Hubpages Vs. Blogging

1. 69

   Heather Trippposted 12 years ago

   I am not all that familiar with the ends and outs of blogging. My understanding is that you can blog about anything- from handy parenting tips to telling people about how you slipped on some ice and landed on your booty in front of a million people. (I don't know why you would write about that, but whatever...)
   
   Anyway, blogging from what I gather, is more of you sharing your own personal experiences, thoughts and views. Whereas here at hubpages, its informative articles.
   
   So those of you who have been writing for quite some time, please give me your opinions- which is better? Which is easier? Which is more fun? And which is more profitable??
   
   Thanks!

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   1. 62

      Sapperposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I have several blogs/websites, and within the next week or so I'm going to be adding a few more. You can't just write a blog about anything you want, at least not if you want it successful. Good blogs focus on a single topic.
      
      The main reason I blog and use HP for backlinks, is because you have more control over a blog. It can look exactly how I want, I can put as many ads as I want, wherever I want. I spend maybe 3 hours a day on all my websites, but I have several. With only 1 and a HP, you wouldn't need anything close to that for it to be successful. It's really no more work, everything you would do to promote a blog, you should be doing to promote your HP anyways, especially if you want to be profitable without it taking forever.

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      1. 78

         travelscrapbookposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Hi Sapper,
         I recently tried posting my first hub in travel niche and tried to import pictures from my blog, after which the post was held for moderation saying it was 'overly promotional', and 'trying to get backlinks'. I am not sure how much of backlinking can I do here and I wont like to do that any further, considering the moderations I have suffered at the start itself.

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         1. 84

            Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            If you have more than TWO links to the same website on any one Hub, that will count as overly promotional.

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   2. 84

      Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Your understanding of blogging is a bit outdated.  Originally, a blog was a personal diary.   In the early days, some people were very successful with that kind of blog - but unless you have an extraordinary life which reads like a fascinating fiction novel, it won't work today.  There are millions of blogs out there, and unless your blog is about a subject people are looking for, it won't attract readers.
      
      So these days, most serious bloggers blog about one subject only.  It's best to choose a broad subject, because Google is looking for "authority" and "freshness" now, which means you need lots of informative  content and you must keep adding to it regularly.  If you pick too narrow a niche, you'll run out of ideas in a year or two!
      
      So in answer to your question:   a personal, write-about-anything blog is easier because you can write whatever you like.  It's more fun at first for that reason - but the fun soon wears off when you realize no one is reading it.  But a one-topic blog is far more profitable, IF you're prepared to learn how to monetize it.  And I don't mean Adsense and Amazon, that's chickenfeed.  You can get much bigger margins from affiliate networks like ShareASale, Linkshare, Clickbank etc. 
      
      You don't need to go looking for a "high paying niche", IMO.  You're going to have to produce a lot of material, so I think you're better picking a subject you care about, or you'll be heartily sick of it before you really get it going.

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2. 60

   WhatTheHubposted 12 years ago

   I often wonder why do both, because some people post articles here....then link back to the SAME type of material on their own domain name or "blogger" site.
   
   Kind of defeats the purpose, right?

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   1. 61

      perfectskincareposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I am newbie on hubpages but have been blogging since three years. I post about things which I can't write on my blog my coz mine is a niche blog and i can't write other things which won't pertain to the scope. regarding profit, i think it all depends on how much time and energy you invest in either. i think blogging is more profitable but it takes time to get established as a brand and get lots of traffic and personal blogs are not exactly profitable.

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3. 89

   jponiatoposted 12 years ago

   I think Heather's understanding is right on the mark.  Blogs (short for "web logs") are more journal or diary in form, although some great articles also appear as blog posts, while hubs should be more helpful how-to's or information pieces about a particular topic.  Of course, hubs can also be creative in nature, featuring stories, songs, or poems.
   
   As for doing both, well I will frequently post a blog entry with thoughts and brief information about some topic, then provide a link to a hub (one of mine or belonging to someone else) for more information.  If I happen to write something more in-depth on my blog, I might some day write a related piece on HubPages, then link back to the blog entry as background information.  I would steer clear of just replicating the same basic information on both HubPages and a blog (or any other publishing site, for that matter).

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   1. 60

      WhatTheHubposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Jpaniato,
      
      Yeah, it's kind of tempting not to do both the same. But I think I get better TRAFFIC, through Hub pages because it is due to the fact that  Hubpages IS an established site, while with a regular personal site with info on it, might be hard to establish any traffic or high SEO visibility (even though  I am using pretty good key words on it).

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4. 69

   Heather Trippposted 12 years ago

   Do both? Ha! I am lucky if I get more than five minutes to do my hair!! My life has been so hectic and crazy lately... LOL!
   
