Earning a Living on HubPages... Are You One of Them?

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   andycoolposted 12 years ago

   Writing hubs on HubPages had been a profitable business for a lot of people until the Google algo changes earlier this year, popularly known as Panda attack. Lots of successful hubbers have gone since then.
   
   How many of you guys find HubPages an effective route to earn a respectable living today? Is there anyone who is a full time hubber and earning your living on here? Please share. Thanks!

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      Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Since I lost my large client because of Panda Hubpages is a chunk of my income and it is a living wage... ie: I will clear approximately $2,700 to $3000.00 for the month of Sept between hub ads, adsense, eBay and amazon. It is hard to tell, and that is based on the daily average this month.  That is up from last month and the month before, and is actually  about 50% more than I was making pre-Panda. It has given me the freedom to work on my own projects and turn down clients I don't feel like writing for.
      Traditionally my traffic has increased late Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec then dropped in Jan and then rebounded for Feb, Mar before dropping off again for the late spring to fall. I saw the same pattern this year, it was just more pronounced because of the Panda thing.

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         andycoolposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Carry on Marye Audet... God bless you!

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            Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            He has, thanks!

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               homesteadboundposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Now I like that!

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         Greek Oneposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         My new Mentor!!!

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         skearposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I envy you Marye!  You are doing quite well on HP.

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            Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Yes I am but I have been here 4 years and I write a lot.. Also when I first started I wrote 15 or more hours a day

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               CrazyGataposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               How many hubs a day do you write on average Marye?

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                  Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Now? It depends on my other assignments/deadlines..I have gone a month or two without writing anything -- and still made a consistent amount... This month I will have written about 20 hubs... At this point I just write what I feel like... But I think I am close to the 700 hubs mark..and my average total traffic is between 12000 and 15000 a day. At this point I pick and choose my clients and assignments and work when I want to. But it is only in the last few months that I have been able to relax

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                     homesteadboundposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     I would say that you definitely have earned the right to relax a little. Best wishes!

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               mariazeynposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Wow Marye! how do you find the inspiration and dedication to write that much?

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                  Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  I had six kids at home, then my oldest and her family moved in with us and werent working... and my ex quit working and flaked. Starvation is a great impetus for hard work. You do what you have to do...

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                     Debby Bruckposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     Dear Marye ~ You truly exemplify a success story in these hard times. In admiration, Debby

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                     homesteadboundposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     You are truly an inspiration. When I think of success and hubpages, I certainly think of you. I want to be like you when I grow up!

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                     oldrickposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     Hi Marye, Thanks from me too for your inspiring answers. Best wishes,
                     Richard

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         kmackey32posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Wow you are amazing....

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         Karen Nposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         That is pretty much what mine has done, so maybe there may be hope for us to still have a good Christmas season.

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      2besureposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Not earning a living wage yet, but I can pay several bills with it!

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         CrazyGataposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Excellent! I sure love hearing that!

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   Cagsilposted 12 years ago

   Not presently.

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      andycoolposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Hey Cags... how r u doing?

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         Cagsilposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I could be better, but I'm not going to let it bother me. I just keep plugging away, doing whatever I can and looking to the future, while living in the present, without letting the past affect me.
         
         Hope you are well. Thank you for asking.

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            andycoolposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Don't worry... you've talent. Just wait for your time to come.

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               Cagsilposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Thank you for the compliment. Much appreciated.

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            the clean lifeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Hi Cags, I am with you. No money here.   A few pennies here and there. Take care my friend

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   wildernessposted 12 years ago

   Not I.
   
   I expect you will find very few that actually earn a decent living on HP.  There are, however, quite a few that earn a good living while using HP as just one of several sites they use to write on.

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      andycoolposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah... I joined HubPages with lots of expectations a year ago! My bad luck!

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         CrazyGataposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         How is that Andy?

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            andycoolposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Where is traffic and where are clicks? I'm really upset... but closely watching if there are any new developments. Things are beginning to improve slowly... but I'm not sure about its sustainability.

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               anujagarwalposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Well, traffic has certainly increased but yes clicks are still an issue... May be they will also come after few days...

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   Urbane Chaosposted 12 years ago

   I think it would be extremely hard to earn a living solely through HubPages - especially after all the trials and tribulations the site has had this year.  It's back on track, but I still don't think that I'll ever be able to earn a living just from the site.
   
