Paying Someone Else to Write HubPages Articles?

1. 57

   SuperheroSalesposted 11 years ago

   I just read a Hub that said that the author was going to go to the freelance website and pay people to write articles for him that he would put on HubPages to make himself money from. That can't be okay with the HubPages site, is it? A couple of people commented, including an author that I have seen on the site a lot and said it was a good idea (and hinted that if it worked for him they may try it too).
   
   Is it okay to pay someone else to write an article and to publish it on HubPages? I am asking only because I always thought this site was to showcase individual writers and wouldn't feel comfortable doing that myself. What are your thoughts?

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      mistyhorizon2003posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I can't see any reason why not, even though I would not choose to do this myself. It is up to the Hubber to decide if the work they have paid for is of a high enough quality to publish here whether or not they wrote it themselves. It certainly doesn't break any HP rules. Many people are now paying writers to write stories etc that they can then publish as ebooks, and often find this is very profitable.
      
      Bottom line, this is not a site to 'showcase writers', it is a business which HP want to make lots of money from. They don't care who wrote what so long as it follows the rules and is not stolen content.

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      galleryofgraceposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I choose to write all my hubs(which is probably whats wrong with them). I also write for several other sites and I recognize hubbers and their requests for articles.
      If you can get a well written article for $4 which could potentially give you lifetime income, why not?
      There are many hubbers too , like myself who prefer to showcase only our own work. It does seem deceitful to parade someone else's work as your own.

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         SuperheroSalesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I had no idea that this was happening! I have learned something new today! I hope that when I've given feedback to Hubbers about well-written Hubs that they were actually the ones who wrote it. I feel so deceived! I am grateful to be educated on this subject though. Thanks for the quick responses!

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            mistyhorizon2003posted 11 years agoin reply to this

            If it's any consolation I doubt there are a great deal of hubbers doing this because there simply isn't enough money to be earned per article here on HP to justify paying for someone else to write hubs for you.  If you paid someone for  a really good article you could still be waiting a couple of years to get your money back, and even that is a gamble.

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         2. 67

            LisaMarie724posted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Wow, I've never heard of anyone doing this either.  We are all out of the loop I guess.  I really don't get why they would want to though, I write because I like to not to make money.  And, as you all know it's not like we are making millions writing here!

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               Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Articles on HubPages used to be very lucrative, with several Hubbers earning over $2,000 a month.  That was before Google changed its algorithm in 2011.   Some people still think it's possible to make big money here and that's why they pay others to write articles.

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      2. 64

         Sapperposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         You won't get a well written article for $4. Sure, you can get an article for $4, but it won't be anything useable without major tweaking. If you want something you can just copy and paste, you will probably be spending at least $25, which makes it really pointless to do on any revenue sharing site. On your own blog would be a whole different story, but you are still looking at a good few months at the very least wait till you break even, let alone make anything from it.
         
         The best way to benefit the most from buying articles is to buy as many, for as cheap as possible. Schedule them to post 3 or 4 times a week for a month or 2. After that, post an article, delete an article. The constant updating will force the bots to crawl more often, and the garbage content will get deleted before it has a negative effect on your rank, making your overall site rank, along with views, increase.
         
         Don't try this on here though, they will get flagged and idled before they have the chance to do their job.

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            ritsukakunxposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Even at $25, like from Demand Studios (which I write for) people aren't willing to give 100%. Just read "Demand Studios Sucks" forums and you'll see that. :p

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   3. 88

      NateB11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I remember a while back when I'd put Hubpages into Google search, one of the results would be this site about writing Hubs for your Hubpage, or something like that. I was a bit shocked, instinctively I get a gut reaction to that, just seems wrong. I'd rather do my own work; but I can't lie, I'd be tempted to write an article for someone else, to get paid for it. Wouldn't mind actually getting paid for my work, I'm like that.
      
      Edit: I write because I love to write. Someone paying someone to do it implies they don't love to write. And there is definitely just a sad quality to that fact.

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   4. 55

      Ratatoeskposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I myself can´t see any problem with it. Why not outsourcing things? If you have an idea on a subject but doesn´t have enough information about it to share or you just doesn´t find the time to write, just outsource the job that need to be done. You pay a ghostwriter and finally you own the content. You minimize your effort but maximize your profit. And usually you even get a high quality content. You leverage your time.
      Ask some millionairs how they became rich and wealthy. Ask if they do everything on their own or if they just get paid for.
      Its nothing wrong with it. Just be smart, be clever.
      