   No, I was more asking because I was having a conversation the other day with an old friend, and we got on the topic of blogging. Like I said, I don't know much about it. But I have heard that a lot of people make really good money doing it. Which I always found slightly confusing because (again) my understanding was these people were writing more about random crazy things, and not so much the useful how-to stuff that we write on here.
   
   In between dropping off three kids at school, and picking up a dog and her 8 puppies that I am now fostering, I wondered if my time would be better spent on blogs. In a blog, I could write about how these 8 puppies are trying to eat my computer as I am sitting here typing this, but I can't do that here on Hubpages.
   
   I plan on trying to find some time to research and learn more about blogging, but.... that's gonna have to be sometime in the future. I just figured that probably some of you more experienced writer's would know which could potentially work better for me. I find lately that writing the informative stuff is getting to be boring to me. But I can pop out random stuff all day long! LOL!!
   
   Thanks!

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   1. 62

      StandingJaguarposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I think the more successful bloggers have a niche or a topic they are writing about, and while the blog often has a very informal and personal tone, it is useful (or interesting) information to a lot of people. "Random crazy things" probably don't make for a very successful blog. If you'd like to see an example of a VERY successful blogger who writes on a niche and still gets to be personal, check out missminimalist.com

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      1. 69

         Heather Trippposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I didn't really mean just random crazy things... But it does seem like blogging gives writer's a lot more freedom to say what they want, and how. There doesn't seem to be as many rules and limitations.

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         1. 75

            Barbara Kayposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Heather, You could write a blog about the puppies and then write about the best puppy foods, the best puppy toys, how to find homes for puppies etc. The list goes on and on. You can still write about your adventures with the puppies at the same time.

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               NYMiskovicposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Great idea!

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5. 60

   NYMiskovicposted 12 years ago

   I do both. I have a blog that I use strictly for promoting my books and those of my fellow authors. It's on this blog that I write, what I hope are helpful articles about writing in the erotic romance genre. (I'm not allowed to do that here on Hubpages.)
   
   With blogs--whether they're personal or in a niche market--you can still post ads on them and earn money based on clicks or however that works. But, unless you have a clear handle on SEO, it can be extremely difficult to drive traffic to your blog. There are sites that you can sign up for to have your blog listed in a directory, but then you have to ask yourself how much time do you have to spend promoting your blog?
   
   Hubpages is already an established site and you have a "built in" audience so to speak. My first few months with hubpages I made just under $10--then again, I was NOT trying to make money. So, if you are here to earn money and you devote your time and effort into that, then I'm sure you can make some money here.
   
   As far as the informative articles getting boring--I hear ya on that. Why can't you write both informative and creative articles here on hubpages? As long as you stick to HP's guidelines I don't see what the harm is in doing both.

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   1. 69

      Heather Trippposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      To be as honest as I possibly can be:
      
      For me, it is about the money. I don't expect to get rich over night, and I am willing to put in the time and effort. But I want to know what I am devoting myself to will pay off in the long run.
      
      Last year, my kids father decided he wanted a divorce. I was completely shocked, because we didn't have any problems. He left, and I was left to support myself and our two kids. Money is definitely a factor now.
      
      I was completely thrilled with my earnings here at Hubpages. I do write for other sites, and in just the not even a month that I have been with Hubpages, my earnings here have far surpassed my earnings at other sites. Or they did up until a few days ago.... I don't know what happened.. my traffic just slowed down to nothing.
      
      I don't promote my articles or anything else that I write. And basically what I need is a site that will handle all the technical stuff for me, is easy to use, and will (eventually) start earning me some extra money. I am just trying to decide whether that is Hubpages, or some other site I've yet to try.
      
      Thanks!!

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         livewithrichardposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         The best advice you will ever get here on Hubpages is to NOT put all your eggs in one basket.  Split your writing productivity among 2 or 3 revenue sharing sites... Here and Squidoo plus RedGage or InfoBarrel.  There are many others but you don't want to spread yourself too thin.  You should also start your own self hosted blog... not one of the free ones, one that you choose the domain name and a hosting company.  They are real easy to set up and will eventually provide you the biggest rewards.
         
         You're  blog is not going to earn you any real money until you get traffic in the range of 500 unique visitors a day... the biggest mistake with new bloggers is that they want to set up their sidbars full of ads.  I wouldn't use any advertising other than Adsense until you have the traffic to support it.  Also, you will gain recognition if you keep all of your online persona's the same and also interlink them and get them socially connected.
         
         It can be a full time job if you let it, but if you are a fast writer and plan your writing tasks in advance then you will do well with only 8 hours a week of your time invested (2 hours per site per week.)   
         
         I use to devote a lot of my writing time here on hubpages and before the traffic crashed on me I was earning around $600 a month here.  I was lucky that I had started my own blogs and they were all doing as well or better.  So when the traffic did take a nosedive here it didn't hurt as much as it did some.