   For me, HubPages was a jumping off point.  I've done freelance for years, but never really delved into the online aspect of things.  HubPages taught me how to format information for the web, as well as get me motivated enough to start an online enterprise.
   
   Now, even though I still freelance, a good majority of my income comes from online ventures.  The biggest boon that I get from HubPages is the exposure that it gives me.  Before, I would have to actively search for work.  Now, I get most of my contracts through referrals, and many of those came from people reading an article I put on here.
   
   Once I started branching out, I started to see a lot better income.  It began by creating multiple HP accounts, each geared towards a certain genre.  After that, It was an easy jump to move to other types of online income.  Now, I earn a good chunk of my yearly income online - either through referrals or through affiliate programs.
   
   The point is, the more you spread yourself around and promote yourself, the more you'll earn.  It's not easy, but it is possible to earn a living online.

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      andycoolposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for sharing your useful insight... Urbane Chaos!

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         MyMastiffPuppiesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I still consider myself fairly new to the the HubPages world, but I was on track to have a really good Holiday season until the Panda updates. Not giving up yet, just trying to ride the wave until it comes back.

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      CrazyGataposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you!

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   thisisoliposted 12 years ago

   Despite a gain in traffic my earnigns from Hubpages are still suffering compared to previous levels, have personally been placing more of a focus on my own sites.

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      andycoolposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      What about your personal site... thisisfreelance... generating good revenue I hope?

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   Joe Machoposted 12 years ago

   It's good to see that some people are still doing very well. Keeps me inspired to keep writing. Being on hubpages for only 6 weeks I've managed around $10 so I won't be doing much with that. Hope is still there though

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      CrazyGataposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      that's awesome!

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   Janet21posted 12 years ago

   Personally, I would not want to earn a full living on any one site that I do not own.  Too risky.
   
   That being said, before the Panda fiasco and consequent traffic fallout, I was averaging about 1,300/month.   The last 3 months my traffic has taken a big hit, but I am managing to still bring in about 700-800/month which I am happy about.   
   
   Hubpages only accounts for about 10% of my total online earnings.

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      Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      This IS really important. If you are going to make a living online then you do need to have a number of income streams... Again, I lost a big client in August, and there were many writers whose contracts were terminated with that company -- it went down suddenly, without real warning. Had I depended just on that client I would have been in big trouble. Likewise, when the Panda thing happened in March and my earnings on Hubpages plummeted I could rely on other clients to pay the bills. Just because you CAN earn a living  here does not mean you should depend on this as an exclusive income stream. Diversify just like a stock portfolio.. keep a couple of month's earnings in the bank to cover slow times, and always look for new clients. It is much better to turn down jobs than scramble to find them

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         homesteadboundposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Where do you find clients to write for?

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            Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            They generally contact me

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               homesteadboundposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Okay, being new to this, where would I look to find clients to write for?

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                  Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Keep up with the freelance job boards -- there are several on the internet.. freelancewritinggigs, problogger, there are a ton. Send out queries and don't get discouraged.. create a bio website similar to mine where potential clients can find out more about you... maryeaudet.com  and use your real name and image when you write..Or at least use a pseudonym that sounds like it could be real.

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                     homesteadboundposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     Thank you for responding to a newbies questions. In retrospect, I should have probably used my real name. I'll have to consider my options as I proceed.

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                        dungeonraiderposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                        @homestead - for hubpages, i made two accounts:  the one with my real name (is, will be) my master account on HP and any other aliases (dungeonraider) have a link back to the master page.

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                           homesteadboundposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                           So that's the way that I let other's know who I really am if I want to have a reputation as a writer, let's say?

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                              dungeonraiderposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                              Well, more like thats the way you showcase work you have written under an alias.  Tie it back to your real name somehow so that if a client wants to see work related to what you've done under the alias, you can direct them there and show them it is linked (proof) to your real name.

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      Aficionadaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      
      
      Whoaaaa.....  Yes, I think that I could be happy about earning $84,000-96,000 as an online writer.  $156,000 pre-Panda? (was the percentage the same back then?)  Good gracious, what do you write about?  You may get a flood of Hubbers checking out your account now, to see how you do it!

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         the clean lifeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I'm in. I want like to know the secret too

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         Janet21posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         
         
         No, I wasn't making 156k writing online! I wish. My only income stream that was hit by Panda was Hubpages, so the 156k is an exaggerated figure.  Actually, the 84-96k is also high cause th 10% was a raw estimate to make a point.  Some months it is closer to 20%.
         
