Beginners Guide to Successful HubPage Writing
70A Diary of My First 12 days of HubPage Writing
I've been signed up with HubPages for 12 days now and would like to share what I've learned so far; my successes as well as my failures and disappointments.
How I got into Hubs
Some people roam the internet looking for the latest way to make a quick buck. Their motivation is only the bottom line. I'm sure you've all noticed a few hubs wriiten by these kind of people. On the other hand, many hubbers hub because they love writing and have no interest in making money – Its people like this that add real value to HubPages and help build a vibrant community.
I’m a mix of the two. I like the idea of a cash reward but that’s not why I’m here. Like all good hubbers, I'm passionate about writing. The cash is just the icing on the cake – it makes writing more fun. I got a tremendous buzz, many years ago, when I got my first piece of fiction published in a national (computer) magazine. The cheque was OK but the fact my Mom could go into the local chain store and pick up a copy from the magazine shelf was priceless.
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Content is Everything
One of the key messages I've picked up from other hubs and the HubPage forums is that Content is King. Write about what excites you first, then try to make money out of it. I began my return to writing by posting 10 articles on Helium. You can read about my experiences in my first Hub article (see link below)
My biggest problem with Helium was the lack of flexibility. I've come to the conclusion that no serious internet writing platform can exclude the use of non-print media such as graphics, photographs and video. Also an author needs to have control over their own content and the way that content is monetarised.
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My previous experience of web publishing has been limited to setting up experimental websites and more recently blogs using Blogger. I've never attempted to earn any money online until my brief flirtation with Helium. The jury is out on how much money I might make with HubPages – more on the cash side later!
So what do I like about HubPages?
- A great social networking site
- Simple user interface (I prefer simplicity to over complication - Microsoft Word could learn a thing or two here)
- Nice tools and well thought out structure
- Author freedom to change content at will and add graphics, photos and video
- Very flexible in terms of placing advertising, use of links and traffic measuring
- HubPages is more intimate than big sites like FaceBook and MySpace
- Referral program appears to offer significant rewards for Hubbers for bringing in external traffic
Links to my Hubs
- Hub no.1: Helium - Can you make money?
- Hub no.2: Whatever happened to Tim Berners-Lee?
- Hub no.3: Have Budget Airlines killed the Glamour of Flying?
- Hub no.4: JackSpeak - The Language of the Royal Navy
- Hub no.5: Toilet Terrors - A Guide to the Weird and Wonderful World of the Lavatory
- Hub no.7: Presentation Skills are Crucial in Today’s Competitive World
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My New Blog
- RetroTech Blog
Where you'll find Weird, old technology and a generous dash of Glamour RETROTECH – Where old fashioned girls, planes, trains, stocking tops, phones and computers merge RETROTECH where everything (including the girls) are bigger, better and sexier
Diary of a New Hubber
An account of my first 12 days of hubbing:
- Day 1: Hub no. 1 posted - my experiences with Helium. This hopefully drew a few people in by mentioning 'making money'.
- Day 2: Hub no. 2 posted - about my experiences working with Tim Berners Lee when a Graduate Trainee (Tim is generally credited with inventing the Internet). This was not an ideal topic to draw in traffic, if only because many people will not know who Tim is. This was originally published elsewhere so was more an editing job than creative writing. The fun bit was scanning in my wife's leaving card complete with Tim's signature.
- Day 3: Hub no. 3 posted - Titled: Have Budget Airlines killed the Glamour of Flying? This was a surprise success for me - it is just a collection of1950s to 1970s airline promotional drawings and photographs linked with humourous text. More visual than written word.
- Day 4: I begun to monitorise my 3 Hubs, adding first Amazon, then AdSense. (Decided not to bother with Ebay until I got more experience).
- Day 5: Started a new Blog (using Blogger), RetoTech, which I could use to both promote my Hubs but also experiment with advertising. Blogger allows more freedom than HubPages to control position and size of Ad Sense ads and the use of Amazon widgets.
- Day 6: Hub no. 4 Created. JackSpeak - the language of the Royal Navy. Like the Tim B-L article, this is a bit of a specialist niche (more targeted at the British) and was based on a previously published article. Still, it was fun adding the pictures. By this time my overall traffic was begining to fall slightly.
