Low-Quality? Why?

1. 90

   Rebecca Rizzutiposted 8 years ago

   I'm about to lose my cool. I wrote a forum post about this earlier and then withdrew it because I felt that maybe there were some improvements I could make to my hub. I tweaked and re-published, then went through the quality assessment process again. It took all day, but the hub is now published, but unfeatured "for quality."
   
   Before I go any further, this is a new account, and I'm switching from my Everyday Miracles account as my "main" account to this account, which will now become central. I'm consolidating. I've been on Hubpages for going on seven years now (unless I'm counting wrong, in which case it's going on six years) and I've had enough Hubs of the Day I need two hands to count them all, along with so many Editor's Choice hubs that I've lost track of their actual numbers.
   
   This is what had started to happen on Squidoo before I quit writing there out of sheer frustration. Purple Star lenses were being unpublished for "quality" with no explanation for the reasons.
   
   The hub in question is 5 Reasons You Should Buy a Kindle Paperwhite. It's my personal review of the device along with the reasons that I prefer reading on it over other available options. I removed two affiliate links (both Amazon links, through Hubpages) and some iffy wording at the beginning of the hub in order to have it published. Now it remains unfeatured, with "quality" being the reason for its status.
   
   It is 2323 words of original content, all written by me yesterday. It's personal, with my opinion and personal voice and word choice (including first person personal pronouns). It contains three images, a poll, and a video, two Amazon capsules, and one link to my recommended tag on Tumblr.
   
   Yes, it's a product review. Yes, it urges people to purchase the item being reviewed (which is generally considered good affiliate marketing and is also what one would do with a recommended product).
   
   What more do I need to do here to get this hub featured? I'm lost at this point. Yesterday when I published it, I thought it was one of my best. Today, I'm frustrated and angry. Are Squidoo's policies coming to Hubpages along with its content?
   
   For the love of... It just got unpublished again.
   
   Can somebody please help me out here? I've covered the provided information about Spam on Hubpages and I'd pass my hub if I was the one assessing it.
   
   There are only two Amazon capsules. I'll try taking one of them out :-/ I've already removed two inline Amazon links to books mentioned on the page.
   
   The text is personal and describes my experience with the product being featured, including the reasons that I prefer reading on it rather than collecting print books.
   
   It features a single product which is the subject of the hub overall.
   
   I definitely feel that this hub should pass the "Spammy" element as a product hub. Is it something about keywords? I've removed one more Amazon capsule and published again, so here's hoping that somebody can take a look at this for me and maybe help me figure this out.
   
   Right now I have fewer than five hubs on this account. Could this be part of the problem?
   
   The only thing I can still see being an issue is the keyword density. I've removed the word "Paperwhite" from the hub five times, but I cannot find any further instances where I can comfortably remove the word "Kindle" and retain the original meaning of the hub.
   
   My intention in writing this was to give me something to link to in blog posts (TO Hubpages FROM the blog, and not the other way around!) when attempting to explain for the umpteenth time why I am never "Waiting on Wednesday" (because my books come when I order them unless they are pre-ordered).
   
   Help?

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   1. 89

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I took a quick look at your latest update and it appears that you slid off topic in two  sections:  the one about Amazon's daily deals and the other that talks about how kindle books can be shared.  Neither of these is specifically related to your topic, which is about a particular item, not all Kindle books.  I think if you dropped those two sections you would probably end your problem.  Another thing you might want to do is compare the Paperwhite with other readers...then your article would not seem to be pushing the purchase of this one type of kindle.

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      1. 90

         Rebecca Rizzutiposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         If Hubpages is going to be that nit-picky about the content on the site, then I'm not sure that this is a site I can write for any more. That would be terribly disappointing. And if I'm writing that far off the mark, then there must be an even bigger problem.
         
         The subject of this hub is why I read on a Kindle Paperwhite. Two of the reasons that I read on this particular device are because of the daily deals and the fact that the books can be shared. These are solid reasons (in my opinion) to own the device. If people find this to be off-topic, so be it, but should the hub be unpublished because someone disagrees with me? I would hope not.
         
         As to comparing it to other e-readers, how should I go about doing that and maintain a personal recommendation when I don't own the other devices?
         
