How I use Helium

If you're looking to make your millions as a freelance writer then you probably don't want to look toward Helium to help you do that. I once wrote an article on there that stayed in the first and second spots for a year and I made a whopping $.29 from it. But I still use Helium all the time.

I don't ever actually post anything on Helium anymore, but I found that it's a great starting point for getting topics and politely asking my writer's block to get the hell out. It asks questions on your opinions that you can use for an op-ed piece somewhere else. General topics that you hadn't thought of in awhile may pique your muse's interest. Then you can take off from there.

There are a couple ways you can make money with Helium, like their marketplace where content requests are posted and you submit your article based on the proposed topics. But you're submitting your article without knowing if they will select yours or not. That means you just spent time writing a specific article that may or may not be used, when you could be using that time to gain a new client or write something for a "sure thing" or whatever.

You can also write for the contests on Helium. I think there's a psychological effect at play here, somehow it seems easier to write an article or piece that you don't know will win if it's for a contest rather than just a "job." I haven't done this yet, but I'd be much more likely to go this route than use the marketplace.

Point is: there are lots of places that will pay for your content, so spend your time achieving those clients/publications rather than writing articles that may never be used. It helps prevent more disappointment if you don't champion those jobs and saves you some time better used elsewhere.