5 Reasons Hubbing is Better than Blogging
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How to Set up a HubPages Account
I have been writing online for over a year and a half. Its amazing the learning curve that is involved. I've tried a number of formats, and discovered quite a bit about the differences between writing on HubPages (aka "hubbing") versus setting up and posting on a blog ("blogging"). Both formats have their strengths and weaknesses. Not surprisingly, I use them interchangeably for a number of purposes.
The most important thing to note is that, when considering hubbbing vs. blogging, there is not "one size fits all." What may be a benefit to one person, is a drawback to another. You have to consider what matters most to you when trying to make a living by writing online. You may find that all of them work for you, depending on the subject matter on which you are writing, your style and frequency of posting, and the audience you hope to reach.
With certain factors in mind, there are 5 reasons Hubbing is better than Blogging.
Once you have a HubPages account, you can jump in right away to test my theories. If you are already hubbing on HubPages, I would love to hear about your own experience - both pros and cons. Be sure to shoot me a comment!
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Ease of Use
1. HubPages gives you a platform that is easy to use and a community filled with people that can help you.
Not only is it easy to sign up (and free), but when you read and interact through posts in the forums, you can literally teach yourself how to be an effective hubber. The interaction is at a faster pace than through comments posted on a blog. Like any other Web 2.0 site, your success depends in part on your sharing comments and becoming a fan of ("friending") other people.
In short, I have made many more online friendships at HubPages than I have through my four blogs. I can reliably count on these people to comment on and vote up my hubs, and also submit or support them on social networking sites like Twitter, Digg, StumbleUpon and Mixx.
In addition, when I set up my Wordpress blogs, I had no one to reach out to. It was considerably more difficult to get the plug-ins working (including installing Google Adsense) than at HubPages. It can be done - trust me - but its not a quick process!
Once you have a HubPages account, you can publish as often or infrequently as you wish. If you participate in the community, you'll still have readers. With a blog, you literally must publish or perish. Fail to post for a month or two and you likely will have lost readers that you'll never get back. Not so at HubPages. You do get out of it what you put in, but the community is forgiving if you take time off.
Instant Readership
2. HubPages is a reputable site, with a vast readership.
Google trusts HubPages, which now enjoys a Google Page Rank of PR 7. This means that when you publish a hub, and otherwise follow the terms of use of the site (no plagiarism, unique content, respect for copyright rules), you too can get visitors to your hub pretty quickly. Your own hubs can obtain Page Rank, as well. Often this occurs more quickly than with a blog.
On the other hand, a blog takes a while to "mature," if you will. There are millions of websites out there, and your personal or professional blog may not be noticed right away. You'll work a lot harder to get readers or subscribers, by posting frequently and working the web 2.0 social networking sites.
Evergreen Content Draws Regular Readers
3. At HubPages, writers are encouraged to publish "evergreen content."
This includes articles on subjects that do not have a shelf life; topics that people regularly search out on the Internet. By hubbing with advice, product reviews, "how tos" and recipes, regular readers will return time and again.
Blogs are more like newspapers. You'll read posts about current events, celebrities, politicians and the like. A month, or even a day later, the post may be obsolete. If you miss the hot issue of the day, you've missed the boat, and possibly even lost some readers.
How to Blog
Which do you Prefer, Hubbing or Blogging?
See results without votingNumerous Ways to Make Money on HubPages
4. You can make good, reliable money on HubPages, through a number of platforms.
HubPages makes it easy for you to sign up with Google AdSense, Kontera, and also add the possibility of affiliate sales for Amazon.com and eBay.com. You can also make money through referrals to HubPages. No HTML coding knowledge is required - which is great for people that are just starting to write online.
One caveat is that you need to publish articles that will draw well-paying advertisements from Google AdSense, and have a good base of hubs (at least 20-30, in my experience). HubPages allows you 60% of the revenue that your hubs make with AdSense. Pay out is through Google itself, and you must reach $100 first.
With blogs, monetizing is trickier. Many believe that you should not put ads on your blogs until they have Google Page Rank; the risk is that Google will penalize you and you'll suffer traffic-wise. There is no need to wait at HubPages to start making money. When you add in the factors of evergreen content and the ability to draw traffic right away, making money on HubPages is an easier proposition to start.