- Day 8: My daughter logged onto Stumbleupon in the afternoon and gave the 'thumbs up' to the Airline Hub (with my tracker embedded in the link). I checked the Stats an hour or so later to see my hubpage traffic swamped by around 500 hits from Stumble. This in turn boosted the Hub's rating on HubPages.
- Day 9: Hub no.5 Posted - an quirky, humourous piece (previously published in a magazine) about toilets or, as the Americans say, the bathroom. Again it was fun to add some suitable pictures but again not a popular topic, particularly outside the British isles. Today the Airline hub reached a score of 100, although the stumble traffic surge has died down.
- Day 11: Toilet article failed to take off. I discovered that I have a lapsed Stumble account which I have forgotten about so I clumsily attempted a 'thumbs up' for the toilet Hub. Surprise, surprise - an hour or so later it had received 150 hits from Stumble (I am FLUSHED with success!) but I forgot to put a tracker in my posting so I didn't benefit once the extra visitors left my pages!
- Day 12: Publish Hub no.6, this Hub - Beginners Guide to Successful Hub Writing
Lessons Learnt so Far
- I need to provide strong linking between my other hubs or blogs
- I should avoid too many external links taking traffic away from my pages
- Referrals are a good idea (remembering to use trackers)
Referrals
I got 1 signup during the Stumbleupon stampede to my Airlines Hub. This means that one person actually joined HubPages and has created one hub with 16 hits.
Which brings me to the question those of you left still reading this hub are all asking - How much REAL money have I made? How soon can I quit my day job?
Money Money, Money?
Good News. I have lots of impressions (page views) from Amazon. I also have clicks in single figures. Unfortunately clicks don't mean prizes on Amazon. Only purchases pay. Therefore, earnings from Amazon so far - Zero.
What about Google AdSense? – Lots of impressions but no clicks. So I have earned nothing there either.
The Way Ahead
- More thought into the placing and structure of ads and the linkage of advertising to articles – particularly RetroTech (the blog) where there is room for more flexibility than on HubPages
- Develop more hubs – more thought into content, tags etc. and targeting Adsense
- More traffic generation via social network sites
- Ezine articles (linking to my Hubs)
Having said all that about making money - I still believe the prime reason to be on HubPages is to be creative and write. The money is just a bit of icing on the cake.
Finally, thanks to Hubbers and the Hubbing community for all the useful advice contained in Hubs and on the Hub forums.
READ PART II of the HUBPAGES GUIDE!
- READ PART II of the BEGINNERS GUIDE
Read Part II of this guide, a new Hub which describes where I am with HubPages, after 3 weeks of Hubbing, and how much money I've made! - Why not check out my Latest Hubs?
- My Best Hubs
- Constant Content
Here is a great writing site where you can post articles you've already published or new articles and publishers can bid to use or reuse your content. Another way of making money from your writing!
SIGNUP WITH HUBPAGES TODAY!
- Why not Sign Up Now With HubPages? Start Writing Today
HubPages membership is totally FREE - Get writing, make friends (and if you want) Make Money!
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Comments
Well you certainly have a good hub score - I think it is more important to get the CONTENT right - you can always add the money-making bit later - good luck and thanks for your feedback.
lol thks for ur compliment too. don know how they good hub score. am jus writing what i like and not wanting to brag but def feel that i have made improvements compared to my first ones. hehe gd luck to u too
Thanks for your great hub will look forward to many more hubs.
As a"Seasoned hubber" I find this hub very useful for newbies and for people who have been hubbing for a while, we forget the basics sometimes and a little reminder like this gets us back on track, i hope you find great success on hubpages and that people start clicking soon.......jimmy
Hi Rick, Welcome to HubPages. I'm one of the founders of the company. I just wanted to say how much I liked the way you started on HubPages and the way you presented your experience. I look forward to reading more of your Hubs.
Best,
Paul Edmondson
Excellent hub- I did wonder when I saw your title - another instant expert - but no definitly well done! I disagree regarding the outbuond links - yes they can take people away but they also make google think your site is more authorative and therefore rank you better
I'm very impressed. I joined here some time ago, but find it hard to pick up on stuff. I'm not a techie andsome things overwhelm me, but I like writing. I've "come back to hubpages recently, and agree with you re Blogger. I have a number of blogs there - not doing much but hey, is is not all about the money and I can get excited about an 80c incerase in my Adsense earnings.
