Can You Make Money on HubPages? - My First Year
The Year in Review
It's hard to believe that I've been writing at HubPages for a year now. As I approached my one year anniversary, there were several things I hoped would happen.
- 200 hubs, once I began to get closer and see that was possible
- 100,000 total page views
- 1000 followers
- a regular paycheck
Did I achieve those? Yes! The page views and followers, while not anything I could control, were amazingly feel-good milestones to see. The best way to get more views and more followers is to simply just keep writing interesting hubs and to be involved in the HubPages' community.
The 200 hubs amazes me, as I was overwhelmed when I first started, hoping to average just one per week over the next year. During the first six months of my year with HubPages, I worked a full-time job. When that changed, I was able to devote more time in the next six months to writing hubs. You just write one hub at a time, until you suddenly notice that your collection of hubs is growing!
And the paycheck? It took me about 7 months to reach that $50 payout this past February. After waiting that long for the first one, however, with the help of a few contest winnings, I have received payment from HubPages every month since then. Of course it isn't enough to live on, but it's fun to see income every day whether I write a hub that particular day or not. That's how HubPages works. I'm eager to see where I am in another year!
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Income on HubPages
Everybody wants to know how much money you can make on HubPages. HubPages is no get-rich-quick scheme. It's just a great place to write and eventually build some residual income. There are the HubPages success stories, and you can read about them right here on HubPages. Some people, with a lot of hubs and time spent here, do make hundreds and maybe even thousands of dollars every month. I would love to be there one day! I'm realistic and know that getting there takes hard work.
I was thrilled to see my first 6 cents after signing up for the ads programs. That slowly grew, but I only made about 3 bucks my first month. Every month grew, though, some more rapidly than others until my accumulative $50 payout in February. March helped when I participated in the 30 hubs in 30 days challenge. My traffic and earnings rose significantly, and I have received monthly payouts since then. That's pretty cool.
My income would be more, I'm sure, if all my hubs were evergreen hubs. Considering that a quarter of my hubs are poetry, I think I'm doing okay. With about $70 per month, I can at least pay the electric bill!
200 at Last!
My Future on HubPages?
I have been encouraged on HubPages this first year. I have met so many wonderful writers and friends. I have learned about online writing, about SEO, about HTML (a little, anyway!), about RSS feeds, about uploading photos and videos, and all sorts of other things that are useful in online writing.
Networking and exposure has also landed me other freelancing opportunities. Meeting other writers has given me an online support system and a knowledge resource center! I'm excited, too, about the possibilities for earnings, as I continue with HubPages through the years.
HubPages has been my home for branching out to other areas of freelance writing. I've started some writing on other sites and am continually exploring other writing opportunities, both online and print. As I strive for success as a freelance writer, will I continue with HubPages? Of course! It's my home, and I'll never forget that.
And now, I'll hit that "publish" button for number 200!
Book About Writing for HubPages
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