Earning 900 Bucks a month via HubPages... sigh!

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  1. LiliMarlene profile image85
    LiliMarleneposted 7 years ago

    Hi fellow writers,
    Yesterday I recognized that the homepage of HubPages has a new design and in the mid of this I discovered a fellow writer with the most earnings here at HubPages. He's a member since 7 years, has published 55 articles which have been read over 1,000,000 times and he makes over $ 900 each month. He specialized on writing about something he knows very well - cars and how to repair them etc. First of all I was happy for him and to read this as it shows it must be possible to generate a second income by writing for HubPages. Then, I thought maybe this is the secret for higher earnings. Simply to specialize on something and keep being focussed on it.
    Any thoughts, ideas, comments, hints?

    1. Barbara Kay profile image74
      Barbara Kayposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Something that bothers me is that the numbers here just don't add up. Maybe he earned $900 a month years ago. If someone is earning that much after 7 years they'd have a lot more views than 1 million.In fact it would be many times more than that.  It was easier to earn money 7 years ago than it is now.

      1. DrMark1961 profile image97
        DrMark1961posted 7 years agoin reply to this

        That is the earnings from January, so he did better in December but HP decided not to print those numbers.
        He can have 9,900,000 views. He still only has the 1 million accolade, which is what others are seeing when looking at his site.

        1. Barbara Kay profile image74
          Barbara Kayposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks Dr Mark. That makes more sense.

    2. peachpurple profile image81
      peachpurpleposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with you. Since he is specialized in this line, it is eaasier for him to explain well the tips and tricks and the killer titles, helped him to earn $900 per month.

      I wish I could. I couldn't even earn 90 cent per month!

    3. LiliMarlene profile image85
      LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Dear all, Thank you all for this inspiring discussion. I must admit I doubted the example I took for this question as well. Further, this informations says he made a life time earning of about $ 27,000 and is a member since 7 years with now 55 articles. So, each single article must be read very often as others with over 400 articles in the same time make only about $ 300 a month.
      Then, I calculated. 27k in 7 years is ca. $ 3,857 a year and then $ 321 a month. Seen that way it must have taken quite a long time before he made a regularly income of $950 a month. Maybe this relativizes the things a little.
      So, my summary to answer the question I asked to open this thread would be: You need time, a niche, patience, regularly written Hubs and obviously should use AmazonAds in a smart way and regularly.

    4. profile image0
      promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Specialization helps. But it also helps to have low competition and a niche that attracts high-paying advertisers.

      1. LiliMarlene profile image85
        LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Wow. That's a cool way to think about the best topics. Attracting high-paying advertisers. The question is who are those if you for example write about creativity, writing, filmmaking and the arts?

    5. DavePage profile image61
      DavePageposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting question, I can definitely attest to writing about one niche being able to generate a second income, and then becoming the main income.
      I write about one specific area only, though I've only been doing it for a year, however I have seen evidence of people in that same niche for much longer easily making $5K per month. It's no longer a pipe dream.

      1. LiliMarlene profile image85
        LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Sounds great. Thank you! So, you made a monthly income soon? I think this discussion is fantastic as it gives hope and writing feels so much better when there is hope to make real money with it.

      2. LiliMarlene profile image85
        LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Thank you, Dave. Your answer makes me hope that I will make a second income here too. What one human being can make we all can make, if we want to. smile

        1. DavePage profile image61
          DavePageposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          Exactly! Opportunities are endless, we live in an era of abundance awareness! I like that actually

          1. LiliMarlene profile image85
            LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            True. I like that too.

        2. Marisa Wright profile image87
          Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          It's worth noting that Dave isn't talking about writing on HubPages.   He doesn't have any Hubs yet.

          If you're writing on your own site, it's essential to concentrate on one subject or it's a complete waste of time. That's because Google favours specialist websites, so you have to create a whole specialist website to hold your articles.

          That's not the case on HubPages.  You do NOT have to write on a single subject on HubPages to make money, because HubPages has created the specialist websites for you.

          Some of the high earners on the front page are specialists.   But the reason that makes money for them is NOT because their Hub account isn't ''polluted" with other subjects.  It's the fact that they know what they're talking about.  So they write long, convincing, knowledgeable Hubs.

    6. lisavanvorst profile image64
      lisavanvorstposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I hardly write anymore. When I did it was poetry. When I would ask why I did not make any money, fellow hubbers stated it was because poetry does not get many views. I do believe that certain topics do get more views. An example would be articles about health, cars like you said and so on. I just lost faith in this site when they started to tear apart my stories and poetry. It would have been nice to make money, but I really do not like the changes that have occurred over the past year and half. Just my opinion.

