How well do poems and short stories do on HP?

1. 61

   Wesley Meachamposted 11 years ago

   How well do poems and short stories do on HP?
   
   I noticed a while back somewhere that HP staff had mentioned that creative writing such as poems and short stories don't do as well as informational pieces. I'm curious to know about the earnings of some of the people who publish a lot of these. Do you think the work publish on HP earns a fair amount?

   replyreport
2. 66

   Funom Makama 3posted 11 years ago

   Very badly... They are hardly ever viewed and I had to re-edit my poem hubs several times for them to be featured by hubpages as high quality Hubs... I'm still wondering why it is so..

   replyreport
   1. 61

      Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Sounds circular. Since most traffic comes from outside of HP it would be hard to keep them featured. Thanks for commenting.

      replyreport
3. 72

   LauraD093posted 11 years ago

   As a reader here I love the hub-writers that are primarily focused on more creative hubs. I read them regularly but it is suggested to write more commercialized material to heighten ad-participation and increase traffic. I haven't yet posted any of my poetry but have been contemplating it-If I see a drop or increase I'll let you know. Great question.

   replyreport
   1. 61

      Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I've not posted any poems here at all. I have some but I doubt that I would ever place them here. I'm just curious about what I see other people doing and how well it works for them. Thanks for commenting.

      replyreport
4. 83

   HoneyBBposted 11 years ago

   I have a few poems on here and a few I put together in one hub because what I have learned is that you should strive to have atleast 500 words so people spend more time reading on your page. I have had a decent amount of few in comparison to the amount of views I have had to most of my articles but if I write any more poetry I intend to add a story behind it or make a collection to increase my word count.

   replyreport
   1. 91

      Thelma Albertsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That´s a great idea HoneyBB. Combining a poem with a story  is indeed a great idea. I could try this sometime. Thanks;-)

      replyreport
   2. 61

      Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for the comment.

      replyreport
5. 92

   mactaversposted 11 years ago

   I love the poems and short stories on Hub Pages, and other Hubbers enjoy them. But if you are looking for a source of income that is long term, they don't get the clicks on Ebay or Amazon that other topics do.  The Hubs I never read are the chapters of books that you have to have read the previous chapters for the story to make sense.  This is just my personal thoughts, as I have never researched this topic.

   replyreport
   1. 61

      Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting comment.

      replyreport
6. 82

   kaiyan717posted 11 years ago

   I write a few poems on here that do pretty well.  A few get triple digit hits most days, however the search is done on my name, more than the genre.  I have been  writing poetry for over a decade on other sites, so it appears they are googling my pen name, not neccesarily the poetry.  I write alot of other types of writing, so I think having a diverse set of hubs helps to generate a good income.

   replyreport
   1. 61

      Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thats interesting. This was one of my main thoughts. Most of the work here is found through internet searches and poems well... aren't really the kind of thing that someone could search for.  Thanks for commenting.

      replyreport
   2. 85

      ajwrites57posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for the advice and comments, kaiyan717 .

      replyreport
7. 65

   cfinposted 11 years ago

   BUBBLES - A poem for my baby    67    6    0    6    26    (overall)142    (published)07/22/12    
   DREAMS - A poem for my baby    67    7    1    3    24    (overall)143    (published)07/22/12
   
   I threw these poems together one night, and quickly uploaded them. I dont imagine it is for your best work. Its more so for cute poems, or thoughtful limericks.

   replyreport
8. 63

   graveyard-roseposted 11 years ago

   Like crap! My poems are not doing very well.. I have the first couple chapters of my book on here and it hasn't been viewed very often.

   replyreport
9. 37

   ChristinSposted 11 years ago

   HubPages isn't the best forum for creative writing.  I had two hubs I wrote that were short stories that kept being idled.  HP is more for informative content that people are searching for on search engines.  My non-fiction, informational hubs do very well.

   replyreport
   1. 80

      BlossomSBposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree, it is informative hubs that do best, but writing creatively is such fun!

      replyreport
   2. 61

      Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I tend to think that there are better forums for creative writing as well. Just my opinion though and I wanted to see others thoughts. Thanks for commenting.

      replyreport
10. 83

    mattforteposted 11 years ago

    Horribly. A hub can only do as well as it gets searched on Google.
    Have you ever searched Google for anything and found a hubbers poem to be what you were looking for? Not likely. They don't get searched, so they don't get views...and they drag down the overall value of the domain. (This affects all of us)
    Livejournal is a great place for poetry. HubPages is not.
    