      Or imagine, what if you have never learnd to write. Or you just have no hands but you wanna earn money. Or you can´t move cause of an accident. You will need to pay someone else for doing the job.
      
      With this issue is definitely nothing wrong. In my oppinion.

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      Faith A Mullenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting topic. I do not personally have a problem with paying for an article with the purpose of publishing to make passive income. It's a business technique, and all parties involved are getting what they are asking. I would, however, have a problem with publishing these articles under my name as if I had written them myself. First, because it wouldn't be honest, and second, because I am proud of my writing and want anything with my name on it to be an example of my actual work. For that reason I think this technique should be done under a brand name (like Dogs 101 or Beauty Files) instead of being labeled with the wrong author.

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   6. 0

      Stevennix2001posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Well at the risk of sounding like a total dick, this doesn't affect me at all, so I don't care.  I know I would never do this, but if someone else on hubpages chooses to do it, and it seems to work out for them, then more power to them.
      
      If the moderators here don't give a rat's a** about it, then why should I?  Sorry if that sounds cold, but just saying...

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   7. 87

      Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Writers are encouraged to  use HubPages as a place to showcase their work, but that's not HubPages' purpose.
      
      The primary purpose of HubPages is to publish articles to make money.  There is no rule to say it has to be your own work, only that it mustn't be published anywhere else.  Given that, it makes sense that some people would pay others to write articles for them, with the aim of earning money from those articles, and there's nothing immoral about it.   Personally, I write my own stuff here.

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      dspallinoposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That's actually not a bad idea. HOWEVER, not too smart if you want to be recognized for YOUR writing. What if you were asked to write some elegant and profound piece? What do you do now? Because you won't be able to pay someone else to do it for you in this case.

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         Reality Bytesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Take the order and subcontract it out to Odesk or Textbroker.

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      Matthew Meyerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I would strongly advise against paying to have content written. 
      It can be very problematic and in some cases could endanger your HubPages account.
      The best idea is to write original in-depth and media-rich content.

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         Reality Bytesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Just to clarify.  Hubpages can outsource work but Hubbers should not?
         
         What is the difference between original in-depth and media-rich content written by a signed user and original in-depth and media-rich content purchased?

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            Reality Bytesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            21.  I want permission to use text or an image from a Hub.
            
            
            All the users on HubPages agree to only publish content to which they have the necessary rights.
            
            22. Can I use pictures from other sites on my Hubs?
            
            
            When you sign up for HubPages, you agree to use only content to which you hold the necessary rights. Basically, this means that if you did not create the content yourself, you must have permission to use it from the person or organization that did.
            
            
            http://hubpages.com/faq/#what_is_allowed
            
            
            Very confusing!

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         2. 74

            WriteAngledposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            The only dangers to an account that I can see are:
            
            1. If the outsourcer does not want to set up the actual hubs and thus gives log-in details to the contractors, they may be able to mess things up, post additional undesirable content, etc.
            
            2. The contractor will secretly publish the same or very similar content elsewhere to try and get some extra profit by using the key words provided by the outsourcer.
            
            If the outsourcer buys in text and images, and sets up the hubs himself, who on earth is able to say whether the content was generated by him or by others?
            
            Personally, I would not want my name associated with content purchased from countries where people offer such material for cheap prices. It is unlikely to meet my personal standards. However, others may think otherwise.

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   10. 61

       c119finalposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I will write anything if the pay is write

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2. 59

   Randy Godwinposted 11 years ago

   This came up before and I believe lots of bought articles are on this site.  Some hubbers get paid to write hubs about products and services by those particular companies, plus they receive the page views and ad clicks if they attract any.  Not to mention any Amazon sales commissions.  Essentially, anything for a buck goes.  It's the American way. 

