Where can I find hubs re:

1. 82

   Rafiniposted 7 years ago

   As a returning hubber I have many, many questions that I really don't want to keep bothering the forums with.  I'd much rather read about it in a hub, however, my search questions usually take me outside HubPages.  I'm hoping the community can help me out here, with these and other questions:
   
   AdSense Account - Finally updated my information & reactivated my account.  However, I've forgotten what everything means!  For example, on one day a few years ago I had these stats: Page Views - 2, Impressions - 6, Clicks - 1, RPM - $588.20, Impressions RPM - $196.07, Estimated Earnings - $1.18.  There was nothing about bounce rate. (which is best, a high or low bounce rate? - if I ever find it again, that is.)
   
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   Back-linking and sharing.  Much about this has changed in the past five years.  I don't remember my shetoldmeso account login or password (I could probably find a way to get it) but does anyone use it anymore?  What, in your opinion, are the best (or most successful) back-linking and sharing strategies?  I know Marisa recently said that you want to drive your traffic from HubPages to your blog, but she didn't state why.  So, I'm asking - Why?  My blog isn't monetized, in fact right now HubPages is the only site I'm on that is monetized.  And, speaking of monetization, where else can I use my AdSense and Amazon ID's?
   
   I'm also still struggling with how to share from StumbleUpon (closed my account because of it, may go back if it seems worth it) and Tumblr.  I seemed to prefer Tumblr's platform but need more practice with it. 
   
   Also wondering how to properly use Flipboard.  Do you set up a magazine, add to it, and otherwise leave it?  Or, do you update it regularly with new articles?  Do you replace articles or leave the old ones under the newer ones?  I'm interested in joining li but it seems to be the exact same thing as Flipboard but with a different look. 
   
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   If you've written a hub or know of a hub with these answers could you please post about it below?  If you know the answers but don't know if there's a hub about it, could you please post the answers? 
   
   Thank you in advance.  This hubber appreciates it, muchly!

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   1. 82

      Rafiniposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Does nobody know of any hubs on these topics?
      
      Anybody willing to share their personal knowledge or opinions?

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   2. 89

      NateB11posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I generally don't think backlinking is a good idea, better to get natural links that people just post to your work on their sites. Google penalizes for unnatural backlinks where people are just trying to game the search engine.
      
      RPM generally is how much you earn per thousand visits. A click is a click on an ad which you get paid for. Estimated earnings is what you'll probably get paid for the next month. You won't see anything about bounce rate on adsense, you'll see it in Analytics. Bounce rate is generally thought to be better when it's lower because it means people aren't leaving your page real quick like. However, this seems mostly irrelevant on HP and even on my own sites, because you can get plenty of traffic to content with high bounce rates.

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      1. 82

         Rafiniposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you for your in-depth reply. 
         Very good to know backlinking is not considered a good idea, however, now I wonder whether it's a good idea or not to promote my hubs on my social networks.  I've been doing it and my traffic increased tremendously, but of course the hubs were time sensitive/relevant topics. (Recent movie reviews & general finance & health related topics.)
         Also, thanks for the reminder about Google Analytics!  I'd forgotten about it and will have to check it out to see what it says.

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2. 86

   Marisa Wrightposted 7 years ago

   No one uses SheToldMe any more, or StumbleUpon.   Sharing your own links on such sites is an outdated way of promotion - it was always a way to increase your backlink count, not to get real readers, and Google got wise to that ages ago.  Tumblr is a different animal - it's a blogging site, like Blogger but with more interaction.  If you want to blog there, then you could share links to your Hubs, but it may not be that helpful.
   
   Glenn Stok has a good Hub on how to use Flipboard.  It works for some people, especially if you enjoy using it for its own sake so it doesn't feel like work - because it is an ongoing exercise and involves sharing other articles besides your own. 
   
   Adsense - you can't see bounce rate there.  You want a low bounce rate.  You need Google Analytics for that. 
   
   Assuming you've got all facets of the HP Earnings Program activated (which I hope you do), you can pretty much forget about your Adsense account. You'll be earning pennies if you're lucky, because you'll have only one direct Adsense ad on each Hub (the others are all part of the Earnings Program). Virtually all your earnings will flow through your HP account.
   
   As for why I said link FROM your Hubs TO your blog - that's assuming that ultimately, your blog would be your main earner, or your most important site.  If that's not the case then it doesn't apply.
   
   If you're considering linking FROM your blog TO your Hubs, then ask yourself why.  If you're trying to increase your backlink count, then there's no point because no matter how many Hubs you link to, Google will count only one or two links between two domains.  If you're trying to drive readers to your Hubs, then that's only going to work if your blog is getting a lot of visitors to drive.