         Maybe I'm going to have to completely re-write this hub since I'm clearly off target from my original aims in writing it. The purpose of the hub is to explain my preference so that people following my blog understand my preferences. I thought I'd hit that mark pretty well :-/

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         1. 89

            TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

            Sorry if you feel insulted about my comments, but you asked, so I responded.  Your two reasons for reading "the Paperwhite" could be applied to any Kindle because all of them are Amazon products.  This isn't about someone disagreeing with you, it's about good cohesive writing.  Keeping focus is extremely important when producing a hub, and if you do not do it, it is not HP's fault.  As far as comparisons go, you do not have to OWN a different reader to comment on it.  Simply reading about attributes and using them as a basis for comparison, while not the perfect way to do this, would be enough.  Finally, your reader should not feel that you are trying to sell him a product.  He should feel that you are reviewing it for his benefit.  That is a very fine line and is not one many people handle well.  HP is very "nit-picky" about what is written on this site because the team wants this site to survive and thrive, unlike so many others that accepted less than acceptable articles and died off as a result.

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      2. 0

         calculus-geometryposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         It is not off-topic to talk about features of the Paperwhite model that happen to be shared by all models of the Kindle.  A person reading the review might not own any kindle model and may be unfamiliar with the standard features.

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         1. 89

            TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

            What Amazon offers is not a "feature" of that particular model, it is something that Amazon offers for all of its Kindle products.  There is a difference, which is why I feel that adding that info is off topic.  A feature would be, for example, a brighter screen that is more easy to read.  The writer may like that Amazon offers this, but that is different than describing the attributes of that specific Kindle model.  She is not writing about Amazon, she is writing about one of its products.

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            1. 0

               calculus-geometryposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               It does not matter that other Kindle models also allow lending.  If the reader does not know anything about Kindles, they are well-served by a Paperwhite review that mentions the fact that you can lend books on it. 
               
               And apparently the mods agree, because the hub is now featured still including that information.  Robin (staff) said the issue was links.  If you don't have a reasonable guess as to what is wrong with a hub you should not grasp at straws and invent some problem. A less confident author than Rebecca could be lead astray by bad wild guesses.

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               1. 95

                  Susana Sposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  +1

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               2. 89

                  TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  I hardly consider my comments as " guesses or problem inventions".  I have a strong background in Language Arts and am well aware of the issue "focus" plays in producing quality writing. It appeared to me that this could be the problem, and I stated it as such, and I still feel it is an issue, regardless of what the mods decided about the problem at hand.  They apparently were concerned with linkage, whereas it appeared to me that focus could be the issue.  I took the time to read the article and felt that this could well be the reason for the ongoing problems the author was having with it.  This is totally justified by anybody's standards, except, perhaps, for yours!

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2. 80

   colorfuloneposted 8 years ago

   It is pretty hard to guess without being able to read the hub. From what you have said, "it urges people to purchase the item being reviewed", there in might be the problem if it is overly promotional. I really cannot say what the problem is. Flying blind here.

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   1. 90

      Rebecca Rizzutiposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      It doesn't clarify if the issue is "over-promotional" or if it's "low quality." The two are lumped in together in the quality assessment message that has been tacked onto the hub.
      
      Other hubs with more product links and similar wording (but less text!) seem to be featured, so I'm lost as to what more I can change here without deleting the hub and choosing a different title entirely.
      
      It's currently published, so it should be available on my account. It just isn't featured. I've edited it for the third time to lower the keyword density.

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      1. 80

         colorfuloneposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         I do not see a Kindle hub on your profile page.
         Was it showing on there earlier today?

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         1. 90

            Rebecca Rizzutiposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            No, you're right. It's not there. I can't link to it or it's going to be removed.
            
            If you go to my profile and then to "Activity" it's the first item on there. It's showing through Activity for me.

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3. 90

   Rebecca Rizzutiposted 8 years ago

   I tried changing the title of the hub, so we'll see if that helps at all. Beyond that, it's going to have to be completely re-written -- an entire day lost, since a hub takes about ten hours for me to write!

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   1. 80

      colorfuloneposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Its a good sales hub.
      I see Robin has addressed what she thought is holding the hub hostage.

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      1. 90

         Rebecca Rizzutiposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you Susie. That makes me feel better to hear that you think it's a good sales hub. I try hard not to be spammy in my hubs.

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4. 0

   calculus-geometryposted 8 years ago

   Here is the link to the hub
   http://rebeccarizzuti.hubpages.com/hub/ … Paperwhite
   
   I have no idea what is wrong with it compared to your other sales hubs if, as you say, you have similar hubs that are featured.  Did you email HP to get clarification?

