Question: Do I really get paid for submitting a question or answer in here?
Answer: Only if you stick with the site long enough to reach the minimum payout! Look around in the forums and at Helium-related answers and you'll find countless contributors who have spent many months and many hours per month working to reach the bare minimum payout: $25. Many other authors simply give up before reaching that level because it simply takes too long. So, yes, in theory you could be paid for submitting an answer, but in practice many people aren't because they never reach the $25 level!
All of the above answer information is true and reflects common knowledge amongst veteran Helium.com writers. There are many posts in the Helium.com forums from people who have indeed been using Helium.com regularly for months but have not made the $25 required to be paid for their efforts. They also contain personal stories of people who have left before earning $25. So, the answer contained valuable information, and was ranked highest by users out of all answers in the category. Moreover, many other answers were deleted to that same question. Most or all of these answers were not plagiarized, offensive or otherwise in violation of Helium's Terms of Service and yet they were all deleted without warning or explanation. Visit the following site for a complete listing of both questions and articles discussed in this article that have been deleted from Helium.com without explanation. This site also contains a variety of other articles related to Helium.com and associated scandals.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - fornls
It really irritates to think about writing there, keeping these facts in mind. There are really better works to do.
2 - allsux
Agreed - and what irritates me more is that they don't let this kind of information onto the site, so many writers labor under the false impression that the site is worth their time and energy.
Meanwhile, this article already needs an update: many of the censored 'answers' presented above have also had their associated 'questions' subsequently deleted.
Moreover, Helium has removed one of its primary sections - an area where writers write about Helium. In the process, they deleted a whole host of articles and moved some other articles into sub-sub-sections of the site. I guess Helium was getting sick of having to constantly censor their authors ...
3 - Adubb
Unlike other comments, I have had luck with Helium. I write for the site and find intelligent information: this puts Helium above other sites. I find it refreshing knowing that posts are being monitored: nothing is worse than incorrect information. Helium does not breed ignorance...
4 - allsux
It doesn't? Then why do top-ranked articles (out of dozens or even hundreds in some cases) contain false information? Why does Helium literally refuse to remove demonstrably inaccurate content? Their own policies state that bad content can't be flagged and deleted.
5 - Karen
I have been a member of Helium for a number of months and have not been satisfied with their rating system.
I personally believe that a writer should have a strong command of the English language and noticed that many of the articles ranked as number #1 are written poorly and lack any factual content.
It also appears as if some of the articles were written by people with a grade school education or less. How some of these articles are rated so highly is quite astounding to me.
6 - TheFan
I think that helium is a good chance to work on your writing skills. It is also a place where you can get exposure for possibilities because writing is so broad. It is not for a source of income, or a place to depend on. It is a place that you can use to copyright you work if you are in the field fulltime. Helium is a place to get connected with other companies if you are persistent enough and have a strong passion for the topics. Helium has magazine CEO and editors looking for ideas. My experiences with helium have done well for me. I don't use Helium as a source of income but a source of reference. In the world of writing you have to watch what you write and your views have to pertain to the general audience and not just your point of view. Helium has giving me a closer connection to some of the celebrities that hide their ID's just to express their views. Some of these celebrities send comments to people that can move them with the power of words. So helium is more for how you use it and not how you can make from it.
7 - Urbanist
Then why does helium spend so much time and effort selling itself as a place to earn money writing? Why do they delete articles that imply people don't earn a lot? If what you are saying is true, that's fine, but that's not the way Helium presents itself.
8 - K.J. Lussier
Slightly bored and searching for an outlet I came across the Helium site. Then, only a brief mouse click away, I noticed a reference to your article and decided to go there first. After reading many of the valid points you raised, I reached a decision of my own and perhaps others will follow my lead. A Helium.com boycott.
9 - vicky
I think the problem here is twofold:
1.Sour grapes. Some writers don't write well or they write inflammatory articles that have no place there. I've had no problems with Helium whatsoever and in fact most of the problems listed in this post about Helium have been corrected. False information or plagiarism may get to the top briefly but it is very quickly deleted. Poorly written material is also discarded.
