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Making Money on HubPages

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By Lissie

How did I come to HubPages?

To be honest I don't remember how I came to HubPages! I started fulltime on the web, trying to earn an income, in September 07 and within a month I found HubPages. At the same time I revamped my existing blog, started a new blog and also later on added a blog to an existing website!

I find now that I struggle to keep my own blogs going - mainly because I keep on coming back to hubpages.

So what is the appeal of HubPages?



Getting Paid to Write

The thing that really got me hooked with hubpages is the Flagship Hub program. Yes you have to sign a contract and give up your copyright, but in return you get promptly paid (US$25) but possibly more importantly you know that the topics chosen probably aren't random! To date my 6 flagship hubs are also my hubs with the most visitors and the hubs with the most search engine traffic. And slowly my earnings from Adsense and EBay are starting to increase (well let's face it zero is a figure hard to get below! )

Good Ranking with Google and Other Search Engines

I am finding that some of my hubs make it to the first or second page of Google and I am in generally getting a lot bigger percentage of my visitors from search engines on hubpages than any other site I have. I think its getting to the point now that there are so many bad/poor sites out there that a lot of sites just never seem to make it big it google at all. I notice that most of the hits on the first few pages are from sites such as about.com and hubpages. Even Squidoo doesn't seem to do as well.

Other Positives with HubPages

  • It's a nice community - there are number of real world writers here and it doesn't seem so dominated by the make money with SEO brigade which I am getting a bit bored with. In fact there are even poets and fiction writers here!
  • The tools are nice to use, though not perfect, but make it pretty easy to add pictures, videos and nice looking links and feeds to your blog. I find now that sites such as Helium which are all text a bit boring really
  • The revenue sharing is transparent and you are paid directly by the 3rd party (Amazon, Adsense, CJ (for EBay)) which is nice and clean

  • The comment feature is nice and allows a blogger type interaction - minus all the comment spam in the real world!

Where to from here:

Well if it wasn't for the principal of eggs and baskets I would probably give up my other sites and concentrate on this one - as it is I think I may close down one blog and try to re-use the content here.

I want to try and write more on the topics that are doing well and create some more related hubs around them.


My Best Articles

  • MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro - Comparison

    Billed as the world's thinnest laptop the Apple's MacBook Air is a mere 0.76-inch thick at its thickest part tapering to 0.16-inch. Otherwise the MacBook mimics the 13-inch silhouette of the current MacBook... - 2 years ago

  • Light Notebooks - Review of 5 Lightest Laptops

    Whether you want a fashion accessory or a robust light laptop for school. Whether your budget is $3000 or $300 there is a light laptop for you. These notebooks weigh in at less than approx. 3-pounds - but you get so much these days regardless of your budget. - 2 years ago

  • How to explain gaps in your resume

    When people travel for extensive periods of time you end up with gaps in your resume. A gap in employment history for any reason is not a disaster unless you were really have something to hide... - 2 years ago

  • Moving to Australia

    You live in the Northern Hemisphere - winter is closing in the dream of beautiful, clean empty Australian beaches beckon. Or maybe the housing market is rubbish, the cost of living is ridiculous and you want to escape your go nowhere job and maniac boss. The dream is beguiling isn't it? Lets move to Australia and make all our problems go away - but is it really that easy? - 15 months ago

  • Article Writing Software - What You Need to Know

    Looking for software to write your articles for you? Article writing software is a popular request as many people struggle to write articles - but the sad truth is that you already own the best article... - 3 months ago


The Author

Lis Sowerbutts has been traveling since age 7, and has so far,visited over 55 countries. She firmly believes that traveling is too good to be left to the young and you are never too late to start traveling A New Zealander, Lis currently lives in Perth, Australia.