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   1. 90

      Rebecca Rizzutiposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      The other hubs aren't mine, though I have other hubs that are more promotional (on another account) and continue to be featured. I've not yet e-mailed Hubpages for clarification. If it doesn't pass QAP this time, I will go ahead and do that.
      
      Obviously QAP is a human process and is handled, in part, by Hubpages members. The problem is that I can't continue to assume that this is a mistake when it's now gone through the process three times, with changes.
      
      The change of the title might do the trick, but I'm left with an uncomfortable url :-/

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5. 90

   Robinposted 8 years ago

   I'm sorry for the frustration.  Product Hubs can be tricky.  I think the initial problem was the number of products in the Hub.  Having four Kindle products in a Hub is excessive.  If a reader wants to buy the kindle, one should be enough. Your Tumblr link also doesn't seem to be working properly—it says URL requested not found.  Fixing these things should help your Hub become featured. 

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   1. 90

      Rebecca Rizzutiposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      At the moment, there's only one Amazon link in the hub. That was the first thing that I did, was to remove the two inline links to the books in the hub. Several hubs linked on the hub I published today are featured with more product links than the four which this hub started with. For obvious reasons, this has added to my confusion.
      
      The Tumblr link is working, but there aren't any entries on that tag yet. It should take readers to the blog, and starting (let's hope Thursday) the tag will be active. I was hoping to make a pre-emptive strike and not have to edit the hub again to add something in there.
      
      Since I'm having to edit this hub several times a day anyway I went ahead and took it out until the tag itself is active.
      
      If this doesn't cause it to be featured, what more can I do? I'm beyond frustrated at this point. I left Squidoo for Hubpages in large part because this is what Squidoo was doing to me, and this doesn't make me especially happy. The sole purpose of this hub was originally a reference for readers of my blog (which in turn sends traffic to Hubpages) :-/
      
      Within the week I'll have five or more hubs on this account. Will that help at all?

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      1. 60

         Ben Aidooposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         I think HP is making a distinction between a preview hub that highlights the features of a product allowing the reader to make her own choice whether they meet her needs, and a sales promotion hub that obviously urges the reader to buy a particular product. Since you said, you've made the corrections suggested by Robin, the reason your hub remains unfeatured must be that HP sees it as a sales promotion hub. Maybe rounding off the sharp edges that make your hub too promotional could get it featured. And there's no point in feeling frustrated. You sound strong and capable of "rolling with the punches".

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6. 78

   Uzochukwu Mikeposted 8 years ago

   Please go with the advice by the Hubpages staff.

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7. 61

   LindaSmith1posted 8 years ago

   Try doing a comparison between Paperwhite model and another model such as the Voyage, or any other model with info about weight, size, screen size, pixels,  is one easier to see what you are reading than the other, features that are the same as well as those that are different, price.  You can end with why you prefer the Paperwhite over  another model that you may own, or have used.

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8. 61

   The Examiner-1posted 8 years ago

   Before you remove the Amazon capsule - if you have not already - edit it, look to the right, there is a box which says"Do not show". Check this off. It will only show one ad.
   Have you used this item yourself? If you have then talk about your usage, tell what it was like. If you have not used it, then the Hub is promotional.

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   1. 90

      Rebecca Rizzutiposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      As I've said, it's what I own and what I read on. The purpose of the hub was to explain to the readers of my blog why I choose to read on the Kindle Paperwhite and why I think it's the best device to get the job done. It is altogether a personal account of my experience with the device itself and not a static reference to information that can be found elsewhere online.

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         The Examiner-1posted 8 years agoin reply to this

         So you have used it I see yo mention briefly your in the first paragraph and occasionally throughout the Hub. Be more descriptive of of what it has done for you, how it is better for you, etc.

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9. 91

   MariaMontgomeryposted 8 years ago

   I just read your above-mentioned hub, and believe I may be able to help just a bit. It did show up at the top of your profile page, so I must again be featured (?) It is well written, and should eventually do well. While I understand that the primary purpose of the hub is to review the Kindle Paperwhite, it could seem a bit overly promotional to some, and would probably be good to talk about e-readers in general a good bit, too. Many of us use e-readers, but not all use Kindles. I could not participate in your poll because it asked about my use of the Kindle. If it had been about e-readers in general, I could have participated. Maybe you could add another poll above this one that asks which e-reader people use. Then the one already there could follow it for those who use the Kindle.  Just a thought...

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