Success Stories

1. 79

   Sheri Fayeposted 11 years ago

   Being a fairly new hubber and just getting adsense approval and looking forward to earning I re-visited the success story page and noticed that it is very outdated. All of the "stories" show as of October 2011...I am wondering why. Any thoughts?

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   1. 91

      Gcrhoads64posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Congratulations,Sheri Faye.
      As to the outdated success stories, I haven't a clue. I hope there have been success stories since then.

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      1. 79

         Sheri Fayeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Me too!

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   2. 87

      Simone Smithposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Well-spotted, Sheri Faye! Those Success Stories are WAY out of date. We have actually removed them from our signed-out homepage, as well as from our milestone (Accolade) emails.
      
      Are you finding them to be easily-accessible elsewhere? I'd like to make sure that we're not prominently featuring those success stories anymore.

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      1. 79

         Sheri Fayeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Simone I just googled hubpage success stories and there it is. I hope you are going to post current success stories soon...we newbies need the motivation! Thanks.

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         1. 87

            Simone Smithposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Got it Sheri- thanks!

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   3. 93

      Susana Sposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I think it hasn't been updated because traffic and earnings have been very erratic since Feb 2011 and I guess HP hasn't wanted to show that off. Personally, I'm still doing ok. I think my lowest earnings month since Panda 1.0 in Feb 2011 was in the region of $250, but for the rest of the time I've averaged about $500 which I think is fine considering I have unpublished 30 hubs = 1/4 of my content; I've only written 2 new hubs; and one particular group of hubs which was a great earner, contains very out of date info (so deserves to lose rankings and earnings).
      
      There are many successes still here though most of them though don't talk about their traffic or earnings because it does invite people to try and copy your work, but if you want to have a nose then take a look at this hub. The figures given are not going to be 100% accurate but they are a lot more accurate than alexa's traffic stats for the top 100 subdomains.

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      1. 79

         Sheri Fayeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks Susan, very helpful

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2. 67

   aparkhurst7posted 11 years ago

   I've often thought about this too. I probably have a few more months and quite a few more views and hubs left before I apply for Adsense but it would be great motivation if they updated that page. I check it every so often, disappointed at how little it changes. I don't need to see extremely successful people, either.

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   1. 79

      Sheri Fayeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I am new, but I think the criteria for adsense is featured hubs, not followers. I think the following thing is internal and is lots of fun, but I don't think adsense takes that into account. But I may be wrong. Maybe more experienced hubbers could offer advice on this. I have only been here a few months.

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3. 88

   SimeyCposted 11 years ago

   There are many writers on Hubpages earning several hundred dollars a month from the combination of Ads, Amazon and Ebay. I would suspect there are a few that still exceed a thousand dollars a month.....

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   1. 79

      Sheri Fayeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I kind of wonder if this google panda thing (which I really don't understand, but from reading forums it seems since then hubpages has tanked) has effected earnings and so the staff has no good news to report? Makes it hard as a new hubber to decide weather to put in the work.

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      1. 73

         Barbara Kayposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Hubpages is still one of the best and you should do well here.

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4. 59

   page1articlesposted 11 years ago

   Google Panda is an indexing program that sorts written content into categories by site and then sorts further within a main topic by page. Quality content with easy to understand keywords will make panda your best friend.  One problem though, is that there is a lot of great content already out there. So writers are going to have to size up their competition and do better. That can be done by focusing on producing content that wow's readers... easier to say then do.

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5. 59

   page1articlesposted 11 years ago

   RE: Success page... SimeyC is probably correct. I doubt many of those writers are still pulling on all that revenue.

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6. 60

   ytsenohposted 11 years ago

   If someone is doing a search for HubPages, the subcategory offers up Success Stories and you click on that link and the old success stories are still there.  It just needs to be updated.

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   1. 79

      Sheri Fayeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yes. that is how I first found it and was seduced by the residual income thing. I know it will take some work but really want to know what the best of the best are making.

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      1. 84

         Marcy Goodfleischposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Glad to hear you got your AdSense account, Sheri - it's tough to get at times, so it speaks well of your success and potential.
         
         As with you, I was attracted by the success stories.  I joined more than a year ago, and they were already beginning to be out of date when I joined. I'm a very experienced writer, and because of my success in other venues, I felt online publishing was a natural transition. I still feel it is a good thing to try, for those who write well, but these days, it's vastly different from what the success stories relate.
         
