I’ve been seeing ads for a couple sites lately, Helium and Triond. I was curious, so I’ve done a bit of research.

The Business Model

Both seem to have the same basic business model. They collect material from writers on multiple topics and publish that material on their own sites or on their affiliates’ sites.

Next, they track the revenue that each entry makes. I’m guessing they’re running ads on the sites, whether Google Adsense or something else. Then, they split the revenue with the writer. Triond has a simple 50/50 split structure. Helium is more complex. They add a rating system to their articles, so higher rated articles make more money. Their payouts also depend on the popularity of the topic and how much advertisers are willing to pay. Helium doesn’t disclose any specific percentage split with authors.

What’s Good about It

It’s obviously a good model for the companies. They got lots of content, quickly and, essentially, for free. Once that content starts generating revenue, they share it with the authors. Other than hosting and advertising, I doubt that they’re putting out a large initial investment.

It can be good for the authors as well. It’s a good place to try out your work and see how it does. If you’re not interested in monetizing your own blog, this might be a way to earn a little extra money. I doubt, however, that it’s possible to make much in this way.

What’s Bad About It

For the companies, I’d think that building a good reputation would be the biggest challenge. Sure, they can gather lots of content, but is it good content? I could go out to free content sites and load this blog up with content, and probably earn a lot more from adsense links, but I’d alienate the regular readership by delivering material they’re not interested in. That’s not a good trade-off, in my opinion.

Helium seems to be trying to deal with that problem by providing a rating system, but in all honesty, even the top rated articles on Helium can seem a bit shallow to me.

For writers, the obvious problem is not building your own name, your own reputation. If you’re going to devote the time to write for money, and produce the quantity and quality needed to do so, why not do it for your own site? Yes, it will take a lot longer to get that first check in the mail, but when you do, you’ll know that you’re building your own site that will keep on generating revenue for you.

Disclaimer

I haven’t signed up to write for either, and I don’t know of anyone who has, so my opinions are based on their descriptions of how the business model works. If you have any experience with either of them, post a note in the comments below.