Comments

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retireyoung profile image

retireyoung  says:
2 years ago

Congratulations on your success with HP. Just be careful not to put all of your eggs in the one basket. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a buy out of HP in 2008.

siddhinfo profile image

siddhinfo  says:
2 years ago

You have nice hub. Wish you happy new year

Eileen Hughes profile image

Eileen Hughes  says:
2 years ago

Great Hub, And give me some more ideas to try

I see you have som on travel I have a travel hub too. On Caravanning

http://hubpages.com/_30qckaz1z7h2s/hub/caravanning

bloggerdollar profile image

bloggerdollar  says:
2 years ago

A nice informative hub lis.

Lissie profile image

Lissie  says:
2 years ago

Yes retireyoung i wonder about a buyout too, though google seems to be starting their own competition in knol so maybe not for another year. I also worry that I don't really have a copy of all the content on my own server - just the words !

Rapidwriter profile image

Rapidwriter  says:
2 years ago

Very courageous, Lissie. Your decision to reject the corporate world and travel. I really admire you.

sminut13 profile image

sminut13  says:
2 years ago

good going for you. congrats.

Lissie profile image

Lissie  says:
2 years ago

I grew up with no money but a parent who was determined that education was the key - so I have a couple of degrees. Unfortunately as soon as Igot a job in my chosen profession - Iwas bored bored, bored, changed professions, retrained, same thing happened! When I am bored I am an awful employee - I need to be challenged to stay interested and once I have done something well once I have no real interest in repeating it! I can understand why an employer would want me too I just can't be bothered! It's taken me a long time to walk away from well-paid employement though - traveling is fine but I had a bit of crises the day my partner started his new job and Ihad to stay home and "work" on the internet - "work" because the pay rate is not good enough yet! At least there are lot s of unskilled jobs around in Australia so I think I will get a part-time one of those to pay the bills and feel I'm contributing something while I try and get this writing gig to pay!

Zsuzsy Bee profile image

Zsuzsy Bee  says:
2 years ago

Great HUB Lissie! Hubpages is all you say it is

regards Zsuzsy

Rudra profile image

Rudra  says:
2 years ago

Good input to the request.

WordPlay profile image

WordPlay  says:
2 years ago

This post is an inspiration for me! You're right about how boring the SEO/making money world is becoming. I've only been blogging since November of this year and it didn't take me long to get sick of seeing all the tricky online money-making tactics out there. Thank goodness, content really is king.

Thanks for a great hub. :-)

Lissie profile image

Lissie  says:
2 years ago

So true WordPlay - it started to dawn on me that it's just easier to write something that someone else wants to read rather than all the dogy SEO marketing stuff - old fashioned but a lot more fun! I'm just really lucky my native language is the language of the internet !

Raven King profile image

Raven King  says:
2 years ago

Great Hub! Here it has been snowing for two weeks in a row, freezing temp. for a whole month, so I will read your travel articles with tremendous enthusiasm. Yeah!

jaymz profile image

jaymz  says:
2 years ago

Very interesting hub. I enjoy writting what I love about. It's cool you make money at it.

Rik Ravado profile image

Rik Ravado  says:
2 years ago

Thanks for your views on HubPages. I've only been around HubPages less than a week but already find them very promising. Agree with what you say about content being key. We write best about what we are passionate about. I like the keyword map in the hubber profile. It challenges me as to if I am reflecting who I really am via my writing.

Here are my experiences of Helium:

http://hubpages.com/_1tdw1czy8ohn4/hub/Helium---Ca

Once again thanks for an informative hub!

Lissie profile image

Lissie  says:
2 years ago

Ihope that the whole SEO, writing for the keywords dies off as more and more people make less and less money - that will hopefully leave content king!

MrMarmalade profile image

MrMarmalade  says:
2 years ago

I have not done anything at all about making money. I believe what ever craft or area you perform in must serve an apprenticeship. I consider Hubs are my apprenticeship.

When i become good I will earn some money. I am learning from you great Hubbers

Thank you all for an incredible couple of months. I have enjoyed the hubs immensely and learnt a vast amount. Please enjoy to night and have a better 2008 than ever.

