of articles in order to usually make any money. If you are a member of this site, I would say to just enjoy the writing and the peer support and you won’t be disappointed. That’s really the essence for me.
I’m not part of Helium but do write for Suite101.com…fairly similar. I’ve written 10 articles in 3 months and received $10. If you have the time to write for these types of websites knowing full-well that monetary compensation won’t be that much, then fill your boots. If anything, it’s good exposure. I’ve had a few people comment on how much they like my work and if I could write for their websites.
Also, the key is to write articles that will generate hits. Money, relationships, or seasonal type articles are all good. I wrote a Valentine’s article just before Valentine’s Day that received 1000s of hits.
By the way, I think I’ve Tried That is great!
To any thinking to join Helium at this time, it should be noted that its earnings model is in transition. For now it is still fairly easy to cash out once a month (minimum $25 required) with a couple of hundred decent articles or even a single good strike. (As a note, a few of my best earners are not in the top ten or even in the top half, so earning is not all about rating.) However, it is much, much easier to achieve this minimum through contests or the Marketplace; and it is likely to become ever more difficult to do so solely through adshare.