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6. 72

   livewithrichardposted 12 years ago

   I do both... Hubpages is good (or was good) to get noticed on a single topic.  Someone who finds your hub from outside hubpages isn't likely to go read all of your other hubs since they are probably on topics that are not of interest to the original searcher of a topic.
   
   On a personal blog... if you keep it within a certain niche, when a searcher finds your blog post you have many opportunities to entice them to join your list or subscribe to your feed or some other measure to ensure that you can bring them back to visit your other posts. 
   
   Getting followers on Hubpages does not provide the same benefit as getting followers on your blog/s.  There is no way to reach or contact all of your followers on HP at once and unless they are following your feeds and updates, which is unlikely for the majority, then if they see something new by you it is by chance.  But on your blog, if you set it up properly, you can grow an email list and send out weekly or monthly updates and special offers.
   
   I write in the same tone on my blogs as I do in my hubs... it's consistency that I think my followers enjoy... I talk to them not at them, and that is the most important thing about blogging... building relationships and listening to concerns, and then following up on those concerns.

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7. 76

   Shadesbreathposted 12 years ago

   Content is the heart of it, regardless of platform. Good, well-written, quality content meant to please an audience of actual readers is what matters. If you produce that consistently somewhere, here at HP or on a blog elsewhere, I don't think it matters what you call it, be it "blog," "hub," or "article." The rest of it comes down to learning curves, aesthetics, and how much revenue you're willing to share for how long.

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8. 60

   WhatTheHubposted 12 years ago

   --There are sites that you can sign up for to have your blog listed in a directory, but then you have to ask yourself how much time do you have to spend promoting your blog?
   --
   
   Write, you then wind up spending more time promoting your blog and stray off writing the articles for the blog. lol.
   
   With Hub pages OR...any site similar to what Hub Pages do ( Revenue Making sites), the articles promote themselves in a sense.
   
   When I looked at my Google Analytics, ALL my clicks CAME from Hubbers, I had ONE "Google Organic" click.

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      NYMiskovicposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      You're exactly right, WhatTheHub. Writing quality content is going to get you noticed and it's hard to write if you're busy promoting.
      
      Bottom line: stick with Hubpages

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9. 71

   jacharlessposted 12 years ago

   Given the Hub Pages crows Digital Magazine as their core philosophy, I would gather they are beyond blogging, but not quite ePublisher -in the sense of full theme content, like a book. Therefore, their scope can be vast in topics. Articles "above the fold" as the saying goes. dealing primarily in non-fiction applied topics. Columns, or Commentary writing is essentially blogging -as it is opinion based or personal experience based, more than an unbiased explanation of a Product, Service, Idea. The lines for these two get blurry in a hurry, as even Topical Articles can appear blog-ish just because of what they are: informational.

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10. 82

    kathleenkatposted 12 years ago

    Blogging is easier, and more fun.
    
    HubPages is more profitable.

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    1. 72

       livewithrichardposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       You have that mixed around...

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       1. 76

          psycheskinnerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          That rather depends on the individual and the topic.

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          1. 72

             livewithrichardposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             I depends on your purpose for writing online... If your goal is to earn a decent living then sharing revenue with a site owner and competing on saturated topics from one domain is not the answer.  If your purpose is to have a small group of followers from one site praise your every word then HP is your place.
             
             With HP, you may earn enough to pay a few bills and if you are really good at promoting then it can pay a lot of bills.  With your own blog, if you treat it like a business it can provide all of your needs and then some.

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                psycheskinnerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                'Purpose' is one of the variables vested in the individual.
                
                And where is my small group of followers praising my every word?  I have been seriously short-changed here!

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             2. 69

                Heather Trippposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                What if you use a site like blogger? I don't know that I want to pay up front for my own website and hosting and such since I am not even sure if blogging is for me.... Is that still profitable and will that "provide all of my needs and then some"?

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                1. 82

                   kathleenkatposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   You can use a site like Blogger or Wordpress for your platform, then just pay for the domain name which will be like $9.99/year and get you a ".com" which you can attach to your Blogging platform. Way easier then building the whole thing from scratch.

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                2. 84

                   Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   Yes you can use Blogger and yes it can be just as good as having your own self-hosted site, with two caveats:
                   
                   1.  You are always at the mercy of Google - if they think your blog is breaking the rules somehow, they can delete it overnight.  So always keep a copy of everything you post, just in case.
                   
                   2.  Wordpress (the software you use on a self-hosted blog) is a more powerful platform than Blogger, which means you can offer your readers more features and easier navigation.  But you can do a lot with Blogger these days.
                   