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   1. 88

      mistyhorizon2003posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Randy, I totally agree with you as far as people getting paid here to write hubs about products and services in return for the page views and ad click revenue. Usually all that is required is to place two links within the article. I was approached twice to do this for one company, but turned it down because the money they offered was so very poor it just wasn't worth doing. That said, at least if I had done it the work would have been my own writing and not someone else's. What I do find hard to believe is widespread are articles that have been written by third parties outside of HP and then paid for by hubbers so that they can publish them here as 'their own'. Even at rates as low as $4 the way earnings are on this site for many I am not sure many would be willing to pay that for what would probably be a basic 300-400 word article that might never earn that money back again. I could be wrong of course, and would love to see the results of an anonymous poll on the subject.

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         Randy Godwinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Someone a while back posted a link to a Craigslist ad offering to sell articles to hubbers.  At the time I think some people admitted buying some of them.  Not sure they were from here though.  But hey, the short crud seems to be doing good because people will often click the first ad they see to get away from there.  "Some" savvy content farms know this and the rewards could be sizable.  "Quality" means traffic here now.  If a crappy, well SEO'd hub draws traffic, then it becomes a "quality" hub. This is why HP is dragging its feet about ridding the site of all the Indian Auntie and soft porn stuff, not because of a backlog as they claim.  Get it?

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            mistyhorizon2003posted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Well I am not sure that any cheapie content is going to be well 'SEO'd' by the writer who is getting a few measely dollars to write it, and personally I have never clicked on an advert in order to 'leave a site' (I prefer to simply use the back button to return to the search results so I can try another link instead.  What I do suspect you have possibly a very good point on, is the assumption that the reason all those soft porn Indian Auntie type hubs are still here is quite probably because they do draw in traffic to the site and therefore make money for HP. I for one would be very glad to see the back of them and can't see why they can't just be deleted as a priority.

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               Randy Godwinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               If there is a pertinent Adsense ad or a sales product on the page it may not be as useless as you may think, Misty.  Do you remember the hub which HP was reluctant to take down, even though many of us flagged it, which had over 9 million views?
               
               It mislead the visitors to believe it was a complaint center for a major company and people were putting their passwords into the comment section.  It may still be up as HP allowed them to change the title.  Now do you get it? 
               
               And everyone is not like you and I, Misty.  We know about ad clicks, but others aren't concerned about how many they click on.  No, I don't like the thought of this going on either.  But what I don't like means nothing in the scheme of things.

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                  mistyhorizon2003posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  I do recall that Randy, albeit only vaguely, but I remember the whole issue of people treating it as a valid 'help centre/complaint centre' page and posting passwords etc on it.
                  
                  If an ad is pertinent I can see someone might click on it for obvious reasons, all I meant was I just couldn't see the point in clicking on an advert simply to leave a site, not least because I search all over the net now for things like 'How to grow shallots from seed' (for instance) and if the site I go to does not answer the question well or adequately I will use the back button to return to the search results so I can try the next site. If I clicked on an advert first I would simply have to make an extra click back in the original search box on the top right of my screen in order to get back to the search results. I wouldn't waste my time doing that when I can easily return straight to the search results without going via another site. Do you see where I am coming from?

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                     Randy Godwinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     Yes Misty, but everyone isn't like you.  Lots of young people--and older people also-- don't have the same search techniques or discretion as you do.  Or the same savvy as to what the ads may bring or where they may take them.  But we must differ on this I suppose. 

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3. 67

   snleeposted 11 years ago

   I have read some of my friend's articles written by freelance writers and the quality is rather poor.  Personally I feel that if we have to spend time in reviewing and getting those writers to correct the articles again, it doesn't make sense to pay them.

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4. 67

   torrilynnposted 11 years ago

   i find it interesting to pay someone else to write for you while you use the article and make potentionally more money off of it. i think that it is okay for someone to do this but i personally wouldn't do it. i feel the best writers are those who are inspired by something and someone and decide to write a hub or an article themselves.

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      Sapperposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      While I agree with everything you said, online writing really has nothing to do with the writing itself; online writing is all about giving out information. As long as it isn't unreadable trash, presentation will do more than writing quality content will.
      
      A little piece of advise for everyone that some may not know, the higher the score on the Flesch readability test the higher you will rank. If your score is under 60, your ranking will suffer.

