24 articles, more than 2 months on HP and still earning just pennies

1. 73

   Filip Stojkovskiposted 7 years ago

   Hi everyone. I've been putting some work in writing quality articles the last few months, all my articles are approved as featured but earnings are still pretty low. I have earned a total of $1+ in two months, and with that speed it will take years to reach checkout. I have both Hubpages and AdSense programs active. Today I noticed I had no "ad units" on my AdSense so far, can that be the reason? Than you.

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      CYong74posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      From what I've read, the whole online writing biz is not as lucrative as it is a few years ago. If you've only been here for 2 months with 25 ++ hubs, and you haven't hit 10K views, I would personally think your current total is average.
      
      As poppyr wrote, you need more hubs. You also need to give it time to grow. Over time as your views increase consistently, your CPM would also increase. Lastly, and again this is my personal assessment, I think you need at least a hundred views per day to see 10 cents. Note too that not all hub views = ad impressions. Impressions are usually lesser.
      
      Oh, one more thing. It helps A LOT to get as many hubs on the niche sites.

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   2. 81

      Jan Saintsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      It's the work of HP to place the adsense ads, but I think they usually forget to do so for some HP accounts, causing the adsense accounts not to earn and prompting Google to close them!

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         Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         I just noticed this post, Jan Saints.   HubPages never forgets to put Adsense on Hubs - it's not done by human beings, it's an automatic process.  If you've pasted your Adsense ID correctly in your account, it will work. 
         
         Anyway, Adsense does not close down accounts just because they're not earning any money.    They close down accounts because people break the rules, or fail to enter their PIN.
         
         Amazon will close down accounts if you don't make a sale within a certain period.

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            Jan Saintsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Well, some time back Google closed down a large number of Adsense accounts that remained with zero earnings for a long time.

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            1. 86

               Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               The key phrase here is "for a long time".     
               
               If you haven't generated any income for five months, Adsense sends you a warning email.   If you still don't earn anything, the account gets "reset" at the six month mark.  That means you'll need to reconnect your website (or HubPages) to Adsense to start earning again - but your Adsense account is still valid and you can still log in to it.   It's not deleted.
               
               Adsense doesn't say how long they wait before they actually delete the account.  I do know that before that big purge in 2016, I knew people with valid Adsense accounts they hadn't used for five years.  So cancelling inactive accounts isn't something Google normally does - or at least it didn't, up until that big cleanout.

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            Cardiaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            when you say that Amazon shuts down accounts that haven't earned recently, is there a time limit or period? I haven't earned much on my Amazon account recently, but I'm so close to payout, I'd hate to lose it due to lack of sales.

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   3. 77

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I've been here for 5 1/2 years. the first two years I earned very little.  The third year I took a big hit from Google and had to start all over again. I rebuilt my site and for the past several years finally started doing well, but it has taken a lot of time and hard work to get where I am right now.
      
      If you keep producing quality, search friendly hubs you'll do well in time, but with just 24 of them, you're just at the beginning.  You need to upgrade what you've done so that your work can be moved up to the niche sites because that is where the money is.
      
      I looked at your hub about learning to swim as an adult, and here are some problem areas I found:
      
      Your title is not interesting.  You need to write titles that draw attention to your hubs.  "Learning to Swim As an Adult" might be better worded as "The Best Methods Adults Can Use to Learn How to Swim".
      
      Your first photo is not accredited at all.  It would also help to put wordage on it that reinforces your topic so that the photo can be used on Pinterest to garner views.  You should also edit all photos to make sure that the minimum pixels are 1000.
      
      Always place introductory content first and make sure the wordage or synonyms for it appear in the first 100 words.  These should also appear right at the end of your hub.
      
      Never use the words "Introduction" of "closing thoughts" to title a capsule.  Readers should be able to tell that what you have written is introducing or summing up your topic.
      
      Break the text within capsules into small paragraphs rather than into one large block of words.  This makes them easier for people to read.
      
      Capsule titles should tell a story that represents the beginning, middle and end of what you are writing about.  Your capsule titles don't do this and the organization of your capsules seems random.
      
      Focus on your topic.  If you are writing about adults, then don't discuss kids, etc.  Also, if you are discussing how to learn to swim, save a discussion about safety and equipment for other hubs and stick to your topic.
      
      It is very important that what you write about be something that fills a need for the reader or answers a question he has. 
      
      Always add a poll, map or callout to a hub to make it more interesting.
      
      You have a good basis for an article here, but to be moved up to the niche sites it needs a lot of revamping.  The critique I gave you here can be used for any article you write.
      
      I have received more than a million views using this technique, so it has worked for me.  Hopefully  it will work for you, also.  Check out a few of my articles to see how I have used these ideas so that you can get a better understanding about what I discussed here.
      
      Good Luck.

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         Kain 360posted 7 years agoin reply to this

         You have over 1 million views which is good, though.

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         Violets3posted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Wow...great response..I will take this to heart and edit my articles too!

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            Cardiaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            same here!