                   The one thing you absolutely must, must, must pay for is a domain name.  You don't want your blog to have a ".blogspot" URL, for many reasons.   It costs less than $10 a year to a buy .com, .net or .org domain name (don't buy anything else), and it's fairly easy to "attach" it to your Blogger blog so it looks like a proper website.

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                3. 72

                   livewithrichardposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   I doubt it will...  free blogging sites are good for getting some practice in on how to blog and write for a varied audience.  You can do that here.  On your own sites, you have total control and you don't have to jump through hoops every time there is a Google update. 
                   
                   What I was trying to get at earlier is, you have to define for yourself what your goals are... are you here to build online friends, get some people to read what you have written, spend way too much time in the forums with adversarial minded people, and possibly earn a few dollars each month and wait a few years until that possibly grows to a few hundred dollars each month?  Or...
                   
                   Make a small investment in your own business of a blog, where it will cost you less than $10 to start and between $5 and $10 a month for hosting a site.  Build a brand of your own making, Write on topics that surround your favorite hobby, or something you absolutely enjoy, even if it is something you know little about but want to learn everything there is about it. If you love your work it will show and it will pay off in dividends. 
                   
                   Writing posts or hubs or articles elsewhere and relying on free traffic is like living on a handout.  Sure you invested time in writing and research but the ROI is a fraction of a fraction of what real online earners make... its even a fraction of what professional writers earn.  If you want your writing to earn you an income that will provide for all of your needs then you cannot rely on free traffic.  If you want to earn enough to live off of, support your family, etc then you must consider paid traffic from Google, Facebook, Bing, etc.
                   
                   But it's just like starting a business, you wouldn't make a financial investment without doing all of your homework.  On a blog, you can and should start off with free traffic sources... track it with analytics, then you can make decisions on how to best pay for your traffic using that analytic data.  You will learn the demographics of your visitors and then you can target your ads better. 
                   
                   For example, I have a Halloween/costume blog that I started AFTER Halloween last year.  I made posts once or twice a week for about 8 months. By then it was only earning me about $3 a week but in mid July I made my jump into advertising on Facebook.  I had a coupon for $100 and I added $100 of my own that month and $200 a month since then split between Google and Facebook.  I send the traffic to a blog post which is about a certain costume.  The traffic I pay for is targeted and the offers I have waiting for them are enticing.  Enticing enough to have earned me 10 times my investment... well worth the $120 a year I spend on the blog and the $800 I spent on paid advertising.  Oh, up to the time I started paying for traffic the blog was a PR1 site and in the last 4 months it has gone to a PR4 site because many of my targeted visitors are bookmarking and sharing my site. I'm not going to pay for traffic again on that site until next summer so it will be nice to see how much free traffic I get while maintaining the same 1 or 2 new blog posts per week.

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          kathleenkatposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          She asked me for my opinion on which was easier, more fun, and more profitable. For me, this is true. You're the mixed up one if you're telling me I'm mixed up without knowing jack about my personal experience blogging and writing Hubs.

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11. 61

    RichusFridumposted 12 years ago

    Blogging can definitely seem more fun at times because freedom of expression is always seductive yet at the same token, within that freedom there are no limits and so things can be taken too far to the point of being sensless which is why at the end of the day i would rather take part in informative articles and forums.
    But hey a lot of folks would find this stuff terribly boring.
    Id say blogging is much more easier because its more opinionated whereas HubPages requires a lot more knowledge and research and as far as which is more profitable it can certainly go either way as in any business.
    Interesting assessment though

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12. 70

    joanveronicaposted 12 years ago

    Hi Heather! I can completely identify with you, I don't have the kids, etc., but I do need the money! Recently I signed up at "Makeuseof.com" and this has been so good for me, the site provides various PDF manuals that are free downloads! One of them is about monetizing your blog, which I'm seriously studying at the moment. There are manuals on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Reddit, photography, and a lot more, and they are really good for a dummie like me. For instance, I finally figured out how to use Twitter by using this manual. Most of the manuals provide tips and instructions for surviving in this crazy web-world! And the main point is to be able to use all this to promote your articles and other work on the web. Have a look at this page. it might be useful for you.

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13. 69

    Heather Trippposted 12 years ago

    You know what.... After doing some reading, this is the conclusion I have come too.... 
    
    I think maybe I am concerned with the wrong aspect of this... Hubpages and blogging both are a CPC (or whatever that is- where we get paid when someone clicks on an ad on our page). I don't sell anything, I don't promote any products, and I don't promote what I write, so really, the results from either of these is going to basically be the same for me.
    
    I think for me personally (and I am just talking about for me) a website that pays per views would be more beneficial to me, just considering the types of topics I wrote about.
    
    I realize that 90% of online writers say they make more going through Adsense, but for someone like me- who doesn't review products, doesn't promote products, and doesn't even write about products- views are what I need....
    
