EARNINGS.

I am now earning more onn Helium than I have ever earned on Ciao. Probably 5 times what I earned this month on ciao, which impresses me plus I am very happy that the payment for older articles is an ongoing thing.

I've earned 6 cents for 4 articles in just over two weeks.

I suspect I've earned a similar amount on Ciao (3p).

In terms of reward versus time, Helium still pays out waaaaay less than other sites IMO.

I think its a question of approach as well as how many articles you have on the site. Not sure what the answer is or why some people get read less than others. I did do a user search for your name and it doesn't come up which was strange whilst all the other members I know do.

Probably his account has already been suspended for constant moaning :-) But I can confirm Aaron's experience. I find the reward pretty lousy too. If I had invested the time on my beloved trivago I would have earned 10 times as much.

PS: I think any site pays more than ciao these days. It shouldn't be a surprise that earnings elsewhere are better.

I don't know why but bulk seems to matter and make a huge difference. I have about 75 articles with a constant turnover.

Even taking this different approach into consideration, I fail to see how Helium could reward me enough to justify the amount of time required to be "successful".

As I see it at the moment, to work on Helium I have to:
a) rate, rate, rate, rate on what Helium tells you to rate
b) write articles
c) market my own articles to maximise earning

That's only what I've put together from the message board because the whole system is shrouded in secrecy. A lot of the stuff on the message boards can't be regarded as gospel (e.g. rating helps my own reviews get sorted), but rather as assumption or theory.

So, Helium required more work from me, using a system that's awkward and doesn't provide immediate feedback or reward for a rate of pay that currently is over-shadowed by even Ciao where I don't have to work as hard, can rate what I choose and get instant feedback and reward in seeing my reviews move up the pecking order, get comments and even a few pence.

Then stick with what you know. I am enthusiastic. Love it. If people don't they have choices.

SaschaT wrote:

Probably his account has already been suspended for constant moaning :-)

Probably! There seems to be a lot of people on the message boards who are prepared to take everything that's said at face value. The odd dissenting voice sticks out.

thingywhatsit wrote:

Then stick with what you know. I am enthusiastic. Love it. If people don't they have choices.

Of course they have choices, but give them information in which to make those choices rather than making misleading statements.

I've no doubt some people can make serious money on Helium. I'm not saying it's not possible, only that I am not seeing a lot of movement on Helium in terms of money OR in terms of my reviews being ranked.

If you're earning 5 times what you do on Ciao, then my own experiences are telling me that you're working well over 5 times times harder than you would on Ciao (taking into consideration the lack of choice in topics, the amount of rating, the time spent writing and then marketing your own work).

It's strange. I don't consider it work at all. There is so much scope for writing, no restraints or people bashing you for posting more than 3 reviews a day, and there are areas that really do interest me. I think the scope is far greater than any commercial site like ciao, or even dooyoo, although I have a Dooyoo preference between the two commercial sites, as they work very hard, and seem to care for their members more than ciao does.

Ciao's Favourite Member wrote:

taking into consideration the lack of choice in topics,

I can't say that there is a lack of choice in topics, not only do re-worked Ciao reviews find a home, even if you initiate them yourself, but I have written on a much wider range than any other site I write on. Even the initiated topics that may only contain my article do still make money. As Rach said the answer lies in bulk, once you have a fair few pieces up you notice the earnings and it is out stripping Ciao for no more effort in my experience. I can see that its not a site that suits everyone, but then none of them do. I guess its a case of finding the site with the personality and attitude that best suits your own. I really like the fact that I can write about history and religion which are my pet interests. Each to there own.

Yeah, my bad. I meant "lack of choice in topics to rate".

As far as posting choice, it is substantial.

I'm surprised about their attitude towards inviting consumer reviews and creative writing (i.e. welcoming), but there's still heaps to post on.

The other things that are better are that you are not doing product reviews, and readers and raters have no expectations of you, and thus you can write in a style that you enjoy and be rewarded for it. The articles on Helium don't have to be lengthy and some only take minutes to write, whereas on sites like dooyoo and ciao, I find it takes a lot more time to produce worthy reviews. I like the fact that rating is anonymous and there is no favouritism, and that people judge one article against another. Its so refreshing to be on a site where everyone is judged on merit of their work.

steerpyke wrote:

As Rach said the answer lies in bulk

Yes, seems to be THE place for bulk writing.

Woohoo! I made 1c on one of my articles!

That's 1c from 5 articles posted in a week only $24.99 to go...

I'm still not sure about this site. I like the direct comparison of articles but I'd also like to choose which ones I rated.... at least which category.

I just checked my account and found my February earnings have jumped up from yesterday's $0.33 cent to currently $0.46: I never had such a big leap in one day. Under other circumstances I would probably happy, if I only had the slightest clue why this has happened - can't say what I did to provoke this. This is what really bugs me about Helium. It goes right (with Rachel, steerpyke) or wrong (Aaron, me). And nobody knows why. There are only speculations by the users and blurry announcements by the management. :-/

I don't know what the difference is either. I suppose to me, having been on opinion sites where there have been so many judgemental people that judge others behaviour for so long, where you feel you have to write reviews that conform to a norm, where there are arguments about how you write, how you rate, who won crowns or diamonds, and at the end of the day, I have found a site where none of that matters any more, and where I can get paid for poetry ! Now that is a bonus. One of my best paid articles is poetry. Now thats worth something to me because its where I feel my heart is.

As for the bugs, well they are working on ironing them out and thats more than ciao are.

Quote :

Woohoo! I made 1c on one of my articles!

That's 1c from 5 articles posted in a week only $24.99 to go...

Can't find you on there Mauri, what's your user name ?

I think I shall be drawing funds by the end of this month.

Thingywhatsit wrote:

I don't know what the difference is either. I suppose to me, having been on opinion sites where there have been so many judgemental people that judge others behaviour for so long, where you feel you have to write reviews that conform to a norm, where there are arguments about how you write, how you rate, who won crowns or diamonds, and at the end of the day, I have found a site where none of that matters any more, and where I can get paid for poetry ! Now that is a bonus. One of my best paid articles is poetry. Now thats worth something to me because its where I feel my heart is.

Fair enough

I haven't been to the other sites you are referring to here, other than Helium so, I cannot compliment on those at this time..I can say I have enjoyed my time at helium...I currently have 44 articles, with a total of $6.41 in my account, $4.07 of which was gained since Jan. 1 of this year and $1.33 of which I have gained this month. I have been a member since I believe Nov. 8 of 2006...so I have already earned more this year than I did in the two months I was a member last year.. I don't know the philosophy behind it but, that is my results thus far.

So far I have .24cents. I've written 15 so far. The 1st one was on Jan. 20th. And then I just forgot about it for awhile and started writing last week.

My earnings have tripled overnight, I now have 3c!

The Milky Bars are on Mauri!

Don't go wild now!

I think I have made .58 of of my 6 articles in about a week but thats from family looking at them Family always good, except they tend to make everything you do seem wonderful so you don't actually know what is good or not

27cents, from 10 articles, in a month!

liz1102 wrote:

27cents, from 10 articles, in a month!

I think I'd rather cut my toenails - it seems a lot of effort for very little reward.