by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: April 30, 2009

There is no foolproof system for writing articles that earn high ratings at Helium. This is largely due to the fact that we have no way of predicting who will be rating our articles and/or of catering in this way to individual tastes or opinions. All we can do is take the factors listed below in to account and hope that we do so to sufficient extent as to impress our peers and leave them feeling that they have read an article of value.

The first rule for writing a quality article on Helium which will stand the best chance of earning high ratings is to write to a subject which we know a great deal about. The variety of subjects covered on Helium means that the vast majority of writers should experience no problems in this respect. The writer should select a category from the home page, followed by as many sub-categories as may be required and will hopefully come up with an article title to which they can write with knowledge and authority.

If there is a particularly specialised subject to which the writer wishes to write, or one in relation to which he simply cannot find an appropriate title, it is possible for the writer to suggest a title to Helium. This is done from the writer's, "My Helium," page and is subject to approval by Helium staff. The writer will subsequently receive an e-mail advising them whether the new title has been approved or not, as the case may be.

It is vital that the writer pay close attention to the word count and character count required for the Helium article title to which they intend to write. The majority of titles on Helium have a 400 word minimum content requirement but in certain instances, this can be higher or lower. If the minimum word count is, for example, 750 words, yet the writer's knowledge is limited upon the subject, they should not attempt to "pad" out their article with essentially meaningless or diverse material. All content within the body of the article should be both precise and relevant to the topic as suggested by the article title.

The writer must be extremely conscious of their paragrpah structure, grammar and spelling as they are writing their article. Every one of us makes miniscule mistakes in this respect at one time or another but we must ensure that same are kept to an absolute minimum. This is also, therefore, where the reviewing of our article after we have written same comes in to play.

It is vital when we have written our article that we do not simply press, "Publish," and wish it good luck in its rating journey. We should make use of the, "Spellcheck," and, "Preview," tools as provided and take the opportunity to ensure that our article is as professional and polished as possible.

The above guidelines can never ensure that our articles will enjoy high ratings at Helium - but they will go a long way to ensure that they stand the best chance of doing same.

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