    7. Gyanendra Mocktan profile image81
      Gyanendra Mocktanposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Staying focused in what we do gives reward. Thank you

      1. LiliMarlene profile image85
        LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Yup, that's true. I agree. Stay focused, keep pushing and never give up. Persistence is one of the main qualities that make you reach your goals.

        1. makingamark profile image69
          makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          You can be a persistent poet as much as you like but 99.9% are still not going to get many views or make much (if any) money.

          That's not an argument for not being a poet. Just an explanation as to why poetry has never been a "get rich quick" scheme.

    8. Marie Flint profile image74
      Marie Flintposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      A hit-home topic, yet I have to remind myself not to put the money first.

      I've been here four-plus years and don't make much money whatsoever from my hubs. Because I reject much of mainstream interests (I tend to be esoteric), my situation is what it is.

      I've reached a certain maturity, though, and realize that if, in fact, I want to make a second income, I have to hone myself to what people "out there" using the internet need and want--true for any successful marketing endeavor.

      Sharing a little experience I had yesterday, I found myself deleting an individual whom I wanted to follow on YouTube  because he was posting diversified topics in which I wasn't interested. It got me thinking.

      As a Gemini and very curious person, I have trouble, much trouble sticking to a focus. I can research and get very detailed, but I'll probably always be a "Jill of all trades, and master of none."

      The bottom line is that I love to write. I'm willing to share what I've been doing on the social sites to which HP has allowed us to link through our profile.

      It took me a couple of years just to make 10,000 views. I've deleted a lot of hubs. Now I think that was a mistake.

      I like the philosophy, "Do what you love, the money will follow." The work should not be strained, but something one enjoys, finds relaxing, and feels good about doing. I give credit where I think credit is due by referencing links from where I got my information.

      Making just $200 a month here at Hub Pages would be satisfying for me by giving me a little extra pocket money. Ultimately, though, I have to let the Universe and myself be free by not setting any specific expectations.

      My advice is to love the HP site, the HP community, and just write. Be yourself. Don't try to please others because where your own interests lie, there are thousands of people with those same interests.

      Have faith in yourself and in what you do.

      I wish everyone a meaningful, joyful, and successful experience here at Hub Pages!

  2. makingamark profile image69
    makingamarkposted 7 years ago

    maybe this is the secret for higher earnings. Simply to specialize on something and keep being focussed on it.

    Without a doubt.

    If you specialise, then you become known as an authority and people gravitate towards your content, you get increased traffic, Google recognises you even more, your content ranks higher in Google, you get more traffic etc etc

    It works wherever you locate your content. I had some content which didn't work well on HubPages (too niche!) and deleted it and created a new comprehensive website for the niche and it's now the #1 website in the world for that topic.

    The thing is:
    * it's a strategy which works well for very specific niches - not everything. You need to get very specific eg "baking" is very generic; "cakes" is getting more specific but is still very general, "cakes for kids birthday parties" is a niche topic!
    * you do need to know what you're talking about. Wanting to write about a topic is not enough.
    * Expertise in a topic comes from actually being an expert. You need in-depth knowledge and experience. So if you're not an expert this is often not a good strategy to follow.
    * "Me too" sites don't tend to get a lot of traffic - unless they offer something distinctively different
    * you need a LOT of content to make a real impact. People who go down this route have generally been writing about the same topic for years.
    * you also need to generate a set of followers i.e. use social media and know what generates traffic.

    For anybody out there who's thinking copying might be a good shortcut to having expert content on a website, those who are experts on their niche topic normally scrutinise Google for their topic on a regular basis (I know I do!). They spot copies of their content very quickly! They also know how to get copy sites taken down very fast.

    1. LiliMarlene profile image85
      LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      @MakingaMark Thank you for your reply. I try to shift my topics to what is my real passion, but don't get much traffic to these articles. What generates my income is really just one nice article about hair care with special tips. Maybe it takes more time, but I just checked your profile (and followed you right away as I love your topic, am completely on the same wavelength) and saw you are a member since 2 years like I am. Is this already the time you changed everything and focussed on one subject area? And since then you earn real money or when was your tipping point in your earnings here at HubPages?

      1. makingamark profile image69
        makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        The tipping point for me was the drastic reduction in the sums I earned on HubPages compared to Squidoo.

        If the type of compendium site I create could earn respectable income even during the dying days of Squidoo how come it couldn't on HubPages? (i.e. we're talking the same external context re Google et al)

        So I built my own sites and found that there's more than one way to make income from writing! wink

        Bottom line it's niche topics and experts who make the income. I've come to the view that the site is less important than the content and who's creating it - so long as they know how to create traffic.

