Helium, does it work well with HubPages?

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   karpouzianposted 15 years ago

   Since Helium only buys one time rights, and HubPages lets you keep your rights, do the two work well together?  If so/not, is there a combination (involving hubpages) that people like to use?

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      Maddie Ruudposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I assume you mean posting the same content on both sites.  You're actually shooting yourself in the foot by posting content in more than one place, since neither will rank as high on search engines as unique content would in only ONE place.
      
      Edit: Also, I'd beware of Helium.  You cannot delete your content from their site after publication.  Even if you close your account with them, they get to leave the content up.

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         karpouzianposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         I see, so Helium actually posts said topics instead of selling them?  I guess I misunderstood their model.
         
         

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            Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Helium does sell content, but you submit your work to the Marketplace by posting your work on the site.  Once the publisher has chosen the article they want to buy, all the other articles are transferred on to the main Helium site, where they can earn a share of revenue provided you keep your membership active by rating regularly.
            
            You don't have the option to delete your article if it doesn't sell - Helium keeps all articles posted in perpetuity, even if you get banned from the site.

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   Lisa HWposted 15 years ago

   Helium will also sell "stock content".  Anything you submit to Helium is posted on the their site (essentially forever).  If a publisher sees something and wants to buy from "stock content", Helium will sell the writer and e.mail about payment, terms, etc.  Depending on whether they sell license or the article, itself, the article may or may not be removed from Helium.
   
   I've had both happen, but Helium keeps changing.  There's a chance they do things differently now.

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   earnestshubposted 15 years ago

   helium is an inflated site.

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      nicompposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, but it will rise above the other sites. Except for Hydrogen.com

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   darksideposted 15 years ago

   I've been going over Helium with a fine toothed comb. In fact, I'll be publishing a hub on it soon. In comparison to HubPages I think it fails. But that's my opinion. Others can get it to work for them, but I see that it would require far more effort than what I put into HubPages.
   
   If you're looking for another site to complement what you're doing at HubPages (publishing similar themed articles and wanting to tap into a different audience and also get some SEO benefit for the backlinking) then I suggest Gather. It's quick, it's easy, and you can make money.
   
   For me it used to be a split decision between HubPages and Squidoo but this year I've noticed that HubPages have really hit some home runs with the quality of their communication and customer service.

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      karpouzianposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I may just check it out.  Writing 'mini' versions of my articles shouldn't be too difficult.  Of course I'll change up the content.  Is this what you are suggesting?

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         darksideposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         That's one way that it can be done.
         
         Sometimes I revisit something I've published elsewhere and write a separate, yet related, article and throw in the backlink. Not a stand out CLICK ME! CLICK ME! But I'll highlight and hyperlink an appropriate keyword.
         
         300 words ought to do the trick.

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      lakeerieartistsposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I write on all three sites, and I agree with Darkside that Hubpages is better than Helium. Helium primarily pays on page views, so if you write an article on a popular topic it adds up pretty quickly, but you can't control ads like you do on Hubpages.
      
      Squidoo is a whole different animal, but right now I am getting more Google love on Hubpages.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Darkside, I believe that all those who think Helium 'works for them' are naive.  For most of them, Helium is their only experience of writing for the internet.  It's a bit like Today.com where writers also believe what the site tells them about how to make money, and in the process settle for pennies when they could be earning dollars.
      
      I used to write for Helium - have you read my Hub?  May be useful in putting yours together.

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         darksideposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         I actually read your hub on it a long long time ago (you did write it a long long time ago didn't you?). If I'm correct, at the time when I read it you were still writing the occasional Helium article?
         
         I think I'll need to revisit it. Though I won't quote from it. But I will link to it!
         
         Mine will probably be short and sweet in comparison. I've written just under 500 words. I've only used the site for publishing one article (to get a backlink and the hope of traffic to a Capstone hub I published) so I don't have the same ire that others (so deservedly) have for it.

