Hellium.com

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   caravalhophotoposted 14 years ago

   Just signed up with Hellium.com and it seems like a great way to make money with writing, has anybody had any success or advise?

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      Veronica Allenposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I have had some success with them, my only piece of advise, is to read the fine print (much like any business venture you may take). The writing site has been a great "starter writing site" for me, a place to get my feet wet so-to-speak. I've written for the Marketplace as well and have had several articles purchased from the site. I hope you find some success with them.

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         starme77posted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Its helped me becaus it has been a few years since graduating from college for writing. I used to be really really good  , but am now rusty on things like grammar and spelling , helium likes to point that out and I can use the constructive critisim , so for me , its helpful in that way

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            Randy Godwinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Avoid the writing contests.  What many members do not realize is that stewards can choose to rate in any topic (unlike ordinary members) so it is possible for them to rate articles competing against their entries down.  They can also reject leapfrogs (edits) of contest articles competing with theirs or their fellow stews.  It only takes 3 rejections for the leaps to fail.  At last check, over one third of the contests were won by stewards.  Quality plays a small part in winning these contests.

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               Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               I didn't know that about the contests, but my thinking has always been that I don't want to write according to a potential buyer's guidelines, only to discover the potential buyer doesn't want my work.  If I want to write according to guidelines I'll find an assignment and be sure that, as long as I produce something professional and according to the guidelines, I'll be paid for my work.  I don't mind writing to guidelines if I know I'll be paid, but if I have no idea about whether I'll earn anything or not, I figure I may a well take my chances writing whatever I feel like writing. 

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               Veronica Allenposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               I oftened wondered about those writing contest. I joined one at one point and I couldn't figure out how they tallied the scores. This explanation is very enlightening.

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      Randy Godwinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      They have over hundred of my articles which I receive no revenue from.  They are able to ban you for any or no reason and keep your work with no compensation to you. 
      
      They do not tell you how many page views you receive nor the percentage of income from your work they are giving you.  Some staff members are complete cretins who do not mind lying to or about you.  I should know, I have experienced all of these things and more from the crooks.  Stay far, far, away!

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      AEvansposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I don't recommend it at all, downside if you write on there and do not write for awhile they lock you out of your own account and steal all of your work you no longer have access too. Thank goodness I kept mine on word. It is not the place to be and I completely agree with Marissa, bottom line bad news.

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   Marisa Wrightposted 14 years ago

   I don't recommend it.  You can't delete your articles,  they're constantly changing the rules and their payment formula is not transparent. I've written a Hub about it (you can find it by checking my profile).
   
   I have 191 articles on Helium, most of them have been sitting there for two full years.  They've made about $300. 
   
   I have 92 articles on HubPages which have made me well over $1,000 in the same time - and by no means all of them have been on the site for the whole two years. 
   
   No contest for me.

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   caravalhophotoposted 14 years ago

   Thanks for the review of Hellium hubbers...I think I will heed the advise and stay close to home...

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   lrohnerposted 14 years ago

   RUN, FORREST, RUN!

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      caravalhophotoposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      

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         Randy Godwinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         "Momma was a smart La-die."

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   sunforgedposted 14 years ago

   helium is a step BACK from hubpages, if you want to spread your writing around helium is far from your next best choice after hubpages.
   
   Infobarrels is getting lots of great reviews
   
   I like my experience at Factoidz so far (3.-5. per 1000) views
   
   Examiner may be worth a try if you can keep a decent output (daily or close to daily postings)
   
   http://hubpages.com/tag/writing+for+money/hot

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   janiek13posted 14 years ago

   I joined Helium and they sent me an e-mail promising 5.00 dollars for my first article, now I can't get an answer from them. I have e-mailed them 3 or 4 times, needless to say, no 5.00 dollars. At least it was only one article, which I will probably post elsewhere.

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      Randy Godwinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I have no idea how many of my articles they have sold as stock content.  One of my mystery stories is presently for sale on Amazon kindle books.  Of course, I get nothing for it but my name on the story.

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         Veronica Allenposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         That sucks! I hate to hear that. I don't write for them as much anymore since I started here on Hubpages. I do still rate so that I can keep my account "active".

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            Randy Godwinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            One has to write to several topics and leap those scoring low at the very last minute before the contest ends so they end up at 50% or higher.  Any article below 50% gives you minus points which hurts your total.  You will often see very bad spelling and grammar in the winning articles and this is the reason.  A few weeks after the contest is over the better articles rank higher than the winners in many cases.  It is not good writing but strategy, and being a steward helps vastly.

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   Pearldiverposted 14 years ago

   I had $5 put in an account (an inaccessible one) for my first article. It is still there the CPI will reduce it's value over time.
   What Randy has said about the writing contests is very true and I found that my fishing articles were far superior in content and factual advice to others who wrote in the contest.  My work got ranked at #1 until two days before close and at close had mysteriously dropped to #6 (a No Benefit spot).
   The articles that earned were BS in regard to reality of info. The winner (a Steward) clearly knew Nothing about fishing, yet won the bucks!
   I then got emailed by the guy telling me that I couldn't use my name Pearldiver as it showed me to be 'flakey!' Clearly, I was a threat to his earning ability. In return, I double-barrelled him and he complained that I wasn't suitable to their requirements. Each month I get 'Please Write' emails and they can have my work... It will stand out from the flakey ones
   Not interested in competing with idiots.

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      Randy Godwinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Live and learn eh Pearldiver?  The stewards have their own forum not accessible to ordinary members.  I should know as I was the subject of one of the threads.  When I revealed the fact of stewards receiving money when claiming to be volunteers they dogged me out on this thread.  Not only the stews but the head lady joined in calling me names.  They didn't know someone was sending me copies of the thread.
      
