by Joan Inong

Created on: April 13, 2009

Although you can't immediately expect to pay your monthly mortgage with your Helium earnings, you can use Helium's potential to your advantage so that you can have a little more than pocket change. Many people doubt that they will ever make a whole lot of money on sites like Helium, but with a little work, patience, and practice, you'll see that there are simple steps that, when taken, allow you to make a bit more money on Helium.

Choice of articles

The types of articles that you write will determine how much money you ultimately make at Helium. If you are going to write on titles that have a "longevity effect," then you'll end up making more money in the long run. What "longevity effect" means is that the article title will hold interest or importance to people now and in the future. These articles are great because they consistently earn you money every month, every year. The other type of articles are "short burst effect" articles because they offer earnings for only a short period of time. For instance, articles about the holidays will earn much more during the actual holidays than on other days of the year. Also, if you choose titles in Personal Finance, you have a chance of earning more from those articles than articles written under Biography.

Fear not

Often, Helium writers fear Marketplace and contests because they don't think that their writing is "good enough." However, always remember the old adage, "You don't know until you try it." In most cases, this adage holds true, and in this case, it really does. You won't know how well you'll do unless you try your hand at writing articles in Marketplace and in the Helium contests. Again, there is more money to be made in these two venues than in any other part of the site, unless you have written an article that is so popular and so interesting that it makes hundreds in one day. This usually does not happen, so writing in Marketplace and in the contests will earn you some money until that time comes.

Advertise yourself

Whether you do it on Facebook, your own personal blog, or through Twitter, advertising yourself is equally important in helping you make more money on Helium. Try to make your non-Helium network as large as possible. If you can, join some writing forums and you might find a place for self-advertisement there (though don't bring it up in your first few posts or so).

These are only the big three in determining how much money you'll earn at Helium. Although Helium now offers upfront payments and the Empty Title Bonus, you can increase your earnings from those articles as well by choosing good, "longevity effect" titles, venturing into Marketplace and contests, and by advertising yourself intelligently.

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