Nettlemere, From Burnley, Lancashire, UK, 181 Fans, 76 Hubs, Joined 9 months ago
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An Interview with Nettlemere
Inside the mind of an inquisitive, observant, and empathetic advocate for people and animals alike
On HubPages, you are probably most well-known for your impressive portfolio of pet Hubs, which offer tips on caring for all sorts of animals- from dogs to ducks, lizards, and even Syrian Hamsters!
I would be remiss to suggest that you only write about animals, because you cover a very wide range of subjects. What inspires your various other Hubs on places, psychology, health, etc.?
Animals have always been a great joy to me, so I love sharing that. Otherwise I’m not a very adventurous person in terms of travel, but I do like to go on mini, one day adventures with the dogs. I pick somewhere to go to like Blackpool or Clitheroe (see
Days out in Lancashire) and then go and explore and write about it. I especially like to find free things to do, anything with wildlife or animals and places that are fun for the dogs.
I love the fact that, if you are attentive, you can find surprising, funny and peculiar things even in the most familiar places. My discovery of such places lead to the Hub
Strange Things Found.
When it comes to psychology and health, I tend to pick subjects which are close to my heart. For example, I had a cat and an uncle who were diabetic (please note the cat wasn’t my uncle!) so I wrote
Cat Diabetes Symptoms and Care and on the human side
The Prevalence of Diabetes. Another subject I enjoy is dialect because I have a hybrid accent and dialect from having lived in quite diverse areas of England.
In addition to basic Hubs, you have published quite a few Videos. I love how you share your advice in video form while also not skimping on helpful text and photos. What makes you decide to make a Video and not just a Hub?
I tend to use a video in a Hub where I think it genuinely adds something which doesn’t show as well in writing or pictures, for example in
Weird Nature I did my best to describe the unducklike sound of the eider ducks but the video gives people the actual sound and funny head bob they make. I’m quite frustrated that I failed to get usable video of Blackpool’s tidal organ despite two visits, but fear not Blackpool, “I’ll be back!” and I will get a recording of the tidal organ in full song to add to that Video.
Have you found that your Videos perform any differently from your basic Hubs when it comes to traffic?
So far I’ve not found the Videos give a boost to traffic one way or another, hence I don’t push to make only Videos.
What were your goals when you first joined HubPages? Have you met any of them?
My dearest friend encouraged me to put my photographs together with words online in the first place. Searching for a platform in which to do that brought me to HubPages. My initial goal was to be read – I was surprised and delighted when that happened. My second goal, without wanting to sound too mercenary, was to make some money working from home. I nearly fell off my perch in shock when invited onto the Apprenticeship Program – it was a great confidence boost. Being an apprentice really helped focus my efforts, and whilst my Hub income isn’t huge, it is a very welcome, useful contribution to my household income.
What are some of your HubPages (and other) goals for 2013?
My next HubPages aim is to hit 100,000 views (that one is in sight perhaps in January 2013) and then by the end of 2013 to get up to 300,000. I am determined to continue to write at least four interesting, useful, and searched-for articles each month. And I will get that video of the Blackpool tidal organ.
I will also continue to enjoy reading and commenting on as wide a variety of Hubs as possible, partly because it’s interesting and enlightening and partly because I know that I found having comments and a responsive readership was a real plus when starting out and it gave me an impetus to continue. I have learnt lots from Hubbers such as D.A.L., Aviannovice, Melovy, Marcy Goodfleisch and a host of others.
Other goals: this year, for health reasons, I had to drop from full time to working 2 ½ days a week in my job as a student advisor, so in 2013 the search continues for things I can do quietly from home to replace some of my lost income. On the plus side, working less outside the home means I will easily get to fulfil my other goal of spending more time with my dogs./p>
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