Sure, $30 isn’t much, but that paypal transfer means more than a bit extra cash I’ll throw away on ebay. Although I’ve been writing on this blog for almost a year (a few days less than a year, to be exact) and making a bit of money off it (I took down the adsense after I made the minimum $100), Helium gives me the new and distinct feeling that I’m really being paid to write. I feel like an actual writer, not just a webmaster hoping for generous people to click on my google ads. As of this writing I have three articles ranked #1, one of which is ranked 1 out of 113 and was on the front page for a while.
I’d strongly recommend Helium to anyone who likes to write. Even if you think you have nothing to say, I guarantee you’ll find some topic that interests you enough to write about it. Helium also has something for people who don’t like to write but do like to read, where two articles on the same topic are placed side by side and you rate which one is better and by how much, but I’m sure anyone who browses Helium for long enough will find something they want to share their thoughts on.
I was wondering about making money off blogging myself. I guess adsense may not be the best way, eh? I take it that you didn’t like it, or you wouldn’t have took it down as soon as you got paid. So what’s helium truly like? I am interested in checking out ways to make money too.
Helium is closer to writing for a magazine or newspaper than it is to blogging, though I imagine a large part of the membership is made up of bloggers.
Basically. you pick a topic and write an article about it. If it’s popular, you get paid. It’s very simple, but I find it’s a better way to make money off of my writing than covering my blog with adsense and hoping someone clicks.
As to adsense being the best way to monetize a blog, it might or might not be. Personally, I looked at it as a trade-off between potential profit and having to “sell my soul” so to speak by covering my personal blog with advertisements.