         How do I do it?  I am in front of the computer 24/7! lol

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            the clean lifeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Wow that is awesome. I would love to be able to do that so that I may retire from my present job:)

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   Stevennix2001posted 12 years ago

   Sadly, I'm not.    It's kind of a shame too, as I'd love to make hubpages my full time job.

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   schoolgirlforrealposted 12 years ago

   Definitely not.
   and I think I've tried all the things I'm supposed to!
   
   
   

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    Greek Oneposted 12 years ago

    Earning a living?
    
    I'm not even earning a dying

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       andycoolposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       

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       pmilesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       That made me giggle.

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       David 470posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       LOL

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       homesteadboundposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       That was way too funny!

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       Rosie2010posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       

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       CrazyGataposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       hahahah!! you should make THAT a hub!!!

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    kimberlyslyricsposted 12 years ago

    what does earning a living mean? :

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    Good Guyposted 12 years ago

    Can some of you experts explain more on this "Panda" thingie?  I found my traffic has increased and also my earnings, although still peanuts.

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    ThomasEposted 12 years ago

    Nope.
    
    I had got to the point I was making decent part-time job money, but not on hubpages anymore. In fact, I've sent most of my accounts to /dev/null .
    
    But I'm not too unhappy... that's life.

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       homesteadboundposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       What is /dev/null

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          ThomasEposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          The bin...
          
          On unix, it's where you send something to be deleted.

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    ProBloggingposted 12 years ago

    Good gracious, what do you write about?  You may get a flood of Hubbers checking out your account now, to see how you do it!

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    SnapHappyposted 12 years ago

    I've only been on Hubpages for about a month. It has been great. I found several sources of traffic and have earned a good chunk of money already!

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       mariazeynposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       wow! someone said you should be here for months before you can achieve that. I will definitely be checking out your profile SnapHappy!

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    homesteadboundposted 12 years ago

    Thank you. In retrospect I should have used my name. I will consider whether I would want to change my name on hubpages and then republish them. Again, thanks for taking the time to help a newbie.

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    Jessi10posted 12 years ago

    I like to think that I am.. I earn now about 100- 150 a month from Hubpages alone. That may not seem a lot to any person or writer really but I only just started to write for Hubpages again about 2 months ago. I'm looking forward to writing full time again next month and hopefully I can make between 1000 to 2000 next month off of this site alone. I also write for other sites too.

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       Aficionadaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       
       
       !!  With that kind of income and traffic, it's a shame your Hubber Score has not risen any higher yet. 

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          CrazyGataposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          goes to prove ratings and money are two complete different things, totally unrelated...

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             Aficionadaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             Do you think so, CG?  That's not really the lesson I take away from this, although I would agree that ratings and money don't necessarily have a 1-to-1 correspondence.
             
             I am concerned that, because of the enticing title of this thread, a lot of newer Hubbers and success-wannabes may accept all kinds of flamboyant claims without exercising any critical thinking.
             
             Success stories are sometimes inflated.  In some cases, that is due to an overabundance of enthusiasm; it may come from the poster's failure to check details before posting; it may be a result of inappropriate sales techniques; but also, sadly, in the past there have been some flagrant liars who made such extravagant claims.  In my opinion it's always best to take these statements with a grain of salt and to check out whatever we can, before embracing someone's methods.
             
             In response to the claim that anyone can make money with any kind of writing, I would encourage newer Hubbers to check out these threads and posts by well-known and well-respected Hubbers:
             
             Stories versus informational/how-tos
             
             Are poetry hubs scored lower because of their low word count?
             
             Poems do they earn on hubpages?
             
             Money From Poetry - This entire thread has some great, specific ideas on how to earn money from poetry (but not on HP), not merely some vague claims that it can be done.
             
             But even better ideas, suggestions, and advice on earning money on HP can be
             found in these two threads:
             
             over $7,000 earned on HubPages since I started - This is livelonger's thread with very reliable (but pre-Panda) information and suggestions for earning on HP;
             
             and When did you first start earning $50 to $100 on Hubpages? - In this thread Marye Audet said it took her six months, with about 90 hubs.
             
             It is inspiring and even exhilarating to read and believe that new Hubbers like
             Jessi10, SnapHappy, and others have succeeded so remarkably in such a short time.  I wish them well!
             
