by Eric Bailey

Created on: January 29, 2010

Helium strives to provide readers with high-quality knowledge-based web content, including partnering with outside publishers in order to deliver their needs through the Marketplace feature that members can contribute to. To maintain this mission, Helium offers its members significant benefits, including a constructive discussion community and the chance to gain real earnings on pieces.

However, in their desire to take advantage of all Helium has to offer, some writers may not yet be optimally equipped to give Helium the type of content it is aiming for. The Helium website is set up to offer “web copy,” which is just one way of saying that its articles should reflect writing that has been intentionally written for internet readers: People who likely are using Google to search for a topic they are interested in, people who are not looking to devote a notable time investment in web-reading, and people who are easily swayed into other distractions and pursuits in their busy life.

In order to set a Helium member up for overall success in rankings, in earnings, and for the general mission of Helium, a few guidelines should be kept in mind with every submission.

Brevity

In a fast-paced, multi-tasking, Web 3.0+ world, net-surfers are not using their content access to read novels or find a thorough knowledge outside of academic institutions. Instead, they are seeking noteworthy works concerning current events, or perhaps articles that have answers to their questions.

To best meet the needs of a web audience, articles should be kept short. In fact, in general, the shorter the better is an applicable axiom. Although an article may require a lot of detail in order to adequately explain a topic, a quality presentation can be made using smart, efficient, word choice. The minimum on Helium is 400 words, and members should not be afraid to strive for, say, 500-word articles. Rather than a penalty for short articles, they can safely be considered a benefit.

Clarity

Helium is not a writing workshop, nor is it a medium through which contributors can constantly tinker and edit their submitted works. Helium has a high standard of expectation from their members, and desires the best that they can offer.

Toward this purpose, writers should ensure that their articles are perfectly free of typos, grammatical errors, and other English-use issues. Every submission should be clear in its formatting; for instance, there should be spacing between paragraphs to enhance readability. But even after posting a piece, the responsibility to provide high quality can continue: Members have the opportunities to fix typos, and should take advantage when they spot any in their materials.

Quality

Entire other series of articles can be written to give peoples’ opinions on what constitutes a high-quality article, but the foundational truth is this: No matter what anyone says, no matter where the disagreements lie, no matter what picky little niches hardcore authors adhere to, writing for quality should be a priority for Helium members. The biggest tip is simply that: Do your best.

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