by Kimberly A. Smith

Created on: February 08, 2009   Last Updated: February 20, 2010

With the implementation of the Empty Title Bonus, more and more writers are looking to write the first article to a title in eligible categories. The combination of Upfront Payments and the Empty Title Bonus can provide you with up to $3.50 per article upfront, depending on how many writing stars you have. There are several ways to locate these empty titles, as well as some important guidelines to keep in mind.

Browse Categories

Do you love to write about finance, or is literature your thing? Take a look at your favorite sections on Helium to find empty titles that may be right up your alley. Visit a subchannel that you want to write to and change the drop-down menu to read "New Titles: Writers Needed." There may not be empty titles in every channel, but this is a quick way to check the titles that you are most interested in.

Try the Title Finder

Visit your "My Helium" page and click on the "Title Finder" on the right-hand menu. This will bring you to a great search page for finding empty titles. Simply enter keywords and make sure to select the radio button dictating "Empty Only" before you search. Using broad keywords will help you discover the most titles available.

Suggest a New Title

Nothing on the site catching your interest? Why not suggest your own title to Helium? Go to the "My Helium" page and click on "Suggest Title" on the right-hand menu. This will allow you to suggest a new title for the site. You will also need to enter keywords to go with it. Think about search engine optimization when you are creating titles. They should be straightforward and substantive.

Check Before You Write

If you are determined to be the first to contribute to a title group, make sure to click on the title before you begin to write. The database does not update the number of articles written to a title in real time. Just because it says zero does not necessarily mean that it is so. Clicking on the title will let you see if anything has been recently written.

Follow Helium Writing Guidelines

You will not be able to submit your article without meeting the minimum word count, but it is important to follow the user agreement and guidelines as well. If your article is deleted for being off topic, including profanity, or other problems, you will not receive the Empty Title Bonus. Also, it is possible that other people will soon write to the title and it will become competitive. Make sure to develop your article completely so that it does not fall to the bottom of the rankings.

Keep an Eye on Your Percentage

In order to qualify for writing stars, at least 25% of your articles must be written to competitive titles. Luckily, this statistic is now available on your "My Helium" page in the statistics box. Look for the statistic "% in competitive titles" and make sure that it does not drop too low. If you see your number going down, add one or two articles in titles that previously have at least two entries. If you lose your writing stars you will no longer be eligible for an upfront payment on the article.

Writing to Helium is a great way to improve your skills and earn extra cash at the same time. Being the first to write to an empty title in an eligible category can guarantee you a dollar upfront. Add these to your other payments and you can quickly see your Helium earnings grow.

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