    What's everyone's thoughts on that? And can someone point me in the right direction to a site that is ppm? Thanks!

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       Sapperposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Adsense also pays PPM. The pay is fairly low for PPM only ads, around $.15 per 1000 views. Stay away from not PPM only. You will have best luck with an Adsense and Amazon combination. Amazon has millions of products, you can always find something to link to no matter what you are writing about. For example, I have an atheist blog and a pit bull blog. On the atheist one I link ebooks and the pit bull one I link heart worm prevention.
       
       Adsense has nothing to do with products, just keywords. http://sapper.hubpages.com/hub/Proper-keyword-research
       That will help you find profitable keywords, or at the very least what you can expect to get from what you want to write about. Even keywords that only pay $.10 per click can still be profitable with enough traffic.
       
       As far as startup cost, if you only buy a month of hosting to start out with, it's really cheap. You'll spend less to start a blog then you would taking your family out to dinner. It's not as expensive as people think.

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14. 68

    isenhower33posted 12 years ago

    In my blog I have different sections for my differen types of writing, such as poetry, gaming, music and so on. This gives me more chances to earn more since I added them each as their own site instead of a page. That way I can choose the ads that are needed instead of it being the same ad for the whole site. Just thought I'd throw that in there. And I'll publish a hub every so often on here for inspiration usually. I want to be a inspirational speaker one day, I have lots of ideas, and thoughts of why it would work and that's usually what I write about on here. I like to give more of advice on here and leave my blogs as my fun stuff to make a little extra money I love doing both, And I use many of tools to do all this stuff.

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    Rfordinposted 12 years ago

    You could do what I'm doing... I have a blog and write here at Hubpages as well as another platform. I enjoy all three platforms and am looking at expanding my portfolio sooner rather than later.
    
    My take on it is that here @ Hubpages and link my hubs to my blog, another platform and vice versa. One day when I feel my blog is "big" enough I see if I choose to leave my articles here or move them over to my blog.
    
    I noticed that as I'm writting I tend to write about 2 or three very specfic niche's (that's what interests me) therefore I may end up with 3 blogs (or more) later on down the line all geared towards certain interests I have.
    
    As far as using blogger thats what I am using right now....will I always use blogger. Nope, as soon as my blogs can support a .com I will go ahead and create a dotcom but until then free is the way for me.
    
    If you are looking to start a blog from scratch blogger is VERY easy to use... VERY easy it basically spells it all out for you and let's you add changes, touches etc to make it your own (and once you become familiar with it you may find yourself writting short HTML code and/or tags).
    
    Be forewarned blogging can be very addicting like Hubpages.....if you have an addictive personality, enjoy being creative (you write here so I'm guessing thats a yes) and have some spare time you may find it to be enjoyable and some what profitable (somewhat). Good luck!

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16. 58

    octavio714posted 12 years ago

    Hello and here is what ived done in the last 3months with HP and Blogging!This can incredibly double your money if its what you are trying to do?Ofcourse huh..LOL
    
    On HP talk about your daily things HP can work as a blog too..Send your traffic to a blog
    I normally use blogger its free no paying for domains or hosting..Give some good information on
    your blogs upload nice quality images HD if you can..Now here is the best part..
    
    Join 2 of the top Social Networks..Pinterest is where many mostly girls post things about what
    they cook,receipts,humor,furniture,Tattoos,and few others..Many people see your pings and boards
    
    Now if you have an android or iphone you can take real nice quality pics from anywhere
    upload them to Instagram where many people love to look at images ad some value to
    your Instagram people will follow you and then go to your blog and whatever is that your
    making money of selling or by clicks with google adsense you will make so much good money
    there..So there you go my 2cents!!Cheers

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    themadimadimadiposted 12 years ago

    I think on terms of what's easier and more fun is something you personally decide on. I love sharing personal stories, but you can twist them into something informative too. Writing should come from the heart, so figure out what style you like best and go at it!

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    WhatTheHubposted 12 years ago

    Wow, I have to say, Live With Richard stated that we would need to spend money on advertising to get noticed.  Didn't think of it that way.
    
    Have our web posted in all the margins of Facebook users, sounds pretty promising.  :-)

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       psycheskinnerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Facebook required about 4000 impressions per click for the average advertiser, making it a really terrible choice for anyone on impression-based payment.

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       livewithrichardposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I didn't say that exactly.... Nobody should pay for traffic to their hubs it would provide no benefit.
       
       I talked about how I get traffic to offers on my blogs.
       
       On your blogs, you can set up affiliate offers and you should not rely on free traffic to get those offers noticed.  You need to pay for CPC advertising.  CPM is not a way to make real money and nobody should pay for that on a free site that brings in its own traffic.
       
