I Applied to Helium as a Freelance Writer
By dcunni2990
@dcunni2990 (120)
United States
June 3, 2012 7:30pm CST
As I mentioned in previous posts, I belong to oDesk, ever since March 31. I had applied to 6 specific jobs, it cold be the best paying online writing job there is, if you actually get one, but I only had 1 job offer which I couldn't do. So, I had planned to apply to one of the other websites as a writer - Helium, Yahoo! Voices, Constant Content. I think Helium is the best one in terms of pay & ability (all together). You can have access to writing assignments & an click on one to write about instead of being accepted by a client. So, last night, I applied for a job as a freelance writer for the website Helium & got accepted! I just wrote my profile today & posted my writing website links. I have yet to pcik an assignment. But as for now, I am not only an online contractor for oDesk (inactive), but a freelance writer for Helium, as of June 2!
1 person likes this
6 responses
@PhillyDreamer (3039)
• United States
4 Jun 12
Helium is a pain in the behind. They expect you to read a number of articles before you start to earn income. There paid assignments are few and far between, plus the person posting the assignment has to pick your work out of a bunch of others. I got so frustrated with the site that I stopped using it all together.
@Sandra1952 (6047)
• Spain
20 Jul 12
Sorry, but you're posting incorrect information here. You do not have to rate before you can earn - you only have to rate to earn adshare revenue, and you don't need to do much of that. You can get paid for assignments without rating, but it would be silly not to do that, as most people earn more from adshare revenue than anything.
As for the assignment system, the titles are put forward by Helium's title seeders, and the person who receives the payment is chosen by the senior editorial team. There is never a situation where the person who places the assignment is the one who chooses the article for payment.
Posting stuff like this gives people the wrong idea. Helium is a legitimate site with a great record for helping and encouraging its writers. If you can write well, you will do well at Helium.
@PhillyDreamer (3039)
• United States
20 Jul 12
You've proven my point, the adshare revenue is exactly what I was talking about, and the fact is you can't just accept an assignment and get paid for it, someone else makes that decision. As far as I'm concerned that's enough for me to no write for Helium. I hate jumping through hoops.
@heaven_sent64 (206)
• Philippines
25 Jun 12
I was a Helium writer before, but got disappointed with how they rate some writers (especially Asians). Well, I'm sorry if I say I sensed some kind of racial discrimination there. Rating other writers' articles is also time-consuming. There are better sites out there.
@Sandra1952 (6047)
• Spain
20 Jul 12
How can you say there is racial discrimination in the rating, when all rates are anonymous? If there is any discrimination on Helium, it's against bad writing, whatever the nationality of the writer. And rating is not time consuming - it allows you to earn adshare revenue and a ratings bonus each month, as well as giving you insight into how others craft their articles.
@allenbucks (289)
• Philippines
12 Jun 12
Wow! I haven't thought that there are many websites out there for freelance writers like me. I just recently started in oDesk. Is Helium a very good site also?
@Sandra1952 (6047)
• Spain
20 Jul 12
I agree with you that Helium is good in terms of payment for adshare revenue. Some of the assignments are rather poorly paid, but as you say, you don't have to look for a client in order to earn. Helium is very supportive of its writers, and you'll learn a lot about writing there - I know I have. In the five years I've been with them, I've improved my writing skills - and my earnings.
@oldchem1 (8132)
•
5 Jun 12
I find Helium an excellent source of income and a great place to write. I earn around 4100 a month on there without doing too much writing. Yes you need to rate other articles, but this isn't a problem. They are also very reliable when it comes to payments and pay out regularly twice a month if you require it. They do ask for a high standard of writing, but I find that writing for them has really helped my writing skills.
Good luck
@Sandra1952 (6047)
• Spain
20 Jul 12
Hello, Sue - nice to see you again. Are you really earning $4100 a month, or did you miss out the punctuation? I fully endorse everything you say - Helium is a great place to hone your writing skills and learn to earn.
@girl_thinking (1959)
• Philippines
25 Jul 12
Hi dcunni, I am a part of Odesk and I have heard of Helium before. I was just not interested to check it out but after reading the responses here in your discussion, I am now a bit interested so I might check Helium in a couple of minutes. Or after I submit this response 
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing!