I really would hate it if HP should start with offering prizes.
I don't see any advantage in turning this site into a lottery.
Ev Williams seems to be throwing everything he has at Medium to try and get more writers and readers and make the site profitable.
That's the only explanation for why he keeps radically reorganizing the site, then introducing things like bonuses for a few months, then switching to cash-prize competitions.
He's pumping in money from his own pocket, according to the research I've undertaken. The venture capitalist funding dried up some time ago.
I therefore don't see what's happening at Medium as a particularly good sign.
HP has a more plodding approach, but hopefully that means longevity. I guess time will tell.
(And yes, as sallybea said, HP did used to do competitions with cash prizes)
(And yes, I may still enter the Medium competition )
Throwing money at the writers to increase readership? What about the readers?
It sounds like solid Bubblews strategy to me.
I often wonder how many people actually sign up to read articles. It just seems like a bunch of writers competing for each other's attention.
The writing I've done for Medium is some of the worst I've put out there. On HubPages, I write to help people or teach them something. On Medium, I have no idea who I am writing for or who would care.
Personally, I would contribute there a lot more if they changed to an advertising based revenue sharing model.
I've always found that no matter what is being written about on Medium, the vernacular there is typically like that of SOAPBOXIE. Whether it be a medical discussion about gender, or simply discussing your financial situation via an article, you find the majority choose a click-baity, soapbox-like tone. At least that has been my experience, it could just be how they categorize what I see.
The only recurring revenue I can see there is from, how to write articles on Medium to get lots of views every month. LOL I read some of those.
Exactly what I thought when I saw the headline. $90K out of pocket? Only to friends and family who will give the winnings back lol.
That’s awesome! I like the revenue sharing formula here though. It’s what keeps me here.
Here are a few details on the contest and subject matter. https://blog.medium.com/introducing-the … 8a95f6d17f
I really don't care much for writing competitions but I will write some stuff for this one for 3 reasons:
1. Ev Williams is throwing his money at it.
2. The standard seems generally pretty low at Medium, if my feed there is anything to go by. 50% of it seems like garbage with a clickbait title. I think a lot of the writers here will be at an advantage, provided they can make their writing Medium friendly, which means an article that uses a personal/colloquial style with some sort of takeaway..
3. The competition titles generally seem easy to fit work around, the only harder one being "Reentry".
by Janis Masyk-Jackson 3 months ago
I was just curious for those of you who write for Medium and/or Substack, how your earnings compare to what you make on Hubpages. Do you think it's worthwhile writing for these sites? I look forward to everyone's insight. Thank you.
by Sophia Angelique 12 years ago
One of the things that struck me as somewhat unfair when I first came to Hubpages was that the people who won the prizes didn’t necessarily win them because they were well written or well researched or had a lot of traffic. Indeed, when I examined and compared the pieces, I found over and...
by Amy 2 weeks ago
There’s so much talk about Medium and how great it is. After all these years I’m still a huge hubpages fan. It’s more laid back and passive income from a website that’s been around for so long is more valuable than anything. I even reached out to hubpages and they let me know that if I passed away...
by TessSchlesinger 5 years ago
For many HubPages writers, the problem will be that Medium requires a completely different kind of article. ....which will also be an advantage for versatile writers, who can choose to write one style of article for Medium and another for HubPages.Opinion pieces, politics, news...
by Rupert Taylor 23 months ago
Six months ago my article on irony was booted off Owlcation because of "low traffic." I reworked the article, added a new title etc., and resubmitted, only to receive the advise that the piece "does currently meet network site standards for publication" but it isn't going to be...
by Amber Lim 9 years ago
Why do hubbers stay loyal to Hubpages?So many hubbers say they enjoy their time and contribution at HubPages when there are many other similar and possibly better platforms out there. Why is that so?
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