             But I hope that all of us, especially the newbies on HP, can remember too that when it comes to online claims about money-making opportunities, we should be every bit as cautious as we would be in reviewing photos on a dating site.  That George Clooney lookalike may in reality be old, fat, bald, and depressingly unemployable.

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       Patkayposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Good gracious, 100-150, for a very short period of time. For me, it is peanuts and it is almost an year now since I joined hubpages and I am not even anywhere near expecting my first payout.

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       David 470posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       100-150 dollars in two months!? That is astounding success. Most people don't make 100 dollars until months into it....

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    Mark Ewbieposted 12 years ago

    Well, I'm inspired all over again.  I was thinking that the ten cents I earned yesterday was poor reward for the effort expended, but now I see it is a stepping stone to greater things.
    
    A very small stepping stone granted but from ten cents mighty oaks do grow.
    
    It gives me renewed confidence to go back to my shrink and explain that "yes, I really am going to make it big in the writing world" and there is no reason to take me off the happy pills just yet.

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       Rosie2010posted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Can I have some happy pills too?   Mark, you're hilarious!

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    ubanichijiokeposted 12 years ago

    Wow! Wonderful experiences. Keep it coming. Bless you'll

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    Wayne Tullyposted 12 years ago

    I make some nice pocket money on here that adds up for Christmas time and birthdays throughout the year. Hubpages is only a third of my online income!

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    Rosie2010posted 12 years ago

    No, Andy, not I.

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    Jessi10posted 12 years ago

    I dont only write on Hubpages. I have my own freelance blog, and I write for Triond. So, it took me a while to learn how to market my writing. Learning how to do this can help you a lot too!

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       Aficionadaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       But don't you think that your high income here (you did say that the 100-150/mo was from HP alone, didn't you?) is a result of the topics you write about?
       
       I enjoyed the Hub of yours that I checked out and I thought it was written quite well and engagingly, but I honestly didn't see anything new or different in it that hasn't been said dozens of times by other Hubbers and the Learning Center.
       
       I also wondered whether you deliberately use misspellings in keywords (e.g. "tittle" instead of "title") as part of your strategy?  I have seen elsewhere that some people recommend that, but that most search engines now actually correct misspellings in searches, so that it isn't considered good SEO nowadays.  But I would guess that there are different opinions about that.

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       BakerRamblesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Is Triond good to work for, I actually use a few sites myself, but have been iffy in their respect?

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    Lisa HWposted 12 years ago

    Similar to Wayne (I guess), HubPages and Ad Sense (in fact, any of "these types of sites/writing") are only one part of my online income.  Then, too, my overall online income is only part of my "offline income".  So for me, my HubPages stuff has brought is a "third-tier" type of income - not a living (especially not where I live).

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    Jessi10posted 12 years ago

    You can make money from any kind of article. It can be something completely new, or it can be a completely new topic. All that matters is that you write.
    The grammar mistakes were not meant on purpose. Sometimes I think I have checked the article, or I use spelling check on the website, and something always comes up.
    
    I'm working on fixing my articles and making sure that my future articles come out better. I do however get more traffic from them, not sure why..

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       Aficionadaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       
       I understand that you have been successful at online writing for longer than I have been online, period.  But I have never seen or heard anyone that I respect say that "you can make money from any kind of article" (what about poetry?) or that "all that matters is that you write."  What about SEO?  What about the value of keywords and keyword competition?  What about marketing your article (which I know you've written about)?
       
       I don't mean to sound unkind, and I hope that I don't.  But you need to understand that when someone's first post in the HP forums is a statement of an amazingly high income for only two months's worth of writing here, there are bound to be some legitimate questions.  In the past I have seen that kind of statement, from others, challenged and shredded apart very cruelly. 
       
       On the other hand I have also seen some HP experts say that it can be done, if you know what you're doing (i.e. high income in a short time).  Apparently you do know, and I congratulate you for that.  I'll be eagerly watching to see what tips I can pick up from you - other than "all that matters is that you write."  That one doesn't work for me at all, no offense.

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    Jessi10posted 12 years ago

    Honestly, when you write, anything is possible. I have been writing on my own blog and for a few other websites since I started taking freelance writing more seriously, and at first, Yeah, I struggled.
    
    I didn't cash out on Adsense for a while, the first time I registered for it. Then, I started to pay attention to my blog more, and I started to really write for other sites. Then I saw a big difference in my work..
    
