Have you noticed that the high earners on HubPages appear to follow very few wri

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   sallybeaposted 10 years ago

   Have you noticed that the high earners on HubPages appear to follow very few writers themselves?
   
   Could it be said then,  that it is more important to have a following than it is to follow back other writers and Are we spending too much time commenting at the cost of writing new content?
   
   

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   billybucposted 10 years ago

   Sally, that's an interesting point. I honestly don't know who the high earners are, so that in itself may support your claim. ....but I honestly don't know.  By no means am I a high earner, but the community is so important to me that I keep supporting others and yes, that is at the expense of my own writing time.
   
   Have a Happy New Year Sally and thank you for your loyal support.

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      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Billy,
      It is merely an observation - occasionally someone mentions a high earner and I have checked out their profile - plenty of followers and very few follows back.  I do so appreciate you and all my followers.
      Have a terrific New Year Billy

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      ChicagoPhotosposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Sallybea,
      Just in case you are correct, I just "unfollowed" this post, so I can become a high earner!   

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      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      ChicagoPhotos - time to quit stirring the pot - time to start writing some Stellar Hubs and join the big earners - you have a terrific New Year

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   Jodahposted 10 years ago

   Hi Sally, I know I follow more people than follow me, and make sure I reply to every comment I get and I am definitely not a high earner. But as for the general trend I couldn't say.

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      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      i would say this is the general pattern - perhaps follows and followers are not the things which reaps financial benefits - concentrating on writing may in the end be the only thing which increases earnings if our traffic comes from outside HubPages!

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   jansharesposted 10 years ago

   Yes, I've noticed that successful hubbers don't follow a lot of people. I don't think it's anything malicious. I think they're are being careful not to follow too many which is frowned upon and, of course, being choosy about following particular hubbers.
   I personally follow people who's work impresses me (newbie or vet) or those who I have learned from or would like to learn from in terms of technique. 
   Regarding commenting, I never see that as taking time away from my own work. Hanging out in the forums or Q&A is where I need to cut back. I comment on new hubs that grab my attention regardless of whether I follow that person or they follow me. I like reading good hubs. I will continue to write new content even as I visit other people's hubs and comment. If I get a follow, I'm happy but don't necessarily expect it.

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      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hello janshares -  this is merely an observation - sometimes the person may have hundreds of followers but follow less than twenty people.  I like to read Hubs and comment and definitely value my followers.  Hope you have a wonderful new year.

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   srsddnposted 10 years ago

   I observed this a couple of months back but I am glad you raised this issue. I have noticed quite a few Hubbers who have published a large number of Hubs and have fewer following than followers. My assumption here is that there is a positive correlation between number of Hubs and earning, though may not always be a strong one. But in any case we need to interact with others with a hope that some may reciprocate. It is important to express our feelings or observations/experiences and it gives us some satisfaction.
   Wish you a Happy New Year, 2014.

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      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      srsddn - it is reassuring to realize that I am not the only one to have noticed this. I don't think it malicious - perhaps it is self preservation - earnings can then be attributed to writing Stellar Hubs and not followers or to following!

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   Rochelle Frankposted 10 years ago

   I think if you have more than 1000 followers, it is impossible to follow them all-- it's a time thing.

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      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I can imagine Rochelle - that certainly does pose an issue - especially for someone who might have been here for a long time.  Thanks for your comment, I appreciate your input.

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   CraftytotheCoreposted 10 years ago

   Hi Sally!  I don't know who the high earners are except for what I've read people specifically say.  From my observation, it looks like there are writers that don't follow many people, but they publish at least 1 Hub per day, if not more.  They also do not spend their time commenting on other Hubs.  I'm not sure they are the high earners, but they certainly publish a lot more than most.  That's just from what I've observed. 
   
   Personally, I like the interaction, so I try to comment to everyone.

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      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      CraftytotheCore - as you say, names are mentioned and true, they do not spend their time commenting on other Hubs.  i like the interaction but like many people would like to know how best to maximize my precious time and still earn from writing.

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   ChicagoPhotosposted 10 years ago

   Sally,
   Here is a slightly different take on that. "following" "friending" and "liking" In its electronic form really was not adopted by the general public until about 5 years ago. There are many ways to look at what "following" means and in a lot of ways, it comes down to who ever initially taught the user about the internet ways and how you use these functions. 
   