        1. Maria-Zuzeena profile image80
          Maria-Zuzeenaposted 2 years agoin reply to this

          I completely agree with you. My income from Squidoo also went down the drain when my lenses were moved to HP.  I've had more than 200,000 views and since I wasn't able (and stil am not) to set up adsense (i'm sort of technology challenged) I haven't earned a cent from those views. How much do you think I've lost that I could have gotten from adsense?

          Anyway, I feel like writing again. Writing is  my thing smile

          1. PaulGoodman67 profile image95
            PaulGoodman67posted 2 years agoin reply to this

            I will be direct.

            Firstly, this forum thread is four years old. You are agreeing with someone who hasn't been active on here for a long time.

            Secondly, Adsense was discontinued on this site quite some times ago.

            Thirdly, I saw you'd only written 9 articles, that isn't a lot if you want to earn any sort of significant amount on here.

            1. Maria-Zuzeena profile image80
              Maria-Zuzeenaposted 2 years agoin reply to this

              Hello! smile

              Thanks for your reply. I'm just learning that now hmm (that adsense was discontinued). I'm trying to set up the analytics tracking right now...

              How much do you think I would have gotten with 200,000 views under Beauty and Fitness? Any idea?

    2. MKishor profile image57
      MKishorposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Katherine (@MakingaMark), thanks for posting this useful information. It is indeed helpful for the new writers like me. I have just started writing on HubPages, learning the art of writing. If you can spare some time, then please have a look at my hubs. your feedback will be appreciated.

      Though I am not yet eligible for Google Adsense (as Adsense has 6 months waiting period for some country like mine, don't know Why?) so there is no way that I can earn anything from here. But, anyway I am able to share my experiences with my hubs.

    3. amvabecreations profile image78
      amvabecreationsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      "Me too" sites?? What are those?

  3. Mick Rogers profile image38
    Mick Rogersposted 7 years ago

    Sounds interesting.... but how did you do it?

    1. LiliMarlene profile image85
      LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Mick -
      Thank you for your comment. I think your question is addressed to Katherine (Makingamark), right? I think she explained very well how she did it. Additionally I read other threads about this topic where people said they would work with the Google AdSense Tools. I have no experience with that and checked it - but it looks really very Spanish or as we in German say "Egyptian" to me. No idea how to use it and how could help me.

    2. Cre8tor profile image93
      Cre8torposted 7 years ago

      Well I don't do that well but I do alright for myself and yes, it's definitely my topic that generates the income. I have tinkered with different things when I first started and still have a few more light subject hubs (because to be honest it's not any fun to write about my work) but there's is no doubt that writing about what people need or sit down and search for on the net helps. Best of luck to you!

      1. LiliMarlene profile image85
        LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Hello, thank you for your comment and for sharing your experience. I too still have a few hubs that I need to replace. Good luck for you!

    3. Natalie Frank profile image92
      Natalie Frankposted 7 years ago

      I was wondering about this as well.  I have attempted to focus primarily on a few topics but also write articles every so often that aren't related to one of these topics.  I do this primarily for other freelance avenues in order to show I can write on diverse subjects in a variety of appropriate voices and styles.  To date however, my readership and followers are not particularly high.  I don't want to also create a separate blog -which would only result in the same difficulty if there is a problem not writing exclusively in a niche.

      1. LiliMarlene profile image85
        LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Hey Natalie, thanks for your comment. Like you I began with a couple of topics because I thought a good mixture would generate more readers. Now, I think I have to focus more on one single topic. But I will keep my best article that generates most traffic and income at the moment even it it doesn't match my focus.  smile

      2. Marisa Wright profile image87
        Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        I think Paul Edmonson is right - it's best to write about things you've got expertise in or feel passionately interested in. HOWEVER, I don't agree that means you must stick to one niche.

        There is no benefit to sticking to one niche on HubPages. The benefit of a single niche comes from concentrating a lot of niche material on a single site dedicated to that topic. HubPages already does that for us, so there's no need for us to do so - even if we write only one article on a topic, we get the benefit of it being on a large niche site.

        If you've got enough material to write screeds and screeds of material on one topic, you'll do much better to follow MakingaMark's advice, and start your own blog where you can retain all your earnings and build a following.  For those of us with eclectic interests, the great beauty of HubPages is that you can write articles on a variety of topics and still be successful.

    4. Paul Edmondson profile imageSTAFF
      Paul Edmondsonposted 7 years ago

      From what I can see writing about passions, expertise, professional experience is what drives the most traffic and earnings.  As a side note, the people on the homepage aren't the highest earning, but we thought they were inspirational beyond their earnings. 

      Would you like to see the top earners?

      1. LiliMarlene profile image85
        LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        I have articles on HubPages and on the niche sites as I can apply only one hub by one each 2 weeks or so. Was 4 weeks in the beginning if I remember it right. Yes, I would like to see the top earners. How do you know them?

