May 13, 2009 Mommy Discovers Helium

Helium is not a recent discovery; but, as promised, I am going to begin discussing different programs I've tried in more detail. Helium is a writing site. The goal is to reward good writing through peer review. Thus, there are two parts to the site for its members: writing and rating. Writing is supposed to be done to professional standards. While some members can't seem to remember that, this rule means works should be fairly free of errors and written in the third person. Helium gives an upfront payment for all articles in addition to residual payments for your articles. The upfront payments range from $0.50 to $2.50 depending on how many articles you have published and how well they are rated as a body of work (you can still get paid for a poorly rated article as long as your average rating stays high). Upfront payments are added to your Helium account on the first of the month for articles published up to the 24th of the month. Credit is conditional upon the rating system. Residual income is calculated daily and is also dependent on the rating system.

The rating system is a little difficult to understand. To remain active on the site (and thus be eligible for payments of any kind) you must complete at least ten rates every thirty days. Using some kind of computer algorithm, Helium decides the quality of your rates and assigns a percentage, just like they do for your writing, and then gives you stars based on this percentage and the number of rates. They keep stats for both thirty and ninety days, so your stars are based on whichever stat gives you the most stars as long as you have your ten rates in the last thirty days. If you have at least one star at the end of the day, you will receive residual income. If you have at least one star on the last day of the month, you will be credited all your upfront payments for the payment period. The best way to keep your stars is to read the rating guidelines and rate a few articles on a regular basis. My first month, I was just enjoying reading other people's articles so I rated a large number in a short amount of time. As a result, my percentage dropped, I lost all my stars and I did not get paid any upfront payments. The next month, I rated at a more consistent pace and had no problems. Reading through the forums, the rating stars are a constant source of problems, especially for new members, but if you keep from going rating crazy and follow the site guidelines, you should be fine.

So, what do you write on Helium? Whatever you want. Find a title you like, then write an article to match the title. If you don't think your article matches the title after all, sugget a new title. If Helium accepts it, you'll get $1 for being the first person to write to a new title. Also, check out the Marketplace. These titles have been submitted by publishers and have specific instructions. The publisher will read through all the submitted articles and pay the stated amount to the "winner". Everybody else will have their articles transition to the website and get paid at normal rates. Helium also sells article publication rights for stock content. What this means is if a publisher likes an article you've already submitted to the site, Helium will give them permission to print it and you get paid $5. You still own your article and it can sell over and over again. It doesn't sound like much, but it also takes no work on your part and is more than you were originally paid when you submitted the article to Helium.

Helium is a great option for the mom who wants to write. While there is a minimum time commitment just to stay active on the site, the upfront payments allow you to have some control over how much you make in a month. I admittedly haven't written an article since my second child was born (almost eight weeks), but I figure I'll go back to writing when I get back into my groove. Payout is $25, which is really attainable when you think about it, just make sure you look at the Help section (formerly User's Guide) before getting started so you don't get surprised later. Good luck!

~Beth~
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