Should I create another profile on hubpages for my niche?

1. 85

   misslong123posted 8 years ago

   My main/current profile has a plethora of topics. I have finally chosen my niche (knitting). I do have hubs with this niche - some of which are doing very well. I was thinking about creating a new profile that is dedicated solely to my niche. And maybe naming it something more relevant like "knittingbymichele" or something. I will research a better one.
   
   My question is should I just add all my knitting hubs to my existing profile or should I create a new one for my niche. And if I do that, should I move my knitting hubs to my new profile? My existing profile basically gets a lot of traffic but I make almost no money on it. I thought I might have better luck with a specialized profile with a more specific username and only knitting hubs.
   
   I know I get a lot of traffic on my knitting hubs from Pinterest and I would guess that would go away if I moved them but I can always re-promote them on Pinterest.
   
   Any thoughts are welcome as I have hundreds of ideas for knitting hubs so I'm excited to start writing. I'm just not sure if they would benefit from a more specialized website instead of misslong123.hubpages etc. which says nothing of knitting.
   
   I welcome any ideas. Thank you so much.
   Michele

   replyreport
   1. 92

      Christy Kirwanposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Hi misslong,
      
      Many Hubbers have found success by focusing on a specific niche with a specialized account, however, if you decide to move your existing Hubs, they will essentially be starting over with search engines and traffic. You may want to consider leaving your existing Hubs on this account and creating a new one to write any new knitting articles on. Ultimately it's up to you.

      replyreport
      1. 71

         makingamarkposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         But if a hubber wants to move hubs to another account why can't HubPages create a way of moving them and implementing a 301 redirect?

         replyreport
         1. 59

            BigBlue54posted 8 years agoin reply to this

            Excellent point.

            replyreport
2. 71

   makingamarkposted 8 years ago

   It's certainly the case that "branding" your niche in terms of content and profile name will make it easier for people to see what else you have to say that is relevant - and for social media activity to be more fruitful
   
   The thing is you then create two accounts where you have to make the $ hurdle for getting a payment.

   replyreport
   1. 59

      BigBlue54posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      This is true makingamark and I can see your point.
      
      But then it becomes a question of which is more important, getting paid now or building up your band for later. If getting the money now is important then sticking with what you have could make more sense. But if you want to build a brand then making the change to a separate account could be more beneficial in the medium to long term.
      
      From a business point of view building your brand would be a better move.

      replyreport
3. 59

   BigBlue54posted 8 years ago

   Thanks for posting this question misslong123. It is something I have been considering myself as I want to write about a couple of different niches but I was not sure if I should separate them out. That way if I do then someone who wants to read any other Hubs in the same niche they don't have to look through any unrelated topics.
   
   I hope you do not mind a suggestion. How about knittingwithmichele. I think it sounds more inviting.
   
   I look forward to seeing how this discussion develops.

   replyreport
   1. 95

      sallybeaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I would say you would be better off keeping them as they are if you need to make a payout.   You can always put the knitting hubs into their own groups within their category, which ultimately means you are likely to see more of your 'related' knitting hubs showing up instead of those of other writers..   I have a similar dilemma with my wet felting, but personally I decided to leave it as it was.  I find it a lot easier to keep all my eggs in one basket.  I definitely think you will do very well if you concentrate on a niche subject such as your knitting which so many folk out there are interested in,  especially free knitting patterns.
      Best of luck, whatever you decide to do.

      replyreport
   2. 90

      Kylyssaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I'd have to second this suggestion. KnittingByMichele sounds like somewhere I can buy knit items but KnittingWithMichele sounds like some kind person willing to help me knit things.

      replyreport
      1. 59

         BigBlue54posted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks Kylyssa.
         
         I am just thinking, I seem to be surrounded by crafts. My mother knitted as does my sister. My partner is into crafts as is her mother. My ex is into crafts, something she got from her grandmother. And our daughter is not only into crafts but runs a successful business teaching crafts. And now I am in a discussion with people into crafts.

         replyreport
4. 86

   Marisa Wrightposted 8 years ago

   My advice would be, if you have identified your niche then don't start a new Hub account, bite the bullet and create your own blog on Blogger.
   
   Navigation on Hubpages makes it unlikely your readwrs will stick with tou, unlike a blog

   replyreport
5. 73

   Barbara Kayposted 8 years ago

   I would think about starting your own blog or website and then using the hubs as a back link to pages on your knitting site. I have a crochet site that does much better than I can do here. I did start a new account for just crochet here at Hubpages. The traffic to the hubs isn't any better than to my main account. Maybe it would be different if I wrote more of them, I don't know.
   
