Page views be damned, it is literally the respect of your peers that will get you far in this site
Update: Helium has shutdown its revenue sharing arm which various content services used to use to supplement their revenue.
After its inception in 2006, Helium.com was pitched as an alternative to Wikipedia. In its six year run, the site has barely achieved the global popularity that Wikipedia has. While the latter has become a part of internet lexicon, Helium took a tangential detour in the kind of content it provided. But mind you, we state this not to belittle the site.
Helium.com had the sense to provide content services the liberty to post personal content. The site is not just an online information database but rather a conducive platform for business marketing and SEO, and a very popular one at that.
Strengths of Helium
Helium.com has a peer review system which every contributor relies on. The number of views your page gets will hardly be a criteria to judge the quality of your articles. If it doesn’t pass the benchmark set by your peers, your page simply won’t prosper. This may sound unappealing, but we, at The WordsManShip, believe such system in fact filters all the poppycock content out of the site. Those who aren’t convinced should contemplate buying SEO content.
It was only through stringent systems like these that article directories were saved from turning into article farms in the past and the strength and quality of contributors proves this fact.
Furthermore, this, we believe, would push content services to provide great content rather than key word filled drivel. Users should also note that, being contributors, they wield equal powers in content assessment.
Writers are also encouraged to promote their work by writing blogs linking to Helium, or posting links on MySpace, Facebook, forums, social bookmarking sites etc.
The site is also useful for writers who are merely intent on earning passive income. One can also sell the article they’ve posted on the site. Helium.com is a difficult mistress, but provides some liberties that few other websites offer.
Weaknesses of Helium for Owners of Content Services
The various measures that are meant to maintain strict standards in writing sometimes can be of great inconvenience for content services. For one, each article posted is reviewed individually. This can often cut short the popularity and loyalty an author might have amassed. In fact, it almost makes it a necessity to engage article writing and article marketing services to sustain here.
The site has limited titles and the creation of new titles requires the approval of the board of the website. This might be of inconvenience for people offering unique content.
The site does not pay very well either in manner number of page visits. 1.25-2.00 USD per 1000 page views is a simple case of reaping too little for a achieving a whole lot. All things considered, an average article earns about 5-10 cents a month, which is either less, or just enough, depending on how you choose to see it.
This rule might have been bit more justifiable, had the minimum word limit of an article not been 400 words. Not that 400 words are significant by any count, but the average remuneration is rather disillusioning. The minimum word limit on the other hand is an aspect we would label as strength.
Opportunities with Helium
It is worth mentioning that Helium.com has over 100,000 users worldwide, many hailing from professional content services. So if you happen to jump through all the hoops that the site puts forth, you are likely to have a respectable page and a veritable list of clients. Clients, who may include readers as well as contributors.
The site has also been improving its interface, which means the number of features on the site is likely to provide more scope for your business and content promotion.
One must also keep in mind the opportunity to have your article purchased by other users, websites and content services.
Threats with Helium
Helium.com, due to the peer review system sets a benchmark which can be hard to measure up to, leave alone acing it. It will be required of content services and writers to not only optimize the content accordingly, but also fashion it coherently. To reiterate, it almost becomes a necessity to procure SEO content and hire the services of article writing as well as article management services.
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