      You see, not all of the stew were getting paid and some were working to help the site for nothing while others got paid.  They finally came clean about the paid volunteers but banned me before fully explaining the perks the stews possessed.  They told me to wait a few days and they would fill in the members.  I agreed and they banned me with false reasons.  Sound like a place anyone would want to entrust with their work?

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         Pearldiverposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         You Snake!!!!!
         Sounds like a great venue for an end of time party!

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            Randy Godwinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            You're right!  Aren't you supposed to be learning to line dance?

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               habeeposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Ya know, RD, I would give $100 to see you line dance - while wearing a cowboy hat and boots!

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                  Randy Godwinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  Dream on! There are some clothes even I won't wear.

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   Sexy jontyposted 14 years ago

   I have really not good experience with it .....

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   habeeposted 14 years ago

   I've had great success on Helium. For a while, I was earning $1,000 per month there. I wrote a couple of hubs about it. Most of the money was for selling articles to publishers in Marketplace. IMO, that's the best part of Helium. I've sold articles there for as much as $200 each.
   
   For residual earning from adsense, HP is better. And like Randy said, the contests are wanky (is that a word?). I don't care for their rating system, either.
   
   Also, keep in mind that they keep your articles forever - even if you quit or get kicked off.
   
   If you're looking for a good place to sell articles, join Helium. If not, don't.

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      Randy Godwinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Holle's right about marketplace as I sold not only creative writing but travel articles there for decent bucks.  But even Marketplace has gotten worse according to some.  They seldom meet deadlines and sometimes the publishers purchasing the articles buy nothing.
      
      Holle (Habee) sold more marketplace articles than anyone else I'm aware of.  You go girl!  Nope, change that, you stay girl!

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    Pearldiverposted 14 years ago

    Yep.... I've learned that it's far more enjoyable to Zig when they call Zag and Zag when they are Zigging!   But hey, I don't wear Cowboy Boots well

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    habeeposted 14 years ago

    Dang! There goes my greatest fantasy!

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    janiek13posted 14 years ago

    As I said, they won't reply to my e-mails, which makes me think they are shady. I don't like shady. I am happy here and so far, no shady.

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       Randy Godwinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Consider yourself lucky Janie.  I've saved some of the e-mails from Helium in case I ever need them.  They think nothing of lying to you and usually blame another staff member for a particular problem. 
       
       They play the old "good guy, bad guy" routine quite often.  They quickly delete and close any thread getting too close to the truth about the way things are run on the site. They will not tell how many members have been banned from the site. 
       
       My profile is still up as if I am an active member.  Do not trust their numbers pertaining to number of writers as they count those kicked off the site.

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          janiek13posted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Yeah, I do consider myself lucky, at least I didn't put a lot of work in it. I think I will go and copy my article to my computer in case they lock me out. Btw, tagfoot just suspended my account and they want me to pay five dollars to get back in. Huh! Anybody have any experience with them?

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             Randy Godwinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             You can still access the site and the forums even if banned Janie.  I still check out the threads and laugh at the stupid excuses the stews give the newbies for things that don't sound right.

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    habeeposted 14 years ago

    So, are y'all going to Mauk?

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       janiek13posted 14 years agoin reply to this

       What?

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    habeeposted 14 years ago

    Sorry, Jan. That was for Randy.

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       Randy Godwinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       We plan to Holle.

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    habeeposted 14 years ago

    You suck! (That was for Randy, also.)

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       Randy Godwinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       You wish!

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    tony0724posted 14 years ago

    I might be crazy but I am not concerned about the money factor . If I was I would be more concerned about what you want to see then about what I want to say. I just joined Helium and I kinda like the fact that you cannot use videos and pictures. ( Or at least I do not know how ) So I have to rely on my remedial writing skills. So it forces me to try and Improve.
    As I say in my profile , I am not a writer I am just a guy with an opinion

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       habeeposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Yes, Tony, I do think it's a good place for writers who wish to improve their writing skills. And no, you can't add pics or videos to your articles.

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       Randy Godwinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I understand what you mean Tony.  I thought everyone was so helpful and nice at first and money is not the main reason I write either.  But I do have to be able to trust a site to a certain extent and the money is one indication of how well you are doing.  You certainly can't go by the rating system at Helium, or for most sites for that matter as they all have their "secret" algorithms.
       
       Rating sloppy and fast usually gets easy rating stars at Helium. I achieved 5 stars quickly doing this to prove a point and kept them for several months.  This is the reason a #1 ranked article can have a whole paragraph consisting of one sentence, no punctuation, and filled with misspelled words.  Good luck finding out anything useful on Helium.

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    habeeposted 14 years ago

    OMG, Randy, I almost forgot to tell you: Johnny put on his warm jogging pants tonight, and the drawstring was gone, so they were too big for him. The next time I saw him, he was wearing a pair of briefs OVER the jogging pants in order to hold them up!!! I tried to take a pic, but he said he didn't know where the camera was. Yeah, right! I'm sure he hid it.

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    caravalhophotoposted 14 years ago

    I read every response to my question and am glad I posted the question before actually doing any type of writing on Hellium, It sounds as if only disappointment would have come.
    
    Is that true about all writing contests or just Hellium's contests?  That they are pretty much rigged for some free articles/writings?
    
    Thanks Hubbers for passing down the wisdom...much appreciated.

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    Herald Dailyposted 14 years ago

    Never, ever, ever would I go back to Helium.  I read on the first page (of this thread) someone mentioning that they can ban you - yup, but you probably won't get notified until you try to get your money.
    
    Sorry, I know that a lot of people have had luck with them and I'm happy for those folks but I don't trust that site.

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