by Kimberly A. Smith

Created on: January 23, 2009   Last Updated: December 12, 2009

Writing to the Marketplace can seem like gambling. You compose what you believe to be a wonderful article, only to have it transition to the main Helium site a week later. Learning to write for the Marketplace and sell your articles can drastically increase your monthly earnings. To maximize profits without spending all day writing to titles, follow these helpful tricks and tips.

* Read the Guidelines

While this may sound like an obvious piece of advice, too many writers do not carefully follow the directions that the publishers have set. You may disagree with some of the directions, but if you want to sell the article you should try to follow them closely. Writing twice as many words because you think the topic is interesting will most likely hurt your chances.

* Check the Publisher Page

If you click on the name of the publisher, you will be taken to a page with a description of the company. Not every publisher has helpful information on their "About Me" page, but it never hurts to check. You may learn something about the publication's mission or audience that helps you tailor your article and improves your chances of a sale.

* Write What You Know

While that article on legal advice may have a big paycheck attached to it, if you don't know anything on the subject you might spend hours researching it. If your article is not chosen, all that research will only bring you an upfront payment and revenue share. Focusing on subjects that you already have some knowledge of, or that require minimal research, will ensure that your hourly rate for Marketplace submissions is as high as it can be.

* Keep an Eye on the Clock

Make sure you know what time midnight GMT is in your time zone. Though you may have written an amazing article, it cannot be selected if you miss the deadline. Remember that GMT is not affected by Daylight Savings Time, so your personal deadline will change with it.

* Submit to Publishers Who Have Purchased Your Articles

If you have had success in the past selling to a particular publisher, take note of any future titles they offer. It stands to reason that your writing style suits their publication, so you may have a slight advantage the next time around. Maintain your previous style or format unless the directions specify that they want something different for the new title.

* Proofread

Submitting a professional article is crucial. Though publishers will edit small typos, do you really want to confuse "their" and "there" in your writing? Take a moment to reread your article one final time before hitting submit. You may catch mistakes that your spell checker did not.

If you take care to write quality Marketplace, you can learn to maximize your income on Helium. There are writers who have earned more than $1000 per month from Marketplace sales alone by writing to as many of them as time allows. Above all, be sure to follow the directions, even if you disagree with them. Your Earnings and Payment page will thank you.

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