    You can make money from any type of article. Poetry, writing, jobs, family, friends, you name it. You just have to write and promote your work..
    I get what you are trying to say. At first when I heard that there were success storied on Hubpages, I was skeptical as well. My first thought was: no way! Then I did my own research and started to write about my experiences, and BOOM! Increase traffic and I even started to make friends!
    
    It is possible, you just have to be glued to your computer and connect with writers as much as possible.
    I hope this helps!

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       wheelinalloverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I have found that the harder I work on SEO the less readers those hubs get. When I write about what I know and title them to what they are about I do better. There is no way I feel I ever will make a living from hub pages. In my case it's not necessary. It is my belief that if I did "have" to make a living from Hub pages I would probably do things differently.
       
       It is my belief that we can and do take what we learn here and put it to work at what will make a living. I actually write more short blogs and advertising emails than I write for hub pages. Those are about what I am passionate about which help my income. In my "niche" I can't compete with the five million other people who write to it.
       
       My passion here is different. I write about things that interest me. Most of my latest articles here autobiographical and are "by request". It helps that I was raised to live in a world that pretty much disappeared 150 years ago.

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    Marisa Wrightposted 12 years ago

    Earning a living on HubPages just got a bit easier again for Californians
    
    http://performancemarketingassociation. … us-tax-law
    
    ...(is that the sound of Californian Hubbers tearing their hair out, because they all deleted their Amazon capsules already?)

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       ktrappposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Well I wish Jerry Brown would talk to the governor of Illinois!!

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    Majadezposted 12 years ago

    Haha... Definitely not! I think that it's possible and that many of us are trying to accumulate a sizable monthly income. It requires focus though and I don't know if many of us are willing to risk security to put in what it takes. That requires passion. I think the success stories come from people being really passionate and determined in what they are doing. Unfortunately, that is also not enough. Some genres of writing will simply not earn as much due to online demand... Or is that just being negative? I'm sure there's a way around it...

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    CrazyGataposted 12 years ago

    thank you all for your comments. Albeit pennies or dollars, we are living the dream.

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    workersrightsblogposted 12 years ago

    not sure about earning a living from this.. I am new from this and not sure how can anyone earn a living from this unless I am doing something wrong other than writing articles.. 162 views.. Ive earn 10 cents LOl .. at this rate I would have to write 1,000,000 article to earn 100 dollars just for one month.. Sorry very skeptical at this point.
    
    Adsense ads are just not being click and the average user will not click them anyways. so again I must be doing something wrong. Content alone does not make any kind of money. I could be wrong, and I will admit it if I am but so far this doesnt look too good for me. I essentially tried this out but not to make a fortune over night but even doing this for 10 years I am just not seeing a change. Besides the average answer, post more articles.. can someone please inbox me some tips on what to do at this point.

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       Lisa HWposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       worksrightsblog, a couple of days ago when wheelinallover (above) posted the post (about 5 posts up), I was going to post a reply.  Then, though, my reply ran long (as so many of mine tend to do).  I got self-conscious about yet another "longie", and just saved the file.  Seeing your post here has made me to post what I wrote after all.
       
       Before I post it, it's worth mention first that you've been on here for such a brief time, what you're seeing in traffic and earnings aren't a good reading on what you may (or may not) get after you're on here awhile longer.  Anyway, here's what I wish a lot of newer people knew (even how things go for each Hubber can be very different for a whole bunch of other Hubbers):
       
       wheelinallover, I just took a quick look at your profile and saw you've been here for seven months? Six of those months involved post-Panda months before people starting seeing traffic increases.  Before Panda, it was taking a lot of people eight months or so to start being paid monthly.
       
       I know one thing, and that's that I regret not believing I'd "ever earn anything" on HubPages with the kind of writing I do.  For me, as I mentioned above, it's a skimmed-time thing.  I don't have the time/mental energy to include all the SEO efforts a lot of people do; and I don't always have the time/mental energy to put into something that will require lots of research.  So, like you, I've often written about things that interest me or things I've had some past experience/research with.    If I'd thought I could earn anything (back when I started) I would have written more Hubs (and maybe done a few things a little differently, but not awfully differently because, as I said, I can only put so much into Hub-writing).
       