         FYI - Marye Audet, one of the most respected writers on the site, with one if the most impressive success stories, posted a thread on the forum several months ago clarifying that her current earnings (at that time) were significantly different from the info in the success stories. That's a good indicator that things go up and down on sites such as this.  But as Simey said, people can still turn this into a revenue source. Perhaps more modest than in years past, but it's a rewarding way to be creative and add to your income.
         
         The stories are still there - you can often see a link driving you to them (I've seen it in recent months).

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         1. 79

            Sheri Fayeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks Marcy,
            Well I made my first eighteen cents today! Yahoo!! lol Yes, the link is still there, I just saw it again this morning. I am not really discouraged as I am enjoying this site, learning a ton, and am getting to practise writng. I may just use this site as a portfolio for paying gigs. I did read Marye's story and was very impressed...all those kids and a star writer too! Thanks for sharing your info, I do appreciate your comments and help.

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         2. 93

            Susana Sposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            What's vastly different?

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            1. 84

               psycheskinnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               The amount of money you can make, that is different.

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               1. 93

                  Susana Sposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  I think an average of $5 per 1000 views is still a good benchmark.
                  
                  Not saying that things aren't different, there are plenty of additional things that now need to be taken into consideration, but I think the basics are pretty much the same.

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                  1. 84

                     psycheskinnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     I came in near the end of the good times.My CPM was $8 and traffic was also much higher.  So, no, it is not the same now.

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                     1. 93

                        Susana Sposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        If you were new to the site just before Panda hit, then I'm not sure what you've got to compare to?

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7. 72

   Vlorsutesposted 11 years ago

   I couldn't agree more Sheri. It felt a bit disconcerting to see that the only success stories were pushing two years old.

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   1. 79

      Sheri Fayeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree. From what I understand content writing is going through huge changes...I am willing to put in the work needed but want to know what is realistic and work on a level playing field.

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8. 59

   page1articlesposted 11 years ago

   Simone... your success page is the landing page if you are not a member here... or sometimes it another page with a link to the success page.
   
   Sheri... I have supported myself by writing content for the past three years.... my advice to you is this:  write on topics that you know and love, but keep in mind writing is a craft and requires work. That work is often doing keyword research, monitoring the progress that your writing is making, and then adjusting the stuff that needs to be adjusted. It, of course, is not that simple...but that is the gist of it... Write quality content that wows your audience... there are resources in the learning center of you can let me know and I will help as best I can.

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9. 85

   Marisa Wrightposted 11 years ago

   All the success stories come from HubPages "golden era" before the big Panda slap of 2011.
   
   In those days, there were many Hubbers earning over $1,000 a month and several earning over $2,000.      I was confidently expecting to earn about $10,000 that year with less than 200 Hubs.
   
   Most of those success stories are earning a lot less today.   In fact at least one of them has posted on the forums, requesting that her story be modified or replaced as it's no longer true, and she feels it's misleading.
   
   Earning money online is harder everywhere these days, with Google constantly changing the goalposts and favouring the big corporates over individual bloggers and writers.

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10. 79

    G Miahposted 11 years ago

    Definitely true! I haven't had a cheque from Google for a while now and it's getting stupid.
    
    But my Hubpages earnings is much better than before, but i believe both should be doing well, especially Google!

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11. 94

    Blake Flanneryposted 11 years ago

    A lot of my really well performing hubs (getting hundreds of visits from Google) have tanked to almost zero traffic from Google. I am getting more traffic from other sources these days, but it's still enough to make a little money. I have no idea what I need to do to get back on Google's good side, but it seems that the more I try to improve user experience the less traffic I'm sent. I really started trying to improve my hubs over a year ago, and the traffic just keeps slipping away.
    
    If Hubpages puts up a new success stories, it may feature newer hubbers who are doing better. However, there are no guarantees that you'll keep any traffic that you currently have.  Then again, tomorrow I could end up really "successful." It's up to Google to decide that.

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    1. 59

       page1articlesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Compare your hubs with content published by your competition... this is what googlebot does and then ranks your pages accordingly. What do you focus on when try to improve reader experience?

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12. 68

    StitchTheDamnedposted 11 years ago

    Wow. I love reading about people making any kind of money on here. I really hope that I can start seeing revenue eventually! I just need to produce some better hubs.

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13. 85

    Marisa Wrightposted 11 years ago

    Relache does an annual poll on earnings.
    
    http://relache.hubpages.com/hub/Improve … b-Earnings

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14. 85

    lovebuglenaposted 11 years ago

    Those success stories are way outdated. I doubt anyone is making that much on here anymore.