I'm a new hubber. This is a good post. I'm in the process of lurking and posting comments after making myself familiar with hubpages.
Mr Marmalade, Jimmy the jock and Paul - thank you so much for your encouragement.
The money is starting to come in. The number of clicks is small (but the amount per click is encouraging!)
Lizzie - Thanks for encouragement and comment about external links. I guess the rule is keep the reader long enough to see the ads, then direct them to your pages or other hubbers pages then finally give them the external links. At the end of the day its a trade off between maximising income and producing quality content.
Tottie and CrazyCat
Thanks for the feedback I'm relatively techie but find I get lost reading the posts of the professional web publishers who are constantly trying to outsmart Google while staying within the Adsense rules. I like the way HubPages allows you benefit from Adsense but focus more on content and less on the techie end of things.
This 'how to' looks great. Continue hubbing!
Nice page with good ideas more for me to think about.
Thanks
Awesome hub! Very informative for new Hubbers! I joined about a month ago, but actually just posted my own hub page last night. Now I fell as if I'm addicted to hubpages.com! Thank you for the information.
Jill--mads78
Great information i just joined hub pages a few days ago i have posted two hubs so far. Your informative hub will help me future hubs be a success.
thank you
This is a great Hub for a newbie like me. I look forward to reading more of your Hubs.
Thanks
Whitney, Spa, Mads, Music, Bud
Thanks for your positive feedback. Just to update what I wrote - Adsense is starting to pay out now - I've had 5 high value clicks in the last few days but nothing from Amazon yet (but then it is early January!)
Mads - I too am a Hub addict - my problem is trying to resist accessing HubPages at work!
Great blog, my friend! You sure know how to draw people to your pages. The title attracted me to your hub like a bee to a pot of honey. Keep up the good work. :)
Great article! I just started today so I need lots of help.
Excellent article - great information!
Very interesting artical... who knew airports would be a big hit... since in real life all people want to do is stay away from them and all the bag searches, ect.
I am a new hubber and i really enjoy your blog. I think writing is very hard work and getting readers is even harder. Making money is a dream.
The best we can do is enjoy our work and do it for love.
Thanks for sharing the experience with us mortal souls.
Regards Hector
O Hi I have blogs and I write articles, but this is my first time as a hubber. I was interested because your hub taught me stuff, hopefully it will come in handy for me. Thanks bunches.
Thanks I think I need some of the info mention.
Very detailed hub, just keep up the good work.DrPc-Global-The global computer support system
You've inspired me! I just joined and now I want to monitor my own experience (journal style) to see the amazing traffic you've had in just a short period of time!
Thanks!
Susan Payton
The Marketing Eggspert
www.eggmarketingblog.com
Many thanks to everyone who's posted in the last few days for your feedback - I'm planning to write Part II soon (will be linked from this Hub). My actual earnings are still quite modest - I get typically 1-3 clicks a day from this article and earn just under a $1 a day. I've yet to get anything from Amazon. Hubbing is good fun though and the prospect of scaling everything up is exciting.
Great HubPage. I am a Newbie (about 5 minutes ) Should be a great help
Thanks - I read with great interest! I joined a few days ago, and am still trying to figure everything out. The only thing I know for sure is that I love to write. Keep up the great work. Steph
Hi
New to writing, and mostly new to computers. I can type, other than that, Ouch!
You have a nice article. I can see you know what you are doing. One of my next steps is trying to insert picture, cartoons, etc.
Glad to hear your mother could buy your article.
Keep feeding us information. I surely need it!
I'm Betty Jo Petty from Ar.USA
nice hub. I too have a similar hub titled "Experiences of a new blogger (merely 3 months old)" http://hubpages.com/_prem/hub/chronology-prem-hubs I admit that your presentation is better
than mine. However, I have one suggestion to
make about Amazon ads. Ads displayed is of $1.49 value.
If someone clicks and purchases the item you will earn
a commission @4%. Hence, its better to select items of
more value.
Many thanks to you all for your encouragement - glad it was of use - planning to publish part 2 soon.
