5 Tips for New Writers

This week, we'd like to share a few helpful tips and resources for new HubPages authors! Whether you just joined the community or you've been around for a decade, it never hurts to review some of our editorial suggestions and brush up on your HP knowledge. 

5 Tips From Our Editing Team

1. Spend time in The Learning Center. Hubpageshelp.com is a site dedicated to informing authors about article creation, publishing standards, and earnings. Here, you can learn about evergreen content, how to create original images, information about style guides, and so much more. 
2. Make notes of edits: When one of your articles is accepted onto a network site, you will likely receive an email with a list of your editor's changes. Consider the changes for your other articles, and see if similar mistakes appear elsewhere in your work. Making these updates yourself may increase your chance of being published, and it will make the final editing process flow more smoothly! 
3. Consider the writing scales: Our writing scales are used to give an overall quality score to articles on our sites by analyzing the media, content, grammar, and formatting of each piece. In order for an article to be Featured, we recommend the article has a scale score of at least eight. This is not a requirement for featured articles, but it definitely helps! Here are the links to the  informational and  creative writing scales. 
4. Review site expectations: If you plan on writing an article for a specific site (i.e., a diet review for CalorieBee or a vacation itinerary for WanderWisdom), take a look at the site's publication expectations. Clicking the "Editorial Policy" button on the site's home screen will give you details about what the curators expect to see. 
5. Ask questions: If you are confused or need help with any part of the writing process, try reviewing the HubPages FAQ page. If you need even more assistance or information, try the HubPages forum, OR, if your concern is still prevalent, you may use this Contact form. 

Image Created With Canva

Image created with Canva

Pro Tips: Keyword Stuffing

Though keywords are crucial to gaining article traffic, they can be damaging if used too frequently. Keyword stuffing is penalized by search engines and is considered a spammy element. This technique can be annoying, redundant, spammy-feeling, and trust-reducing for the reader. 

Example of keyword stuffing of "HubPages Newsletter":

Today is HubPages Newsletter Day! Every Wednesday, the HubPages Newsletter is sent out to thousands of HubPages users. The HubPages Newsletter has important info, pro tips, fun facts, featured articles, and–this is our favorite part of the HubPages Newsletter–new, up-and-coming authors! If you are reading this, it means you are subscribed to the HubPages Newsletter, so thank you, and tune in next week to see what else the HubPages Newsletter has to share!

Three Ways to Determine if an Article Is Stuffed

1. Click "stuffed?" in the admin center: This tool will highlight in yellow whatever phrases are potentially stuffed throughout the article. Clicking the "stuffed?" button will bring up a window that says either: "It is unlikely that this hub is stuffed. (percent chance: about 4%)"  OR "This hub is probably stuffed. (percent chance: about 79%)" or something in between. If a single word comprises more than 10% of an article's overall word count, the number of times that keyword appears may need to be reduced.
2. CMND+F: If you're wondering if an article is keyword stuffed, hit "cmnd+F" (or "ctrl+F" on Windows), enter your keyword(s), and see how your article lights up.
3. Read it aloud: When you read the article out loud, does it sound unnatural? If it sounds off, it's probably stuffed.

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Sandra Cooks, From USA, 3 Fans, 5 Hubs, Joined 2 months ago

Fresh Face of HubPages: Sandra Cooks

This week's fresh face of HubPages is Sandra Cooks! Sandra is a home chef who loves experimenting with traditional Italian recipes. If you're looking for a delicious new meal to make this week, check out Sandra's articles on Homemade Riccota and Spinach Ravioli and How to Make the Perfect Torta della Nonna. Yum!

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