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5. 73

   Abbyfitzposted 11 years ago

   I've only just discovered that this happens. There is an entire blog devoted to making money on writing sites and this is one of the ways they suggest to do it. I think it's skefflings make money online is the blog

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   LindaSmith1posted 11 years ago

   There are companies who have writers that do outsourced work as a ghost writer, therefore the client has all claims to the articles that they pay for, but there is dishonesty and there are those who keep a copy of that very article for clients and use them themselves as well. 
   
   Another thing is that a hubber would pay more than what they would earn from HP.
   
   It does not make sense to pay somebody to do articles that would be placed on HP. Another thing is that it is risky.  Even reputable companies have dishonest writers.
   
   Reputable companies who have writers write for others is not cheap.

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7. 93

   jansharesposted 11 years ago

   I think it's a smelly idea but I realize it does happen in the real world. I'm surprised to hear that it might happen with writers on a site such as this. Why would a real writer want to put his name on something he didn't write? How do you answer for that? What if someone asks about your inspiration or your sources? If I write something good I want to be able to feel proud and say, "Yeah, I wrote that." I just don't get it. Oh, silly me, I do get it. It's not about integrity, it's about the money. Sad :-(

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      NateB11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Well-put, Jan.

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8. 94

   FatFreddysCatposted 11 years ago

   Paying people to write Hubs for you? That's lame as hell. If you're not capable of writing your own articles, then get the hell off the site.
   
   My two cents.

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      NateB11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Lame is the right word. That's my feeling, that mainly it's lame. It's like paying someone to do your homework.

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      dailytop10posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      best comment..hahaha..I consider every hub as part of me. In fact, you can learn something about me just by reading my hubs.

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9. 73

   Abbyfitzposted 11 years ago

   They are just doing it as a shortcut for earnings. I think for most of us here it would take years or more to write a couple thousand articles. While having 1,000 articles would be great and I'd love the income, I would want to know I did it by myself. What would happen if someone liked your writing and approached you for a job?

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10. 68

    MarieAlana1posted 11 years ago

    Hey, if this is such a good idea. Maybe the more experienced hub writers should find out where exactly they are going to pay the freelance writers and become a freelance writer themself. In that way, then as an extra bonus the writer could put a referral tracker on that hub. In that way, the writer gets paid double.

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11. 83

    psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

    If someone can find a way to do it at a profit, why not?

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12. 93

    Marketing Meritposted 11 years ago

    Obviously articles can be purchased otherwise there would be little demand for freelance writers. There are also many celebrities who have published fiction books, under their own names, that have predominantly been written by ghost writers.
    
    Nonetheless, for the nominal price that many of these articles change hands, I doubt very much that they are unique and/or written by native English speakers. My guess would also be that the same content has either been spun many times or has been derived from PLR. This increases the risk of the hub being flagged as duplicate content.
    
    I was slightly surprised to recently read about someone publishing articles on HubPages that they had bought. Although I don't believe that this is against HP's terms and conditions, somehow I would feel rather cheated if I discovered that I had read and commented on a hub that was unauthentic, so to speak. This is probably because I consider HubPages to be more community biased.
    
    If the business model works for the individuals concerned then each to their own I guess. My only reservation would be in respect of the quality of the articles and possibly duplicate content. I know we have switched to sub domains but I believe that this may the potential to adversely impact on HubPages as a whole.

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       MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Sometimes PLR happens, but generally it's so badly spun that it's easily identifiable.
       
       There are low-costs article writing services that charge from .5 cents to one cent per word, the articles go through editors and the resulting piece passes both originality and basic grammar criteria.  The authorship will never be mistaken for Pulitzer-prize winning but they are standard English.
       
       There is one place in particular that does this and it's easy to recognize hubs written by them (there are specific rules to the writer's site that they all match) yet they are *good enough*  The authors of these articles make about 3 dollars, the writing site makes about a dollar off of each one. Each one is original.
       
       I have my own opinions when it comes to the ethics of this, but the end result is a bland hub that is acceptable by quality standards and original by copyright standards.  They have cookie-cutter SEO, though, and at some point someone in Google is going to catch the pattern and slap it.

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13. 61

    BigBlue54posted 11 years ago

    As I am new here, I signed up a couple of weeks ago, I am still learning the ropes. So I read this discussion with interest because when joining a group it helps to know what other peoples views are and where any boundaries may lay.
    