Lissie profile image

Lissie  says:
2 years ago

I think that's a profund comment MrM - many on the internet really seem to think that making 1000's within days is somehow their right!

Research Analyst profile image

Research Analyst  says:
2 years ago

I like your hubs

sunshine1221 profile image

sunshine1221  says:
2 years ago

Lissie - Thanks for the informative article. I agree that HubPages is great; I might also add that being able to write less frequently than a blog is a nice feature of HubPages as well. I look forward to reading more of your hubs!

Lissie profile image

Lissie  says:
2 years ago

Yes sunshine you can takea holiday like Ijust did and come back to find your traffic is builiding! Also you can write on diverse topics without having to start up multiple sites/blogs

Abhinaya  says:
2 years ago

Thanks Lissle for sharing the information.I feel I made more friends here from all over the globe than just think of money and that makes me feel great.Great hub!

Jerrico Usher profile image

Jerrico Usher  says:
2 years ago

Give up your copyright for 25.00 are you insane? sorry that was what came to my head when I saw that ( I think your peaches ) to me 25.00 for my hard work is a bit miniscule, some, ok dam near all of my hubs are taking an average of 3 days to format (4 hours to write, the rest of the time to format, rewrite, edit, and my curse I cant reread it withough a new angle popping in my head that just has to be in there.. sigh.. but I love it.. when you mentioned the 25 bucks I got a bit excited (until you said I had to give up my copyright) I was thinking oh snap, I think I could convert ALL of my hubs to flagship and my calculator in my head started punching out how many I'd need to write to make this years income :)

if you ask me its a great program but making you give up your work for that little is a bit rediculous.. I'd like to convert later my hubs into books to sell, so I could make alot more retaining my rights in the long run.. but thanx for writing this, it opened my eyes alittle more.. when I get some time in I'll write one too, for now I just want to get all this data out of my head on psychology and symbology of life onto hubs! I love you guys, this is my second family.. I look forward to reading hubs, seeing and interacting in the forum and writing hubs as much as I do earning my paycheck at my day job! it is truly addicting here but I don't see myself in hub rehab any time soon. Its funny when I write the hubs I come to the forums to force a break, read hubs to clear my head of the topic I'm on, and sometimes I gain new ideas for hub (hence the longgggg list of hub topics I have jotted into this text file...

Jerrico

Lissie profile image

Lissie  says:
2 years ago

Hi Jerrico, yes I read the contract carefully too - but to me if I can write it once I can write it again! The unique format of HubPages means that I would extensively have to re-write it too. If I had a storey accepted for the local magazine or a travel magazine I imagine I would have to sign a similar agreement. Yes the money isn't great - but it doesn't take me as long to do them as you mention. And I still get the normal revenue share and they do tend to be my best hubs for that too!

mmiller profile image

mmiller  says:
2 years ago

Refreshing info Lissie! I too get bored very easily and need to be challenged. My passion is writing and learning about the different ways to make money from home. Once I find a good one, I'll learn everything about it, try it, make some money at it and then find something else. It's the challenge that inspires me! Keep up the good work!

Lauren Romano  says:
2 years ago

Great hub!

RT Cunningham  says:
2 years ago

This is some great information, but when do I squeeze the time to do it? I'm already writing 3 blogs and getting ready to start another.

Lissie profile image

Lissie  says:
2 years ago

So RT you want to know how to fit more time into the day - for that you will have to buy the Ebook only $39.95 for a limited time with resell rights :-)

marisuewrites profile image

marisuewrites  says:
2 years ago

variety is the spice of life for many of us it seems....that's why i like writing...great hub...$25 is definitely not enuff money for writing...

press releases help your ratings...free press releases which are not as easy to write as they appear...but once you get the hang of it....it works...i don't do enuff of them but everytime you write you should send a press release to at least 4 -8 of the press release sites that have the highest rankings...

or so the experts tell me.... "git 'er done!"