2.Inappropriate expectations. Helium says you can make money writing. The site does not say you will make money overnight or make money by writing only a few articles here and there.
10 - Urbanist
Actually, the site strongly implies that you will make money right away for writing, when, in reality, it might take dozens or even hundreds of articles to make the $25 required for minimum payout. When I wrote for the site there were tons of people discussing how they had written for weeks and were eagerly hoping to hit the $25 mark. If Helium isn't all about the money, then they should say that explicitly and up front.
11 - Katwright
Thanks for the article ! After reading it there is no way I will join Helium. The time I would be spending trying to earn $25 I could do better things.
12 - rhiannon schmitt
Beware... I signed up with helium and posted a few articles, but found, in my opinion, quality is not the main focus on helium. The top articles focus on Paris Hilton's boobs and which breakfast cereals are the coolest. Groundbreaking journalism, yes.
When I signed up I had thought, from their elite marketing, it was a site for intellectuals and quality articles. After being asked the 20th time to rate articles on "Which Star Wars Movie was the Best," I decided I didn't wish to associate my work with a pop-blogger's paradise.
I asked their admin to cancel my registration and remove all my articles. This is understandable that when a person leaves they take their "things" with them.
I was told they would cancel my login and registration but they would never remove my articles, even though they are my property. The fellow was not workable in any way on this matter and said I had agreed to this when I signed up.
This means, according to Helium, I agreed to Helium keeping my articles against my permission.
So I warn writers that this place will happily censor out whatever they choose to; they will delete an article if the title is not simple enough or if it is too long ("keep it around 100 words, folks), but if a writer actually REQUESTS their works be removed it is suddenly impossible.
Impossible due to, as the Sr. Community Advocate told me, "We do have certain regulations and for legal reasons we are bound to adhere to them."
He went on to say, "The primary issue in your case is that we are not allowed to remove content once it has been submitted unless it infringes on our user agreement. This is spelled out in the user agreement that you have stated that you read and agreed to upon joining the site."
As I write this they are making money off the articles I submitted and will not reply to my emails asking them to refrain from using my works. I am sure their is a law which protects writers from this...
Hope no one else gets snagged by this. Be smart and don't sign up unless you want them to keep your property without your permission.
13 - Maxwell Hammer
Find out more about the helium scam
14 - Luciab
I went to helium by mistake, I wanted a place where I could write what was bothering me, I didn't realize what it was till I was done writing my article lol... No wonder I never got any comments on my posting! Hmmmm live and learn!
15 - Daisy
Helium deleted relevant posts concerning site security. I have had identity information stolen and used after I flagged an article as inappropropriate. They do not care about your security, safety, or well being. I told helium about this, and they never answered back and deleted my posts. It goes to show that they are hiding something. Before Helium, it was Helium Knowledge and they couldn't keep that up right either. I predict they will go down in history like the Helium Knowledge did. Too many people are having security risks because of mad writers or the fact that I have been there for over a year now and I have earned 3 dollars. Also, customer service is becoming non exsistant and the regular members there have to take the place of the staff. Also, my friend was paid two weeks late after she published in the marketplace and they were avoiding the emails from her. I wouldn't waste your time or effort on that site, and think that it is a disgrace to REAL writers. Real writers don't work for chicken feed, it must be the high schoolers trying to earn an allowance.
16 - Tenebris
As a point, every one of the articles cited was under the new word limits being instituted at the time. This led and is still leading to frequent deletion of articles under the word limits, across a wide range of subject titles. (One of mine was also removed for this reason.) Today, the word limit for articles at Helium is 400 words, in parallel with a reimaging of Helium's role away from a Yahoo Answers! type site, and toward something closer to what Google now is attempting with its "knol" in Google Knowledge.
That makes three major different approaches toward the same end of knowledge-based articles: Wikipedia's open, uncompensated edit, Google's invite (unknown yet whether to be compensated or no, but most similar to the classical print model), and Helium's compensated open write, peer rank. Which is best? I really can't say. Let time sort it out.
I can't speak for subject titles as a whole being purged -- though I do assume anything potentially actionable or criminal would be censored as a matter of course -- but at least on the community boards I know that those subjects are alive and well, and at least two of them are "sticky-ed".