   The mental precess of using the Following feature, is like the money ( any currency), it has many, many different meanings to different people.  some might be too busy to follow others. Some might actually think you have to "follow" all their posts and read all their stuff once you follow them. Others see it as a form of marketing while others see it as a polite "tit for tat" type of response for a follower. And there are others who hate to join groups, they might feel that "following" is forming a group in a way.  There are other reasons too but one last one I will leave you with is this.  Each site is different and for the general public, figuring out the features of every site can be daunting. there is very little universal UI design that helps everyone know that those buttons are there and or how to use them. 
   Or
   Maybe they are just jerks!  
   
   My take on it.

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      Jodahposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Good points. I personally feel it is simply polite etiquette to follow back most (not all) who follow you, and at least have the courtesy to reply to their comments of your hubs. Billybuc for instance have 1000s of followers and takes the time.

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      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      ChicargoPhotos - exploring the roads on HubPages and this, my first exploration into the world of writing has certainly been an interesting time - it takes time to work through the intricacies, yours is certainly a different alternative take on it.

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      Jackie Lynnleyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with John and I do that too and then if someone I comment on is too busy for me then I just stop going back to theirs once I am sure that is the case. Everyone's time is important.

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   Diana Grantposted 10 years ago

   
   
   It does seem to me that if you spend a lot of time following other people, which means receiving masses of emails every time they produce something, then this does substantially cut down the time you can spend on writing, and doing other things in your life.  It just diverts from what you are doing, and interrupts your train of thought.
   
   I love to read what other people have written, and some of their titles are very tempting, but what with watching the BBC and al Jazeera News, reading the Sunday Times, and Time and Computer Active, sending out emails, working on Photoshop, going shopping real-time, chatting on the phone, and receiving about 60 emails a day, doing the garden, and housework and keeping in touch with the family, to mention just the basics, I just can't find the time to get very involved with Following, much as I'd like to

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      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Diana Grant - love the image, love the look of your hubs.  You do seem to have struck a happy balance between following and follow - makes me feel tempted to click the follow button.  So difficult to strike a balance and find time to earn an income.

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    Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years ago

    I wouldn't have thought there was any direct connection between high earning rate and the number of followers/number followed on HubPages. High earning must be related more to good self-publicity and writing on popular themes to attract lots of traffic from search engines, rather than having much to do with the number of followers on HubPages.
    
    I guess though that people with lots of followers usually have lots of hubs, and maybe other writing outlets too, so there's probably a time factor element which means that they are too busy to usefully support too many others.
    
    I don't have nearly as much time as I would really like to effectively support other writers and still devote time to my own hubs, but I do try to follow those who write really well, those who write on subjects of special interest to me, and those whose opinions on my own hubs I particularly value.
    
    Happy New Year Sally! (And everyone else)

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       sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Greensleeves Hubs - I appreciate and value your opinion.  I believe you have summed it up perfectly - we all struggle with time and we all try to do the very best we can under the circumstances.  Have a Happy New Year - may it bring you much joy.

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    Tolovajposted 10 years ago

    I don't know about high earners, but I know few people with only few followers who don't earn significant money. In my opinion following has no direct relation with earning. It can only effect hub score.
    
    Maybe we can say people who focus on writing and promoting material on the web, don't spend a lot of time with social activities (following, commenting etc.), but non-activity still doesn't guarantee earning?

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       sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       You are probably right - I believe that spending more time on writing Stellar Hubs on subjects which people are interested in, is the only way to earn a steady income on HubPages, not following or commenting.

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       JRScarbroughposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       You are right. Just because people follow you does not mean that they will actually look at your hubs.

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    aron62posted 10 years ago

    Hi SALLY,
    
    It is more important to have more people following you because you are then assured that some percentage of the people following will read your post. More the followers, more the readership hence better chances of revenue.

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       sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       aron62 - Interesting!  I had rightly or wrongly assumed that internal traffic does not earn one much income.  Maybe someone could clarify this!   I believed that most of our income was derived from outside of HubPages!  Thank you for our comment.

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    tsmogposted 10 years ago

    A great observation and many great answers. Adding too I clean up whom I follow once or twice a year. You can access them at the account page at the following link. It takes a bit of time depending on how many you are following.
    
    Essentially it shares when the person you are following posted their last hub in months. If they have not posted a hub for say a year I stop following them. The first time I did this was well near two years here at HP. When done the number I follow was cut by about 1/3 or more. Once done the ratio of those I follow to those who follow changed to that which you offered with this question.
    
    Not sure if those you observed do the same or not, yet it offers an answer of how those one follows can become lesser than those who do follow. I am not aware how or why would do an admin of those who follow you. Thus, that number continues to grow while whom is followed is monitored and administered at the account page.

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       sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       tsmog - that is very interesting. I had not thought to check to see whether or not my own followers were publishing regularly.  i appreciate your well thought out answer.  Thank you.