Lissie profile image

Lissie  says:
2 years ago

Yeah I know of press releases - just havent got my head around them yet - on my to do list !

ebookshack profile image

ebookshack  says:
2 years ago

Lissie,

This is the fourth article of yours that I have eagerly absorbed. I am glad they are all linked, I think I will be spending some time going through them. I have been writing for a long time now but have only begun making money off of my writing, and mostly in the form of writing articles for others. With ghostwriting you have to give up your rights to the work as well, so writing a Flag hub for $25 here and there just adds to the funds is the way I see it.

It does not take me all that long to write and edit and proofread an article so although $25 may be a little low on the scale for pay for a 1500 word article when I make $15 for a 500 word article privately, but it helps, and knowing that there is another opportunity to write(of course my favorite thing to do other than play with my one year old) and earn some money, it is another step to financial independence as a writer.

I am new here, been reading and browsing around and it does seem like a great community to share and learn from.

Keep on keeping on!

Melanie

Lissie profile image

Lissie  says:
2 years ago

Thanks for visiting ebookshake! With flagship hubs you continue to earn income with the ad sharing revenue afterwards too.

ebookshack profile image

ebookshack  says:
2 years ago

Well, that is good to hear Lissie. And I also see that you have promoted the titles of the flagsships hubs, so although you give up copyrights, you can still tell people that you wrote it. That works well.

I will surely be spending some time on this site and most likely, in a month or so from now my husband will think I have traded him in for a new love. (chuckle)

Lissie profile image

Lissie  says:
2 years ago

Yes - you're not a ghostwriter - I promote the pages as my own - in fact I regret not registering under my full name now - when I started here I didn't really think of being a "published" author even on the internet :-) Google loves Hubpages too so your hubs tend to get indexed quickly!

Can't help on the comuter/life balance thing :-(

Hill Country profile image

Hill Country  says:
17 months ago

I appreciate you for taking the time to add to my knowledge! Thank you. I'm going to read the rest of your comments now.

dabblingmum profile image

dabblingmum  says:
17 months ago

Wordplay, I could not have said it better! That's why I gave up an affiliate website that was making me $1,000 a month. I know it's good money but I was tired of all the hype associated with affiliate marketing and all the work. Besides, it was a really, really boring topic and I ran out of things to write about and just couldn't get myself to keep going. There have been times I've thought of starting it back up until I do a search for affiliate marketing, read up on all the hype, and remember why I walked away.

Lissie profile image

Lissie  says:
17 months ago

Im curious dabblingmum - you ddint think to out source the content creation: $1000/month is a lot of money for 1 site!

akebur profile image

akebur  says:
16 months ago

I have just joined in today, and have read a few hubs, very interesting and clean, I did come in with a view of working towards SEO, but I think, being heart is better than being head. Thanks for the insight.

desert blondie profile image

desert blondie  says:
15 months ago

Just found this hub column! Wonderful! And what a great string of comment compliments...Great!

Kulsum Mehmood profile image

Kulsum Mehmood  says:
13 months ago

I admire you Lissie. You are fond of travelling. How about visiting me in India ? I would like it.

roastedpinebark profile image

roastedpinebark  says:
10 months ago

I enjoyed your point of view on hubpages. I'v just starting a couple weeks ago, with about 1000 views and $0.00 but hopefully everything starts to rise. Thanks for the information!

3cardmonte profile image

3cardmonte  says:
7 months ago

You give excellent advice! i am fairly new at actually writing on hubpages but this has really helped, thank you for sharing.

J.S. Brooks profile image

J.S. Brooks  says:
6 months ago

For somebody just getting started with all this, you have been a help. Thanks.

stevesmith29 profile image

stevesmith29  says:
3 months ago

I am new to hubpages. Your hubs have been the most helpful and informative. Keep up the good work! Thank you very much too!!

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