Tip of the Day

Don't forget that blogs don't usually become successful overnight. They take time to build a following and an overall presence on the web.

That's why you need to keep to your blogging schedule even if you get discouraged because you're not seeing the kind of hits you'd like. Remember that each unique post you make is another opportunity to appear in someone's Google search. It takes time to appear in Google's indexing, but once you're there you have a good shot of cathcing someone's eye and finding a new reader.

So keep posting, keep the faith and keep writing about what interests you. People are bound to notice your consistency and enthusiasm eventually!

Helium Knowledge: A Definitive Summary

Alright, I've been writing on Helium.com for about a month now, and I've formed some pretty solid ideas about

• how much money you can earn
• the quality of the content
• the future prospects for the site.

Having said that, I'm going to lay out everything I've discovered about Helium.com, what it is and what it could be for you as a writer.

Earnings

I currently have 56 articles written and earning money at Helium.com. After about a month, most of my articles are doing well in the ranking system, a bunch are number one or close to it, and a few are at the bottom of the pack because they stink.

My biggest earner is an article on insulating your home; it has earned $1.19 in one month, 50 cents of which came in one 24 hour period because it was "featured" on the Helium home page.

In time, these earnings could go up, especially as more people visit the site. But realistically, you're never going to make very much money on Helium. With a 25 dollar minimum balance required in order to request payout, it can be very discouraging to watch the pennies slowly roll in, even after amassing a good amount of quality articles.

Now, some people on the site have written a thousand articles, and I'm sure they're doing significantly better. Some of the most prolific writers at Helium could earn "tens of dollars a month" according to the CEO. But those kinds of numbers will take a long time to build, and honestly, I think your time would be better spent maintaining a blog of your own.

You can post your articles to both Helium and your blog without restriction

So some might say, why not? You'll make a little extra money by posting your blog content on Helium, and by posting your blog's address on your Helium profile you might even get some extra traffic.

But consider that for every view of your Helium article, Helium.com is making the real money while you earn a few cents every few days (if you're lucky). And for what? So you can be grouped with a massive collection of other "writers" who either cannot compose in proper English or simply don't care to?

My final assessment of Helium is that you don't need 'em: not for traffic, not for prestige, and certainly not for money.

The True Value of Helium.com

Helium.com does have it's place in the world of a budding Internet Publisher. It can be a great place to cure your writer's block. Surf around Helium, and when you see a topic that you could have written better, write it!

But maybe you should just post it to your own blog, enriching your blog's content and your bank account, and not Helium.com's.

Helium can be fun when you see your article move closer to the number 1 spot in the ranking system, but it can be frustrating and annoying when you see your article drop 5 spots below other articles that are clearly inferior to yours. And when I say "clearly inferior," I'm being kind. Some of these "articles" are literally a single word answer to some unasked question, not an article by any stretch of the imagination.

The ranking system really doesn't give you much of an idea as to how good your writing is. If some of the contributors to Helium.com rank as carelessly as they write, then the ranking system is meaningless, or worse, a tool by which the masses can anonymously attack better writing when they see it. Not that I'D have to worry about that, but you get the point.

The Future of Helium.com

I don't know whether Helium will flourish in the long term. If their success depends upon becoming a source for actual knowledge, a go-to source that people will turn to when they want information, then I can safely say that Helium.com is a sinking ship.

I wouldn't go there for instructions on tying shoes, or even hitting the broad side of a barn. I have read articles there that say chocolate isn't so bad for dogs, when really, it'll kill them. I mean, it's just plain wrong, and it wasn't even fun to read.

Helium has no real way of filtering content, ensuring quality and accuracy in their articles, or retaining good writers. Helium will never be a reliable source of useful information or good writing, and so will attract only aspiring writers, NOT information seekers. And for the sake of any information seeker who stumbles upon a Helium article, there should be a huge disclaimer: These People Don't Necessarily Have Any Clue What They're Talking About.

Use Helium as a source of inspiration for your own blog posts, by all means, but be aware that Helium won't pay much of anything and won't give you useful feedback on your writing.

Hola Amigo! Quieres Dinero?

I thought it might be cool to provide a couple links for any spanish speakers out there who would like to get into Internet Publishing.

Amigos, hay una bitácora nueva que se llama "Gane Dolares," que ayuda a personas que hablan espanol y quieren ganar dinero en internet.

Y si quieres vivir una vida mejor, la verdad es que debes aprender ingles, y pronto! Por eso, hay una bitácora que te gustará: Inside English.

Buena suerte en su recorrido a ser rico, amigo.

Designing a Logo

It's a good idea to customize your blog and give it a distinctive look, so it'll make a lasting impression on your viewers. A unique layout of graphics and design is key to standing out above all the other websites on the internet.

But how can you come up with an awesome logo to introduce your blog to your viewers?

The people over at cooltext.com provide a number of button and logo templates to help get you started. Enter your own text or title and emboss it, set it on fire, make it glow like a neon sign, or choose from any of their other cool designs. You can also make your own custom buttons, which is sweet.

Other useful sites for online text and image customization include:

• 3dtextmaker.com
• Brilliant Button Maker
• Gif Works

Porkchop sandwiches!

This is kinda old, but it's so awesome I had to post it. If you haven't seen the GI Joe parodies, you're in for a huge treat.

Feast your eyes on this. Porkchop sandwiches!!!

Unrelated Ads on your Blog?

This is a problem we've all had to deal with before. You blog about fishing and your targeted advertising is all about spa treaments, or puggles (God forbid), or Head On.

It wouldn't be that big of a deal except that your readers are interested in your content, and when your advertising doesn't relate to that content, it's less likely to interest your readers.

So what can you do?

Copy down the url of the offending advertiser, log into your AdSense account, and add that url to the filter list.

Within a few hours, the filter should take effect and more relevant advertising should be available to your readership. Everybody wins!

Holiday Posting

The holidays are a time for relaxing at home and meeting with friends and family. But don't neglect your blogs during these potentially high traffic periods on the web, or you could miss out on a lot of new visitors.

It's all too easy to sit around, eat, drink, and not update your websites. I suggest my own course of action, which involves sitting around, eating, and drinking with a laptop in front of me. The best of both worlds!

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas Day!

Check out the Old Time Christmas blog. The way Christmas was meant to be!

And have a Merry Christmas!