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   1. 82

      Rafiniposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you Marisa, I knew I could count on you.  (And here I'd thought you hadn't replied for so long because you were on tour!)
      
      Would it make sense for me to find out my shetoldmeso account info in order to cancel it, or would you suggest I just let it be? 
      
      It sounds like you're saying it's rather pointless to link from my hubs to my blog until my blog is better established with followers and traffic, which could indicate my blog being on my own (paid for) website rather than a free one.  Would this be correct?  Or is there a free blogging platform out there that I am unaware of (which I'm sure there are plenty!) but where I can monetize immediately upon setup?
      
      Ok, going to check out Glenn Stok's hub now)

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      1. 86

         Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         I'm way past touring!  I've been having a blast on CritiqueCircle.com, working through my novel there.  I thought it was going to be a horrible experience, letting other people pull it to pieces, but I'm loving it and it's really galvanised me to get the manuscript finished!
         
         The only way your blog is going to get established is if people know about it - so the earlier you start making people aware of it, the better!  Which means you should be linking to it from Hubs immediately. Of course, you do need to follow HubPages rules, which means you can link ONLY if the blog is relevant to the Hub.  And you must link to a specific blog post, not the front page. 
         
         There used to be lots of free blogging platforms where you could monetize immediately.  Now, there's only Blogger that I would recommend.

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         1. 82

            Rafiniposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Oooh, CritiqueCircle sounds exciting!  I'm not sure I'll ever write a novel, because non-fiction, personal essays and memoir seem to be my niche.  Would they critique memoir, too?
            
            So far I only have three posts on my blog and am still working out how to work it (how often to post, what subject matter, design, etc.).  I've submitted to one blog challenge so far, but would like to make it more regular. 
            
            I moved to WordPress, so I can upgrade to my own website when I have the money. 
            
            Thank you, again, for the response above.  After reading Glenn's hub I realized what my search issue was - I was using the wrong terminology!  I had to search for "revenue sharing websites".  I found five that I'm going to give a try.
            1. Wizzley
            2. Writedge
            3. Dailytwocents
            4. iWriter
            5. Writers.ph  (after I'm comfortable with the previous ones(
            
            Have you ever heard of DTC?  What type of site are they?  Oh, silly me!    I think I'll go check them out real quick, myself.

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            1. 82

               Rafiniposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               Okay, that didn't work.  Guess I can eliminate that one.  (DTC)

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               1. 82

                  Rafiniposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  Oh. DTC is dailytwocents.   

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            2. 86

               Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               DailyTwoCents is the ONLY rev-sharing site (other than HP) that I would spend more than five seconds on.  I don't write there myself, but last time I looked at them, Google had classified them as a news site - which means they weren't attracting the penalty Google applies to most revenue-sharing sites.  So I would say they are worth a try, particularly if you're writing on topical stuff rather than evergreen. Some people like Wizzley, but more for the community - my articles there have never done as well as my Hubs. 
               
               The last couple are not revenue-sharing sites, they're places to do freelance writing.  Freelance writing is, far and away, your best chance of making a real income from your writing - but whether those sites are the best place to do it, I don't know.  Google for reviews and see what you can find.
               
               In fact, I'd say you're wasting your time on revenue-sharing sites if you're not writing evergreen topics.  The whole point of rev-sharing sites is that each article earns small amounts gradually over time.  If a topic has a lifespan of less than a year, it's highly unlikely it will earn enough to justify the effort of writing it.
               
               Yes, CritiqueCircle accepts memoirs as well, and membership is free.  You earn points by providing critiques to others, then you "pay" with points to post your own chapters.  If you decide to join, look out for me (I'm using the same name) and ask to join my private queue. I'm offering bonus points to critique my chapters, so if you critique a couple, you'll have enough points to post a chapter of your own.

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               1. 82

                  Rafiniposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  Cool, thank you for the info!  Currently I am trying out new non-fiction genres (such as movie reviews, travel memoir articles, and recipes) and wanted to try out new sites at the same time to see what fits best where. 
                  
                  Yes, I hadn't noted that iWriter was freelance also, and that I would get to it after testing out my skills elsewhere just like I intend to do with Writers.ph.  I really, really want to jump right in, but I have this little perfectionist thing going on here, where I want to know that I know what I'm doing before being required to do it.  That way I know I wont be laughed at, or worse, fired. 
                  
                  CritiqueCircle, here I come!  Sometime this month, and I'll look you up.

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               2. 82

                  Rafiniposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  After signing up for Writedge & dailytwocents I have to wonder if I'll be happy there.  I absolutely cannot stand all the popups!

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