New and Have Questions Please

1. 67

   AndreaRelli1111posted 8 years ago

   Hello Everyone,
   
   I made it to my 10th Hub and just got approved for Amazon and Google AdSense. I am disabled and cannot work a regular job. I do not make enough on Disability to pay rent, bills, and groceries. I tried working again and that did not last. So I tried to find a part-time job that I could do to but that did not work out for me either so here I am.
   
   I need to make an extra $500 a month to survive. Do you think I could make that if I publish 3-5 Hubs a week? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
   
   I was also wondering do we get paid per click, for traffic, or only if someone makes a purchase via one of the ads? If some could explain to me how we earn money I would greatly appreciate it.
   
   Why do some people on here have 100's and even 1000's of followers and I only have 4? How can I gain more followers? How important are followers to being successful here? Does followers affect earnings in any way?
   
   I am trying to gain more traffic by posting my links to my Hubs on various social networking sites. Right now I am getting the best results with Twitter. Are there any other ways that you suggest to increase my traffic?
   
   Do I need to promote my Hubs through Youtube Videos to be successful with this?
   Should I focus more of my time on creating Hubs or gaining traffic? What is the secret to making hundred's of dollars a month? I am more than willing to work full-time at this if that means that I can earn the money I need. I just would like to know how to best spend my time so that I can reach my goal of $500 a month.
   
   I really need to earn as much money as I can with this so I can keep the internet, electric, and water on as well as food on the table. I have plenty of time to invest into this I just need some guidance as to what to focus my time and energy on to break through and reach my goal. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
   
   Thanks a Million,
   Andrea

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2. 85

   Marisa Wrightposted 8 years ago

   Welcome to HubPages. 
   
   Sadly, many people come to the internet hoping to make big money, but you are about five years too late.  When the internet was newer, it was possible to make a good income online, but nowadays it is very tough indeed.   
   
   Here on HubPages, you can expect to earn between $2 and $5 for every 1,000 people who visit your Hubs. You can see that at that level, it would take you a long time to make $500 a month. 
   
   You'll find some Hubs on the slider on my profile which will help you understand how HubPages works a bit better.  However, you need to be prepared to do a LOT of study if you want to earn an income by writing online - and it will take you at least six months, and probably a lot longer, to start earning more than single figures. 
   
   Most of us here regard HubPages as a supplement to our income - something that pays for the little extras, not something that is capable of paying the bills.   To really make money online you need your own website offering expertise on a particular subject, and then you need to learn how to promote it and how to monetize it.  And it can take a year or two for that website to start producing an income, too.
   
   So I'd recommend viewing online writing as a side project, which can build some passive income for the future.  Your main priority should be to look for some other alternative as a source of immediate income.  If you are really stuck you could look at Fiverr.com - the pay is low but if you've got time on your hands you can churn through a lot of work, and as you gain a reputation you can put your prices up.  Also look at freelance writing sites like elance - it can be tough to get started but if you are a competent, reliable writer you will eventually break in. 
   
   Don't forget there are earnings opportunities outside the internet - we can all get too focussed on it!    I made a few thousand dollars selling clutter from around my house on eBay and Gumtree.  I know someone else who makes a very good living, buying collectibles at yard sales and selling them on eBay.

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   1. 67

      AndreaRelli1111posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Hello Marissa,
      
      Thanks for your honesty.  Do you have to pay a membership or monthly fee for elance or Fiverr that you know of?
      
      Do you have any experience with the Amazon Capsules? I am asking because I am an Amazon Prime member and often buy items from Amazon and I was thinking that perhaps I could do Hubs on say perhaps cooking using an item I purchased from Amazon and had some questions about how to go about it the correct way.
      
      Thanks again for taking the time to answer my questions and providing me with suggestions.
      
      All The Best,
      Andrea

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      1. 85

         Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         No, you don't have to pay a membership fee for Fiverr.    Elance does have fees and they can be quite high. 
         
         Another website where you can sell articles is http://www.constant-content.com   On that site, you can write articles and put them up for sale.  You can get good prices for your articles IF they sell - the downside is that you might put ten articles up and only sell one, so it can get frustrating.
         
         I do think you'd be better off concentrating on the other ideas suggested here first. You will always earn a higher hourly rate providing a service than you will writing. 
         