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15. 92

    FatFreddysCatposted 11 years ago

    As fate would have it, I joined this site in mid-2011, which was right AFTER the so-called "Panda Massacre." So in other words, I missed out on the so called "golden age." I've barely made diddly-squat over the course of nearly two years here.
    
    When I first joined, I spent the first few months killing myself posting Hubs a couple of times a week, obsessing over the quality of said hubs, and working like crazy pimping them around the Internet as best I could. Even with all that leg work, my page views have never been anything to shout about. I see people here freaking out when the views on one of their Hubs "drops" to 500 a day... shoot, man, I do a frickin' happy dance when I get 100 views in a day across ALL of my Hubs, nevermind on a single Hub...
    
    Eventually it sunk in that I was not going to become an online-writing rock star sleeping on a mattress stuffed with AdSense dollars any time soon. Maybe I'm too obscure, maybe the majority of my stuff isn't "evergreen" enough, or perhaps I simply suck at SEO.
    
    So anyway, I finally decided "screw it" and now when I write stuff I treat it as a hobby/outlet. I post whenever the mood strikes me and stopped worrying about where my page ranks, whether or not my stuff is Featured, yadda yadda yadda. (I still hate it when my Hubs get copied/scraped/stolen by other sites though. That's when I release the frickin' hounds. I may not be earning any money off of my writings, but I'll be damned if I let someone ELSE make money off of it!!)
    
    I may be an old man by the time I see a payout, but I'm a lot less stressed out about this whole thing and writing has become fun again.  When I wrote my 100th Hub a few months ago, I offered new Hubbers what I feel is the secret to online writing success: Do the exact OPPOSITE of everything I do.

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    1. 87

       NateB11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Well-said.

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    2. 74

       Reality Bytesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       FWIW, take a look at the detriment of having duplication in titles.
       
       

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       1. 92

          FatFreddysCatposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          That has occurred to me, and I'm slowly moving away from that sort of thing. When I first started here, I thought it would be cool if I had a couple of continuing "series" of Hubs going... it was an experiment that never really paid off.

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          1. 74

             Reality Bytesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

             I find the What, How, Where, Can, Is, words in a title produce tons of keywords. 
             
             (example) Is Metallica Kill Em All album worth buying? What songs are on the CD?

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             1. 92

                FatFreddysCatposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                See, this is why I suck at SEO. My titles sound like I'm writing for Classic Rock Magazine. But that's the way I learned to do it in those Journalism classes back in college. Haha.
                
                Seriously, thanks for the tip.

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                1. 74

                   Reality Bytesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                   LOL, I learned the hard way.   When I started I was using the same title with Part 1, Part 2 etc...
                   
                   Then a user here, Misha, showed me that the drop down menu in Google's search will provide numerous keywords.
                   
                   ps:  Kill Em All is my favorite album.  I can play it from beginning to end.  A heavy metal riff bible!

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                   1. 87

                      NateB11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                      I did a series of hubs like that: Part 1, Part 2, etc. The traffic definitely wasn't great. I can see what's wrong there now. Changing titles did seem to help too.

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    3. 87

       Jason Marovichposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I agree with most of this.  I wince when I see new writers join HP with hopes of striking gold.  I'm not saying it can't be done, but the success stories, in terms of earnings, are few and far between.  Most online success stories today are based on multiple outlets, require years of experience or a genuinely unique product, and require a full-time effort.
       
       If you're new to HP and just like to write, then write for the fun of it.  I personally get satisfaction knowing people can find my work online.  At least my writing isn't sitting in a drawer somewhere gathering dust.  And when I reached my first payout, it was like being rewarded for doing something I enjoy doing.

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       1. 85

          Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          You are so right.  The glory days of HP were a unique time, when HP was regarded as a "trusted site" by Google, and virtually every Hub you published got some traffic without even trying.  At that time, income potential on HubPages was head and shoulders above anywhere else.  Experienced internet entrepreneurs were writing here, even though they had their own successful blogs and websites, because it was so worthwhile.
          
          That has all changed, and it's not just at HubPages.  Making money on any site is much, much tougher now.  You need to work hard on self-promotion to get ranked highly on Google - and even if you do manage it, you won't earn much if all you do is display Adsense ads. 
          
          A long time ago, Misha told me that making money online is 10% writing and 90% other stuff.  At the time, that was an exaggeration.  I'm not so sure it is now.

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          1. 74

             Reality Bytesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

             I am very thankful that I was participating during this time.   It was a very educational atmosphere.  I still remember many of the participants so I can still learn from their experience.  Many of them have an abundance of advice to be had.