    As for getting triple digits daily..I highly doubt that. If I'm wrong I'm wrong - but I don't believe it for a second.

    replyreport
    1. 85

       B. Leekleyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I'm glad to learn about Livejournal.

       replyreport
    2. 61

       Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I use LJ for my blog. Never thought to use it for poetry. However, best that I'm aware there isn't a way to earn anything from your LJ account.

       replyreport
    3. 61

       nicompposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       They don't 'drag down the overall value of the domain.' That's a myth.

       replyreport
11. 100

    chef-de-jourposted 11 years ago

    I don't think you'll ever make any serious money from poetry on HubPages. As you mentioned, most of the articles on this site are full of practical tips and other similar stuff so the creative set tend to struggle.
    Having said that some of my poetry hubs do ok, nothing spectacular, but the poems do get out there and are read and mostly appreciated. One hub,Bird Poems, has a daily count of roughly 35!! Being realistic I know I'd need hundreds of poetry hubs all doing well to make any regular pocket money. 
    
    I'd say the same happens for short stories but I may be wrong. Perhaps there's a really big earner out there, a writer of mean poetry and stories, who is sat back laughing their heads off as the rest of us struggle on, starving in attics!!

    replyreport
    1. 61

       Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks for commenting. I doubt though that there is anyone extremely far out ahead of the pack.

       replyreport
12. 0

    Lizam1posted 11 years ago

    Good question!   I have one or two Haiku's that do really well but the rest I posted because I liked them; they are pretty dormant most of the time.  Some Hubbers primarily focus on poetry and I wonder whether they have specific and large enough followings to make this financially rewarding or just because they love to write.

    replyreport
    1. 61

       Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I keep wondering, why not test other forums? The numbers may still be low but I'm sure that there are people who are actually looking for poems... just, not here.

       replyreport
13. 59

    NotPCposted 11 years ago

    Haha. They do terrible! Even the best poets in the world today have trouble finding an audience. HubPages is totally the wrong website to make money on poems and creative writing. That being said, there are many exceptional writers on HubPages who may stumble across your pieces and be able to give you some advice on improving them. You will NEVER make money from poems or creative writing.

    replyreport
    1. 85

       NateB11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       That is pure honesty, and totally true. Poetry in any form: Book, magazine, or Internet, is never a money-maker nor does it ever have a large audience. Only one exception to this I know of is Allen Ginsberg's The Howl; but that was all about timing.

       replyreport
    2. 61

       Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I wouldn't say never... but I mostly agree with you that poems don't do very well.

       replyreport
14. 61

    MichaelJohnMeleposted 11 years ago

    I'm not really sure much of anything brings in that much here on Hub Pages...at least from what I've observed personally and from what other users have told me. I've been here for a little over 7 months now...and have just a few earned dollars in my account. I've come to realize that Hub Pages isn't a place to come for money...it's a place you come to hone your craft, get feedback and meet new people who share the same passion you do.

    replyreport
    1. 61

       Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks for commenting. I agree that there is not much cash here for any type of writing early on.

       replyreport
15. 87

    tsmogposted 11 years ago

    I haven't read any other comments yet. Remember that joke about the word 'well.' Kinda' goes like this
    Well . . .
    For such a shallow mind,
    That's a deep subject
    Mule,
    Shallow Hal,
    Hal was a computer,
    and on and on and on . . . . . .
    
    well there is a poem of some genre
    
    Now a story. Seems there were two gals, sisters they were. They played baseball back near WWII. They played on the same team name had something to do with peaches. Then pride jumped in and they split. Then back together again. Plot comes to mind. Long history and the author had a hankering to write it. Much to tell with a wink or two.
    
    Well, there is a story.
    
    This author's view is well is depending on variables of what is sought. Personally I do very well with both and I mix them too. However, what is it that I seek - the audience's view, the readership response, how much readership and over how long, etc. Sometimes I write something just to see how many read in the when of the day or night and what country. Google analytics helps with that. Seems to work for me for ideas anyway.
    
    Yes, I may unpublish the article and even delete. Yet, oddly it is on my PC of lap top still. A novelette? A Readers Digest submission? A magazine maybe? A school project or paper? Maybe a Pulitzer or Nobel? Remember the movie Finding Forester. The main point for a writer is he published only one book. Look at where a book posthumously published went by Dr. Seuss - My Many Colored Days. And, regarding Finding Forester how many file cabinets did he have of unwritten story ideas created in a lifetime in that movie - half a dozen full.
    
    You will have to decide for yourself what value and what worth any writing holds, from this author's perspective. I deleted over 100 articles here at hubpages at the beginning of the year. Cream rises to the top without even a nudge. And, rust can be sanded and new paint applied and then you have a nostalgic hot rod worth 10X the initial investment. Ponder this, ponder that . . .
    
    tim

    replyreport
    1. 61

       Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Great comments tsmog...
       
       All I can really say is.... "There is no crying in baseball!"
       