Premsingh - thanks so much for your comments about the Amazon ads - I selected 1 item using keywords which means the ad changes - better to select item using reference number so it doesn't change - you are absolutely right - put in something of high value like an Ipod, Iphone etc.
I've been on hubpages over a year and I'm still confused by a lot of things. Hubpages sure has grown. I'm glad I just left all my articles up and running, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I'm so tempted to take half of them down, but as you can see, over time, they earn more and more. So rather than removing any, I'm just improving them as I go along.
More than anything, I'm enjoying your personality. I'm glad you decided to get back into creative writing. Otherwise I never would have met you.
I enjoyed this article. I also write for both fun and profit. Its always the articles that you are really interested in that draw in the most traffic.
This is what I needed. Thanks so much. I read a material about Hubbing but this one cleared the clouds for me. The examples you have shown are really comprehensive. I really am excited of hubbing more.
Rik - did you say you're making $1 a DAY? Wow, I'm impressed.
Thanks to everyone for their encouragement - good luck to you new hubbers!
Moonmaiden - thanks for your very kind comments - you might like my personality but some people think I weird!
Marisa - it is so difficult to be definite about earnings - I've just had 48 hours of famine - no clicks at all! 70% of my traffic comes from this one hub - the others have paid nothing, so far, I think a fairer estimate (based on the last two days) would be 50c a day. Very difficult to tell as the value of each click varies so much too.
Enjoyed reading your Hubs. Have to say, you seem dedicated to your writings and I look forward to reading more. Very insightful posts. And an invaluable resource for the most of us about blogging.
Anyone else have much luck with stumbleupon traffic for hubs, its gotten me a little but not much.
Great information about stumbleupon. I until now not sure how good stumbleupon can generate the traffic.
Thanks for the information. I did my first Hub since reading it and has been pretty successful with 3400 visits in 3 months. I am amazed how many people wanted to complain about BT (British Telecom): http://hubpages.com/hub/BT-Complaints
Excellent information. I am amazed at your hits from Stumble after 1 'thumbs up'. I do agree with Lissie about the outbound links. Non affiliate outbound links show you are a good resource for information and not just a sales or self promotional site. They also increase the likely hood that others will link to your page. Again helping your google rank.
I kept reading and reading. What a tremendous response you have had. I am glad you are now on chapter two
Thank yo for the enjoyment
Having been a hubber only for 3 days, your title instantly appealed to me. I admire your simple, clear, straightforward narrative. Whether you will make money or not, you will have a lot of satisfied readers like me, some of whom may join your fan club! Good Luck!
Very helpful hub, and well put together. Someday I'll understand all this information about referrals, blogs and links, but in the meantime hubs like yours teach me something new every day. Thanks.
I've thumbs up to your hub, as I appreciated your frankness in the writing of this piece.I am a new hubber myself, although I have been publishing articles elsewhere and building sites to make money online. However, I recognise that Hubpages will provide the perfect platform for me and I like the community here.
Here's to publishing more on Hubpages!Evelyn
I am beffuddled. Very good piece. I just don't see how you can keep up with all that information without your brain overloading. LIke Torpey, I am left wondering how the heck do you imbed a link or do all of that Oz stuff behind the curtain? Hmmm...maybe I'll go google it. : ) : 0
It is hard work keeping up with all these posts.
Born4, your BT article got good traffic - the best I've managed (this one) varies between 60 - 100 views a day
Dthardy - yes agree about the links - I need to update the article and put more external links into my Hubs.
Mr Marmalade and Parthavi thanks for your encouragement
WilliamFT - I have a technical background but I struggle with some of it - referrals are particularly difficult to get your head around (and how they appear on the AdSense stats.)
Evelyn - welcome to HubPages - glad the Hub helped - we are all learning together! If you've got successful sites elsewhere you can send traffic in both directions (to and from HubPages).
Elleissa - I do sympathize - the Internet is still a bit techie! If you want to link to another site, copy the URL for that site from your browser (http://hubpages ...), insert a link capsule into your hub, open it up then copy the address into the URL box. There is another box where you can add what you want to call the link. For example 'Here is a good link I've found'
I've found the forums very helpful if you are struggling. There are threads specifically for people with questions - you'll find both the tech support people and other hubbers will come back with helpful advice.
