5 Fun Things to Do on HubPages (Besides Writing)

Writing on the internet is something many do as a hobby, to share their skills, or as a way to earn extra money on the side. HubPages is one of the few websites that has endured where others, such as Helium, Squidoo, and Suite101, have failed. For that reason, writers, from novices to professionals, continue to flock to this website to write articles and hopefully become a success story.

Although the main purpose of creating your own account on HubPages is to write articles on topics you know plenty about and eventually make money from them, there are many other things you can do on this website to get the most out of it. Here are five things you can do, as a member of HubPages, to enrich your experience with this platform.

There is a plethora of information waiting for you on HubPages as well as on the niche sites. Checking out niche site articles can also help you to become a better writer because you can see what kind of standard HubPages staff are looking for. Only the best hubs are moved to the niche sites! Articles are constantly being published, and it can be a lot of fun finding out about topics you're interested in.

For example, if you are enthusiastic about cooking, you can find new recipes, nutritional information about superfoods, and interesting facts about exotic ingredients in the Food and Cooking section. As someone who is interested in video games, I usually visit the Games, Toys, and Hobbies section to see what's new with my favourite developers and series. I can often find out about new releases, check out reviews, and find tips and tricks for the games I'm already playing.

To see topics, click "More" on the top left of any page to browse the topics. You can either follow topics to get new posts on your feed or browse manually. Topics include cooking, parenting, games, writing, politics, religion, fashion, and much more.

After reading a particularly enjoyable article, you might want to leave a comment. Comments are great because they allow you to communicate directly with the author and let them know what they did well, what you agree with, and offer your own insights.

Commenting also contributes to you getting comment accolades; read below to find out more about different types of accolades HubPages offers.

One fun feature of being a member of HubPages is aiming for accolades. They're sort of badges that can be found in the "About" section of your profile.

You can get accolades for a lot of things: commenting on people's hubs, getting a certain amount of followers, and getting a certain amount of views on your articles. There are also ones that are more difficult to get, such as for particularly outstanding work.

When you get a new accolade, you'll get a congratulatory email from HubPages staff and a shiny new badge on your profile.

Commenting on hubs is not the only way you can communicate with the HubPages community. There is a forum on HubPages where you can start your own threads or answer ones that already exist. These can be in the form of questions, requests for opinions on a variety of topics, or conversations about the goings-on of HubPages itself.

Website staff members and editors often engage in threads as well, so they are fun to read and comment on. You can discover new Hubbers as well as contribute your knowledge and opinions.

The Forums section can be accessed by clicking "More" and then scrolling down. You can also start your own thread from the feed page by clicking "forum," which is next to "status."

You might discover a seasoned member of HubPages who writes a lot about a topic you're interested in, or somebody who talks a lot of sense in the forums. Go ahead and start following them! You'll be able to see on your feed when they've published a new article.

Following someone can give them a nice boost, and they also might follow you back! However, take caution: HubPages is not a social networking site. Followers are nice, but they aren't essential for success.

Although writing high-quality articles is, of course, the biggest part of belonging to HubPages, there is much more you can do here to become a real part of the community. Explore, comment, and engage to get the most out of this fantastic writing platform.