Welcome to Hubpages.com. Whether you're a hobby blogger or professional writer I feel you will have a great and rewarding experience on this online community. That being said let me also caution you that what you take away from your time here will directly reflect what you put into it. Writing, while definitely a passion for many of us is also a career and job for just as many. To succeed in this field requires not only effort, but determination, and a clear plan. Before beginning your journey here, take a moment to get clear on what you hope to accomplish by joining Hubpages. Stumbling around on notions and underdeveloped goals will lead to wasted time and frustration. Be honest with yourself and your desires on this issue. Money can be made on this site like any other but it will not happen by itself or overnight.

Hubpages Success Stories

You do not have to look far to find examples of authors and writers who have turned this site into an income stream. The person earnestly seeking to profit by their time here would do well to read the works and hubs by authors such as.

• Darkside
• Mark Knowles
  
• Shirley Anderson
• James A. Watkins

These are just four out of hundreds. There are numerous categories and subjects dealing with success and writing on hubpages. I suggest you dedicate some serious time to reading over the articles found there. Study them and make an effort to internalize what you read. Making money online is not hard but there are certain ways to go about doing it. Do not waste your time trying to re-invent the wheel when others have already done the groundwork for you. More importantly once you read what they do, don't dismiss it out of hand until after you have tried it and given it time to work. Many people will complain about not seeing a payoff but on closer examination it is obvious that they refuse to practice even the most basic of techniques and tips given to them by the scores of experienced writers on this site.

There is No Substitute for Quality

Everyday my email inbox is filled with notifications from Hubpages indicating new articles being published by some of my favorite writers. Unfortunately this is becoming like spam. I am often amazed at how some writers are managing ten Hubs a day, until I read them that is, and discover that they are filled with spelling and grammatical mistakes that are simply inexcusable. In this modern age of spell-checkers, and editing there just is no good reason to publish any article without taking a few minutes to proof-read your own work, or better yet allow someone else to. Flooding your portfolio with hundreds of poorly prepared and badly thought out pieces will not help your career at all, and will not make you money. The author that is published is the one who can present quality work again and again.

Most of the time I simply delete these notifications from my email without reading or commenting on the article. The reason is simple, the author has demonstrated hundreds of times now the inability to edit their own work or even a desire to. Despite repeated comments and suggestions by their readers they just will not take the time to go over their own work. People like to read quality stuff, that flows and is not difficult to follow. More importantly most readers are not the imbeciles that some authors would assume and presenting work that is only intelligible to a fifth grader is insulting and degrading to them. The authors that are successful on this site write quality work, that has been carefully prepared, and edited. Often returning to their articles many times to constantly optimize and tweak them.

Commercial Writing

While it is true that you can make money doing what you love there are also common sense rules to any undertaking. I love to write, and I came here to find a way to make money doing it. However I have quickly come to understand that in order to do that I will have to write about what people want to read. Writing of this nature is dependent on advertisers and traffic to make its profits. No traffic, no money. It's pretty simple. If you consistently churn out articles about information and topics a majority of people are not searching for you will not make money on sites such as Hubpages. Some may call this selling out, and those same individuals will be found in the forums complaining and crying unfair.

Many writers and successful authors will tell you the same story. They all got their start writing about things they did not necessarily have a passion for, but they wrote quality stuff anyway, taking time to put out the best work possible. Once you break into the show and are drawing a salary then start dedicating your writing to what interest you the most. Now do not confuse this advice with thinking you can't write about what you want and make money doing it. If your passion is making money starting online businesses then you will definitely have an audience. If for example your passions lies in the mating habits of Brazilian snails then this may not be the place to write about it. Remember programs like Adsense are commercial enterprises. The keyword being commercial. You need to focus on subjects, ideas, and trends in the media and community as a whole. Do your research and you will be rewarded.

What Sells, and What People are Searching For

The following applies to those seeking to make a profit from ad clicks and impressions on their hubs. Those of you who have come to Hubpages to explore your creative writing talents, will most likely not benefit much from this article. Truthfully most people want to know how to do something, or find answers to problems. While reading a good story is entertaining its also just a temporary escape from reality. In my experience online, over the past two years I have found that outside of books, and traditional publications, creative writing just does not do good in this type of format.

We are entering the holiday season. This is always a time of year when people are buying and looking for new gifts, ideas, and fun things to do. Once you realize this you are already on the right path. The public has needs and if you can meet those needs then the public will come to you. What do they need you might ask? Well lets look around at the Hubpages Topics, and Forums. Here are whole crowds of people more then willing to tell you what they want and need. Just look at the titles of hubs. What are people looking for? People today are basically the same. They want money, love, and happiness. Those three things come in many forms and avenues. Recognize this now, and take advantage of it. Be careful though not to concentrate to much on internal traffic, but on content that will appeal to a broad audience outside of Hubpages as this is where your ad clicks will come from.

You could write about weight loss, dating, making money turning your hobby into a book, or low-cost Christmas Gifts. Look at the calender what is coming up soon? Think about this now and get a hub out beforehand so that by the time the holidays hit, your article will have already had time to develop a following thus placing it high on the search results. What do you know how to do that people want to know? Where have you gone that others will visit and enjoy? What have you purchased that is popular and sought after? All these questions are just the beginning. You have to research your articles and make an effort to answer the most basic of human questions and fill that need, to generate more traffic and interest. Look at your own situation, what would you like to know about to help yourself grow or be happy?

There is a Method to the Madness.

Success on any writing site does not happen by accident. Though good writers may make it seem effortless, I assure you each one has spent incredible amounts of time and thought on perfecting their work. It is a process that is always continuing. Even the greatest authors and writers are constantly searching for better ways to do things and easier ways to profit by them. In this search though they never forget the basics and they always observe them. Quality, content, edited work, popular subjects, and fresh presentations are the key to money on this site. The time you spend to put forth a great article will pay off in the months ahead. Never forget that your articles, and profile may be the stepping stone to success you are looking for, Sloppy, hastily done pages without rhyme or reason are the hallmark of bad writers and lazy personalities. Publishers invest in writers and they expect a return. Show them that you are a person that can be depended on to deliver quality work over and over again.