New Hubber Looking to become more engaged

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   tannerGposted 8 years ago

   Hi all!
   I posted this just a few minutes ago but I'm realizing now it may have been in the wrong spot so I'll post here as well with hopes of advice and help haha.
   
   I have been on the site for a while, but have currently made the choice to try and get more involved and get writing hubs much more frequently in the past. I just have been writing about what I know or enjoy or that is relevant to my life so far. What is the best way to engage in the community? I would love to follow some good hubbers and read good hubs but I'm not sure where to start. Eventually I would love to get some followers of my own and have strong comment engagement on my hubs, any tips to help this happen? I have been behind the scenes for a while reading helpful posts so thank you all for the advice already!

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      PegCole17posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Hi TannerG,
      Nice to meet you. We have a great community here. I'm glad to see you want to get more involved. You're on the right track by interacting with other Hubbers and leaving meaningful comments on their hubs about topics that appeal to you.
      
      Follow only those with whom you have a genuine interest after reading a bit of their work. People with interests in common are more likely to read your work. It does take some time to build a following, so be patient and keep on reading, commenting, writing and posting questions and forum topics that would be of interest to others.
      Kind regards,
      Peg

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   gerimcclymposted 8 years ago

   Welcome to hubpages, tannerG! To answer your question, one great way to get involved is by reading hubs on topics that interest you and posting meaningful comments about them, letting the authors know specifically why you liked their hubs. You can choose to follow authors (hubbers) that write on topics that interest you and in turn, they may choose to follow you as well (this doesn't always happen, though). It takes time to build up followers and if you are just starting to get involved now, you will eventually start to get more readers and comment engagement on your hubs. Also, it looks like you have only written a few hubs so far (I read the one about saving money on travel and thought it was very helpful) so keep writing hubs on topics that interest you and you will gradually get more reads and followers. Being involved in the forums is another great way to get involved, and it looks like you are doing that right now. Best wishes to you!

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   tannerGposted 8 years ago

   Hi Peg and gerimcclyn,
   
   Thanks for the input! It sounds like you are both saying to start reading and commenting on hubs that interest me so I'll start doing so. I hope to comment and get involved in the discussions piece by piece. It seems like the community is really nice and willing to help the new people like me so I'm excited about that. Thanks for the advice you guys!

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   Marisa Wrightposted 8 years ago

   The secret to success on HubPages is to attract a readership from OUTSIDE  HubPages, not from within the community.  That's where over 90% of our Hub traffic comes from.
   
   Having said that, being active in the community is a great way to keep motivated.   As others have said, if you comment on people's Hubs in a meaningful way (i.e. not just "great Hub"!), they will respond by looking at your work and if they're interested in your topics, they may follow you.   
   
   You can also try being active in the forums.  The religious and political forums can get a bit nasty so i recommend steering clear of those unless you enjoy a fight! - but otherwise, taking a constructive part in discussions will help get you noticed.

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   tannerGposted 8 years ago

   Thanks Marisa, that makes sense. I'm trying to write hubs that will appeal to many people so hopefully I get noticed by the search engines too. Any ideas on how to attract outside traffic? I'll also try to get into the forums a little more to get out there.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I'll be honest, it is difficult to identify worthwhile promotional opportunities unless you specialise in one topic.  Most self-promotion activities online involve getting yourself known as a subject matter expert in your chosen field - and if you don't have a chosen field, that's obviously impossible.

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   Farawaytreeposted 8 years ago

   Welcome TannerG. Happy New Year and it seems like your off to a good start! Participating in the forums can be a great way to realize you're not alone - as writing can tend to be quite lonely. It's great to check in with other writers. Good luck!

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   Jodahposted 8 years ago

   TannerG, everyone has given you sound advice already so I won't repeat that. So, I'll just also welcome you to HubPages and look forward to seeing you writing more hubs and becoming more engaged in the community.

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   tannerGposted 8 years ago

   Thanks Jodah!
   
   Looking forward to getting more involved with everything and meeting with everyone.

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   Phyllis Doyleposted 8 years ago

   Hi Tanner and welcome to HubPages. There is not much more I can add to the good advice you have already received from other hubbers. I will recommend that you join Pinterest, post links to your hubs there and follow others on Pinterest that you are interested in. Most of my outside traffic comes from Pinterest and G+.
   
   Best of luck to you and Happy New Year.

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    tannerGposted 8 years ago

    Hi Phyllis,
    
    Thanks for that tip, I'll start a pintrest and see if I can rustle up some traffic from there. Thanks for the welcome and Happy New Year!

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       Phyllis Doyleposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       You are most welcome. I love Pinterest. Every day I get at least one notice that someone has re-pinned (shared) one of my links, so I pick up a lot of views (traffic) that way.

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