         Yes you can use the Amazon capsules as you describe.  The trouble with Amazon capsules is that you only get paid if someone actually buys an item, so you really have to convince the reader to buy the item!   If you're good at "selling" then it would be worth trying.

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         1. 67

            AndreaRelli1111posted 8 years agoin reply to this

            Hi Marisa,
            Thanks so much! I really appreciate the information very much! Thank you for taking the time and providing me with so much helpful information!
            
            Much Love,
            Andrea

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3. 99

   DrMark1961posted 8 years ago

   Andrea, there are plenty of people on HP making more than what you are looking for so it is certainly not impossible, just very difficult. I just looked over your profile page and I do not think you are going to make it if you produce so few hubs with titles and images that are not being searched for.
   Read up as much as you can on SEO. There is a lot of trash out there but an SEO article by Writer Fox  was very helpful.
   Also, you need to write a lot more. If you write 3 articles a week for about your first six months that would be a great place to start. I have deleted over 50 articles so far, mostly my early stuff that did not do well, so you have to be critical of your own work. (There are plenty of people on here who have hundreds of articles that do not make much. Having a lot of articles does not mean anything if they are not getting any traffic.)
   You can make money here with traffic, Amazon or Ebay sales, and clicks on ads. The most succesful articles are usually "how to", and if they start getting good traffic you are more likely to make Amazon sales and a few clicks. (Ebay, in my opinion, is a waste of time and space since they no longer pay unless the sale is made immediately. Amazon pays a lot better and they are not as likely to switch the product around on you.)
   You can make a little money from traffic from Pinterest. Read Wrylilt´s articles about how to make MFP images and how to start posting on Pinterest. I get a few from Twitter but it takes a lot of work and has to be done every day. With Pinterest, you post and if others repost your images you can get a lot of traffic, although all social media pays less than Google or other search engines.
   Do not worry about followers here on HP. They are not going to help you financially.
   Good luck!

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   1. 67

      AndreaRelli1111posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      DrMark1961, I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to give me such a detailed, constructive, and helpful response! I love your suggestions and are definitely going to research SEO and MFG and learn all that I can! I will look for the SEO article by Writer Fox.  I am glad that you saved me from wasting my time on Ebay.
      
      I was wondering if you have any experience with Instagram? I was wondering if people just look at pics there of if I could actually get any traffic from it?
      
      Thanks again for explaining how things work here and how to be successful here at HP!
      
      All The Best,
      Andrea

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         DrMark1961posted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Sorry, I have had no experience with Instagram. If you use it, and find that your participation there is helping your traffic,  let us all know!

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   2. 75

      SylviaSkyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Andrea, I agree with Mark1961; your number of HP followers are not important.
      
      If you've been on HP only four months your results will be frustrating because recognition for your work comes slowly. I'd suggest writing a series of 6 or 10 articles on a topic you know well.

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   3. 85

      Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I'd love to hear your definition of "plenty", DrMark?   I would be surprised if more than a handful of people are making more than $500 a month, and I'd be willing to bet it took most of them at least a year to reach that figure, (and probably a lot longer).
      
      Building an income like that is very difficult, and it's a long-term project with a big learning curve.  Since it's also at the mercy of Google, it also has an uncertain outcome. The OP is looking for a steady secure income and she doesn't have time to wait a year or two!

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         DrMark1961posted 8 years agoin reply to this

         I certainly agree that it takes more than a year to reach that level, but it can be done with a lot of hard work. As always, "results may vary" and if the income reported on Relache´s hub are anything to go on, it certainly is not common.
         I think the only way we can be sure how many people are making more than that is if HP decided to let  us know the results in their newsletter.

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4. 89

   Jodahposted 8 years ago

   Welcome to HubPages, Andrea. You have already been given good advice by Marisa and DrMark. This is a good place to write but not a place to get rich quick. The amount you can make depends on the type of subjects you write and if they are popular with search engines therefore attracting lots of traffic. You can't make much from Amazon and eBay advertising any more as HP discourages the use of capsules now unless they are directly relevant and you can personally recommend the item. I don't agree that gaining followers is a waste of time because if they like your hubs they will also share on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Pinterest. I get almost as much traffic from Pinterest as I do from Google.
   I have over 260 hubs and don't even make payout $50 each month so I am not here for the money (it is just a bonus when I get a payout) however I also do freelance writing on Fiverr..have been writing there for 18 months (only made $300 the first year) but am now making about $400 per month and growing writing poetry and text for children's books. I would therefore recommend it to you.