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No Need to Specialize in a Niche
5. At HubPages, you can write about just about anything that strikes your fancy, and still have the potential of making money.
By grouping your hubs together on similar topics, readers are easily directed from one to the next. Google will place your ads on each hub as a stand-alone, and will not judge the content of your other hubs.
Comparatively speaking, once you establish a blog, it is best to narrowly define your niche so that you get the most relevant advertisements, and also draw regular, reliable readers who are looking for information on your topic of choice. Stray too far from your niche, and you can lose your audience and/or Google will not notice you in the blogosphere.
Please not that this is not a "how to" Hub article. It simply highlights the benefits that hubbing can have over regular blogging. If you have any questions about HubPages in general, how it works, and whether you should sign up, be sure to check the FAQ section.
My final piece of advice is to relax and have fun. You may not make millions (or perhaps even hundreds) by publishing on HubPages, but its a great way to get your ideas out there and make online friendships.
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Comments
I agree hubbing is definitely easier and is addictive once you get started.
I have both blogs and am hubbing and also writing a couple of other places. You are right that hubs are an easy and fun way of writing and publishing in comparison with a blog.
Blogging has it's own advantages, that I am sure you know
Hi everyone - thanks for the great comments. Birte, I am thinking of writing a companion piece with 5 reasons bloging is better than hubbing. There are pros and cons for both. Cheers, Stephanie
Very good hub.Thank You !
Good information here Steph. One always learns something from your hubs.
I've never blogged, and became of member at HubPages some months ago, almost by default . More recently, I've even written two hubs - my first experience at writing for public consumption - and that gave me great confidence. I have even made some nice friends here. :)
But if there is money also to be made, then I better push myself a bit! :p
Great comparison Steph. You and I joined Hubpages at about the same time and I've been on the same learning curve. I agree with you about the Hubpages community--wonderful friends and great support here and I can attest to the forgiveness of the Hubpages community having pulled a number of disappearing acts over the past 15 months.
I love Hubpages for all the reasons you cite but also must say that I have become addicted to blogging too in the past few months. It has its own difficulties but its own charms as well.
Steph, I have been Hubbing for 3 months, so I still consider myself a newbie, with lots to learn, particularly relating to formatting and monetizing via GoogleAdsense and other partners. There is so much info out there, it's overwhealming. I enjoyed this hub because it made me feel like I am at least heading in the right direction. Thanks for sharing your opinion. Fun read!
Excellent topic for a hub. I love HubPages for all of the reasons you have mentioned. I do not have a blog and do not anticipate having one in the near future, mostly because of the learning required-- and the constant attention it requires.
I really appreciate the ease of use here (even though I have more to learn) and especially appreciate the facility of being able to edit and add at will.
Oh, I love all these great comments! There are some definite upsides to blogging (fast, efficient, 100% of the revenue is yours), but I will save all of that for a future Hub. Just being honest with my hubbing vs. blogging experiences. You might tell by my infrequent hubs that I'm on my blogs pretty often! ;-) But HubPages is, hands down, the place to start when you want to write and publish online.
Great job, steph! For me the quick feedback of HubPages is nice. With blogging your readership may or may respond. The HubPages community tends to be very responsive, and it's cool to have access to stats.
Hi jycmba - you are right! Quick feedback and numerous comments here are nice. I'm always thrilled when I get one or two comments on a particular blog post. And the easy access to stats on HubPages is great, too.
I do love how the Hubpages community is already set up and ready to go, you only need to jump right in. But I feel the day will come when it is no longer the place to be. That is a plus to my blogs, they will always be mine and in my control.
great info here too. My experience has been the same.
Your article makes me happy I found hubpages and started here. Thanks for the great info.
Nice to "meet" you dimitri and Jen's Solitude! Glad you love hubpages, too.
My kids will tell you that hubbing is too adictive!
Hahaha! Cindyvine, mine would say the same thing. How pathetic that I love the fact my daughter's gymnastics club has free wifi? :-)
Thanks for the welcome. Nice to be here.
Thanks for the info. I have always been a little confused as the difference between hubbing and blogging.