    As creative people your reaction, as with most creative people, is for the person claiming authorship to be the genuine author of the work. This is understandable. From a business point of view outsourcing can and does make sense. After all how many businesses build there own website or run their own marketing. Or, importantly from a writing point of view, fill it with their own content. If people wish to make money from someone what someone else has written then why not. After all publishers do this all the time.
    
    The question is should people pass off the work of someone else as there own. This I think is wrong for the reasons already mentioned by others. If you comment on someones hub and tell them how good you think it is, would you make the same comment knowing they had paid someone else to write it. Of course not. I do not know the legal standing of this but surely it is morally fraudulent to do so.
    
    As for ghost writing, I have no objection to non-writers getting unprofessional help but at least they should write some of it themselves.

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       Marketing Meritposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       You make some very valid points BigBlue54.
       
       From a business perspective, it is perfectly normal to outsource work and that is generally accepted as being the 'norm' for commercial organisations.
       
       However, as you highlight, I believe it is more a question of whether or not it is ethical, on a site such as HubPages, to pass off work as your own.

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    Gail Meyersposted 11 years ago

    I wrote for others via Textbroker.  So I know people do this with blogs and webpages.  I guess I just never thought about anyone doing it on HP.

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    Reality Bytesposted 11 years ago

    Hubpages is looking for "original", "quality" content.  Why would they care where it came from.  I wish I could afford to purchase content, if I could, I would.  Why would there even be an issue?

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16. 61

    BigBlue54posted 11 years ago

    As you probably guest on the bit about ghostwriting it should have read professional help and not unprofessional help.
    
    Speaking of professional, surely that is what we are striving for here. And as Marketing Merit points out it is also a question of ethics.
    
    As I mentioned, Reality Bytes, I have no problem with website owners buying in content. I do understand where you are coming from on this, but surely there should be someplace where original means your own work. If it is someone else's work and you are using it to gain an income, and I have nothing against people making money, then as least say so. That way it can be judge on its true merits.
    
    As a quick thought. If you are passing other peoples work off as your own, isn't that plagiarism?

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       MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Nope, plagiarism is violating someone else's copyright... Buying articles is purchasing that copyright.
       
       I've sold articles before, several hundred or so, and I can't use those articles on here because THAT would be plagiarism. I sold the rights to use those articles.
       
       Many even have my own name as a bi-line...

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          BigBlue54posted 11 years agoin reply to this

          My apologies Melissa you are correct. Added that bit in before posting but did not think it through.

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       jansharesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       BigBlue54, welcome to hubpages. You do make some good arguements regarding outsourcing and common business practices. And you're correct about making it clear that you outsourced ffom an ethical and moral point of view. However, I'm oldschool and would prefer that authors donmost of their own work. If you have to get help or need someone to write it for you, maybe writing is not your strong point. Although I did my own website and created all of the content, I completely understand needing a professional for a website to promote your business. But articles, creative works, or info/how-to pieces that imply that you're imparting knowledge and expertise? No.

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          BigBlue54posted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Hi Janshares and thanks for the welcome. Not sure but I think we maybe at cross purposes here. From the business point of view then getting professional help is okay. But, like you, I think for the  hub the accredited author should be the author of the work.
          
          If the intention for publishing here is for financial gain and the work is someone else then I think it should be stated. That way we will all not what we are commenting on. I say this because I am not sure a way can be found to police all the hubs posted here and remove all those where the article has been bought from someone else, so hopefully some honesty can be encouraged.
          
          As for me I am just planning my first hub and it will be all my own work. So as for old school, that's me sat at the desk next to you.

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             jansharesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

             I think we're on the same page. I look forward to reading your first hub. I wish you the best on hubpages. It's a wonderful community. I have learned so much and thoroughly enjoy the experience.

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    psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

    I don't think posting a hub is necessarily asserting authorship, merely ownership.

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       jansharesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Hmm, really, psychskinner. I don't know, never looked at it that way. My assumption is that every hub posted was authored by the name on it. ??

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          psycheskinnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Given that bought content can be used without breaking the terms of service, I don't think that assumption is warranted.

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             jansharesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

             I see, got it. I think I just don't want to believe it.

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          Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Does that mean you assume every book you read is written by the author? Have you ever heard of ghost writers?

