Display of Author's Earnings

1. 95

   eugbugposted 7 years ago

   I just noticed that some author's earnings are displayed on the homepage when logged out. Is this a recent idea and is the display of earnings optional? (not that it bothers me if there is no choice in the matter)

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      Christy Kirwanposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, we absolutely received permission from the authors we chose to feature.

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      galleryofgraceposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      They are just advertising some of the high pay earners to lure unsuspecting new writers in.

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2. 77

   psycheskinnerposted 7 years ago

   I wouldn't mind except that the rest of us are banned from discussing what we earn, that seems a little deceptive in that it may give newbies a distorted idea of what their earnings are likely to be.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      +1

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      Christy Kirwanposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      In these cases HubPages discusses earnings with author permission (rather than the authors doing so), and we still give rounded figures rather than exact ones. The authors displayed on the homepage are still not allowed to post or discuss their earnings elsewhere and would need to email us privately if they needed to discuss private aspects of their accounts including their earnings.

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         psycheskinnerposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         My point is: You are publicizing high achievers and muzzling the rest.  This could be seen as deceptive.

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         1. 74

            toptengamerposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            In terms of deceptive marketing practices, I feel this is very minor. In fact, if I were running HP, I'd probably do it up even more! There are a lot of writers here that make many times what those posted numbers list. Instead, HP chooses to list more moderate numbers.
            
            The truth is that you can earn a lot at HP. Sure, it depends on what you write about, and how hard you work... but why fault them for showing what people can achieve through hard work?

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            1. 87

               Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               It makes it sound like you can write a few hubs and make money like that, when many of us who used to write here for years, often make much less than the high choices you made. It's disingenuous.

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            2. 77

               psycheskinnerposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               The truth also is the the "average" hub does not earn very much. People who come here with high expectations often turn up on the forums, confused and frustrated.
               
               IMHO if "great" hubbers are allowed to discuss their earnings even in general terms, we should be allowed to do the same.

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            3. 86

               Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               Toptengamer, what do you base your statements on?  Do you have inside knowledge about high earners?
               
               Back in 2010, I knew several Hubbers who were earning thousands a month. I believe there is still a handful of people doing that - but I don't know any of them, even though I've been here such a long time.
               
               Relache used to run an annual poll on Hubber earnings.   Year after year, it consistently showed that only a small percentage of Hubbers made payout every month, and that the majority of Hubbers earned less than $10 a month.
               
               It takes more than hard work to be a success on HubPages. You need luck, too, in terms of whether your knowledge enables you to write about profitable subjects.

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            ChristinSposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            I agree completely - we should either be able to discuss earnings across the board, or it shouldn't be discussed or broadcast at all, one or the other.

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3. 90

   Tinskyposted 7 years ago

   I find it inspiring. I also feel it is good to research these successful authors and see what they are writing about and what techniques they use to increase traffic and readership to their articles.
   
   I know what's lacking from my own Hubpages submissions and I'm out of excuses.

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