I wish you both well. Hubbing is a great place to learn how to write online.
Hi Steph, This is excellent, thank you. I also have been trying to write for the internet professionally for about a year and a half, although only casually at first. Since October of 08 I've put more into it, but I find I like Hub Pages and the job boards best. As you and others in comments here have pointed out, the learning curve on the website route (blogging) is pretty steep, at least for me--and I find I only have so many hours in any given day. I try to use them well and always end up feeling like I fall short. I really appreciate you sharing your experience. I wish those of us who are doing this as a job could get together. What a blast that would be! Good luck!
I've just started on hubpages so was very interested in your view... I am doing the blog thing, but getting pretty tired of the social networking needed to keep them going
Hi Pam and flit, I really enjoy getting the feedback. These are my opinions, of course! HubPages is so easy to use. You do have to try to promote the articles a bit through social networking, but its not the same level as with a blog. Pam, it would be wonderful to work with you! I admire your writing tremendously!
Your point number 5, i.e., no need to specialize in a niche is something I believe that people looking to write well-researched, niche-based articles should consider. For example, I might be able to research and produce one or two good articles that serve people searching for the information I provide.
However, producing one or two good articles in a niche and then building a blog site that is ranked high enough in Google for people to find them are two totally different tasks, with the latter taking much focused effort.
With Hubpages, I can focus niche research and keyword relevancy by the article because the site is already in a much better position with Google. I believe I still need to work toward getting my specific Hub pages ranked in Google for getting search traffic that comes from outside of Hubpages, but I believe I am giving myself a better start - especially if I am only producing one or two good articles per niche.
I also must say that I am a new Hubber. If any old hands out there have different or newer insights on the above, I would appreciate reading them.
stephhicks68,
I realized I was not signed in when I posted my comment above. Hope you don't mind me adding this comment along with it to simply make sure my Hubber profile link is available.
I really am a newbie. :-)
Not a problem at all! Welcome to HP!
How do you post a youtube link where the video iitself shows up like you did in this hub?
I can really agree with you on this one, I started out blogging and now I spend most of my time hubbing, who would have thought.
There are many reasons why we are hubbing and one reason is how you motivate hubbers reading your article. Well done!
Hubbing is deffinitely easier for starters and very addicting
Thanks AtendE - I hope to inspire people to hub (and blog). Raizenshine, I totally agree that hubbing is addicting. My evenings are always spent on the computer, instead of watching TV (time much better spent!) :)
Great information steph! I am also new at hubpages and I have found the experience thus far to be very gratifying. I was previously a freelance writer mainly for newspapers. That has all but dried up completely! I also wonder about the blogging, as I've never done it. It's a bit of a mystery to me so I look forward to reading your "pros of blogging" hub! I agree with everything you've said about hubbing though, and I'm working toward my 25-30 hubs.
Great hub, thanks!
Welcome Jennifer! You'll do great here at HubPages. I need to get working on the other Hub about blogging! Cheers, Steph
hy me new to hub pages ,,,
can u pleasssse guide me to learn this....
please i request
Thank you for the information, Steph! I am an aspiring travel writer who just signed up with HubPages today. Judging from what you said, hubbing does appear to have some advantages over blogging, so I'm very encouraged. I look forward to breaking this learning curve soon!
I really have not got much to add Steph! except to say I love HubPages more than Squidoo and Blogs
I have just heard about hub pages so I am trying to learn fast.
I love writing about all types of things and like the fact that I can make little hubs about each thing rather than one big rambling blog.
Thank you for explaining what I had begun to intuit. A month or so ago I started blogging for the first time with WordPress and was shocked that my friends using Internet Explorer cannot see my content! Hub Pages has been a blessing to me and now you have succinctly explained why. I am a new fan of yours.
Thanx for this article!! I just joined HP two HOURS ago, so I'm really excited about it ~ and looking forward to reading a LOT and learning how it's done by the "pro's" like you. I must admit I'm a bit fearful of placing my writing in a public forum, subject to public scrutiny, but I'm told that's how you learn and grow as a writer. Would eventually love to learn to blog as well, so I'm anxiously awaiting your new hub regarding that topic. Based on the comments here, hubbing and blogging sound extremely time consuming, so that scares me a little bit. How do you manage to juggle all of it?!? Oh . . . that's right . . . hubbing during gymnastics practice, probably blogging during soccer practice and dance lessons, right?! ;)
good explanation there. thanks. the most thing i like in hubpages is there is no need to specify any specific niche like in blog. we're free what we want to write.