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    Act 3posted 10 years ago

    I have noticed several writers with a high ratio of followers to people they are following. If it's over 2:1, I am much less likely to follow them.

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       sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Interesting!  I definitely see your point though!  Thanks for taking the time to comment.

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    JRScarbroughposted 10 years ago

    I know that anyone who has the over a million hits badge is less active now in the forums than they once were. It probably has to do with a certain amount of celebrity becoming overwhelming with questions that they can’t answer.
    
    Like, “could you help me be like you?” “could you show me how to get a million hits?”
    
    Imagine that with a lot of people.
    
    Those people do not have hits from their presence inside HP, it is from their activity outside HP. They’ve brought a crowd in from forums and gotten links in high traffic places. They've remained relevant in several different niches.
    
    Not only that, but they ave thoroughly research their hubs and written them very well. Search engines liked them.
    
    Making money online is about market yourself or your product.
    
    Take Marye Audet - She is one of these people who is a brand. Restless Chipotle - MaryeAudet.com, Youtube guru and very grand at marketing in several different areas. Here traffic came to see her rather than her seeking traffic. She as a huge net to catch all the little fishes wanting the info she has.

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       sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       JRScarbrough
       In the end of it I guess it is all about writing the best you can and about marketing yourself.  I don't think it is about following or being followed.  Thanks for taking the time to  comment, I do appreciate it.

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       JRScarbroughposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       YW. I agree. Marketing your own name is the ticket. Search yourself. Then search Marye Audet. If you don’t like your name out there, create another theme. I have 3 brands. My name, Persistent Pen and BHSFilm. Make an about me page. It all helps.

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    Wesman Todd Shawposted 10 years ago

    How many writers you follow will have nothing to do with your earnings, but it WILL have to do with your author score.  Of course if you are spending all your time reading and commenting other people's stuff, you won't be spending much time writing, and earnings only come from pages we write here, really.

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       sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Interesting about the author score - mind has dropped like a bullet in the past few weeks, it used to say in the high ninety range but not now!  Some people say it drops when they publish a hub others say it drops when when they are inactive!

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       Wesman Todd Shawposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       Socializing on the web is cool and all. But that's what I use Facebook for, really.  I'm here to make money from this place. And to see how creative I can get in doing that. Content is king. Having lots of followers is just a pretty digital badge.

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       sallybeaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       Yes, am slowly coming to the realization that time is money and there is never enough time.

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    Diana Leeposted 10 years ago

    The bottom line is the traffic you get as to your earnings.  Find the trick to getting traffic and you'll do good. I haven't found it yet.

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       sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       I agree - there's the trick - somehow i think the key is to write about things which solve people's problems one way or another.  I am sure you will find your niche.

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    CYong74posted 8 years ago

    Thousands of blogging "help" articles would tell you that it's absolutely necessary to interact with other bloggers. Follow, comment, re-comment, etc. It's almost always the same thing for SU accounts, twitter.
    
    But here's the thing, I read quite a lot of posts, blogs or forums, that claimed it doesn't work that way. Regularly, I see people brag on Reddit about how they have HUGGGGEEEEE traffic, but they don't interact.
    
    Personally, I think it's a blend. You do need to follow and comment and all that. Esp at the start. It also establishes some backlinks. But don't let it consume you. Be a bit, erm, strategic about it. Don't comment nonsense. Don't keep commenting on hubs of people who never respond too.
    
    It's really, well, kind of a business-y thing. Oh, of course superb content overrides a lot of this.

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    Carol Morrisposted 8 years ago

    I don't have an answer, being quite new here, but this has led me to ask a question of my own - how you we know who the high earners are?

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       sallybeaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       The answer to that we can't really.  We are told not to discuss our earnings but there are times when people give an indication of how things are going.  At one time it was made clear but no longer.  This thread is two years old so things change:)

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    getmohsinpyposted 7 years ago

    Hi Sally! It's sure good to have followers or friends here. It unquestionably helps generate more views. But from what I understand, these readers hardly matter when it's about earning through hubs.
    
    I mean, imagine me visiting your hub or you visiting mine. What are the chances of us clicking on the Ad? We rarely do that. Sure, we will read the content, enjoy it. Even discuss it in comments but that's all.
    
    The organic traffic is really what will help us make some cash. Unless  I am missing something.
    
    Also, I'm not sure why I feel this way, but I guess the situation will be opposite if we consider Amazon affiliate instead of Adsense. Perhaps, here our followers would be more interested in buying the product we recommend. Maybe because it's highly possible that they share similar interests to ours.

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