        1. profile image52
          slick848wayposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          Hi Marlene have you tried Fiverr, tht site you can make money on if you stay focused on a certain thing,just pull up the site and you will see how the money is made,you can charge what you want, I wrote a song and had someone sing it for me, my voice is terrible, so he did and he made $70 for about one hour work,it all depends, hope this helps you out for a second income,let me know OK.

      2. bdegiulio profile image95
        bdegiulioposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Yes, I would also.  Thank you.

      3. EricDockett profile image96
        EricDockettposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Top earners may not wish to have attention brought to them. I'd hope HP would get the ok before shining a light on them. Many would likely love to share what they know, but perhaps not the financial part.

        1. Kathleen Cochran profile image80
          Kathleen Cochranposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          HP used to list hubbers by their hubscore.  They stopped because it drew thieves to those writers' work.  (There is no other way to describe those folks.)  Now it is almost impossible to know which hubbers are making a living here.  But from my five-plus years of experience with HP I can tell you the most profitable hubbers write on a specific topic.  Their hubs are usually "how tos" that people find when they search the Internet for a solution to a problem.
          I was told in the beginning here to go for quantity of hubs, but I've seen hubbers make regular payouts with less than 50 hubs.  Those 50, though, are packed with instructional information to common problems.
          Good luck.

      4. makingamark profile image69
        makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        For the record, the top earners I've known in the past take an extremely dim view of people revealing that they are top earners.

        There is of course also the matter of privacy and confidentiality in relation to all things personal. In the UK you'd be prosecuted anybody revealing information like that under the Data Protection Act. I don't know what sort of situation pertains in the USA - but I'm guessing there's legislation relating to personal data.

      5. greenmind profile image93
        greenmindposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        I'm not sure what Paul had in mind when he said that.

        1. makingamark profile image69
          makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          I guess I'm just clarifying what I had in mind.

          The way Paul has illustrated it below is great - and gets round the privacy concerns - but we could still do with a bit more information and definition around the defining characteristics of top earners.

    5. profile image0
      Farawaytreeposted 7 years ago

      I would!! smile

    6. Azure11 profile image86
      Azure11posted 7 years ago

      I agree with makingamark, you need to create content that is pretty niche and with high value to the reader and probably through personal experience.
      It would be interesting to see who the top earners are if Paul would share that info, then it gives people a good insight into what sort of content and the quality of that content produces good results in terms of traffic.

      1. EricDockett profile image96
        EricDockettposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        How about Hubbers do their own research and work their butts off to create the best content they can? That's what the top earners did to get where they are.

        It would not be right for HubPages to reveal earnings info without consent of Hubbers.

      2. LiliMarlene profile image85
        LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        @Azure11  Thanks for your comment. I agree and already decided for my niche. We will see.

        @EricDockett - Thank you for your comment. I fear, the best content you can usually is not automatically what the readers are looking for.

        1. makingamark profile image69
          makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          Readers have an amazing range of diverse interests and tastes.

          If you produce LOTS of good content on a defined topic then somebody out there will find you.

          To be interesting to others, you have to START with being really interested in your topic - and to know a lot about it.

          If you're not really interested, don't waste your time writing about it!

    7. makingamark profile image69
      makingamarkposted 7 years ago

      I don't recall where or when in agreeing to the terms and conditions of the site that any of us agreed to HubPages revealing our earnings.  That's classified as private data in the country I live in - and is legally protected.

      I think what would be more appropriate is to provide a wholly anonymised typology of the characteristics of top earners.

      That way people could get value from characteristics that might be useful to them (eg. do they specialise; how many words do their best hubs have; How many amazon modules do they have; whether they earn via AdSense or Amazon or a mixture etc etc).

      Let's also be clear that you can't replicate the topic and become a top earner.

      I'm guessing for most of the top earners there's very probably only one per niche topic (and I mean niche not categories which are what the separate sites actually are)

      The classic for top earnings is to do extremely well on a long tail topic which attracts enough interest but not a lot of competition. It's extraordinarily difficult to do well on topics that get masses of queries - because there is also masses of competition so the chances of ranking on the first page of Google is nil. There's a methodology for identifying long tail topics that will work and there's more than one blogger who has written extensively about this - and made a mint at the same time. Just take some time out and read around the topic...

      1. LiliMarlene profile image85
        LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        @Makingamark Thank you again.
        I think @PaulEdmondson knows about the privacy rules. Nobody should expect the names - and as I now already can see, he of course didn't publish any personal data. But a list that I didn't expect in my wildest dreams.
        Also, thanks a lot for your valuable hints and advice!

        1. makingamark profile image69
          makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          ...but names of HubPages members and their monthly and total all time income are on the front page of HubPages! I'd just assumed that the model for sharing more information was going to be the same...