I like the informations you wrote here, it gave me some insights.
I registered to hub about 6 weeks ago but I did not post my first hub until yesterday. The reason is, I dont know how to start. Though I able to publish my first hub I still have many questions specially in layout.
How can I make a column like you've made in pale purple. I dont know how your pictures float to the right side of your text. I need to learn all these before I can go forward.
rtf - if you create a text capsule and move it up the page then there is an arrow inside the capsule which will move it to the right. You can do the same with photos. Once text is on the right you can change the colour from white to light or dark grey.
Hope this helps.
Well there is actually nothing left for me to say with all the acolades already posted.
Ayway well done and look forward to reading more of your hubs.
Take care of yourself
You have a nice writing style, your words flow well. Keep it up, good job!
http://www.hubpages.com/hub/Singorama-Lessons
I enjoyed reading your advice and look forward to perusing your hubs. What a variety of topics you write about!
>with my tracker embedded in the link
Maybe you could do a new hub with info about link tracking. I really would like to learn more about this. Thanks for this great hub. I read the second one too. Keep them comming. Nice layout too.
Just a quick correction.
Tim Berners Lee did not invent the Internet (remember that was Al Gore! :o)
Tim Berners Lee did develop HTML which led to the World Wide Web (his idea was to allow scientists to communicate with each other using pictures, etc.) For opening up the world of information he deserves many, many kudos.
Thanks for all your feedback - quite right AM - It was Al Gore - seriously, you are right it was HTML Tim devised not the Internet - the networking bit already existed.
Rik, great read! I'm a new Hubber myself and while I originally started as a potential money-maker, I'm finding that's not realistic for me. But I have found a great outlet for my ideas and recipes. I guess I hope I can help and inspire people and if I make a few cents on the side, all the better. Thanks for writing this and helping your fellow Hubbers to reach a broader audience. - Blogger Mom
Yes - I'm not making a great deal, moneywise but HubPages is a good place to write and share...
Nice job. I realize that this hub was written some time ago now but you seem to have had it all together from the very beginning. I just posted my first two attempts at this and if you would take a look, I would appreciate your help. I have to figure out how to post the pictures in the body of the article and size them too. I didn't do so well with that task, but let me know your thoughts if you care to take the time. I really appreciate your hub, I found it helpful.
Thank you
Reading your blog, I have more things to smile about...esp. the tracker thing that I'm slowly understanding but not sure if I'm doing the last step right. I wish my first days here could compare to yours, but noooooooo! It's a long way to go. Thanks for some things I'm picking up along the way.
Now, I'm moving on to Part II.
Zylla - So glad you found it helpful. I started HubPages over the Christmas period so I had lots of time to 'play'. Good luck with HubPages and thanks for reading this.
Really useful. you covered all aspects to get more traffic and of-course money
Now here is a guide that I could have used when I literally stumbled upon hub pages, but it has been fun nonetheless! Thank you for the value. To hub or not to hub? To hub definitely, I might get shot here, I love hubs so much better than squidoos!
Sukritha - Great that you dropped by. This hub has been gathering dust but has recently been picked up again - hopefully the information is all still valid.
Pat - Glad you are enjoying HubPages and that you found this Hub. Yes I joined to make money writing but I find I now value the community far more than my modest earnings!
This is great stuff for beginers,I commend you for sharing this valuable information,looks like I better get to work.
Kevinlt9 - glad it was useful - good luck with your Hubs!
Tremendous Hub. I loved it.
Daniel Tetreault.
This was really cute. You seem a lot more confident about this whole process than I am. I choose to learn from you ; )
Daniel - glad you enjoyed it - hope it helped.
Amy - Welcome to HubPages! I'm still learning after 6 months. I've not earned a great deal but I still really like it here - Hubbers are a supportive bunch.
You find yourself writing for 2 groups of people; first fellow hubbers and secondly the internet audience. Some hubs draw mainly hubbers and others find an audience on the web.
working
sminut13 says:
10 months ago
good hub on ur experiences. definitely helps newcomers though i joined earlier, i'm definitely not as literate onmoney making on hubs and blogs hehe so all flops you could say. never put in much effort.