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    mercuryservicesposted 11 years ago

    I often do ghostwriting for people who are looking to add content to their website.  There's nothing wrong with that.  Anyone who buys an article should have the right to use it however they see fit.

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    Anthony Tristerposted 11 years ago

    why would anyone want to pay someone to type content its not that hard to do if you really want to succeed online

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       Reality Bytesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       

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       BigBlue54posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Hi Anthony. I think getting others to write content may be a false economy. If you pay someone else to write a hub then you have to be confident that you can recoup that cost. And as already mentioned you get what you pay for. You want to keep your cost down but at the same time you want a good product. If you pay a good rate for the job will you get your money back,
       
       There are several people here who have said they have written for others, and good luck to them, but how many of those commissioning these articles have made money on them?

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          Barbara Kayposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Bigblue54, That would be my big question too and if they are writing for $5 an article, obviously they aren't making any money writing for themselves.

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       Uninvited Writerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Why buy any writing at all? That would sort of put a crimp in the field of freelance writing.

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          BigBlue54posted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Well put

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       Sapperposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       By your logic, why install WordPress and download/buy themes? The layout of a website is just as important, if not more important than the content, so why pay someone else to do something you should do yourself.
       
       90% of affiliate marketing can be outsourced. All that changes is the percentage of your profits you get to keep, and if you are on HP to earn money, you are already outsourcing part of the process to them. Buying content is no different.

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          BigBlue54posted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Interesting comments here sapper. As you say a good website is important because it needs to make visitors want to view it. I have seen one which looked very bad and was supposed to have been done by a professional web builder. Never sold on product. But surely you have heard the saying, Content is King. The aim being to get people returning to you site time after time. And the way you do that is through content. Once you get them coming back then you can sell to them.
          
          So yes a good looking and well made site gets them looking the first time, but good content gets them back the next time, and again and again.
          
          I am with you on outsourcing. Like everything in business, it is only useful if it is financially viable.  If you are outsourcing 90% of your affiliate marketing then you need a very large portfolio to make that 10% worth while.
          
          As I mentioned in the discussion above, I would prefer it if those posting outsourced hubs said so. I do not think you can stop people posting content written by others, so maybe it would be better to encourage them to say.
          
          As someone in business myself I would not want to stop someone else making money, I would just like to know that if I comment on what someone has written I am talking to the true author of the work. It would not stop me enjoying reading something I found interesting, that's for sure. I would probably even thank them for posting it.

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             Cliff Mendrezposted 11 years agoin reply to this

             But it is not very wise for someone that outsources articles to say so. I think you are looking from the perspective of a member of the HP community. Someone who outsources aims to earn money, and saying that the articles on his or her subdomain were not written by him or her wouldn't be good in the eyes of people outside HP.

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             Reality Bytesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

              
             
             The thing is, and I do not mean to sound callous or rude, it really is none of your business.
             
             What you want or prefer is only important to you.

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                BigBlue54posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                You are probably right

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             Sapperposted 11 years agoin reply to this

             Content is king, but how you present that content is part of that. Also, your presentation isn't just how your website looks, that's only a small part of it. It also includes formatting. It doesn't matter how good your content is, if you don't use header tags correctly, or you don't use strong and em tags, or you don't place pictures properly with alt tags, you aren't going to rank.

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                BigBlue54posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                Hi sapper, I understand what you are saying and I would personally agree with you on that. A good site should look good and also function properly with good content. Having said that I have seen some very basic websites, mostly text, some in red  and highlighted in yellow, which do sell. In these cases the content is there to sell a product and no other reason. They are the online equivalent of the cheap sales letter.  The fact that they are out there and there are so many of them would suggest they do work, though I and probably everyone here would avoid them at all costs.
                
                As example of a very good site is that of P&O who spent £3 million on having their website updated. Well designed with good copywriting, the whole thing. They made their money back within a few months. I know which site I would prefer to have and if I could get my money back within a few months I am sure it would be well worth it.

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                   WriteAngledposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                   This the favoured model used by people selling courses and products which will supposedly help people get rich quick on the Net.
                   
                   I guess the amateurish look of such a site sends a subliminal message to the potential victi.. err client that he does not need to master anything difficult such as web design and can still get rich quick.