       Before anyone jumps into paid advertising they had better do their research.  You can lose a lot of money if you don't know what you are doing.  My first time ever, I lost $400 and that was with a $500 investment.  But I've been doing this for over 5 years now and have learned what not to do.  Not every test is going to pan out which makes it very risky for those that can't afford to lose the money they invest. 
       
       By the way, I only pay 1 penny per click on Facebook... I tested campaigns on several different networks but for costumes, Facebook provided the greatest ROI.  However, it is a short run campaign that does not convert year round. 
       
       You don't have to send traffic to special offers, I do because it pays the best.  You can send traffic directly to a blog post.  There are ad networks that will give you targeted traffic for 1/4 of a cent so a $25 campaign can earn you 10,000 unique visitors.  This is where it is important to track your stats so you can also determine the ROI.

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          jacharlessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          I like the way you think, Richard.
          Speaking of affiliate programs...have you seen mine?
          
          Oh, and question about FB Advert. Generally speaking what was your ROI or UV ratio? Am interested in using their platform for my software. Thanks,
          James

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             livewithrichardposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             James,
             For those that do not know, ROI is calculated by taking the cost of total clicks and multiplying it by the percentage of conversions, then multiply that by the per sale value.  Minus the initial cost for total clicks and you get the net profit. Then divide the profit by the initial investment.  Here is a breakdown of September's campaign on Facebook:  $200 at .o1/click returned 20k visits  I had a .149% conversion rate which yeilded 29 sales at $29 each sale for a net profit of $641 ($841 - $200) Which should have had a ROI of 320% but I had to account for 79% unique visitors and I ended up with a $500 profit and a ROI of 253%.
             
             The Catch 22 on this is that you can't determine ROI until you make a test run.  This was a profitable campaign and it did even better in October because I rolled it out with a much larger investment. But there was a lot of research that went into it and Facebook was only 1 of 4 ad networks that I ran with this month.
             
             Just because my ROI was high and profitable on this campaign does not signify that all campaigns will yeild similar results.  I just gave the gravy but the meat comes from the initial research.  Search for product demand and competition have to meet minimum criteria to even be considered.

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                jacharlessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                Got it. Not too shabby.
                Conversion looks a little low in comparison to the UV, but understandable. Hmm.
                Am going to think on this a bit.
                Many thanks on info!
                
                James.

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                   livewithrichardposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   Conversions were low James because of my 1 penny bid per click on a heavily competitive campaign (suggested bid price was between .69 and $2)  This didn't get me prime time viewing but it did get me the views I needed.  Had I bid say 20 cents per click and wanted all my clicks to be made between 11am and 1pm and 7pm and 9pm (the peak viewing times on FB) I'm sure I would have had a higher conversion rate but then less views overall because of the budget I set.  I sent my traffic to my blog post where I had an offer and not directly to the offer itself.  This allowed for a huge number of college students to bookmark and share the posts... Backlinks galore... which will help my site in the off season... Probably not with sales but with continued traffic which is where the adsense kicks in.
                   On FB you choose a demographic instead of keywords so you really have to know your target audience or it will be like tossing spaghetti at the wall.

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                      jacharlessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                      Right. Have demographic and keys ready. Am [more] interested in sales/conversions from those clicks. In the range of 10% from inbound UV. Not just for myself but for affiliates of the program. Since Affiliates retain 45% of the unit price, per conversion, insuring that inbound percentage is vital.
                      
                      James.

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                         livewithrichardposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                         FB is probably not the best place to get high conversion rates...  you would have to run a test at optimal suggested bid rates and then adjust from the test/s.  You would do well to do a test run on 3 to 4 different ad networks but don't spend more than $50 on any of them until your tests prove worthy.  The catch is many of them require a $100 deposit.  Here is a list of ad networks that you can test from.. the list is huge so you will have to do some homework on them. 
                         
                         I mostly use ad networks that operate on a bid system.  When they suggest a starting bid at .69 cents and I only bid .01 cent then everyone that bid higher than me will have their ads served first and if it is on GA then also before mine in content (I only advertise for content not search)  My main goal was to get as many eyes on my pages as cheap as possible.  My hopes were for a higher conversion rate of course but I also know that the more people that see it the better chance I will get a backlink from a visit and as long as my campaign performed the same as my test run, I could earn money from it.  GA is tricky and I don't earn as much from it but still a positive cash flow.  It is known that the average searcher only spends 3% of his/her time on Google, the rest of the time is spent on the sites in the SERP's... it only makes sense then to advertise on publisher's sites and not the SE's and that is where the list above is handy because most ad networks consort directly with publishers.  Advertise for content not SERP's.

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                            WhatTheHubposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                            Man you need to have a mindset of a Philadelphia Laywer or a person who has a seat on the stock exchange to figure this all out. LOL :-) (not making fun, just saying).

