Information about Hub Pages?

1. 0

   Linkusblessposted 12 years ago

   I'd be interested to know what people's views are about Hubpages.  There seems to be rather a lot of 'rules' and at first it reminded me  bit of some sort of strict 'school'.  Personally, I'd like a bit more transparency about who owns Hubpages and how much income it generates for it's owners. Admittedly I haven't dug very deep, but nonetheless, I'm a little bit uneasy about being part of a content farm that does very nicely out of it's 'animals' who are more or less left to find their own way in the wilderness and cannot expect any kind of reward for their efforts until such time as their postings are in the thousands.  Hmmm.  What are your thoughts?

   replyreport
   1. 0

      Website Examinerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      You have a very long profile page description, which is probably fine. You may want to put the link to your blog on top, not at the bottom. Welcome to HubPages!

      replyreport
      1. 0

         Linkusblessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, thanks for the tip.

         replyreport
   2. 60

      paradigmsearchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      The more I explore other writing sites, the more I appreciate HP.

      replyreport
2. 0

   Website Examinerposted 12 years ago

   The revenue sharing (page impression sharing, actually) model is nothing unusual on article sites. You can gain valuable links from your hubs to external websites and blogs. Your profile page can link to pretty much anything you like. Quality hubs tend to do well in search engine rankings. So, regardless of your traffic, a HubPages account can be a beneficial thing to have.

   replyreport
3. 88

   WryLiltposted 12 years ago

   A lot of the basics you want to know are probably on wikipedia.
   
   Otherwise you can have a look at how everything gets broken down in the help section.
   
   Please don't make the assumption that many newbies do that if you publish a handful of hubs and leave them for a month you're being ripped off by the system because you only made 20c. You'll actually earn faster here than you would on your own site [trust me, I have quite a few, plus write on several revenue sharing sites]. It definitely takes time to make money online.

   replyreport
   1. 0

      Linkusblessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I seriously doubt my handful of hubs is ever going to generate me even 20 cents! And even if it does I'll never know!  I did have a look at Wikipedia after I'd posted this question.  Perhaps I'd be less circumspect if more information about who owns Hubpages and their other interests was a bit more up front. i.e, clearly they're not running this site out of the goodness of their hearts, so what is their motivation?  Thanks for your reply.  I tend to think I'd be better off concentrating my time and efforts on my own blog.

      replyreport
      1. 61

         Randy Godwinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         "goodness of their hearts"?  Heck no, but 40% of our earnings apparently pays the bills! 

         replyreport
      2. 59

         bruzzbuzzposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         True about focusing on your own blog. I have made more money with my own blog, but I have made money here too. I just do not want all of my eggs in one basket. My blogs actually pay better per click than the Hub ad program makes me at per impression. I think you should focus on your own blog if you have any misgivings about Hubpages.

         replyreport
4. 63

   Nouveau Skepticposted 12 years ago

   The owners and earnings of Hubpages are public record in all the usual places.
   
   And I think the deal here is very transparent. The reason there are a lot of "rules" is because what you have to do and what you get in return is spelled out to the last decimal point.
   
   If you don't like the deal, don't take it.

   replyreport
5. 59

   bruzzbuzzposted 12 years ago

   My view on Hubpages is rather simple. I like a site that is proactive in trying to  battle the ill will put forth on us by Google Panda. That update did more to hurt the average Hubber than anything else and it looked bleak for us to ever get back to levels seen before. Hubpages enacted stricter guidelines than it had before and the result is that many of us have returned to pre-Panda levels of traffic and earning. Yes, it would be nice for more transparency, but then again, the more transparent a company is, it opens itself up to people's ability to game the system.

   replyreport
6. 63

   Nouveau Skepticposted 12 years ago

   What are you expecting?  They are running this site to make money. We are adding content to this site to make money.  That's how this sort of site works.

   replyreport
7. 90

   Urbane Chaosposted 12 years ago

   I've been on HubPages for over two years now.  During that time, I've seen a lot of changes, and most of them for the better.  HubPages essentially tells you up front what you can expect, and they do their best to keep the site relevant.  It is, by far, the best revenue-sharing software site available right now.  I make a decent amount every month, and if I have to leave for awhile (as I've had to do over the last few months), I know that when I come back then I can expect the same service that I've always gotten.
   