          1. DrMark1961 profile image97
            DrMark1961posted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Do you understand that those people were asked if it was okay to publish that?

            1. makingamark profile image69
              makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

              I would hope so. I've not seen anything which said they were.  Can you point me to where it says this?

              I expect it's more than just me who hasn't read anything to this effect given some of the comments made by other people on the same topic.

              1. DrMark1961 profile image97
                DrMark1961posted 7 years agoin reply to this

                No, I cannot. I  am providing you with this information from personal experience.
                (You could also email any of the people on that page and ask.)

                1. makingamark profile image69
                  makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  I think you're missing the point...

              2. Marisa Wright profile image87
                Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                It seems to me you're ascribing some pretty nasty behaviour to HubPages, e.g. they emailed these people and said "please give us a nice testimonial to put on the front page of HP, we're not going to tell you  how we'll use it".

                1. makingamark profile image69
                  makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  Please!! I'm not suggesting anybody is being nasty at all - that thought lies entirely in your imagination.

                  What I was wondering was whether it occurred to HubPages to advise the members who have been highlighted that although it was very likely they would get more views (and hence even more income!), that there is always a risk that some of those visitors might not be so welcome and that they should be on alert for people wanting to copy their pages. It's called "informed consent".

                  Like I said I've seen ructions before now when members of other sites were outed as having top income traffic - without their consent - because of what happened as a result (i.e. wholesale copying and a lot of extra work getting sites taken down for those who were "outed").

                  All I've asked about was whether consent was given and whether it was informed.

                  Now it's entirely possible that HubPages is not aware that this is what can happen to people. Obviously, if that's the case then they won't have said anything about any potential downside

                  There's plenty of people willing to take the risk. I'm in no way suggesting that people shouldn't share their good fortune - so long as they know the risks.

            2. Solaras profile image94
              Solarasposted 7 years agoin reply to this

              I can't even find this feed.  My HP sends me to my account/forums etc... Does it say the member's name or mention their article names/topics?

              Okay - I figured out how to signout lol and now I see the featured artists.  If they agreed to this then, I don't see a problem.  They may be getting heaps of increased views.

          2. Marisa Wright profile image87
            Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            ...but you will notice, MakingaMark, that those people have also provided a testimonial to go with the revelation of income, so obviously HubPages spoke to them about putting them on the front page before they did it.

            1. makingamark profile image69
              makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

              I'm not sure I'd equate getting somebody's view with getting their permission to share that sort of data in public. I would assume that if it had been stated somewhere.

              Look the only reason I'm making the point is that when I've seen this done before, those who have had that sort of information shared also found they got a lot of nuisance copiers as a result - from the "me too" brigade.

              So just so long as somebody got permission at the same time as they explained to those sharing the information what the implications might be.......

    8. Janet2221 profile image78
      Janet2221posted 7 years ago

      About 4-5 years ago, I was earning over $1,000 month here.  That doesn't happen anymore.  Things have changed.  Congrats to the writer(s) still doing well.

      1. LiliMarlene profile image85
        LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        @Janet2221 Thank you for sharing your experience. Too bad that you couldn't keep your earnings. What changed? Did you write less new Hubs? I strongly believe WE, the writers, are the reason whether the money flows or not. It is up to us, our mindset, our creativity and our persistence to produce new Hubs. This is the Law of Attraction or also the Law of Resonance.

        1. makingamark profile image69
          makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          Actually I think Janet picked the right sorts of topics and knew what she was talking about!

          1. LiliMarlene profile image85
            LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            I never said she didn't any of what you are talking about now. Don't know how you obviously misread my reply.

            1. theraggededge profile image97
              theraggededgeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

              LiliMarlene, go to the top of this page and click on 'Chronological', then you won't get confused about who is replying to whom.

              1. LiliMarlene profile image85
                LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                LOL. Thank you!

    9. Chriswillman90 profile image90
      Chriswillman90posted 7 years ago

      I know I wouldn't feel comfortable revealing my earnings just due to privacy/theft concerns over my articles and myself. I've been extremely fortunate the last few months on Hubpages but am always worried about people scooping up my hard work.

      1. greenmind profile image93
        greenmindposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        I agree 100%. Maybe Paul can clarify what he meant?

        1. LiliMarlene profile image85
          LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          @greenmind. Thanks for your comment. I never asked anybody to publish her/his earnings, but asked for what's the secret to generate a monthly and pretty high income by writing for Hubpages.
          You agree 100% to what? To what Chriswillman90 said?