       I'll hit my 4th anniversary on here in November, and I only have 300-and-something Hubs (I've often deleted the ones that don't "seem like such a good idea" as they did at the time when I wrote them.  I know when I started to pick up a few hundred dollars a month (by the end of the first year), and I know what I've been earning recently.  Now I'm kind of sorry I didn't write a few more Hubs a week and put in more time/effort with Amazon ads; because if I'd done that (and even without the additional Amazon efforts), I'd be earning at least a modest full-time income right now (doing pretty much the same thing I've done in the past - but maybe three/four times the number of Hubs).  I didn't bother, just because I didn't think I'd earn more than a few dollars, and I wasn't going to spend a lot of time "for nothing".  (I could have still done what I do for my "real" living, and I could have still put in the other efforts I do elsewhere (but not on a assignment/project basis)
       
       Who knows what will/won't go on in the online-writing picture or Ad Sense picture; but if things don't completely take a turn for some really weird direction, I'm thinking that, if nothing else, my online writing earnings might be a good "retirement income" by the time I get to that age a few years from now.  So these days, I'm taking the online-writing thing fairly seriously, and I'm in the process of trying to clean up/polish a bunch of my stuff; and I'm looking at it as a continuing, long-term, investment in my time/efforts.
       
       The point is that I do regret not adding a few more Hubs each week - and for no reason other than not believing it could ever "amount to much".  We can't guess about the future.  All I have is hindsight, and it turns out I was wise to realize that I shouldn't expect a full-time income in that first year.   Where I wasn't wise was in not bothering to do more because I didn't believe people "could really earn anything on these sites" (at least if they weren't interested in writing the kind of stuff "everyone" said people "had to" write.
       
       It did take me eight/nine months before I was being paid every month (but at the time it was pretty common for people to take several months of "investing time" before getting paid regularly.  How things happen for new people these days (after Panda, after subdomains, and after some of the widespread traffic increases), I don't know.

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30. 82

    Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years ago

    I've got really good news for me today - and I'm sure that I'm not the only one affected - but my Google.com traffic is up several hundred percent all of a sudden - just WHAM, and here it goes again.
    
    In other words, I think the panda 2.5 or whatever, is done.

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    1. 65

       PaulaHenry1posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       God I hope so! All I know is that Amazon buyers are back!!!!! Its a good month~

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       1. 67

          Rosie2010posted 12 years agoin reply to this

          @Wesman - good for you!  Wow!  Several hundred percent is awesome!  My traffic is inching up, so I'm a happy puppy.
          
          @Paula - I don't sell much Amazon products, but this month is my highest Amazon sales so far.  I'm so thrilled.

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31. 80

    tlpoagueposted 12 years ago

    I can't figure out my adsense. One month I made money, the next nothing. I have been here two years and in the first 18 months, I didn't make a dime. When Panda attacked, I watched everyone panic, and decided to sit back for a bit to see how things would go. After a month of that, I went back to work writing things that I enjoy, more so than informative hubs. I have made a bit of money since then, but again, I am having problems understanding my adsense and if I have it set up correctly.
    This month, and in the future, my time spent here is going to be limited. My hubby bought me my own business so we can travel and work. (It is a traveling concession stand.) I guess I could say that this year has been my year of reaching my long term goals.
    I am not going to give up HubPages and know that eventually I will figure things out enough to earn money here. I have to agree with the other seasoned hubbers...don't put all your eggs into one basket. With all the changes that go on, you could be raking in the dough one day and flat broke the next. I am spending my time here enjoying the moments of sharing my writing and learning things from other hubbers. As for the money...it will come when it comes. I'm not fretting it.

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32. 61

    trecords0posted 12 years ago

    I don't know how hubs figures out the earnings.  I've seen postings get 10 hits and earn $.01, and I've seen 100 hits in a day earn nothing.  I have only been here for 2 months, but I enjoy it, so I'm here to stay regardless of the money.  (Although being unemployed with 4 kids to feed, the money would be great!)  I am trying everything I can think of and variations through SEO, links vs. no links, Amazon/no Amazon, photo SEO, nothing but my words, and it does not seem to matter.  I have read other threads stating the same thing: that it takes about 8 months to start earning, and that gives me hope.  I have noticed that HubPages rank high quickly in Google searches and also the Ezine articles I've written rank high.  I do think I will take some advice and write for more sites, because thinking about it, it may take 8 months to a year for them to also start making money.  I know my adsense is set up right because I check it and see the views and clicks.  I tweet and share on facebook, but no traffic has come from those sites yet.

