One Month on HubPages--What You Can Accomplish and Achieve

One month ago I was looking for a summer job and saw an ad for writers on HubPages. I had never heard of HubPages and knew absolutely nothing about the world of writing on the internet. But I was intrigued. I checked into it, I signed up for it. And I published my first hub the very next day. Needless to say, I was intimidated and overwhelmed, but I did it anyway. There was something driving me to take a chance. I guess it was my desire to get my writing "out there."

I didn't know what I was doing, but I did it anyway. I kept a mantra in my head: "I can do this. I can learn how." I applied that to everything. Not only did I know nothing about HubPages, I didn't even know how to upload a photo! Something made me forge ahead anyway.

I noticed other hubbers who had over 200 hubs, 1,000 followers, and hub and hubber scores of 100. Some were making hundreds or even thousands of dollars each month. I was starting at zero, for everything. Actually, my first hub score started at something like a 46--though I didn't even know what that meant! Now, a month later, I can hardly believe what I have achieved.

-I won a HubNugget (new writer) accolade for my very first hub, The Hidden Power of Coincidence and How You Can Make it Work For You.

-I now have 7 other accolades for: publishing at least ten hubs (this hub makes 24!), Having at least 1000 views of my writing (actually, I'm over 3,500), answering at least 10 questions, being a Level III Commenter, writing engaging hubs which start great discussions and for being popular among readers (they like me, they really like me!)

-I have 96 followers!

-My hub and hubber scores are in the 90's!

-I have earned some money

-I got a twitter account and had a celebrity re-tweet one of my hubs! Donny Osmond himself re-tweeted my hub Donny and Marie Live: A Perfect Show! (My teenage son assures me this was a very big deal.)

Although I may not be where other hubbers are, I am leaps and bounds ahead of where I was one month ago. If you are brand new to HubPages, I am here to tell you, you can achieve all of this, too!

I'm still pretty new myself, but here are some things that have worked for me onHubPages.

Don't let fear get in the way! When I started on here a month ago, I knew nothing about HubPages. The only thing I knew was that I wanted to be a part of it. I did not let intimidation stop me from trying. I referred to the Learning Center, learned from other hubbers and from the process, and I wasn't afraid to ask questions. I got right to it right away by publishing my first hub. I never let fear hold me back. The only way to move forward, I knew, was to push past any fear, so that is what I did.

You CAN learn the technical stuff. If you are like me with computers (and if you're not, you're lucky) than you don't know how to do much. But you can learn! I still don't know how to do everything, but I have come far in one month. I was intimidated by the whole process of signing up for Google adsense and as an Amazon affiliate, but I did it! It took some time and was a process, but I kept telling myself, "You can do it!" and I did. Just because it is out of your comfort zone or realm of expertise does not mean it is out of reach. Now I can proudly see numbers in my earnings report! I also know how to upload photos and properly cite them, do in-text links, add text capsules, add books from Amazon and re-order and group my hubs. I also have a twitter account and know how to tweet. I didn't know ANY of this a month ago. I learned it all through practice, questions, reading others' hubs, and some tutoring from my teenage son. I'm so confident now that I got the new profile as soon as it became available. I may not know how to do something right away, but I always tell myself that I can learn, and you can learn all of this, too.

When you know better, do better. Once you learn how to do something, start applying that skill. Go back to older hubs and improve them with what you've learned. Share what you now know with others. Be on a continual journey of improvement as you learn and grow on HubPages. That is the way that you will progress.

Write from you heart. I write about what I know and care about-- what I'd like to read about myself. I don't worry about what others think about it, I just write what feels right to me. I don't second-guess my writing ideas either. When they come to me, I follow through on them. This approach has allowed me to write two dozen hubs in almost as many days. Be confident that if you care about your topic, the readers will respond. There will always be someone on HubPages to connect with the same things you do.

Write because you love it. Although you may dream of thousands in extra earnings from HubPages, that may not be the case for awhile, or ever. The possibility for supplemental income is there, but it does take some time and effort. Therefore, writing on HubPages should be for more than just money. For me, it is validation of my writing, something that had been missing for me. It is for the community of writers who support me and each other. It is for the challenge of writing quality hubs that others may enjoy. It is for creative expression. It is for the potential of where it may lead--to more money, a great contact, or a chance I never knew existed. First and foremost, though, it is for the writing itself, a chance to do it, a place to do it, and a community to do it with.

Be Part of the Community HubPages is full of great people who are so supportive. It is important to write good hubs, but it is also important to read what others have written as well. Leave comments, vote on them, and share what they have written. Helping others will help you in the long run as it brings more readers to your stuff, plus you can learn from other hubbers. Don't forget to reciprocate by reading the hubs of hubbers who have supported you. A few of the hubbers who have been most supportive of me from the beginning are Victoria Lynn, tamron, and mperrottet. A few others are debbiepinkston, billybuc, perspycacious, patty kenyon, dghbrh, sradie and sidkemp. I thank them, and all of my followers. You don't need to follow everyone on Hubpages, but you can be supportive by sharing what you know, answering questions, reading other hubs and giving feedback. Eventually, you will build your own group of followers and of those you want to follow.

Be Patient This is the best piece of advice I have ---be patient on HubPages. It is important to have a good work ethic, but be patient with the results. My lowest-scored hub is now my highest. My least-viewed hub became my most viewed hub. Blue arrows caused me to panic one day, but then another day, red arrows appeared; rest assured, traffic on your hubs will rise and fall. And so will your hubber score. Just keep writing from your heart, learning from others and striving to improve, and things will eventually swing upward. As will your earnings. Slowly, but surely.

Although I haven't earned much money for the time I've spent on HubPages, I know the potential is there for some extra income. Above all, I want to stay on HubPages because I love it. I love that it has me writing nearly every day. I love that it allows me to work with a community of kind, supportive people who love to write, too. I love that it makes me think because of all of the thought-provoking questions I can answer and the myriad of hub topics I can read. I love that my writing has an audience that is validating me, rather than rejecting me, like I'd been so used to in the writing world. I love that I now have a body of writing that I am proud of and have been recognized for. I love that I learned how to do so many new things that intimidated me at first. I love that Donny Osmond loved one of my hubs---cause I love Donny Osmond! I love that I have a place to write and that I feel like a writer.

And I love that I already know what I am going to write about next.