by Elizabeth A. Marion

Created on: July 12, 2010

There are many aspects to being a member of Helium. Having been a member since 2008, I view Helium as a website that gives writers a lot of exposure and a lot of opportunities.

Writing

For a new or experienced writer, Helium is an excellent website to write articles for. One of the main reasons I like to write for Helium is to gain experience. There are so many topics to write to on the site and members can even suggest titles of their own to be approved by the staff. Earning more ad revenue by writing to higher paying channels is also an incentive to try writing on subjects that I don't normally write about.

Quick Publishing

Articles written for Helium can be published to the website immediately. No query letters, no calls to the editor. All the writer needs to do is write their article, type it into the text box, and click on Publish.

Leapfrogging and Typo Fix

Articles with mistakes in them can be fixed. Mistakes can usually not be fixed for articles submitted to other sites. For a few typos, Helium members can email the staff to have those typos fixed. If an article needs more work than that, they can use the leapfrog system to fix it. However, once an article has been leapfrogged it is up to the raters to decide which one will actually be on Helium. Still, this opportunity for writers to improve articles they have already published to a website is rare.

Earning

Helium writers can earn ad revenue from the articles they write. Ad revenue can be increased by writing to the right topics and promoting articles. Writers can also earn from a variety of bonuses and additional payments.

Rating

While I generally like the Helium rating system it can be frustrating sometimes. The problem is more with the raters themselves than the rating system. Since the rating bonus is an incentive to earn and keep rating stars most Helium members have an interest in doing so, but this does not mean that every Helium member who rates articles will fully read the articles or take the responsibility of rating seriously. Because of this articles that are poorly written or off topic can sometimes rise to the top while articles that are better written may sink to the bottom. Despite the negative effect this will have on a member's writing score, it can give them an idea of how others respond to their writing, even if it is based on a glance.

Contests

Several contest titles are added to Helium each week and Helium members have two weeks to submit their articles. The contests are not easy to win, but the prize money is usually pretty good, ranging from ten to fifty dollars. The contests also consists of a variety of topics, which will make them interesting to more Helium members. Even if a member does not win any prize money, they will still earn ad revenue from the articles they submit.

Being a member of Helium encompasses a lot of things. There are a lot of opportunities for writers at Helium. Knowing how to take advantage of them comes with learning more about Helium and getting into the habit of writing for Helium regularly.

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