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    1. 81

       David 470posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Quite frankly, 100 hundred views a day total is not a lot. To make money online, you need a couple thousand to a few thousand.
       
       I think many people who want to make money online through articles or websites think that getting a couple hundred views a day is a lot, but in fact, it is not really.
       
       On the other hand, if an article gets at 100 views a day that is a lot, and if you have 50 of those, that's a lot of views!

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33. 0

    andycoolposted 12 years ago

    To earn consistently from writing online one needs to be attached with at least one big ezine like about.com etc., which would help drive real traffic to one's blogs or personal sites. Anyone who's trying to build a career in online writing should first try this.

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    1. 0

       Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Totally not true. The big networks are hurting...LoveToKnow broke contracts with the majority of its writers in August and About terminated many contracts about a week ago. I believe that one of the other big networks also let many of their writers go...I just dont remember who it was ...eHow maybe? 
       
       The best way to drive traffic to your work is to write well, write consistently, and write about what people want to read.

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       1. 79

          Sally's Troveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Yours is a message that apparently needs repeating over and over again. If you don't write to meet reader expectations, then no gaming is ever going to help.

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34. 60

    Hollie Thomasposted 12 years ago

    When I starting writing here, just a few months ago, I didn't expect to earn a penny for approximately a year. I'm actually quite pleased with the fact that I've earned a few dollars in a few months. The way I feel, is that I'm just going to keep trying, learning, and I expect in many ways that will be through trial and error. I'm learning about SEO, but interestingly, my best performing hub is an old recipe for low fat tiramisu, which I dig out before I go on vacation. I didn't even bother researching keywords, I just thought if it's useful to me, it'll be useful to someone else

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35. 74

    wheelinalloverposted 12 years ago

    I don't know that I have any room to talk. This is what I do know.
    
    1. Write hubs
    
    2. Write to a niche
    
    3. Use Google adwords to optimize.
    
    4. Use pictures with your keywords below.
    
    5. If possible use video which has your
       keywords in Utube which fit your hub.
    
    6. Socialize in places like twitter, utube,
       facebook, and share what you are doing.
    
    7. Look at hubs by hubbers with a rank of
       95 and above, see what they are doing.
    
    8. Don't copy, use your own ideas from what
       you see.
    9. Expect to spend 5 hours writing, checking,
       and building your hub.
    
    If you do these things and don't make money
    your doing something wrong, so start over.
    
    My hubs work because they are for advertising
    purposes and for people to get to know me.
    
    One of the big things that many overlook is
    the money is in the list. If you don't have
    one your missing potential sales/readers.
    
    For a writer your "friends list" in social
    networks are your list.

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    1. 0

       Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Again - I have to disagree. The people in your social networks MAY help promote to some extent but your money is going to come from  people who are looking for specific information and find it in your article. Your friends are NOT going to make you money.
       
       According to Google analytics 89.06% of my traffic is from search engines, 6.07 is from referring sites, and 4.87 is from direct traffic. In real numbers that means out of the 328,063 page views in the past month:
       
       Search Engines
       309,901.00 (89.06%)
       Referring Sites
       21,125.00 (6.07%)
       Direct Traffic
       16,961.00 (4.87%)
       
       Of those, who do you think is doing the clicking?
       
       Don't try to figure out a formula...Just publish your best work about subjects you are passionate about, find your voice, and stay with it.)

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       1. 83

          homesteadboundposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          That amount of traffic is astounding! Way to go! And I agree, that it's the people who search for us (that we do not know) and find us will be the people who do the most clicking.

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       2. 81

          David 470posted 12 years agoin reply to this

          I agree with Marye. About 80 some% or more of my traffic comes from the search engines. Getting traffic from the search engines is most important, not friends and family. You won't make money by having a few freinds or family members looking at your article hubs...
          
          Honestly, I don't want people on facebook seeing my hubs. I have shown my dad my articles and stuff, but not others really.
          
          
          Search Engines 194,233.00 (92.33%)
          Direct Traffic 9,593.00 (4.56%)
          Referring Sites 6,542.00 (3.11%)
          
          That is the past month...

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36. 75

    StayPosposted 12 years ago

    Marye,
    
    Great advice from a successful Hubpages veteran :-)  If only people would heed your words of wisdom, it might help them shake off the sure to come headache in trying to overanalyze and precisely calculate how the algorithm formula works.
    