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       2. 79

          Sheri Fayeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Jason, this is not a hobby for me at all. I love to do creative writing, but I don't think hubpages is the place to post for me. I am trying to learn seo and all that and make a biz out of it. After years and years in biz I have learned you need to find out what people want and fill that need. I would love to publish a novel or two one day, but I see hubpages as a place to write articles that fill a need for people. I am looking to get rich quick, but I do think this is a great place to try out some idea. And the community is so helpful! Best of luck to you,

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          1. 87

             Jason Marovichposted 11 years agoin reply to this

             HP is still a great place to learn what it takes to make sales online.  And there are people making money writing articles on HP.  If you're learning from the veterans, old forum posts, and candid hubbers, you'll gain an advantage in your outside online ventures.  May you find all you're looking for on the internet, and more.

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16. 92

    FatFreddysCatposted 11 years ago

    Ain't it, though? Hard to believe it was released 30 years ago this year. Gawd, I'm old.
    
    (Sorry for the headbanger thread hijack folks...we now return you to your regularly scheduled discussion...haha)

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17. 58

    jericho911posted 11 years ago

    Congrats ! did you get approval just from hubs ? i've seen articles online that say you need your own domain/website to get adsense approval

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    1. 79

       Sheri Fayeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       jericho911 yes just from hubs. As per the recommendations I waited until I had ten hubs, and spent days writing each one. I also have been approved for amazon and have applied for ebay. I don't have a website or blog yet, but being the business person I am, will soon. Thanks for the congrats....as of today I have made fifty four cents! lol

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18. 89

    WryLiltposted 11 years ago

    I'm going to try and make this brief, although I doubt it will be!
    
    For the record, this account (I have several other unknown HP accounts too) has earned a maximum of $750/month from all sources and in the last year, about a minimum of $200. That minimum WOULD have been higher because I had all my content interlinked (so anyone who visited one hub, got smacked in the face with at least one interesting link to another related hub). All those links now point to my own websites, lowering my internal traffic.
    
    A brief view of how I started and how HP helped me:
    ->Started Hubpages January 2010. No idea what a keyword even was!
    ->Thanks to the forum, learned SO much from experienced hubbers.
    ->I did the 30 day challenge four times before August 2010 that year. You can see my earnings here from May to November of 2010.
    ->I built my first Wordpress hosted site about June. It was awful, but after I made one, making another and another was easier.
    ->After January 2011 panda slap (lost over half my traffic & earnings!) I started moving content. I left my top hubs here and moved a lot of content over to Wizzley as well.
    ->Started concentrating on building more websites.
    ->Now I have thousands of views between all my revenue sharing site articles.
    ->I have websites which have content, plus I'm about to launch into selling eBooks, membership signup areas, subscription list advertising and lots more with another Hubber.
    ->90% of the traffic that goes to the 35 or so sites I own comes from links on Hubpages and Wizzley, made for Pinterest images, Facebook pages and other NON GOOGLE sources.
    
    So a summary of what I learned above?
    ->Don't put all your eggs in one basket. That applies to where you write, how you monetise AND how you get traffic!
    ->Hubpages is a GREAT place to start. There are some amazing people here who really know what they are talking about and are very successful in their own right outside Hubpages. I literally went from not even knowing what a domain or keyword or backlink was to where I am today, thanks to the start I got on Hubpages.
    ->You will get out what you put in. If you treat it like a hobby, you'll earn hobby money. If you treat it like a part time job, you'll earn like a part time job. It's a huge learning curve but you can do it!
    ->It's about time. Don't write five hubs and sit and wait for money; keep yourself busy creating MORE content (learning as you go). By the time you've finished a few more projects, you'll be surprised to go back and find that your first project is doing a lot better than you'd ever hoped!

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    1. 79

       Sheri Fayeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Wry lit...YOU are a breath of fresh air and I am so going to follow you! I started my last biz with twenty dollars and not much else but tenacity and made it a great success . I am considering this online thing another biz and am willing to put in the time and effort and learn from the likes of you to make it happen. Thank you for this post! For me, it is not a hobby but another dream I will make come true. I spend almost every waking hour online learning what to do and what not to do. And...I am having fun. When I started my last biz (as a fashion designer...with no formal training) I was told over and over I couldn't do it...guess what..that just fueled my determination. I feel the same way now, the naysayers do not discourage me at all. Someone said that success is 10 percent talent and ninety percent work...who said that?...anyway...thanks for the inspiration. Having run businesses I know there are ups and downs, but life is just like that.