   It's not a get-rich-quick scheme.  It's not a site where you can post meaningless junk and expect to get something in return.  Rather, you have to work for what you earn.  It's a great place to start out writing since it's so easy to use, but at the same time, it's also a great place for established authors to come and make a few extra bucks.. It just takes time, hard work, and dedication.

   replyreport
8. 88

   WryLiltposted 12 years ago

   60% of advert views are yours - 40% of advert views are theirs. Out of that 40% they give 10% to the referrer (if there is one) plus 9-12% to anyone who links to the page in question with a referral tracker. So really they are guaranteed only 18% of advert views and that is basically "their cut" for hosting your content.
   
   I personally find rev-share sites are a great way to "test the waters" on a topic. I'll write a single article that'll only take me half an hour. If it sinks in the water, that's fine. However if it gets very good views, then I'll often go and start a full site/blog on that topic. That way I'm not wasting hours creating content for a topic that'll never get views.
   
   One reason for all the rules is because of Adsense. Any site that shows Adsense adverts needs to stick to the Adsense Terms of Service or risk losing their account (and in this case, both your account and Hubpages account.) The Adsense rules basically exclude a lot of things on sensitive topics (suicide etc), alcohol, sex, drugs, cigarettes, weapons. Not to mention Adsense has rules about where your traffic comes from (no link exchanges) and all sorts of other stipulations.
   
   Other non-Adsense related rules are also often for your own good. The rule about duplicate content for example, means less chance of getting in trouble with search engines. Google has been trying to force in strict rules about not copying other people's content (because really, what's the point in every article on a topic saying the exact same thing.)

   replyreport
   1. 0

      Linkusblessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for the feedback folks, you have somewhat allayed my darker suspicions about who benefits most from my work, so that saved a lot of time for me. My blog attracts a lot more traffic than my hub pages.  I take my writing seriously and try to put my best into it so it takes a lot of time and energy. I wasn't sure what to expect with this question--felt it could go either way, so thanks.

      replyreport
9. 73

   relacheposted 12 years ago

   I've been on HubPages since the site was in beta and have visited the owners and employees in San Francisco.
   
   What part of this site doesn't make it clear that this is a for-profit, privately-owned company?  Any time searching the history of this company will show you how it got founded, when they got venture capital to fund growth, who's running the show and what they all did before they were doing this.
   
   If you want to know how the program work, read the terms, they are linked from every page on this site.
   
   I am a freelance contributor here like everyone else but my writing here keeps me free from having a conventional day job and supports me.  It took a lot of time and energy and commitment to do it, but it can work if you stick it out for the long haul.

   replyreport
   1. 81

      David 470posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      relache -- Just curious, you also write for Squidoo don't you? I thought I remember forum posts about it.

      replyreport
10. 80

    MakinBaconposted 12 years ago

    As mentioned, you can find out from just about anywhere what the company makes. But who cares?
    
    There is no correlation between what the company makes and what a writer makes, as the terms are very clearly communicated to everyone before they decide to join.
    
    It's also what the forums are for.
    
    What is sounds like is you want to have direct contact and interaction with the leaders of the company; something that the huge number of writers guarantees isn't going to happen.
    
    As to your motivation question, that doesn't even make sense. Of course it's a business out to make a profit, that's what a business is. Otherwise there would be no Hubpages or opportunity to write.
    
    I'm sure most the people take their writing seriously as well. You may want to work on learning how to research and write quicker.
    
    For me, I've been making a living writing online since 2005, and have generated well above six figures income (mostly outside of Hubpages). You have to be able to write a little quicker if you have the mentality you're an hourly wage earner, rather than an independent contractor.
    
    Also, if you're a perfectionist, you won't be happy anywhere you write, as you may spend more time editing rather than writing, which can be a huge demotivator.
    
    I've been writing on Hubpages for a little over two years, and very part time, and have had between 3 and 4 million visitors. I do nothing to promote my articles on social media, and have only recently started doing a little interacting in the forums. It's all organic visits, other than a few from Hubpages that show up.
    
    The point is, it doesn't take that much, in my experience with Hubpages, to generate a lot of traffic. You just have to do a little research and get rid of the idea you're the next Hemingway.
    
    Branch out into a variety of topics and write a few articles on each one to see which one sticks. I don't think it's any harder than that if you're looking to generate some money from Hubpages.

    replyreport
    1. 60

       paradigmsearchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I bet if you showed up at their office around 8:00 AM with a box of donuts and your username pinned to your shirt, you'd be interacting in no time.

       replyreport