The Next step in earning money at HubPages

Yes, there is always a ‘next’ step when writing or doing anything, if you want to be successful. If you’ve read “How to get started earning on HubPages” are excited and raring to go, now it is time for the next step. It seems in life there is always something more doesn’t it? Well of course there is!

In my last Hub I explained that writing for HubPages was like starting a new job. You had to determine what kind of employee you were etc. I’m not going to reiterate everything I wrote in that Hub. If you want to know, please feel free to go read it.

When writing a Hub, you want to give good information.  What that means exactly is this;  Tell the person who is reading, something!  Anything!  Don’t hint around at what you are writing.  Tell them what it is you want to say.  How many times have you went to read an article anywhere on the internet to leave that page scratching your head, not only wondering what you just read, by why you stayed on it so long?  Or possibly reading it to the end just hoping that the author was going to be going somewhere with the article?

You are going to hear the phrase “Content is King” on Hub Pages a lot.  What that means to me is this, when writing a Hub, make sure that you are saying something to your readers!  They might be stopping by your page in the hopes of finding an answer to a question.  Give it to them, don’t leave them hanging. 

Make sure that when you write about something, you know what you are talking about!  You will certainly get questions if your Hub is good.  If you have no clue as to what you are writing about, and someone asks you a question, what are you going to do?  Google it?  At the very least, you will want to be able to point your readers in the direction they need to go, to find an answer. 

It doesn’t matter what you write about, just make sure you know what you are talking about.  Don’t take someone else’s work turn the words around a bit then call it your own.  If you happen to have an idea that someone else has written about, that is fine you can use the same type of topic, but make it your own work. 

I have heard people talk about finding your own niche. That means you have found your place with which you like to write and are comfortable in it. There are numerous ‘types’ of writers. You have to determine which category you fit into. It may not come right away, it may take several Hubs for you to figure it out. This is fine, just keep on writing!

Some people like to write ’ad type’ of Hubs, that is great. If you can do that, go for it. I have written a couple of those, they don’t seem to do very well. That is just not my niche`, I’m sort of a homey person who writes like I talk. If I don’t’ know what I’m talking about, usually I just shut up and listen, or ask questions until I‘ve learned what it is that I need to know.

If you are going to write about a product, I would recommend you’ve at least tried using the product. People will be coming to your page for ‘expert’ advice, and if you haven’t tried the product your words will show it. You need not be an expert on the product, just at the very least someone who has tried it. For me, there is nothing worse than wanting to know more about a product only to find the same information that is shown in ads, or on the box. I usually get frustrated and either move on to the next product or give up on it altogether.

You’re going to hear the word “Keyword” here on Hub pages. You might even be given a link to the keyword tool found on Google. I can tell you what I’ve found from using it. I am definitely no expert. I type in my keyword, google will tell me how many hits per month are found with that word. You can also find what it pays on the ‘pay per click’. Some people want to use ‘good keywords’ ones that are searched for a lot or high paying, what ever it is that you are looking for. In theory, this means that when people click on your page, it pays more. At least that is my take on it.

What I can say is this. I’ve found what I thought were ‘good keywords’ those Hubs don’t get a lot of attention. I’d be lucky if I got one page view per month on those. So you have to ask yourself, do you want people to come to your Hubs, read your work, maybe make a few cents or write a really high paying article that maybe gets a page view 2 or 3 times per year? It’s all up to you.

By reading comments and questions in the Answer section of HubPages, I have come to believe that people want page views.  They want to be recognized for the work they have done.  Writers want to know that people have come to their page to read.  So are you wanting to get readers or just make money?  This is how your going to determine what to write about. 

Are you able to do both?  Absolutely!  If you choose good keywords (these you will have to find on your own) and are able to put them in a good article that people want to read, then of course you are going to make money. 

How exactly do you make money on HubPages? First and foremost it will be with Google AdSense. Let me start off by saying what you may have heard before but need to be reminded. HUBPAGES DOES NOT PAY YOU! Sorry if I yelled at you, but it needs to be understood. HubPages gives you a PLACE to make money, they don‘t pay you. The writing is all yours, you have to be the one to put out good Hubs so that readers come to your page.

The money you make comes from outside sources. Google AdSense, Amazon, Kontera and E-bay. As of yet, I have only had earnings from Google AdSense. One day, someone may come to one of my pages and order something from the Amazon ads that I have included. Those would be the ’Ad’ Hubs, but like I said earlier, those don’t do well for me. They might work just fine for you. You’ll never know until you try.

I have not signed up for Kontera, Why? Because I have heard various things regarding it and I’m not sure I want to take the risk involved with it. Because I haven’t tried it, I can’t say whether it’s good or bad, so I will leave it at that.
In regards to E-bay, I don’t sell anything and that is what E-bay is all about. If I were to have items to sell then I might utilize E-bay. Then again, those would be ‘ad’ type Hubs and I’m not much for writing those.

When writing a good rule of thumb would be to use a minimum of 500 words. That seems like a lot but it really isn’t. I have read articles that have 200 words or less, they don’t say anything and then the Author wants to know why they aren’t making any money. If writing were easy, everyone would be able to do it. Not only that we’d all be rolling in the dough!

Now that you have written a few Hubs and I hope are making a few dollars what do you do next? You can do several things. You can either let it sit, and do nothing. You might continue to make money, your Hubs might dwindle.

If your Hubs should be starting to get a little ‘stale’, meaning not many page views per month, you can go to the page, look at it, see if it needs any changes. Click the edit button and do that. You can add some tags to it. Making sure that those ‘tag’ words are in your Hubs of course.

After writing a few Hubs you can do ‘back linking’ with them. What this means if the Hubs you have written can be associated in any way with your other Hubs, insert a link on one of the words. To do this; click edit, then click on the capsule that you want to edit, highlight the word you want to use as a link, then click the icon that looks like a sideways 8. Another window will pop up and in the second space to the right you will see a down arrow. Click on that, all the Hubs you have written will be in alphabetical order. Click the Hub you wish to use. That’s it! You have now created a back link. You are still linking to your own website.  The first one you seen in this Hub links to "How to get started earning money on HubPages".

Take care in using these! You don’t want too many back links, you Hub will get flagged if you do. You certainly want the word you have highlighted to have something to do with that particular word. People will see the highlighted word and click on it thinking that it is associated with that word. If it isn’t they may get frustrated and leave your site.

Lastly - Comments. Generally, most of your comments will be coming from other Hubbers. This is fine. You might get some from the general public, try not to be discouraged. Look at it this way, how many times have you read someone’s articles/Hubs and not left a comment? HubPages has tried to make their comment section user friendly, but I think some people may feel a little intimidated by the ‘name’ and ‘url’ part of the section. If by chance you have come to HubPages without being signed in, you’ll see what I am referring to. “name, url and comment” are all open waiting for you to type something in.

In the comment section you may also find other’s who are knowledgeable and what they add can only enhance your Hub. I love it when other Hubber’s come to my page and add things that I may have forgotten to put in, or just to expound a little more on what I have written. To me it means they have read the Hub and found something worthwhile in it.

When you do get comments, make sure you answer them. Even if it is just thanking them for reading. People want to know that you have recognized they were there. Think of it this way, when you go to the store to make a purchase and leave, if you’re not ‘Thanked’ isn’t that a bit discouraging? Don’t you feel as if your cashier doesn’t care if you come back? It’s just being polite, and the world needs a bit more kindness.

Best of Luck to you!  Keep on Writing!!  I think of Dorie in ‘Finding Nemo’ when I say this.