      2. LiliMarlene profile image85
        LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        @Chriswilliam90 Thanks for commenting to this thread. This discussion actually is about how to reach high earnings, not how much everybody makes, if you read my opening question again. Then, Paul asked if we were interested in knowing how high the real high earnings here are and as you can see by his post below that is pretty impressing. Additionally I find it inspiring as it shows what is possible. Unfortunately not how. The secret behind these high amounts is still a secret. smile

    10. Shyron E Shenko profile image70
      Shyron E Shenkoposted 7 years ago

      I don't believe anyone makes that much money, I can't see that repair information articles could generate that many readers.

      1. LiliMarlene profile image85
        LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        @Shyron, Thank you for your opinion. But I must say I completely disagree as at the auto topic is of interest worldwide. That means he probably has readers from everywhere and this even although - if I remember it right - concentrates on one brand. Many people want to save money and repair their cars themselves - and not only men. I think this is one part of the secret for high earning at HubPages.

    11. Paul Edmondson profile imageSTAFF
      Paul Edmondsonposted 7 years ago

      I was just looking at a really good writer that has earned about $3000-4000 per month.

      It's possible to do quite well.

      1. LiliMarlene profile image85
        LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Thank you, Paul. What would be interesting for us is probably how many Hubs lead to this earning and the time period or since when the writer is a member.

    12. Paul Edmondson profile imageSTAFF
      Paul Edmondsonposted 7 years ago

      https://usercontent1.hubstatic.com/13432838_f1024.jpg

      Here's a good earner.  Deep area expertise. Consistently writes. Benefits from hubpro premium.

      1. NateB11 profile image88
        NateB11posted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Curious if this account that earns around 4000 a month gets mostly organic search traffic or social media traffic. I would guess organic traffic, but was curious where their traffic actually comes from.

      2. WryLilt profile image87
        WryLiltposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Hi Paul,

        On a privacy note, this brings back memories of  a certain ex-Hubpages employee who used member data in the forums in some not very nice ways.
        Does the person whose account you've screenshotted know you've done so and if not, are we all at risk of having various types of account data "shared as an example" if staff see fit?

        Thanks.

        1. DrMark1961 profile image97
          DrMark1961posted 7 years agoin reply to this

          The persons name and HP account is never mentioned, so why does it matter?

          1. Solaras profile image94
            Solarasposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            I'd like those earnings - inspirational indeed.

            1. Jean Bakula profile image92
              Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

              People will tell you if you pick a niche site or write about what you love, to start your own site. But I did that and it's a lot of work, and harder to get an audience. All it did was give me carpal tunnel. Plus back then HP suggested we not "put all our eggs in one basket" and urged us to write on other sites. I wrote on 2 and never made a penny, even though I had to write 10 good articles to be accepted. They have since been put in other places.

              At least at HP all you need is here, and you can write when you feel like it. You have to be a slave to your own sites unless you know a lot about computers.

              Plus, having a lot of experience in one or two areas attracts attention. I write columns on two other people's blogs by invitation, and get well paid for it. I also get my own clients from the other columns and my little "landing site."

              It depends on what you like and how much time you can put into it.

              1. makingamark profile image69
                makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                Want me to explain what it was like when Squidoo threw in the towel?

                It's my belief you won't find a single ex-Squidoo person who hasn't made some sort of effort to develop their own sites for the things they love best - because the same thing happening twice doesn't bear thinking about.

                Now I'm not saying anything is going to happen to HubPages - but everything changes over time and sometimes that means people sell out or give up or just move on to something new.....

                It pays to diversify your content over more than one site otherwise you have to take the consequences of "all your eggs in one basket" if anything were to happen.

                Incidentally, it was enormously helpful of Hubpages to take over the Squidoo accounts and lenses and give people the breathing space to work out what to do next after the shock of the news that the site was going to fold.

            2. Will Apse profile image87
              Will Apseposted 7 years agoin reply to this

              Those figures will make some people feel inadequate and disheartened.

              Others will be ravaged by unbearable envy, lol. Feel a twinge of that myself...

              I reckon highlighting some mid-level earnings would have been a better strategy. The stuff on the home page gets it about right.

              1. makingamark profile image69
                makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                I think what I'd like to see is a chart which shows ranges of income earned and the percentage of HubPages members which come in each RANGE.

                What's the betting it's NOT a normal distribution curve?

                1. ChristinS profile image40
                  ChristinSposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  That would definitely be interesting and useful information and give a more accurate representation of what happens here, while still giving people a higher target to aim for.

                2. Will Apse profile image87
                  Will Apseposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  Some sensible analysis of the 'career' pathway HP offers would help.

                  Look at what high achievers have done, how long it has taken to acheive particular levels of income. Describe the strengths that they deployed.

                  Look at mid-level achievers from the same perspective.

                  Show sympathy for the hapless herd and thank them for their efforts, lol.