       Or maybe what I should say is... There is no crying in Hubpages!

       replyreport
16. 63

    mackyiposted 11 years ago

    Personally, I think there are 'readers' out there for each category. Also, many people on this platform enjoy Poetry, while others favor short stories, and so on. These people may be writing for the fun of it, and are not interested in monetary side of it. To be honest with you, I like poetry, however, because I am here trying to make a few dollars to supplement my main income stream, I try to stay away from poetry writing niche!

    replyreport
17. 82

    Wayne Brownposted 11 years ago

    From my perspective, coming up on three years here next month, a well-written short story will do pretty well and climb up the scoreboard.  Poetry does fine but I have had very few of what I would call "bullets" on the poetry side.  I attributed that mainly to the fact that some readers just do not care for poetry and ignore it.  Those same readers will dive right into a good short story.  Either way, you have to grab their attention early and really hang on to it to keep the traffic going on the hub in either form.  With regard to income, neither one is going to win any great accolades.  I am not sure there is a form of writing at HP that does earn any serious money.  I have not seen it.  ~WB

    replyreport
    1. 83

       mattforteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       You haven't seen it - doesn't mean it doesn't exist. There are plenty of people that make money here, myself included.

       replyreport
    2. 61

       Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks for commenting.

       replyreport
18. 76

    JohnGreasyGamerposted 11 years ago

    My series called "The Shaman" brought in quite a lot of views, and over a long period of time it's become quite popular. Poems too, no matter how bad or illegible they are, can still attract many a Hubber, many of my followers of which like to stop by and comment! It's good motivation, and I write not for money nor my own pleasure, but for the enjoyment of my followers and the rest of the HubPages community ^^

    replyreport
    1. 61

       Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I like that attitude... I really do but every time I hear someone say that they don't write for money I think of Jack London and his comments on shoveling coal. I'll have to look at The Shaman. Thanks for commenting.

       replyreport
19. 85

    NateB11posted 11 years ago

    I had one poem on this account and a bunch on an alternate HP account, and I threw them all out; actually, I put them on Blogger. But I was spending a lot of time editing them to keep them alive on here, took time away from more constructive work.

    replyreport
20. 93

    Stephanie Henkelposted 11 years ago

    While I don't generally write poetry or short stories, I do write occasional humor pieces. I think  if you do mainly creative writing, that you are more likely to have a following of fellow Hubbers than outside viewers. This is great if you are looking for support and comments from fellow writers, but not so much if you hope to make money. However, as long as your hub is not put into idle status, it's out there for the world to find...you never know who might discover it!

    replyreport
    1. 61

       Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Hadn't really thought of that. I've one hub that I wrote when I first joined that was meant to be humor. I had anticipated deleting it after a month or two but it's doing surprisingly well compared to others.... even still. Thanks for commenting.

       replyreport
21. 59

    jaydeneposted 11 years ago

    that is good to know because i  was going to put in one  poem,
    maybe the way to do it is publish  a few together. 
    
    Depending on what the topics are about  in the
    the poems, I wouldn`t know about the income part. maybe matching subjects in amazon or ebay could help.  making money here is a long term thing.I think ones that earn have a few hundred hubs.

    replyreport
22. 69

    Dale Hydeposted 11 years ago

    Mine have all been idled by HP, so I have had to move them elsewhere.

    replyreport
    1. 61

       Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks.

       replyreport
23. 0

    chrisinhawaiiposted 11 years ago

    First, I'm an Internet marketer and blogger -- not a poet -- so all I have is an opinion.  I hear that most poems don't do well here.  But other types of content can be unsuccessful too.  Why do some hubs -- even poetry hubs -- do well while others gather dust?
    
    Here's what I know:
    
    1.  If you want to make money via the Ad Program, you need lots of views, and your main source of views will either be Google searchers or other hubbers.
    
    2a.  To get Google traffic, you need to incorporate KEYWORDS into your poetry hubs, either in the poem itself or in the summary.  I'd go with the summary and also a little blurb at the top of the hub that says more or less the same thing as the summary, maybe with a variation on the main keywords.  Read the articles in the "Choosing Topics" section of The Learning Center for help.
    
    2b.  You'll also need links on other sites pointing at your hubs/profile to gain traction with Google.  The links must be from RELEVANT sites, though, and the higher those sites rank with Google, the more effective they will be in boosting your own hubs in the search rankings.
    
    To get links from these other sites, you'll need to find them.  Join communities of other poets online.  Contribute to their contests, comment in their forums and blogs, share your poems with them and link back to your HP profile.  These kinds of BACKLINKS can make a difference.
    
    3.  To get internal, HubPages traffic, you need followers...genuine followers who read, leave comments, and share your work.  Seek them out by exploring the "Books, Literature, and Writing" category of hubs.  Make friends with other poets on HP.  Comment on their hubs, share them, etc.  These will be your core followers, and they will help you make progress on HP.
    