   The crochet hubs I have don't get the traffic they once did. I now use them more for the links on my crochet site.

   replyreport
   1. 95

      sallybeaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting, I have a website of my own and have backlinks to my Hubs.  The Traffic to both sites is very much on a par.  I, however, don't have sufficient time to devote equal attention to both.

      replyreport
      1. 73

         Barbara Kayposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         sallybea, I think the reason my traffic is down on my crochet hubs is because someone from Squidoo now has her crochet hubs here and hers are much better than mine. If I worked on them, maybe I'd do better. Right now I am putting most of my work into my website. I still make payout here, so it is all alright with me. I've updated the hubs, but just don't feel like doing more right now.

         replyreport
      2. 86

         Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Sallybea, links FROM your blog TO all your Hubs will do little or nothing to improve traffic, unless your blog is very successful indeed.  And they also cancel out the benefit of any links you have FROM your Hubs TO your blog.
         
         That idea worked some years ago but hasn't been worth doing for a long time.

         replyreport
         1. 95

            sallybeaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            The site in question is actually a paid website, not really a blog and the views to both are almost identical but HubPages is the place where my revenue is earned.

            replyreport
            1. 86

               Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               The same principle applies whether it's a blog or a website, there's really no difference between them these days.
               
               When Google sees a lot of links going from one website to another, e.g. from your website to HubPages, it can see that as a sign of a spammer - creating the links just to get traffic, not to be useful to the reader.  That could be reducing your traffic to both your site and your Hubs.
               
               I took a look at your website - I had never heard of wet felting so it was very interesting!   I think it would have great potential for income if you were able to put your advertising on the main pages instead of hidden on the "Links" page, which very few readers will ever click on.

               replyreport
               1. 95

                  sallybeaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  I agree.  It is something I should talk to Photium about or move my content to a new site, perhaps Weebly,  because I am all too aware that it is not making money as it should.  I might need a backup if all else fails here:)

                  replyreport
                  1. 86

                     Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                     I used to recommend Weebly but not any longer - its main problem is that if you are using the basic versions it runs very,very slowly and Google doesn't like that. 
                     
                     If you want free then Blogger is still the best option, though it takes more effort to provide good navigation for your readers.

                     replyreport
                     1. 95

                        sallybeaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                        I know I have seen this answer somewhere, but can you monetize Blogger?

                        replyreport
                        1. 86

                           Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                           Yes, you can put any affiliate ads you like on Blogger as well as Adsense.  It used to have special "gadgets" to add Amazon ads but I think they have stopped that.

                           replyreport
                           1. 95

                              sallybeaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                              Marisa, thank you so much, I have a holiday planned as from Monday but will look into this when I get back. I know my website deserves more attention.

                              replyreport
   2. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      +1

      replyreport
6. 89

   Kristen Howeposted 8 years ago

   I believe you can with Adsense, just like you do here. I've monetize my book review blog and had little money there, than with the Amazon Associates Program. (I've made 2 sales last fall and that's it.)

   replyreport
   1. 59

      BigBlue54posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Adsense and Blogger are both Google so it will not be a problem.
      
      Something I have come across a couple of days ago is Google Sites. Not really had a chance to look at as yet but it may be worth using as an alternative.  It does cost but as it is $5/£3.24 for the basic and $10/£6.48 for the unlimited it is not a big cost.
      
      https://sites.google.com/
      
      I do wonder if this will become a replacement for Blogger.

      replyreport
      1. 71

         makingamarkposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Two completely different products - one is a website product and the other is a blogging product. These are not the same

         replyreport
         1. 59

            BigBlue54posted 8 years agoin reply to this

            Google Sites can be used for blogging and Bloggers has been used as an ecommerce site. So whatever the original intent that has long gone. So used for the same thing.

            replyreport
7. 59

   BigBlue54posted 8 years ago

   I think one thing that should be taken into consideration here is why would you want a separate account on Hubpages. If you intend to run it as a business and a way of earning income from a specific niche, such as knitting, and possibly with a blog or website then one thing to consider is branding.
   
   If you have a blog with which you wish to earn money would it not make sense to also have a Hubpages account which is solely about your niche and is tied in with that blog. That way people who come across your hubs can be led to you blog. Keeping it under one name would make more sense from a business point of view.
   
   You could do the same thing with Tumblr, Pinterest, Facebook and any other social media you use.
   
   One thing I have noticed with blogs is that the most successful ones are run by people who remember it is a business. Pleasant though it is to write one a subject you enjoy that is only part of it.
   
   Several months ago I came across a highly regarded food blogger who had decided to stop blogging. The owner had made an income out of it because he had been approached by an advertiser to advertise on his blog. When that contract was ended he had to stop blogging because he had no income and was not interested in trying to find another source. Maybe he should have posted here instead.
   
   So if you do want to run it as a business, treat it as such.
   
   I hope that did not come across as being too heavy, but I know how it can be that when you get into the detail you miss the big picture.

   replyreport