    Also, thanks for sharing some of your numbers.  Again, when you have traffic numbers from publishing good quality original content like yourself and other top Hubbers the money will certainly follow.   As the saying goes, “only in the dictionary does success come before work.”  :-)

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37. 81

    David 470posted 12 years ago

    @ Wheelinallover
    
    To be honest, I don't think it should take 5 hours to write an article. That is way too long if you want to maximize your earnings. In my opinion, it should only take an hour give or take some minutes...Maybe 2 hours if it's going to be a difficult article to publish.
    
    Quite frankly, I have had successful 30 minute articles. One hub hit 2000 hits overnight.

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    1. 75

       WriteAngledposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       It depends on the topic. If I need to search and analyse the scientific literature, as I do for some of my hubs, it can take more than 5 hours for that step alone, before I even start writing.

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38. 60

    hamidhussainposted 12 years ago

    Nice Post
    
    have a great day

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39. 76

    NMLadyposted 12 years ago

    So far, I have heard how bad the Panda Updates were but I have no idea what that means!  What were the Panda Updates?  Also, I am not making money here.  I am cutting my teeth here and if I don't make any money, I will look other places.
    My rating bounces around based on nothing that I can discern.  My readership keeps getting red triangles for going up while my article numbers go up and my overall number goes down.
    So, being an analytical person who likes to do well I am contemplating moving on to somewhere that shares with you just exactly what you need to do to succeed here.
    Hub looks like it may be the parent that won't tell you exactly what to do but sure does punish you when you don't  do what they want you to do.

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    1. 95

       wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       NM, you need to quit worrying about scores.  Keep the Hubber score (on your avatar) above 75 and the one on individual hubs over 40.  Beyond that, let the chips fall where they may - it makes no difference.
       
       Be aware that HP stats are on a rolling basis; they do not reset each night but mean just what they say.  24 hours at 7AM means from the previous 7AM while 24 hours at 6:30 pm means from the previous 6:30 pm.  The 7 and 30 day stats are the same way.  The only one that should always go up is the "ever" column and even that is iffy; I've seen negative numbers occasionally in the "traffic source" section.
       
       A better way, or at least more understandable perhaps is to use the figures on adsense or analytics for your analyzing but be aware as well that they won't match HP figures at all.  Just pick one and use it on a steady basis.

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40. 59

    Lindy's Worldposted 12 years ago

    I have been with HP for 2years give or take.  While I haven't made a ton of money yet, I can honestly say my earnings are going up a little bit each month.  For me the bottom line is that HP is fun, a great outlet, and a good way to wet your feet in the writing world.

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41. 57

    stuff4youposted 12 years ago

    Hub Pages alone? No.

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42. 91

    Buster Bucksposted 12 years ago

    I've been writing on hubpages for about three years. I write a hub every three weeks or so, on average. Unlike some of the writers here, I've only published about 70 hubs.
    
    I'm posting to say that my views -- which were tiny at the beginning -- have slowly grown to 23,000 views/week. I make about $10/day (Google ads plus HP ads) and plan to have 100 hubs by the end of the year.
    
    Like so many things in life, you have to find enjoyment and then the Good Stuff will come. It seems that too many people begin writing here with unrealistic notions about what is going to happen.
    
    You have to enjoy writing, first and foremost. The pleasure of it is the only thing that will keep you going during the early times of minimal views and a nickel/day.
    
    For those of you who are new to this -- hang in there, okay? Keep writing, and keep working.

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43. 85

    Maralexaposted 12 years ago

    Hi Buster Bucks
    
    3 years and around 70 hubs.  Congratulations for your 23,000 views a wek.  WOW.  I now have more motivation.  I'm in my early days -- joined a while ago -- been writing for 2 months now.  I hope to add to my income some day soon.
    
    Thanks for your comments.

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44. 61

    kirsibposted 12 years ago

    I was glad to read many are actually profiting here. Also looking forward to eBay addition. I have not been very active prior at all but starting to realize that this could make me few dollars each month. I did not even know Hubpages are now paying straight and it has collected me almost a dollar now in just one week without much effort. (I wish I had it setup before!) Quick glance to my adsense says I have $45 sitting in there now, some months been good, some almost nothing. I'm hoping Christmas is helping the click through profits and I do enjoy the way you can write hubs, different platform than Helium or Associatedcontent!

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