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                      BigBlue54posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                      Victi.. err client. Almost a Freudian slip there WriteAngle I have an instant aversion to such sites so I tend to leave as fast as I can.
                      
                      Interestingly, the guy that came up with the idea of subliminal messaging later admitted that there was no such thing but had used it to hide the fact that he was just a very good salesman.

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    Barbara Kayposted 11 years ago

    This goes on at many sites. I saw an ad in the forums at Infobarrel for writers and he got lots of replies. Someone at Squidoo also said she uses other writers. Haven't you wondered about those with thousands of articles all over the place that claim to make all of their earnings writing on the net? This is how they probably managed it.

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    SuperheroSalesposted 11 years ago

    So I have another question. For some reason, I was under the impression that only one person could write under each HubPages account. Does this mean that multiple people could write under the same HubPages name? If not, what is the difference between two people using one account and one person buying someone else's work?
    
    Would you ever consider sharing a HubPages account with someone else you trusted as a writer in order to increase your content?

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       BigBlue54posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       A couple of very interesting questions there, Superherosales. Not sure what there is to stop them doing this. One thought is that they would have different styles of writing. That is unless they had learnt a a common style. There are a number of books available which would help them do this, but I am not sure whether it would be worth the effort.
       
       I could understand if one person was doing the research and the other person was writing it up. That would speed things up. But again would it be worth the effort.
       
       As for your last question. Surely half the fun of writing is doing the research and then writing it up yourself.

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    WriteAngledposted 11 years ago

    I really don't understand all this agonising.
    
    The primary reason this site exists is to make money for its owners.
    The secondary reason is to make money for people who provide the content. Providing content does not imply that the provider always writes it.
    
    If someone has found a niche that is profitable and wants to maximise the number of hubs written about it, it makes sense to outsource that work to a number of people. Unless the niche is bringing in lots of readers but few clicks on ads, it would probably make more sense to set up a dedicated web site in my view, but maybe people have found otherwise.
    
    If someone is using Hubpages to create backlinks to their own sites and to articles written elsewhere (which ultimately link to their sites), again it makes sense to outsource the hubs and put personal effort into one's own sites.
    
    Then there are the people who have been misled into thinking HP will generate huge amounts of income. Perhaps they think that spending a few dollars to buy in hubs for their account is a small risk, which could prove a good investment, especially if they cannot write properly themselves. Personally, I do think they will see a return, but it's their choice.
    
    Nevertheless, there is absolutely no moral issue involved here whatsoever.

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    WriteAngledposted 11 years ago

    Somebody from outside HP, who is visiting a hub on the basis of it coming up in search results, is not going to care in the slightest who has written it, provided it gives him the necessary information.
    
    Likewise, someone who is outsourcing hub content is hardly likely to mention this to internal HP visitors. This would be an excellent signal that the niche is a promising one, and an open invitation for everyone else to copy that niche.
    
    If you want a place where budding authors critique each other's work, you will be better off finding a forum dedicated to that purpose.

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       Cliff Mendrezposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       It ultimately depends on the topic. I, for one, would not bother reading an article about a very specific, "educational" subject if it is openly stated that it came from somebody else whose background about the topic I have no idea about.

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          WriteAngledposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          The vast majority of external visitors do not, however, look at the author's profile. This is even less likely to happen now than previously, because the author's avatar and link have been made so small in the new design that they are easily overlooked.
          
          Furthermore, nobody is going to be stupid enough to buy in articles about "very specific, educational subjects", because these are not going to get many views or sales. Bought-in articles are primarily going to be targeting high-value Amazon sales or possibly high-value Adsense clicks.

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             Cliff Mendrezposted 11 years agoin reply to this

             Yes, I understand how that is the case for HP. I failed to mention that I was also thinking about other sites. I got carried away there.
             
             I disagree on that one, WriteAngled. I was a freelance writer before and I had always tried to get assignments of such nature, mainly because I find them a lot interesting to research and write about. A lot of webmasters create very niche sites, and the primary goal, as I have observed, is to create backlinks. But we are getting off-topic.
             
             Like what others have said countless times, it may not be moral for some writers here, but if others choose to outsource articles, nothing prevents them from doing so.