Since I started with Helium -- almost exactly at the date of the above blog entry! -- I have been able to cash out almost every month, always primarily on adshare earnings. The link goes to my profile on Helium, so you can check out the kinds of articles I have been writing. Maybe I should have been writing about Paris Hilton all this time, and never knew it?
Disclaimer: search the net for me and Helium, and you will find that I write for Helium but don't work for them; and that I am sometimes very critical of policy changes (including just now, as it happens -- but not of a word requirement increase).
[Tenebris, clicking on your screen name will take readers to your page. So I deleted your later comment.
Assistant Comments Editor]
17 - Robert Bluck
I have had trouble with Helium, this site appears to be completely working by meeting some unknown agenda. I have started new titles and had my titles changed to the opinion of some stranger. What agenda they work from is a complete mystery to me, to make a title oppose the article, I see no logic in this. Helium's opinions are clearly the only one that matters. I e-mailed them three times, wrote an article about them (which was rejected, for being too opinionated), and finally posted my essay on their forum before I was contacted concerning my complaint.
I thought they valued their members, I guess I was wrong. Ever hear of a writer that was too opinionated. I thought one just had to have an opinion, this web site clearly wants people with no opinion on anything, to them an opinion other than theirs is to be too opinionated.
Since I posted my essay on their forum, no other writers will respond to any new posting I do. I must have not recieved one on this for some reason. What do you expect from a company based in Massachusetts?
18 - Rachel
I disagree with the posting and have been a member for almost 18 months, always getting payments on time, and always having great feedback from staff and other members.
19 - Rachel
Forgot to say, they have a great rewardathon at the moment which is well worth participating in too.
20 - Chris
It seems Helium may be a bad choice. In that case, what other sites are better for writers looking to make money?
21 - SB
I have been writing on Helium for a little while and have been a little discouraged when clearly inaccurate articles rank higher than mine. I am not bragging, I just do my research prior to writing and do not just write my thoughts on subjects that are meant to be technical. My main two objectives for going to Helium were to make money (of course) and to improve my writing. Besides, I love to write and I didn’t see any other place to write this much on the subjects I love besides my blog.
I mostly write technical articles including one that I happened to have a great deal of personal dealing with and it was immediately ranked second to one that contained inaccurate information and I do not think was any more well written than mine.
The key was that it was shorter. The one that I have with the highest earnings is the shortest one I have ever posted. I don't really like the ranking process so I suppose other readers get bored with it. I think the ranking process should let you pick what subject you want to rank.
In any case, all these comments concern me. If anyone has any better ideas, please enlighten us.
22 - Colleen
A little note about Helium.com: I had a really hard time with them. I made about $0.20 from their site and decided that I wanted to use my articles somewhere else (magazine wants to pay me $50-$100 for one of them) but I couldn’t have them posted anywhere else. I emailed helium (at help AT helium.com and at content AT helium.com) 3-4 times and never received a response. In an (immature) attempt to get my profile deleted I purposefuly published inappropriate content then reported my inappropriate article thinking they might pay attention to that.
Well instead of deleting my articles and my profile, they made me one of their premier writers giving the articles that I want to use elsewhere even more exposure. Not only that, but they have locked me out of my own account so I can’t post new work or edit my existing work and profiles. I’m absolutely livid. They don’t have rights to my work (by their own admission) and it's to the point that I've even threatened to call a lawyer.
I recommend that you stay the hell away from helium.com. They have absolutely no respect for writers and their artistic rights.
Not only that but writers should be getting anywhere from $10-$25 per page for their work. Why would you work that hard and not get paid fairly for it? Rankings on Helium don’t pay the bills!
23 - Strawberry
I read all of the comments and concerns posted here about Helium. I am in shock over some of the things that have been written. I hate to hear that there are so many people that are unsatisfied with Helium.com! More so, it breaks my heart to know that because of these comments- some people have opted not to join Helium at all.
I am an active member of Helium- and I have been since the site first began (in 06'). I have witnessed a lot of changes since then but I promise you- you couldn't beat me away from Helium with a big stick!! I don't and wouldn't write for any other site on the web- Helium satisfies me that much! I am one of Helium's biggest fans and my loyalty and respect for this site has been hard-earned by them.