I am a newbie, but trying to be the best for my self with shout to everyone. With hubpages I can share about my opinion to everyone. And get commenting by the people who interest about my hub, the inportant thing is I find more friend here.
I am a newbie as well and that has really helped me, thanx !!
Welcome to the new hubbers and thank you all for the wonderful, supportive comments! I'm happy to share my experiences, and look forward to seeing many new faces on the HubPages boards and through hubs. Cheers, Steph
Steph, Yes, hubbing is great for people who are not super computor savy. I enjoy reading hubs too, they are attractive and I love the pix and videos!
Thank you so much for the information. I am new to this and just published my first hub. I really do not know what I am doing, but I love it. Thanks again!
Very informative and great advice. Thank you!
Thanks for the advice. Well stated. I joined about 4 weeks ago and still have a lot to learn. I like the comparisons you made with blogs, as this is something I initially thought of setting up myself. I found it tedious and frustrating and then I found hubpages! Hubpages make everything simple and is a great learning experience!
I really love hearing from everyone, and especially the new hubbers! HubPages truly is a wonderful place to learn about writing online, SEO and web 2.0!
I just signed up for HubPages becuase I heard that it was better then regular bloging and Squidoo, and I have found that I like it here a lot! I'm glad to find out they are practical as well as fun! Nice Hub! :)
Welcome Cam! I think you'll love it here at HubPages!
thanks for the great words. im new but i can feel it now. hubbing. :)
thanks..
This article was as good as the 5 reasons to blog over hubbing piece. I like your writing style too. You put some meat in there without beating us to death without too much detail.
Good on ya! :-)
Hey, great info. Thanks for the comparisons.
Thank you everyone! I really appreciate the supportive comments. Byron, your comment was especially nice - I like to be concise, but thorough. ;-) Cheers, Steph
Thank you for your very informative article. I decided to take the plunge and became a hubber after I read it. You are right, we get immediate feedback hubbing as compared with blogging. I think I'm beginning to like it here. I now have 2 hubs.
Thanks for the info. - 20- 30 blogs -that's useful to know as I only have around 12, I need to make a few more !
Hi Jill of alltrades - so glad you jumped in at HP! Welcome and I'll go read your new hubs. Best, Steph
Singular Investor, good job! You'll get there soon. Just remember that, in addition to a body of hubs, you'll need good content and appropriate tags to bring in the Adsense. Keep it up! Steph
But I feel Blogging is still better than hubbing...because all u mentioned above is available in blogging site..i think there are more feature in blogging site than hubpages..no need to share revenue,ur own template, post comments and get comments, search engines crawl easily....... This is my view..sorry. If im wrong please advise me! :)
Ya i too feel more comfortable with blogging.. but this is more addictive..:)
Hi nms and abhinayavelu, comments like yours help drive the discussion to compare hubbing to blogging. Check out my companion hub with the 5 reasons blogging is better than hubbing. Cheers, Steph
What do you think would be the best, blog or hub, for a site like this one (it is a Paypal fee calculator) http://alphapal.net/fee-calculator.php , it is very useful but which way is better to make it known ?
Hi Jo, I'll be honest - if you are just starting out, HP is a better way to get some exposure and also clout with Google and the other search engines. Even though you share Adsense revenue with HubPages, you'll still be making more to start. After you get the hang of writing online with tags and SEO, then try your hand at blogging. Combined, you can do pretty well. Steph
I stumbled upon your link through Twitter,..I am so glad I did. I am very new to HubPages and everything I have been wanting to learn about I found in your Artical. I also liked your Hub set up,..A Great example for us beginer's,....Kudo's To You
Excellent post. I am going to join hubpages too. I think hubbing more fun.
Hi Army Infantry Mom and Ravi - Welcome to HubPages! Glad that you found the article inspiring. Best of luck to you both.