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            Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, I did write the Hub a long time ago but I've revised it several times since then, to keep up to date with Helium's ever-changing rules! 
            
            I stopped writing for Helium almost as soon as I found HubPages, but I dropped in regularly to the forums (and glad I did, otherwise I'd never have known about the rule changes and would've lost income).
            
            I started writing there again, briefly, when they started allowing hyperlinks in the articles.  Then I discovered all the links are no-follow so I stopped.

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   lrohnerposted 15 years ago

   Helium is fading fast. And they continue to have problems finding folks to buy their articles. I actually went through the process with them and put in an order for and purchased an article (cuz, you see, you have to pay for the article before you see what you have to choose from). The result was sad, very sad.

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6. 61

   Randy Godwinposted 15 years ago

   Helium has 109 of my articles of which I receive nothing in return.  I was banned from the site when I exposed that some of the "volunteer stewards" were getting paid.  I also informed the members the stewards perks the common member didn't.  I now find my work being sold on Amazon with no recompense to me.
   
   They do not have to have a reason to ban you and keep your work.  The TOS changes faster than Superman in a phone booth and some of the Helium cronies are like nazis.  Censorship is their best and most used tool.
   
   Don't even consider the Helium site as it seems to be going downhill quickly.  There are some good people writing there and I feel bad for them if Helium goes bust, but the creeps running it deserve what they get.
   
   (in case you misunderstand, I hate everything about Helium, not just their guts.)

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      karpouzianposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      You can sell hubs/articles on Amazon?!?

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         Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         The Helium article in question is in a book.  When you post an article on Helium, you agree that they have the right to reproduce the article in anthologies etc, without any further payment.
         
         Helium writers have no right to complain about it, really. We all ticked the "I agree" box without reading the terms and conditions properly.  I guess none of us expected Helium to take advantage of the terms and conditions - one of which is that they can change the terms and conditions whenever and however they like, and even if you don't like it, you can't remove your articles.
         
         Unfortunately it took me too long (191 articles-worth) to realize what I'd signed up for.

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            Randy Godwinposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Actually, Helium sold the mystery story out of my portfolio to 5 Minute Mysteries for a one time usage.  5MM is now selling my story as an Amazon Kindle book.  This is an electronically downloaded story sold to anyone with a Kindle machine.  I have no idea how many of my articles Helium has sold at this point but they keep the money, of course.

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               Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

               Randy, I'm pretty sure that publishing your story in a Kindle book would count as a "one time usage", because they are only using it in one publication. 
               
               If they had already published it in some other publication, then you should complain to Helium - whether you're banned or not.

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                  Randy Godwinposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                  Marisa, 5MM published it on their website (they had previously bought another mystery story from me on marketplace)then placed it for sale on Amazon making it a double dip. 
                  
                  Continually selling it to all buyers doesn't seem like a one time use but no matter, they can do whatever they choose it seems.  My account was closed with a vague reason for doing so.  There is no appeal no matter what the reason for banning.  The stewards (at least some of them) are told to publicly vouch for any controversial changes on the site. 
                  
                  At least one of the stewards quit when finding out others were getting paid while she was not.  I received apologies from those defending the lies after they found out I was telling the truth which they were not aware of at the time.  The corruption goes right to the top as I talked to Mark Ranalli shortly before being banned.  Although I detest them continuing to use my articles, I hate them using my name on the site even more.

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   darksideposted 15 years ago

   Yes, you certainly have added to it in the last two years! (I see I made a comment two years ago).
   
   Excellent information, people need to read it for an honest review on Helium.
   
   My experience has been far far less, but it'll be a good appetizer before people get to dine on the main course which will be where I suggest they go if they want to find out more.

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   Marisa Wrightposted 15 years ago

   Thanks for the compliment - and the plug!

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   lakeerieartistsposted 15 years ago

   I am going to read it right now.    Love to hear about other people's experiences and insight.  Maybe I can learn something.

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