Helium is a writer's playground. It is a great place for people to hone their skills and improve in all areas written. There is a whole community full of great folks who are willing to help you improve your skills and excell in ratings. The staff at Helium has been nothing but nice to me- and if I have a suggestion- or concern- it is always handled. Helium does listen to its members and they are constantly making improvements to make us even happier!
Helium is not a blogging site for people who just want to write 10 or 12 random words about a subject. It is also not a site that censors or deletes without good reason. Because Helium is a family site (with more than 200 very talented teen writers- and members as young as 13), there does have to be a line drawn somewhere. Inappropriate content is not needed to get your point across anyways! As Tenebris mentioned, there are word minimums and standards. All things in life have rules- this is not a bad thing!
I have more than 1400 articles on Helium, none of which are about Paris Hilton's breasts- breakfast cereals- or Star Wars movies. Still, I do very well there. I have met lots of awesome writers and have became stronger in the art of writing.
No, you won't get rich overnight but in less you buy the winning lottery ticket- that isn't likely anyways. If you stick with it, though- there are definite possibilities. I have had several articles published in magazines, thanks to Helium. I have also won a lot of contests.
I work full time elsewhere but with my free time, I manage to make way a couple hundred dollars a month. This year at Helium- I have made well over $2000. They always pay me when they say they will and they have never asked me for a dime.
When you sign up with Helium, you will agree to the terms which clearly state that your articles will remain there- even if you leave, unless they are plagarized, inappropriate, or don't meet the standards. However, Helium does not have exclusive rights to anything. You are free to publish your articles anywhere else you want to on the web. They are still yours. Many members of Helium do that now and have no problem what-so-ever.
I think those that hate Helium just haven't give it much of a real chance. Writing requires thought and focus. Those that love to write- just do it and don't care about monotary issues anyways. The way I see it, I would write with or without the money- the pay is just a bonus. The best part of all is that people are reading what I have to say. Isn't that what writing is all about?..Sharing your thoughts with others...and making your voice known.
If you are thinking of signing up for Helium- don't let anything stop you. See it as a learning experience- and a chance to just write! For those who have had bad experiences, I truly hate that but I encourage you to give it a second chance. Helium can and will work for you- if you put forward some effort- and let it!
24 - KB
If you can't earn $25 there you are doing something wrong! Helium has paid my mortgage some months! At the very least it's a car payment/phone/cable bill every month and I don't even have 500 articles there! Maybe the problem isn't with helium if you couldn't earn there and is actually with you. Just a thought, not an attack. Be objective and ask yourself honestly why you didn't earn.
If you want to write to rant get a blog as you have. If you want to write to actually make money you write to the audience out there on the web, and yes many of them are concerned with breakfast cereals and Paris Hilton's boobs. Is it serious journalism? No, it is revenue generating material. Nobody says you have to write to those topics. Helium doesn't make you write to any topic you don't want to.
Sorry to tell you but this post you wrote sounds like nothing more than a whine because you didn't get rich there overnight. It's not there fault if you don't earn, it is the writers fault.
25 - Ragdoll
Ditto to comments #23 and #24.
I just received a PayPal payment today of $156. I've been a Helium member for over a year and have not one negative comment to make about Helium. Well, except maybe that I wish I could sell even more Marketplace articles to Internet publishers.
It's not Helium's fault if I don't.
One other thing: Helium is trying to make the site more member friendly all the time, and raise the overall quality of submissions. As a site still in its infancy, they have come a long way, but clearly recognize there are still improvements to be made.
There are an assortment of ways to make money if you're a good enough writer.
There's also an abundance of help and unbelievably generous writers who take pride in helping each other. Oh, yes, and many of them are outstanding, intelligent writers who probably don't write to the Paris Hilton titles either.
I've got over 100 articles there that I still own and can use elsewhere. It's just that Helium can keep them there too. It's not as though their agreement is trying to trick anyone. Members are expected to READ the agreement before they click their check mark.
All the whining about posts removed are clearly overstated. After reading those critical posts above, I have to wonder: "What Helium are you talking about?"