Great Hub! I just love the community and the interactions with other Hubbers... This does not happen at sites like Blogspot :)
Thank you glassvisage! You are 100% right. The community is one of the best aspects of HubPages.
This is a great hub, as well as your counter-hub with the 5 reasons to blog instead. You really lay out well the pros and cons to both. I love the personalizing of my blog. I set it up to be sheer entertainment really. Hubs may restrict you to informational-content, but in that sense you get to spread your wings a little - researching different subjects. My problem is - I hub for work. So I haven't personally seen how the ad revenue compares/contrasts between the two. I'd love to do both for myself and see how they work well together. Any freelancer out there should definitely consider that.
Hi Serenity Lane, each individual hub I write earns less than my blogs do in a given month, but I have a great base of hubs at this time, so its about 60% to 40% (with the blogs edging out on top). Try your experiment and best of luck to you! Steph
hi stephhicks68,
very critical information you wrote. hub and blogs have different things to get traffic from internet. Google considers both blogs and hubs yes hubs is a great platform where hubbers just like me are encouraged to write more and more with some super quality content. http://www.stellarinfo.com/download.htm
yes you are right, hub is much more better compare to blogs in terms of traffic and is easier to use. easier to focus. I think anyone can make money with just adsense if keeps on publishing hubs on hubpages.
I am new to Hubpages and I really appreciate you sharing your insight and experience! I've never heard anyone explain the difference between blogging and Hubbing. Thanks Steph.
Hi everyone, I am thrilled with the comments. This type of article would have been very helpful to me starting out, too. I'll be interested to see the difference for me in another year or so. Keep on hubbing - Stephanie
I do agree with you. It's nice to be here. Great hub!
Good info- interesting read. I like Hub Pages for many reasons- ease of use, Adsense, the ability to write about other topics. And, my Sales Operations Blog has also been helpful in demonstrating my thought leadership on a specific topic. There is a need for both....
Informative post. Thanks for the info. I look forward to your post on blogging advantages. Something to consider: When to use what. I'm new with HubPages. I already have sites and blogs and am trying to figure out the best integration of each for AdSense and affiliate income
I'm fairly new to hubbing and enjoy blogging, you are right, they both have their places. But this hubbing is growing on me!
Enjoy - if you love to write, HubPages is a great place to be.
Hi Stephhicks68,
You know what, I followed your advise last time and did jump into writing hubs. Now guess what happened? My hub "The Other Uses of Tea" has been short listed in the "hubnuggets wannabe" list for this week. Please check it out and vote for my hub if you please.
Thanks to you. I'm enjoying it here!
Hi Jill,
Congratulations!! I will go and take a look at your Hub. Good work and thanks for the smile! Steph
Really informative post.......Thanks for it.
Stephanie, Thanks for putting an experienced take on hubpages in a nutshell. This is a very worthwhile post and I will be expanding my hubs as a result.
Hi Glenn, Thanks! I think you'll like it! Build your hub inventory and then you'll be able to compare and contrast to your blog posts. Best to you, Steph
Great Hub!
i agree with you in reason three we are free to post anytime. Reversely, a blogger should post everyday that make me busy.
Hubbing is blogging to reach out to a targeted audience. I agree it is addictive, but interesting.
Please tell me that my blog is rejected by google adsense can i apply google adsense for huppages so please tell me that i have to give the url of my hubpages profile or only the url of single hubpage
I am still tring to tweek my blog pages thanks for the info
While blogging is my passion I still love hubbing. The reason blogging is more so for me is the research aspect. However hubbing means I get to write on a number of great topics so that I am never bored. The information on this hub is awesome however I look forward to reading your other hubs.
I love that fact that there is built in traffic and that you will often achieve higher search engine rankings a lot quicker than with a blog due to the strength of hubpages.
I just started blogging and this helped me a lot, I bookmakred it. Thank you
Thank you Ladybird33, I hope you find some great tips on hubbing and blogging. Best, Steph
Good hub, I've tried blogging, but I like to write about a wide variety of things, and Hubs seems to be a better fit for me. Your hub has reinforced that idea.
Thanks.
William F. Torpey says:
8 months ago
Good information, stephhicks68. I've just started blogging, but HubPages makes the technical part a lot easier.