by Charles Bobbitt

Created on: September 18, 2010

All other things being equal, it makes sense to only write to titles that, unlike Helium debates, provide upfront payments. But experienced writers understand that all other things are seldom equal. There are often solid reasons to write to debate titles, despite the fact that they are not eligible for upfront payments.

Increasing your upfront payments is, oddly, one of the best reasons to join in the Helium debates. The amount of upfront payment you make for each eligible article depends on how many writing stars that you have. The number of stars you have depends on the number of articles you have written and your writing score. If you have more articles and a higher writing score, you will have more stars, and therefore higher upfront payments.

If you only write to titles eligible for upfront payments, though, you run the risk of losing stars. To qualify for upfront payments, you have to be one of the first five to write to a title. When you have articles in titles with so few competitors, your writing score can jump around wildly. Writing stars can flicker on and off so quickly that you may think your computer has a shorted circuit. In fact, the upfront payment criteria were chosen, in part, to entice writers to publish to these star-risky titles that they had formerly avoided.

Debate titles, on the other hand, usually attract a large number of writers. It is therefore much easier for experienced writers to get a higher, more stable article rank in these titles. Furthermore, articles for debate titles often require less time to research and write than articles written for titles eligible for upfront payments. You can write more articles in a shorter period of time. Higher rankings and more articles means more writing stars and a higher upfront payment.

Debate titles also give you a chance to write about things for which you are passionate. If you write only to titles eligible for upfront payments, you will eventually find yourself writing about things which you have little or no interest in. You continue to write to those titles, though, for the chance to earn the upfront payment. With Helium debates, you write about things that interest you, and often things that are very dear to you. This type of writing can be refreshing - giving you the chance to write what is in your heart.

Finally, writing to debate titles increases your exposure. Successful writers must find ways to attract readers. If you rank at or near the top in a debate title, many people will read your article. If they like that article, they will seek out other articles that you have written. At the very least, you will get an increase in page view earnings. You may also attract some readers who will later want to purchase one or more of your articles as stock content. When you increase your exposure, anything can happen.

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