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                               livewithrichardposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                               Yea, I can understand, I was there too once, and even now I don't know all the ropes. Paid advertising has a huge learning curve, though it's not rocket science as some 'gurus' may have you believe so you spend $$$$ on "their" system, when in reality they are all alike. 
                               
                               DON'T even think about paid advertising unless you can afford to possibly lose $500 to $1000 because no matter what "guru" you learn from, it is not a sure thing.  You have to know how to set up a campaign and you have to know how to bid for and target traffic.  The only way you can learn this is by doing it through test runs.  Some of the ad networks want you to put as much as $100 deposit, all of which will eventually be used to purchase clicks, but you run small tests at first of $5 - $25 over a course of a few days. You track your results and then if the test proves to be profitable then you scale it up with as much as you can afford.  I'll spend a dollar to make 2 dollars all day long.
                               
                               Paid advertising is for people that are making a commitment to their business, they are investing and diligently working to improve their ROI.
                               
                               Article marketing is like shrimping from a dock. (I'll try to explain this analogy for those that don't know what shrimping is)  In shrimping from a dock or pier, one takes a large round shrimp net and casts it into the water.  The net settles and then you pull in your catch. 9 out of 10 casts you're going to come up with nothing, even when the guy next to you is pulling in a few shrimp with each cast and possibly a few crabs as a  bonus.  When that guy moves on, you move over to his spot to cast and still come up empty. Same location, same technique, different results with little explanation.  The guy at the end of the dock that offers to buy your catch, well he's the guy that was using paid advertising.

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                               aykianinkposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                               Sadly, WTH, I agree.  I shake my head and laugh at the same time it can be so deep.  But if this is what it takes, then this is what we gotta do, eh?

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          contractingtipsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          This was a very helpful posting, thank you livewithrichard

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    aykianinkposted 12 years ago

    I've had something haunting my brain for a while now, and I was debating creating a forums question for it.  However, this pretty much covers what I would've asked, so I'll state my situation here.  I recently won the award for Hubnuggets.  It was a hub about how dogs are 'better' than cats (yes, it was comedic, and yes, it was completely my opinion).  It wasn't a hub about how to train your dog to do tricks or which types of dog food are best.
    
    Now, for something that is completely my opinion...doesn't that 'go against' what Hubpages is all about?  When I started, I looked forward to essentially writing a blog.  I wrote about many different topics and planned to continue writing about many different topics. 
    
    When you look at various Hubs of the Day and you look at some of the guidelines that Hubpages mentions, straight 100% opinion pieces seem to be something Hubpages stands against.  I delayed asking this question because I fear I already know the answer.
    
    Having said that...as I saw one other Hubber post:  What happens when you're just a novice at most things?  I can't give anyone 1,000 words on how to create a guitar from scratch...

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       aykianinkposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Also, doesn't the vast amounts of poetry that we get on Hubpages go against this as well?  (Not that I don't enjoy the poetry.  It's quite nice.  But it would be hard to argue that poetry is 'useful and informative.')

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          kathleenkatposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Yeah, I've had a creative writing piece flagged as "purely personal" due to its narrative nature. Yet, poetry is a-okay. This has always confused me too. I guess when you get into creatvie non-fiction, the lines can be fuzzy.

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          livewithrichardposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          If it is categorized correctly and isn't purely personal then it is acceptable.  HP prides itself on having one of the largest databases of poetry... this is after all a writer's site.  There was a mass exodus a couple years back when the tides here were split between writing literature, evergreen, and product hubs.  There was a huge rift between those that came here to earn money as the HP ads of the time suggested and those that came here to get noticed and build a following.  The forums were full of people sharing how to get traffic and earn through affiliate sales and very few were teaching how to become better writers.  HP staff stood back and let the hubbers battle it out until many just left.  They felt betrayed by HP because it looked as if getting traffic and sales was more important... funny how things changed a year later when everything became about quality instead of quantity.

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             aykianinkposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             You kind of shocked me when you wrote "mass exodus" but I can see how some people would feel that way.  Hm.  When you say "If it is categorized correctly and isn't purely personal then it is acceptable." then I take it if my hub about dogs and cats were say...in the 'business' section then it would have been flagged, but it's okay because it was in the pet section?
             
             Regarding how 'personal' something is, I have an article that I've wanted to post for a while now, but then I'm not sure it'll fit.  It's about driving etiquette, but it deals directly with stats from my state.  Would 49 OTHER states want to read that stuff?

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    CrisSpposted 12 years ago

    I'd say poetry is useful specially for people looking for a quick inspirational read. I mean , admit it most people don't really read long articles.   Very few would do and of course, it depends on individual's interest.  Mostly, they only look at the visuals or would scan the articles. There's also quite a lot of hubbers who post articles based on personal experiences - they look and feel like a blog but they do convey good messages and other useful information. 
    