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    Page1 SEO tacticsposted 11 years ago

    I prefer to not only write my own articles, but to not sell an article that I know in the long run would earn more then a measly 3 or 4 dollars, which is what I see being paid on MTURK to people who are willing to write that article.  I prefer to write my own articles for several reasons, one being that I would most likely have to revise it to not only make sure that it was a quality article, but also make sure it would be search engine friendly, and if I have to do all that, I may as well just write the article myself.
    
    Though as mistyhorizon2003 was saying--paying someone to write an article for you to post on HP would definitely be acceptable as long as it was not stolen content.  Whether the article gets featured though, would depend on the quality and search-ability of the article.

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       WriteAngledposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       You have just summed up why people buy in articles. They think they will ultimately earn more from an article than they pay for it.
       
       As to why some people sell articles: Maybe they need ready cash rather than the slow trickle of a few cents that may eventually come from that article. Maybe they are unable to get an Adsense account and so decide to profit from Hubpages indirectly by selling content as they cannot profit from it directly. Maybe they have not succeeded in finding profitable ideas of their own, and so decide to get at least some money by writing about other people's ideas.
       
       A further recent factor is the necessity for constant tweaking of hubs to get round the idling process. Someone who is able to churn out articles rapidly may decide getting upfront, one-off payments for one-off articles is more productive in terms of return per hour of work over the long term.

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          SuperheroSalesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          I hadn't thought about people being unable to get Adsense approval. That is a very good point.

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       Uninvited Writerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       First mistake, no one should write articles for MTurk. They try to get the most work from people for the least money.
       
       I was paid $30 for the last article I wrote for a client through Skyword. If a site or company wants a quality article they will pay a decent price for that article.

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    mercuryservicesposted 11 years ago

    On my oDesk contract for article writing, I make 9.50 an article.  The research that I do to write the pay articles sometimes inspires me to write a hub.  If anyone is interested in the writing job let me know.  I think they're looking for more writers.  It's not a bad way to pull in some extra money on the side, but the downside is that the job takes up time I could be using to write more hubs.

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    jellygatorposted 11 years ago

    When I was in the Apprentice program, I mentioned that a hubber bought one of my articles from a writing site where I sell them to use on here. They did not have objections, but there are some important things to understand:
    
    1. The buyer must be sure to get "full rights" to an article that prevents the author from using it elsewhere or selling it.
    
    2. The buyer must be certain that they are getting a quality article. I bought one that was in line with my topics, and it took me as long to tweak it to a hub format that I liked as it would have taken to write the article myself.

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    CascadeWildposted 11 years ago

    What Marisa said. I too, read that article and since I haven't seen anything in the rules against ghost writing, figured he was okay and it doesn't seem like a bad idea from a money making perspective.
    
    Of course you don't have to be on hubpages to make money. It's also a great place to showcase your writing! It's totally up to you!

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    habeeposted 11 years ago

    Writing is a business, and an article is a commodity. Once I sell the rights to an article, I don't care how the new owner uses it. He can post it on Hubpages, use it on his website or blog, or make a paper airplane with it. I see nothing unethical about the process. I get paid for doing a job, and the buyer gets a product he can use as he sees fit.

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       Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Well said.

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    jcalesposted 11 years ago

    HP wants unique ( not copied ) and interesting content. Why should it matter who it came from? You have several writers for films and TV shows

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       jansharesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       And the credits are shown at the end, right?

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          Barbara Kayposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          janshares, I wouldn't worry too much if anyone here is posting credits. The only way we earn enough money to buy someone else's work is if they sell it dirt cheap or if the hubber is really good at choosing the right keywords. If someone is selling it dirt cheap, the saying goes "you get what you pay for."

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             jansharesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

             Well put, Barbara. The best work on hubpages will come from those who take the time to do their own work. And I would like to believe that includes the majority of hubbers.

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    ilscherzoposted 11 years ago

    I see what you did there.

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    BigBlue54posted 11 years ago

    Off topic I know but I hope it will give you all a laugh. I recently read a story of a programmer who outsourced his job to China. All went fine until the company he worked for, please note the past tense, did a security check and discovered what he had been up to. Apparently he went into work each day and just surfed the Internet. Not sure how much he was being paid but the Chinese company was charging $50,000 a year.
    
    Anyway, he was outsource through the front door and told not to come back.

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