                3. NateB11 profile image88
                  NateB11posted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  That's a really good idea. It would keep things in perspective.

                  1. LiliMarlene profile image85
                    LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                    Don't know, I think the percentage of Hubbers who make real money (= high earnings as already shown by Robert) is similar in each topic. So, from my opinion the curve probably is not really exciting or eye-opening.

                    1. makingamark profile image69
                      makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                      I'd be extremely surprised if that were the case based on what I know about categories from elsewhere. I've got a very good idea about which topics get top income and why - and which get nowhere near and why. Thing is HubPages doesn't provide the data that I've got saved up from other places. I've no reason to suppose it's changed much.

                    2. Marisa Wright profile image87
                      Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                      I'd say that is very far from true.  It's simply common sense. 

                      Firstly, some subjects have a MUCH bigger following than others.  For instance, there are milions more people interested in Pets or Gardening than the Arts, so people who can write about pets or gardening have a much, much bigger potential audience. 

                      Of course, there are also more people able to write about Pets or Gardening than about the Arts, so you could argue that there's also less competition, but it's not a direct correlation. 

                      Secondly, some subjects simply lend themselves to the internet better than others. If you write about something that's not easy to search for, you won't get traffic and you won't earn money.   So, people who write opinion pieces, or humour, or poetry, or fiction, don't do well, no matter how persistent they are.

                4. TIMETRAVELER2 profile image85
                  TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

                  Relache actually created a hub that included such a chart.  If she's still on the site, check out her profile to find that hub.  Even though it was written several years ago, it was very telling.   I just checked her profile.  She must have removed it...too bad, it was really interesting.

                  1. Marisa Wright profile image87
                    Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                    Yes, she removed it.   Her reasoning was that it was no longer getting a high enough response rate to be meaningful.   But I seem to recall the vast majority of Hubbers made less than $10 a month, and that was consistent over several years.

                    1. TIMETRAVELER2 profile image85
                      TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

                      Marisa Wright:  Yes, that's what I also recall.  In addition, if I remember correctly, approximately 1% were earning $1000 per month or more.  I wish she'd repost it...it was a very telling article.

    13. Paul Edmondson profile imageSTAFF
      Paul Edmondsonposted 7 years ago

      https://usercontent2.hubstatic.com/13432845_f1024.jpg

      Different type of earner. Most popular articles are ads off, but follows our product rules by using very well placed and detailed description that helps purchasing decisions.  Writes about real life purchases they are making. Anyone can do this. Buying a waffle iron. Share detailed research and decision.

      1. Ashish Dadgaa profile image47
        Ashish Dadgaaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        @Paul Edmondson,
        These data are mind blowing. This is kind motivation to other Hubbers out here smile
        Thank you so much for sharing smile

      2. LiliMarlene profile image85
        LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        @Paul Edmondson, Thank you very much for sharing. I agree to @Ashish Dadgaa. These data are incredible and very inspiring and motivating.
        On the other hand I wonder if these are one time high payments or really monthly earnings.

      3. Sherry Hewins profile image92
        Sherry Hewinsposted 6 years agoin reply to this

        Interesting to see what a vast majority of the earnings are from Amazon.

    14. Chriswillman90 profile image90
      Chriswillman90posted 7 years ago

      It is mind boggling that there are some writers earning nearly 4-5K a month on here. I had a few articles recently edited with Hubpro Premium so I'm hoping for the best.

    15. Paul Edmondson profile imageSTAFF
      Paul Edmondsonposted 7 years ago

      Want more?

      1. Barbara Kay profile image74
        Barbara Kayposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        I'd like to see more. It would give me motivation to get busy again.

      2. bdegiulio profile image95
        bdegiulioposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Absolutely!

      3. LiliMarlene profile image85
        LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Yup! I agree to Barbara and Bdeguilio - absolute motivation to get writing again and setting goals. smile

      4. Ashish Dadgaa profile image47
        Ashish Dadgaaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        @Paul Edmondson,

        Yes, Paul Edmondson we want more big_smile
        This is truly inspirational smile

    16. EricDockett profile image96
      EricDockettposted 7 years ago

      Those numbers have me thinking I should switch my accounts over to the HP Amazon program. I've been on the fence about it since they announced the changes a week or so ago.

      I agree with MaM that this was a very good way to present the information while still respecting the privacy of the writer. As much as I would love to know what topics they write about, how many Hubs they have, typical word count, how often they publish, etc, I think that could possibly cross the line.

      I think Hubbers who feel the need to know that info can glean a great deal just by doing a little research around the site. When I first started here I felt like a learned a lot not only by trying to figure out which writers were doing well and why, but by looking at which writers seemed to be struggling and what they were doing wrong.