    My two cents--write what you know, what you enjoy about and what you feel like. HP is just one of the many avenues.
    
    Cheers!

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       aykianinkposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       CrisSp!  When I mentioned poetry that I've read and enjoyed, your work came to mind.  Poetry often is a good pick-me-up.  Valuable two cents:-)

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    UBGEmpireposted 12 years ago

    I as many other people started out a advocated for journalizing everything ( which of course before there were computer sites that allowed you to blog.)  Began my journey in what I called a DIARY SORRY I HOPE I DIDNT OFFEND YOU BUT This is directed towards you under 18 years ...lol .... I don’t know if your know what this is, but it when the older generations wrote in lined or unlined blank note books and sometimes had key locks.  But anyways back to the question you just asked. I have to agree on the subject of blogging is more of a personal form of journalizing your feeling and what not but I have seen a lot of bloggers that keep specific topic and don’t stray from that. Then there are bloggers that do type about stuff that is probably irrelevant to others. Now for my opinion of what is easier and I say blogging because you can write about anything, your views, your feelings, and even if you want to, how you slipped on some ice and landed on your booty in front of a million people. Which also allows you to write a three pager or 2 words, but what I have notice is that on the HUBPAGE your content  that you post have requirements.. Trust me I know because I’ve been notified. Another perk is that you can get paid from posting ads on your HUBPAGE and from my knowledge you can’t do that on some blog sites.

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       Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       That's because blogging has moved on from being just "a personal form of journalizing".  That still exists (anyone who wants to do that, the best place is at LiveJournal.com).   Bloggers soon realized that it was very difficult to attract readers to "journalizing" type blogs - and for a writer, what's the point of writing if no one reads it?  By focusing on a specific topic and not straying from that, you can gain a reputation and build an audience.
       
       
       
       Again, not so true today.  If Google doesn't like your blog, readers won't be able to find it in the search engine results.  If you write short blog posts - even just a few in a blog full of longer posts - Google will slap you.  So all blog posts should be at least 250 words.

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          aykianinkposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          So if you have 1,000 word blog after 1,000 word blog, but then you have a 200 word blog, it 'hurts' your ranking with Google?

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             livewithrichardposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             Actually, your blog posts should be a mixture of long and short.  Your longer posts should be concise and scannable because searchers for the  most part have short attention spans.  If you're going to post everyday then I would suggest 3 long posts 1000 - 1500 words (broken up into 4 or 5 paragraphs) and 3 shorter posts 250 -500 words (at least 2 to 3 paragraphs).  The longer posts will allow you to create insight and can boost your credibility, while shorter posts will show the SE's that you are consistent with fresh content.  Long or short the post needs to be concise and deliver on the title, which is usually what draws the searcher in.
             
             While you establish yourself and show some consistency you should also engage your readers on your blogs and through your social networks.  By engaging your readers you can determine if your posts are long enough or too short.  Make sure you are creating shareable content and make sure you optimize your images with the alt tags title keywords and don't forget to keyword name your image before you upload to your blog.
             
             If you are creating your social networks around the same niche of your blogs then you listen to what they are talking about and then write on those same topics.  This is how it becomes shareable.  If they are talking about it then it is searchable and trending.  Watch for those trends and be quick to jump on them.

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                aykianinkposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                This is an interesting concept.  "...while shorter posts will show the SE's that you are consistent with fresh content."  What kind of frequency is 'good' then?  Does weekly count?

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                   Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   Opinions differ, but personally I think weekly is enough. 
                   
                   The reason Richard suggests smaller posts is that if you write 1,000-word posts that often, you're going to run out of material a lot sooner!   However, you notice his definition of shorter posts is still over 250 words.

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                      livewithrichardposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                      Yea, frequency of posts depends on how well you engage your readers and how they engage you.  250 is the least I would use but I would need some engaging images, videos, polls, something that makes the post shareable. 
                      
                      Increase your frequency of posts as your daily views increase.  Once you get to 100 unique views a day then you need at least 2 weekly posts and by the time you are sustaining 500 daily unique views you should be posting at least 5 times per week.  After you get to 100 a day you should really consider getting an autoresponder and setting up an email collection system.  Grow your list for backend marketing.

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             Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             It could.  To give you an example, I have a ballet blog which got slapped by one of the Google Panda updates.  I searched for a reason, and read that "a few low quality blog posts can bring down your entire blog". 
             
             Most of my blog posts are quite substantial.  However, I had a few posts which were just a Youtube video with a sentence or two of explanation. I combined or expanded those, and my blog recovered at the next Panda update.

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    passionatelearnrposted 9 years ago

    i think blogging on your own website is more profitable.

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