    4.  Social media traffic doesn't typically convert to ad clicks and sales as well as Google traffic, but the Ad Program pays you for traffic, not clicks.  Building genuine relationships with people on social media (and blogs and forums and HP) is a great way to get "free advertising" and build up a following.  It's hard for some of us at first, but even anti-social types can make friends online if they try.
    
    5.  Writers, poets, bloggers, and freelancers who build a strong online presence do better than those who stay in their comfort zone.  HubPages can be a valuable part of your career strategy, but it shouldn't be the only place people can find you and your work on the Internet.
    
    READ KAIYAN717'S COMMENT.
    
    Good luck, everybody

    replyreport
    1. 0

       chrisinhawaiiposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Via Google AdWords Keyword Tool - in the last 30 days:
       
       "Haiku poem" -- 2,900 searches
       "funny haiku" -- 1,300 searches
       "love poem for her" -- 1,300 searches
       "limerick poem" -- 1,300 searches
       
       Try including KWs like these in summaries and backlinks.

       replyreport
    2. 61

       Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Chrisinhawaii, thanks for the comment. I think that these are very good points and would be useful to anyone whatever their genre of choice.

       replyreport
    3. 85

       ajwrites57posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Wow! Nice critique! Thanks chrisinhawaii!

       replyreport
    4. 82

       kaiyan717posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       You are correct.  I get all of my money from the Ad program and thus views are king.  I forgot why I stopped posting to these forum, naysayers rejoice.  Truth is though, at least 2/3 of my hits are from Pinterest, Facebook, then google.

       replyreport
24. 81

    molometerposted 11 years ago

    I think mattforte, has pointed out the 'problem' with poetry, on any site not specifically devoted to poetry.
    
    The search engines just cannot figure out, what poetry is about, and so have problems categorizing them for searchers. That's the business they are in.
    Search engines have enough problems trying to figure out what a 'How to' hub is about.
    
    Some poets on hubpages do have a large number of followers, and so may make some income from their poems.
    Primarily though. The poets that I am familiar with on hubpages, write for the love of it and if they make some money. Then it is a bonus.
    
    If you want to make any money from your poetry, then you need your own blog to gather a new readership around your poems. This will take time but at least you will have a following that like what you are producing.
    You could do the same thing on hubpages I suppose, if you just stick to poetry and become known on hubpages as a poet.
    There are several poets here that do just that.
    Whether they are interested in making money is another question.

    replyreport
    1. 61

       Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks for the comment. Matches mostly with my own thoughts. I keep seeing people post poems and while some of them are good I just wonder why here and not somewhere that they may do better...

       replyreport
    2. 82

       kaiyan717posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Wesley, I post my poetry here for the simple fact of, why not get paid for it.  I used to use sites like allpoetry and thestarlitecafe for 15 years and with all those views I figure, hey might as well make a few bucks with it.  Just a thought.

       replyreport
25. 81

    Mekenzieposted 11 years ago

    Poetry is not my general forte for writing.  I have written poetry at times when descriptive hubs could not communicate my heart.  This poetry has done very well.  I believe it is because I put a story about the poem before it. 
    
    Mekenzie

    replyreport
26. 60

    Rosemay50posted 11 years ago

    I don't write to earn money, although I do earn some, not an income.
    Poetry like any other article can draw traffic.  My 3 highest scoring hubs that draw the most traffic are poetry.  All 3 draw double figure outside traffic daily, not large I know but good for poetry.  These were published in Sept & Nov 2011 and my highest published in January 2012.
    It is possible to create search terms within the hub by adding a note on the poetry or the reason for writing it or a story. And then of course your main input for the search engines is in the summery.  If key words are included in the summery your poetry is going to be found.

    replyreport
    1. 59

       NotPCposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       You make a really good point here Rosemay. I was a bit hasty in my answer, but you are absolutely right in saying that if you include a little extra, you really can make a poem work for HubPages. I'm excited to check out your poems now!

       replyreport
    2. 61

       Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Interesting thoughts. Have you thought of putting your poetry into other forums. For example published a book of collected poems? Perhaps through Amazon or Smashwords?

       replyreport
27. 56

    MissJamieDposted 11 years ago

    Honestly my articles, regardless of subject, get much more traffic than my poetry. I wish that wasn't true but it is.

    replyreport
    1. 61

       Wesley Meachamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks for answering.

       replyreport
28. 83

    mary615posted 11 years ago

    When I first began writing on HP, I quickly published several of my favorite poems.  They are still sitting at the "bottom of the barrel".  Low, low score and just enough views to keep them from sleeping.  I just ignore them and concentrate on "ever green" topics that do well.
    I look at those poems every day and wonder if I should just delete them (but I loved them so!).
    I do have about 6 short stories that do surprisingly well.  I'm not a good story teller, and I know that.

    replyreport