Hubpages Topics

1. 92

   Jean Bakulaposted 12 years ago

   When HP went through the Google Panda upset, we were given a list of topics that would not be viewed favorably as hubs. Among them was recipes. Now I see a contest asking for Thanksgiving recipes. Why can't the leaders make up their minds? I love food as much as the next person, but a recipe is hardly creative or particularly intersting writing or reading. Eating, yes. Others were Acai Berry, six pack abs, among others. Are these lame contests a diversion so we don't notice the lack of money from Adsense? What incentive is there to research and write about interesting topics when you lower the bar so much?

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   1. 0

      Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I totally disagree. In my "other" Internet life I am a food writer and recipes, when done correctly, can be fascinating. I wrote a post on Southwestern Chile Corn Chowder on my blog today and explored the origins of chowders and how they evolved.
      Sure if you just write ingredients and instructions it can be boring... but a good food writer will always find a way to make it interesting, mouthwatering, and inspiring.

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   2. 86

      Robinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      We never put restrictions on creating recipes.  As long as they are complete and useful, you can write recipe Hubs.  Of course the best recipe Hubs have photos, video, ingredient lists and step by step guides.  If you can add a bit of history like Marye does, even better!  Hubs on acai berry and six pack abs are very different.  If you know of a place where we say to not write recipe Hubs, let me know because it's a mistake.  Thanks! 

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      1. 92

         Jean Bakulaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         It wasn't a mistake, I read it on this forum, and I will look for it. It said that the writing had to improve and recipes were one of the topics that were oversaturated. I'll look for it when I have time.

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2. 80

   QuestionMasterposted 12 years ago

   The weekly topic inspiration is not a contest; it's simply an idea to write hubs about, and you get mentioned in a hub created for the week and get linked on similar hubs' RSS feeds.
   
   The weekly topic is usually picked based on a topic that isn't too 'saturated' and the site is running low on content for. So maybe recipes in general are quite a saturated topic, but thanksgiving recipes aren't as common.

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3. 57

   Dame Scribeposted 12 years ago

   If you don't want to join in the weekly topics - using the 'Answers' section can help to stir some inspiration towards a topic of interest or challenge least we get the choice to make a hub around a question or inspired to write a 'spin-off' related idea always best to have enjoy oneself though

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4. 61

   paradigmsearchposted 12 years ago

   It's been my experience that recipe hubs are one of the places where those 1-cent adsense clicks come from...

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   1. 73

      Maddie Ruudposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Recipes actually perform pretty well for me on HubPages.

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      1. 92

         Jean Bakulaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I'm happy for anyone who gets results from readers on recipes. I just know what I read. It was probably around March or April when recipes were listed as an "oversaturated" topic, when all the Panda changes were hitting. If you enjoy writing them and reading them,  more power to you.

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         1. 73

            Maddie Ruudposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Jean,
            
            Recipes were never part of the list of over-saturated topics, I assure you.  If you believe you read something that implied that they were, please point us to the forum post in question so that we can clarify the wording for future readers.

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5. 94

   How to - Answersposted 12 years ago

   I write a lot of recipe hubs both here and as another user.  I too find they can be good earners.  I get a lot of readers to these hubs and have had clicks worth up to 70c a go.
   
   As for them being boring I disagree.  Any subject can be boring and uninspiring if not written correctly or with care.  I take all my own photographs and give a step by step guide.  I am actually very proud of my recipe hubs lol.

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   1. 92

      Jean Bakulaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Well, you should be proud of your work, I know most people here put lots of effort in. Perhaps I will have another look at recipes myself then. I was on a low fat diet five or six yrs ago and lost 60 lbs. I gained 10 back due to surgery, but kept 50 off, mostly due to keeping the low fat eating habits. I had a few good muffin recipes up, and I do have a pumpkin bread everyone likes. I never thought to take pictures of the steps though. OK, thanks everyone, I may try this again, as I had one or two recipes up and took them down. Maybe I can work them up better!

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      1. 75

         WriteAngledposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Yes please! Don't care whether you include photos or not.

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6. 61

   CulinaryFoolposted 12 years ago

   Did somebody say pumpkin bread???

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   1. 92

      Jean Bakulaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      OK Maddie, maybe I remembered wrong. I'm fond of the HP family, and happy for anyone's success. And yes, I did say pumpkin bread . I learned how to make changes of ingredients to use my favorite recipes but take the fat out. You can replace oil with either vanilla or plain yogurt (depending on which tastes better) or unsweetened applesauce. I'm game, always looking for new topics. And I did some tasty adaptations. So I guess I better get working on my next hub!

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      1. 75

         WriteAngledposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, after getting us slavering for more, you pretty well d__n better!

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         1. 92

            Jean Bakulaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, Ma'am! I 'll get on it!

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