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   1. 67

      AndreaRelli1111posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Hello Jodah,
      Thanks for welcoming me! I really appreciate your response very much! I will have to check Fiverr out. Do you have to pay a membership or monthly fee to write for Fiverr?
      
      Thank you so much for your helpful advice!
      
      Andrea

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      1. 89

         Jodahposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Andrea, you are welcome. You don't have to pay a monthly fee but they take one dollar for every five you make. I am fortunate the Australian dollar is low compared to $US so I don't even notice the commission they take.

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         1. 67

            AndreaRelli1111posted 8 years agoin reply to this

            I do not mind them taking a cut at all. I just did not like that I went to Freelancer .com and I thought it was like you describe Fiverr and then they expect me to pay a monthly fee even if I do not get work and then when I complained they not want me to pay $12 a year whether I work or not and I am having difficulties canceling them. That is why I asked up front about Fiverr because I really need to earn money before I put out money. So I will check out Fiverr asap!
            
            Thanks Again,
            Andrea

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5. 76

   PageBeardposted 8 years ago

   I don't know if this is allowed to mention here but an alternative idea is to teach English online.  I am retired and was looking for to make a little extra money from home...with teaching English you are paid instantly.  I am also learning to write some computer programs and changed my position of articles to writing an ebook instead.  Certainly you could do a nice mix of all of these if you wanted.  Teaching will easily net you 500 a month for about only 20 hours of work a week once you get a decent reputation. The fear I have here is that I waste a year putting out articles and nothing comes of it...its just too much of a risk so I stopped writing here.

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   1. 67

      AndreaRelli1111posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Hi PageBeard,
      
      Thank you so much for your reply. Funny you mention teaching English because I was thinking about that just last week. Do I need a teaching degree or a great deal of experience doing so? How do you find a job teaching English online? Do you have to create your own curriculum to do so? Who did you teach English for online? Sorry for all of the questions but I really need to make some money fast so that I can pay my electric bill, internet bill and car payment in August.
      
      Thanks a Million,
      Andrea

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      1. 76

         PageBeardposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         There are many websites out there looking for tutors.  I had no experience teaching.  I use paypal for payment and skype to do classes.  At one point I was teaching in a cafe for free.  I read a couple books and just developed my own plan and have had great success.  I started my pricing really cheap and eventually had so many requests I increased the pricing to keep students away.  Even then I still get requests weekly and have to turn them away.  Id recommend reading a book and making a plan for a few classes for different levels.  You will see right away what works and doesn't work.  As far as websites there are a lot that let you set up your own account...you don't need a degree for most and you are already an expert on the language.  Most of your students that are serious will already speak at an intermediate to advanced level...

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         1. 67

            AndreaRelli1111posted 8 years agoin reply to this

            I was wondering if you could recommend a book that you know to be a good resource? So many websites are scams these days so would you be willing to recommend one to me that you have used so that I do not get mixed up with another scam please?
            
            I really appreciate your assistance. I really need this opportunity to work out well for me.
            
            Thanks Again,
            Andrea

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            1. 76

               PageBeardposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               English as a Second Language for Dummies is good.  If you use pintrest there are tons of nice charts for teaching different concepts.  I usually start my class off with a few funny pics or funny comics and then do a 20 minute lesson of real work....after that we usually just talk about current topics that I think they will find interesting.  My classes run 45 minutes usually unless they want it longer.  After did my own thing I have had 3 requests to work for different agencies online and make much more money...but they wanted me to use their curriculum.  I don't like bosses or rules so I declined all 3 but I could have easily doubled my pay.  Id say start out small and start out cheap on whatever website you use...then after you get some positive reviews you can add a couple more students for a higher price...and continue this as you learn how to be better at it.  If you are a little adventurous you could move to a country that has a low cost of living like I did.  I used to live comfortably literally next to the ocean for 800 dollars a month with everything included...food, internet, rent, etc.  The dollar has so much more values in other countries.  If you are drawing any kind of money you could move to one of these places and teach English.  I'm a disabled vet and if I tried living in America it would be difficult...so instead I live like a king in Mexico.  All my profits from teaching go into entertainment....there are some countries you can live in for 600 a month...Ecuador or parts of Malaysia.  Imagine living on a beach teaching English or writing making only 800 bucks a month but living better than most Americans.   Americans are lucky to have this opportunity but so few take it.