      1. greenmind profile image93
        greenmindposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Right I was a little worried but this information is inspiring.

    17. Jan Saints profile image87
      Jan Saintsposted 7 years ago

      I think one is enjoying a double digit CPM or getting a million views a day!

      1. DrMark1961 profile image97
        DrMark1961posted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Not at all. Those numbers are very reachable with less than 40.000 page views per day, and a normal CPM.
        It is something for most of us to reach for, but definitely within reach.

      2. LiliMarlene profile image85
        LiliMarleneposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        @Jan Saints, Thanks for your comment. I must say I agree to DrMark1961 and with that knowledge I find this information very motivating.

    18. theraggededge profile image97
      theraggededgeposted 7 years ago

      Oops, those posts will soon be down the khazi. Spammer alert.

    19. LiliMarlene profile image85
      LiliMarleneposted 7 years ago

      @Kazi Angela, please stop spamming. You will be banned from HubPages if you don't follow the rules. Thank you.

    20. LiliMarlene profile image85
      LiliMarleneposted 7 years ago

      @Makingthemark - OMG, of course. Now I see. First thought you refer to Robert's question and must admit I simply assumed they asked these writers for the permission to show their data. But, what if not?

    21. DavePage profile image61
      DavePageposted 7 years ago

      That's right, I've only been here for a couple of days so still trying to find my way around.
      Yes I have my own authority site concentrating on one niche, BUT I have a whole host of topics that I want to write about here. I was on Blogspot years ago, so need to unpublished everything there and revise content before I can post it here.

      Looking forward dot engaging with writers here now.

    22. gobindo12345 profile image58
      gobindo12345posted 7 years ago

      This is the best experience.And it's really nice for everyone.

    23. WryLilt profile image87
      WryLiltposted 7 years ago

      I think if I'd kept all my content on Hubpages, I may have reached that mark. Back during the subdomain era, I had a big rant on Hubpages and moved a stack of my hubs over to Wizzley and a few other platforms. Bad decision!

      Nowadays my pregnancy website is my primary source of income, but I'd really like to come back and write more on Hubpages and reach a thousand or so per month here. I think it's definitely doable, I just need to get the energy and time.

      1. Marisa Wright profile image87
        Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Yes, I had that experience too - except I moved my content on to sites that didn't even survive!!

      2. DavePage profile image61
        DavePageposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Maybe you could use dictation software to write articles, faster and less energy taxing maybe?

    24. Stacie L profile image87
      Stacie Lposted 7 years ago

      I'm wondering if these revelations will cause these writers to lose money due to copying...hmm

    25. Allie Backers profile image59
      Allie Backersposted 7 years ago

      Sigh

    26. Mr Bueno profile image80
      Mr Buenoposted 6 years ago

      Try giving up being a Gemini and substitute it for another astrological star sign instead for a month and see what happens.

    27. Angel Guzman profile image73
      Angel Guzmanposted 6 years ago

      Wow that is amazing! I signed up days ago and would love to start earning!!

      1. Sherry Hewins profile image92
        Sherry Hewinsposted 6 years agoin reply to this

        These results are not typical.

    28. rebelogilbert profile image76
      rebelogilbertposted 6 years ago

      Everyone of us is different. I like taking some of the advice posted here, and ignoring what I don't think works for me. I think we're all that way. Writing hubs and engaging with the hub community is a good thing, and I think it's important to branch out and search for new opportunities where ever you can find them. Good luck to you all.

    29. Sue Adams profile image95
      Sue Adamsposted 2 years ago

      Yeah, 4 years ago maybe, but times have changed. My income has diminished tenfold since those days!

    30. Maria-Zuzeena profile image80
      Maria-Zuzeenaposted 2 years ago

      Bummer, Sue Adams, I think the way to go would be through Amazon. At least when I used to be on Squidoo if they clicked on our Amazon link even if they didn't buy the article we recommended but they when on a shopping spree on Amazon we would get commission on that. I'm that's the way it will be here too. Do you know?

      1. Sue Adams profile image95
        Sue Adamsposted 2 years agoin reply to this

        I don't even bother with Amazon anymore After  Amazon income dwindled to virtually zero I stopped using them.

    31. Maria-Zuzeena profile image80
      Maria-Zuzeenaposted 2 years ago

      Sorry, I meant *went not when.

    32. TessSchlesinger profile image60
      TessSchlesingerposted 2 years ago

      I was under the impression that the top earners were earning in excess of $10,000 per month. Hubpages published something like that a while ago.

      The first time I joined hubpages, I was making $600 by my third month. Things have changed a lot.

      1. Kenna McHugh profile image91
        Kenna McHughposted 2 years agoin reply to this

        Paul, the founder of HP, commented on the forums about paying out his first 10K+.

     
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