Why Helium is NOT a scam/ lousy writing site....
By madden12
@madden12 (81)
United States
August 4, 2011 6:05pm CST
I was just cruising the Internet and ran into a lot of articles that were critical of Helium. Yes, the changes they make can be a little hard to understand, but it usually ends up OK, or at least you can adjust your promotional/writing strategy to get your income back. Not that Helium doesn't have its flaws, but it is annoying to see a site that you have put so much time into get torn to bits by people who can't give it more than 5 minutes to make money.
2 people like this
5 responses
@SpikeTheLobster (6403)
•
5 Aug 11
It's a shame when the long-familiar sites like Helium (and AC, for that matter) get treated like that, definitely. It has to be said that both of them are, however, VERY long-term propositions unless you're a prolific writer. Their models favour producing good-quality work steadily for a long, long time (your 3,000+ articles being a prime example). And that's frightening to anyone until they understand the fundamental concept.
The thing with them both is that most people looking to earn online want to kick-start things with more than a few cents. Apart from the (thousands of) people who want free money (duh!), online earners are often in a serious financial fix and need a little extra money as quickly as possible... and Helium isn't the way to get it.
Personally, I stopped writing for both sites a couple of years ago because the income was too low for what I needed. I needed something with much, much better pay in the short term, so had to sacrifice the long-term benefit of building up a massive portfolio of work there. It's a choice - and a hard one - but they didn't suit my needs or writing style (I work better to order, direct-to-client).
If I'd had the time available to build up a nice residual income and the on-site reputation to access the better-paying options, Helium would've been ideal.
Another reason to write that ebook. Set the record straight. 
1 person likes this
@SpikeTheLobster (6403)
•
5 Aug 11
Agreed, AC gets a better rap - but not that much better. It's probably because they have lower quality standards: as with a lot of "real" jobs that people think are easy (but aren't), a site that actually demands that you do the work properly gets angry responses from freeloaders and slackers who just want everything given to them on a plate.
In the same way, the freelance bidding sites are constantly accused of being scams. There's a post on my blog about the sites that seems to attract an inordinate number of people with scam claims. So many, in fact, that I added a header to the post asking them to contact me with ALL the details and let me investigate. And you know what? Since I added the header, all the whiners have gone quiet.
That, I guess, is the downside of the Internet: people can post whatever they want, almost without recourse. And unfortunately, a lot of people believe the venomous rhetoric. Personally, I always ask for proof, which in the case of Helium will ALWAYS show that the site is legitimate and a solid earning possibility.
@madden12 (81)
• United States
5 Aug 11
I would say that AC gets treated fairly well. I know they don't go over well with international writers because of policy changes, but you don't see Helium writers calling AC a scam, or that other sites have poor quality writing. It tends to be the other way around. Now that AC is part of Yahoo it makes it easier for their writers to get published, although that hasn't guaranteed quality either.
1 person likes this
@madden12 (81)
• United States
5 Aug 11
Good, I'm glad that there are people who believe! I was just reading an article last night by some writer who was claiming that AC is far superior because they offer an upfront payment and that they are the bastion of intelligent thinking. Just a vent lol.
@SpikeTheLobster (6403)
•
5 Aug 11
A content directory cannot be the bastion of anything, since it is simply the accumulation of its members' parts (as it were). IMHO, AC's quality is far lower than Helium's: the rating system on Helium makes sure of that!
The main ones in order of quality (in my deranged mind are least) are Helium first, then AC, then Triond and Bukisa last. HubPages and Squidoo are a bit different, since they don't seem to have much quality control at all.
@babostwick (2036)
• United States
12 Aug 11
The only thing I can say is that for those people that say it is a scam is because of sour grapes. They are obviously very bitter. I haven't had as much time to write as I would have liked. I've had to sacrifice that to complete a major project for school.
@trruk1 (1028)
• United States
5 Aug 11
I don't do much with Helium anymore, or Triond, because neither pays enough to justify the time required, but I might pick it up again. I guarantee it is not a scam; the money has gone directly to PayPal many times. I just don't have time for it anymore.
