Aug 16 2008
Making Money with Your Writing on Helium.com
You’ve posted your article on Helium.com , you’ve got your first published piece for your resume’ (which took you all of five minutes to do), you’re on the fast track. Now, how about we make some money on Helium too?
Other Helium writers will be rating your articles. The higher rated your article is, the more money you’ll make. If you’ve spent any time reading the articles other writers have posted on Helium, you’ll see that there are writers at many different experience levels on the site. Unfortunately, this means that the quality of the articles ranges from good to really, really bad. This can be used to your advantage, however.
When rating articles, one of the first things everyone judges is readability. Walls o’ text (articles with no breaks between paragraphs) will never be highly rated- so make sure you break up your page with spaces between paragraphs. The second thing that stands out when rating Helium articles is spelling and grammar. Even those writers who have mistakes in their own writing will be super picky when reading- and rating- yours.
Your lead-in paragraph (or introduction) is also extremely important. It MUST entice the rater to want to read more or you are screwed. If I don’t want to read you’re article, I’m not going to rate it as better than another in your category. Voice is another important factor. Some articles require a third person narrative. It is extremely unprofessional to use your own experiences as examples in journalistic type articles. When writing a personal essay type article first person is not only appropriate, it is also enticing.
Come back tomorrow, and we’ll discuss Marketplace articles on Helium. These articles pay more (way more), but also have stiff competition. Let me help with that!
*Is there anything you’d like me to write about on this blog? Since it is a resource for you, feel free to tell me what to cover! Leave your comments and I’ll oblige when possible.
I tried helium just this past week… am SO bored with the rating thing… and so unimpressed with the .09 I’ve earned so far!
Has writing on Helium been worth it for you?
Only in that it helped me get my first real freelance job. I think the Marketplace has potential for new writers, but once you’ve established yourself it’s pointless. It’s also good to get feedback inthe form of ratings. Otherwise, no. I hate rating too, and sometimes- articles are bad and bad- how do you rate that??