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   4. 88

      Sherry Hewinsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      It looks like six of your articles have already been move to niche sites. Most of your article seem to be informative, that's good. I am optimistic about your chances of doing well at HubPages. When you are writing an article, give practical instruction and advice, not just theory.
      
      If I were in your position, I would focus on writing for the niches that already like you (feltmagnet.)  Also, think about which niche would be appropriate for your other featured articles, improve them, and submit one every 14 days to be moved.

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2. 89

   poppyrposted 7 years ago

   You've only been here for two months, right? You won't usually start earning any decent amount until at least a year and 50+ hubs. How many views do you roughly get per day?

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   1. 94

      Jeremy Gillposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Poppy is right; it takes time. Hey, at least you were accepted pretty quickly into AdSense, so that shows something!
      
      Like she said, earnings are based on views. Experiment and discover which kind of articles get the most. When I write an article, I take into account both how much I'll enjoy creating the Hub and how likely it is to receive views.

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      1. 73

         Filip Stojkovskiposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Good strategy, I guess it's a good way to stay motivated on the long-run, thank you, Jeremy!

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   2. 73

      Filip Stojkovskiposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I get very few view daily, it varies from 5 to 45views at most, but that's why I'm asking this question. Can it be that an issue in the ads setup is not registering views? In the dashboard, it says that both adSense and HB Earnings Program are active. I don't know, the more I read people's comments, I kind of realize that it just takes much more time and work.

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      1. 94

         Jeremy Gillposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         That sounds about right. $1 is earned for about 1000 views, so 5 to 45 won't generate too much. Keep at it, and you'll get there!

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            Kain 360posted 7 years agoin reply to this

            $1 for every 1000 views is an extremely low CPM. It's usually at least 2 or a bit higher.

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            1. 94

               Jeremy Gillposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               Agreed, it's a very conservative estimate, but the point still stands. If you're not in the hundreds yet, you'll be making far less than a dollar a day. Still, you'll get there with hard work and quality writing.

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3. 100

   chef-de-jourposted 7 years ago

   If you persevere and continue to produce quality articles that qualify for the niche sites you will start to earn more.
   I can tell you from direct personal experience that consistency is the key - maintain a steady output of good articles that are competitive in their field, that reflect your knowledge and passions and are original - and you will come good eventually. You won't make dollars instantly on HP, you have to create evergreen articles that stay the course. Be patient, give it your best shot and try not to get too downhearted. Bon chances and bon voyage.

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   1. 73

      Filip Stojkovskiposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you!

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4. 65

   sunilkunnoth2012posted 7 years ago

   Things are so bad here in HP now. Earnings and traffic are the worst now. I don't know how to get rid of this crisis.

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   1. 89

      theraggededgeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      The last few months have been the best for years!

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      1. 87

         paperfacetsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         dido raggededge,
         But honestly, I have waited for two Years. To have Hubs in the niche titles is the key.
         That is when I started to see a few dollars a day.

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      2. 77

         TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

         +1

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   2. 84

      Melissa A Smithposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I had the best month I ever had last month.

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5. 85

   Chriswillman90posted 7 years ago

   In my first three months here I earned just over 2.50 and I had about 25-30 articles so don't be discouraged. It took me exactly a year and half to reach my first payout and this was before the niche sites were introduced.
   
   Once you hit that first payout things usually start to snowball from there as long as you keep producing quality content that's marketable.
   
   So definitely continue to write and it'll pay off eventually.

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   1. 73

      Filip Stojkovskiposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Great advice, thank you!

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      1. 89

         Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Flip,
         You just need more hubs and patience. Sometimes a hub you don't think is one of your best is the one that gets you noticed by Google, and all at once the money starts coming in. But it's hard work and the rules keep changing, so keep abreast of that.
         
         Also, don't use Callout capsules to make your subtitles stand out. HP asked us to do that at one point, then found it caused us to get less attention from Google. If you used them, get rid of them. Google considers HP a content farm, and that's why it switched to niche sites. I have been doing much better with the niche sites. Just try to think of different angles to a topic, or if you know a lot about one topic and are an expert, write about that. There is a main list of topics, and it's huge, you may use that for ideas.
         
         Best of luck to you. Don't expect to be able to buy a new house with what you make here!

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   2. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      We're not supposed to discuss specific earnings these days so I can't say for sure - but in the days when we could discuss earnings, most people took a year to make their first $50.   Once they'd hit their first payout, things would start to snowball, and they'd make their next payout in three months, then they'd start making payout every month. 
      
      There will always be people who join HubPages and start making money straight away, either because they're already experienced online writers or because they have knowledge in a very lucrative area.  But they are the exceptions, not the rule.

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6. 96

   UnnamedHaraldposted 7 years ago

   I started writing hubs in August 2011 and didn't get my first payout until August 2012. I just kept writing about things that interested me and kept at it. I think I wrote nearly 100 hubs that first year. Some of those early hubs went on to become my best earners (I tend to write evergreen articles). Good luck.