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                  AndreaRelli1111posted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  Thanks for the book recommendation. I have considered relocating to Mexico many times but I will lose my main source of income if I do. So right now that is not an option for me. Can you recommend a good website or two that are looking for English Tutors?  I really appreciate your time and assistance very much!
                  Thanks Again,
                  Andrea

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                  1. 76

                     PageBeardposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                     https://www.chegg.com/
                     https://preply.com/
                     
                     these are 2 great ones....also about your situation....I dont know you so sorry if this doesn't apply but here is a link about disability and living outside the usa...
                     
                     http://www.disabilitybenefitscenter.org … g-overseas
                     
                     As a veteran I have no issues but in theory  I don't live here...I just vacation here for 6 months....go to another country or return home for a week then return here for "vacation" again.  You could still keep a permanent residence in the USA with family if that helped.  I'm under 40 years of age and have lived in 4 countries but was born and raised in America...I see absolutely no reason to live in that place..not because its bad but because there is so much better out there for 1/2 to 1/3 of the cost of living.  Anyone who makes a living online should consider it...especially with disability benefits.  Good luck and hope this helps.

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                     1. 76

                        PageBeardposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                        https://eslebooklibrary.files.wordpress … s-2009.pdf  the book i recommended for free in pdf form...there is literally 1000s of great resources online for free so dont spend any money

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                        1. 67

                           AndreaRelli1111posted 8 years agoin reply to this

                           I downloaded this and will read over it!
                           Thanks A Million,
                           Andrea

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                     2. 67

                        AndreaRelli1111posted 8 years agoin reply to this

                        Hello PageBeard,
                        
                        Thank you so much! I will check it all out!  I cannot thank you enough for helping me!
                        
                        Much Love,
                        Andrea

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            2. 0

               Shirl Urso-Farmerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               Just wanted to chime in and say thanks to all the seasoned hubbers for being so gracious with their helpful comments and to AndreaRelli1111 for her great questions... I'm learning so much from this discussion!

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               1. 67

                  AndreaRelli1111posted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  Hello Everyone,
                  Yes, everyone has been so helpful here! I feel that I have learned a great deal! Thanks a Million to everyone who was so patient with me and took the time to answer my questions.
                  
                  Thanks and Much Love to All,
                  Andrea

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                  1. 85

                     Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                     That is the nice thing about HubPages - the community.  If you're stuck at home for whatever reason, a supportive online community is worth its weight in gold!    So, even though I don't think HubPages is the right way for you to earn an income, I would heartily recommend making it one of your hobbies.  Then the income will be a nice bonus.   
                     
                     A word of advice though - stay away from the political and religious forums.  There are some nasty people there!

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                     1. 67

                        AndreaRelli1111posted 8 years agoin reply to this

                        Yes, I agree. I am noticing that the people here in the forum are very friendly and helpful! It is a really nice forum here!
                        
                        I could imagine the political and religious forums being nasty with how nasty I see people getting on Twitter and Facebook. I thought the last Presidential election was pretty ugly but this one managed to get beyond nasty! I am a very peaceful person so I will steer clear of the political and religious forum for sure.
                        Thanks Again,
                        Andrea

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                     Shirl Urso-Farmerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                     AndreaRelli1111 have you tried Constant Content? They will catalog your articles for potential buyers to browse through. Their submission rules and editorial processes are stringent and difficult (for me, at least), but you can set your own price for your work. If you decide to join, I'd advise you to go slowly and take your time through the app. process, double-check your sample work, and if you submit articles to them, triple-check everything you write.

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                        AndreaRelli1111posted 8 years agoin reply to this

                        No, I have not checked that out. I will look into it. I appreciate this!
                        
                        Thanks,
                        Andrea

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