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    2. 93

       Susana Sposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       It's nice to see another hubber being open about earnings! Many of us used to be. I always loved seeing posts about others earning $500 per month or a $100 per day etc. - I found it very inspiring and motivating. Nowadays when I mention traffic or earnings I feel like a lone freak! And I know I'm not.

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       1. 89

          WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          I guess when you see your earnings halve and you're only getting say $250, you feel ashamed. But really, that's 250x what many newbies are earning per month and we forget how encouraging that would be for them to hear.
          
          And I'm not overly worried about copying. I KNOW how long it took my top hubs to be beating the competition and I know my topics. Plus this is more of a hobby income now, and I only write a hub now and then for fun, a backlink or to clear my head.

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19. 84

    Marcy Goodfleischposted 11 years ago

    What a great summary of the benefits as well as the challenges of writing here, WryLilt.  I am way new, compared to you, but already seeing the value of persistence and productivity. Your comment about continuing to write and then, after a period of time, seeing the traction your early work has gained is very true. It's great to look back and see what hubs have done after a year.
    
    As has been said - this isn't a place to expect instant wealth. Every week we see writers who have been here maybe three days and are whining on the forum that they haven't made money yet. Or they're predicting wealth from their three brand-new hubs. The ones that really irritate me are those who heard somewhere that the road to riches is paved by slapping up stolen content on a website. Fortunately, those Problem Children usually get discovered and dealt with appropriately.

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    1. 79

       Sheri Fayeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Hey Marcy, I am glad to see another positive post. There is no such thing as easy money, and I encouraged by you.

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20. 58

    jericho911posted 11 years ago

    Well I've made 11 cents on infobarrel, so you have me beat.  I'll do the same as yourself and get 10 featured articles first. I have an amazon affiliate account, but have never made a sale. Best of luck to you, Sheri !

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    1. 79

       Sheri Fayeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Right back at you jericho!

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21. 70

    ccphoneposted 11 years ago

    I've made 42 cents!  I guess it's silly to get so excited but I find it to be fun.  I haven't made a penny from adsense/amazon/ebay though.  I've only been writing on HP for a few weeks.  Good luck Sheri! (and everyone else)

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    1. 79

       Sheri Fayeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Hurray!!! I know I am excited aout my fifty four cents in two days. Congrats ccphone and stay positive!

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       1. 70

          ccphoneposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Ha ha...thanks!

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22. 0

    delleaposted 11 years ago

    I joined 5 weeks ago, I have only 10 hubs and I've already earned $2.34 as of this moment... here's how I'm doing it... http://dellea.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-g … ges-Part-1

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    1. 89

       WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Dellea
       
       1. You aren't allowed to promote your own hubs on the forum.
       2. It's a little premature to be telling OTHER people how to earn money when you've only earned $2.34 yourself!
       3. Most of the information in your hub is common sense, in the FAQ or has little to do with earning.
       
       I'd suggest you learn about keywords, SEO, maximising time on page and hub layout.

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23. 73

    Abbyfitzposted 11 years ago

    I started out here last year wanting to make money, but I ended up enjoying creating articles. I am trying hard to learn Seoul, it's still hit and miss with me. I jump up and down when my views hit 60 in a day lol
    
    Anyways, it's fun. I would like to be more successful, but you don't learn everything at once. Sometimes it's by trial and error. The success stories give me something to aspire to.

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24. 60

    yupperclubposted 11 years ago

    I have no idea about Panda or what the new requirements are.  I received Adsense approval and am just trusting Google and trying very hard not to lose that account.  I just recently submitted a completely original work that I thought was well worded, I watched my grammar, kept re-reading it and am still editing it from time to time, trying to make it better.  I think Google is very objective in the hubs they approve, which means, possibly, a real person - not just a computer - is reviewing these hubs.  I watch my hubberscore - I think it's like the overall grade I am being given based on all of the work I have submitted so far.  It is gradually going up so I think I am learning the rules by trial and error in this "automated" school.  Just keep thinking and trying and writing and thinking and trying and writing - and watch your hubber score.  I think when you reach at least 90 it's like receiving an 'A' on your composition.  Hang in there.

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    1. 89

       WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Hubberscore is nearly meaningless. You can have a score of 100 and be earning just cents.
       
       As long as it's over 75 your outbound links will be dofollow (good if you are linking to your own websites). This is designed to stop spammers.

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       1. 60

          yupperclubposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks for the input.  I read about the outbound links elsewhere - I was not sure about the hubberscore.
          
          Thanks again.

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