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7. 92

   Will Apseposted 7 years ago

   I just earned 1.81 dollars selling a Happygo Super Small Male Chastity Device. Isn't HP wonderful?

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      greenmindposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Will, you KNOW you're not supposed to buy products off your own Hub...

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         Will Apseposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         If only I had known such things existed, lol.

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8. 93

   jansharesposted 7 years ago

   It's different for everybody, hard to gauge in comparison to other hubbers. But as others have stated, 6 to 9 months is the average for most. It may be slightly better now thanks to the genius of the niche sites. It took me 2 months (around 12 to 15 articles) to earn a few coins to jiggle in my pocket. It took me 7 more months (maybe around 20 to 25 articles) to reach my first payout. Currently at 88 articles, I still don't reach monthly payout. But I'm hopeful that will change soon with increased traffic and earnings, thanks again to the niche sites. I also need to write more.

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9. 82

   brittpinkieposted 7 years ago

   Last month was my best ever, as well.  To OP, it just takes time.  Quality is more important that quantity.  I don't have even 50 hubs, but I make well over the payment threshold every month. It took me close to a year to start making payout, but I've been getting payments every month since mid-2015. Just keep writing about things you're passionate about, make sure your hubs are getting moved to vertical sites and you'll be fine!

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10. 77

    psycheskinnerposted 7 years ago

    It is also entirely possible to never earn a "decent" amount. Not everyone ever makes it into a great earner.  I did really well a few years back.  But these days, just pennies.

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11. 95

    nomadspiritposted 7 years ago

    I would say focus on the great advice that timetraveller gave about improving your hub AND give yourself 4-6 months to start seeing any significant traffic from google etc. 6 months is about the average time, it takes for a well crafted article to get to page 1 on the SERP. Once you make it to the top 5 on page1 for your targeted keywords, you should start seeing more traffic, which will stay constant overtime, and thus earn you more! Best of luck.

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12. 41

    Hypersapienposted 6 years ago

    I started out years ago and did decently at first.  (I have several hubs where I tracked my HP earnings against earnings on other sites like Infobarrel and Squidoo (RIP), so check them out if you like.)  However, with Google constantly tweaking their algorithms, it was a running firefight just trying to keep the income steady.  Ultimately, I abandoned all of the article-writing sites in favor of writing books, and I was blessed to find good fortune on that front.
    
    That said, I'm still earning $$$ from my hubs.  It's barely a trickle these days, but it's still coming in (and thereby adding to my passive income efforts). Moreover, it's hard to complain considering the fact that I wrote almost all of my hubs during roughly a 7-month period over 5 years ago. 
    
    Thus, the important thing to remember is that the work you're doing now can pay dividends for a long time to come.  If they still have them, it might be worthwhile to commit to one of the "30-Hubs-in-30-Days" challenges.  (I did it, and was rewarded with a nice jump in income.)  But the bottom line is that it's probably going to take time to get to where you want to be, but you can definitely make it.

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13. 99

    Carb Divaposted 6 years ago

    You haven't been here for very long and so have only acquired a handful of followers. As to the ones that you personally "follow". Do you comment on their articles? Do you write a reply to those people who comment on yours? For me a big part of Hub Pages is the community. I have people here whom I have never met (and probably never will) but I consider them friends and I believe that they feel the same about me.
    
    Find others who write in your genre. Comment on their articles. Offer praise (when earned), offer support, and keep at it. In time your "community" will grow and with it your clicks.
    
    If you do not post on social media (Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter) consider doing so.

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14. 83

    Sudhir Devapalanposted 6 years ago

    Its not even about the earnings. If there are no views to your articles it really is discouraging. In the first couple of days I get good views but it gradually reduces. If I try to edit it to improve the content and change the title to improve SEO, it once again improves the views a little but it isn't long lasting. Not sure what the breakthrough change would be.

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       theraggededgeposted 6 years agoin reply to this

       Your early views are simply coming via HubPages. Your aim should be to attract search engine traffic by writing articles about subjects people are searching for.
       
       I would suggest changing your titles for a start. No-one is searching for 'fascinating conspiracy theories you've never heard of'. Instead they might be looking for "Conspiracy: coca cola recipe and more..." So "Top 10 Conspiracies: Coca Cola Recipe and More" may bring in more readers. Not saying it will, but it might. That took me about five minutes to determine, based on Google Suggest. If you do a little more work on your titles, you might see an upswing in traffic.

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          Sudhir Devapalanposted 6 years agoin reply to this

          Ya that makes sense.. I actually framed that title using one online tool which provides an seo score.. I guess it's better to create titles based on search priorities.. Is Google suggest some tool or is it Google trends?

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             theraggededgeposted 6 years agoin reply to this

             Just type your keyword into Google. Some auto-suggestions will show up before you click Enter. They can be useful. Try variations such as 'how to...' or 'what is...?'
             
             Click Enter and scroll to the bottom of the page where you will see 'related searches'. You might find some really good ideas for titles/topics there.

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                Sudhir Devapalanposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                Okay thanks..

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