A Happy Hubbing New Year!

1. 96

   PaulGoodman67posted 8 months ago

   Looking at my views and earnings, I'm tempted to say that at least things can't get any worse. However, I think that would be unwise, given my experience over the last few years.
   
   The longer the dearth goes on, the more that a recovery seems unlikely.
   
   Anyway, I hope everyone has a good 2024! The beginning of a new year is always an opportunity for new plans and adventures!

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      bravewarriorposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Happy New Year, Paul and fellow hubbers!
      
      I'm convinced more than ever, that our writing efforts need to be directed to serving clients, not conglomerates that don't give a shit about us. Passive income doesn't cut it. I'm working on going for the gusto. I'll not go into detail, but I'll let my HP stuff sit here and continue to throw the occasion cat food money my way, but HP has long ago proven it's not a viable venue for creatives to earn a living.
      Moving on.
      
      I wish all of you the best in 2024. Find your worth. It's not here....
      
      Peace,
      Bravewarrior

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         jansharesposted 8 months agoin reply to this

         Bravewarrior, this line resonated with me in a way no other has before:
         
         "Find your worth."
         
         One thing I know for sure is that I'm worth way more than 15 cents a day.

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            bravewarriorposted 8 months agoin reply to this

            Jan, we all need to know - and put forth - our worth. Never settle. I'm glad my words resonated with you. You're a very good writer. Please consider going out on your own as a freelancer. But don't turn to Fiverr and the other low ROI platforms. Google how to make a living as a copywriter and check out AWAI. They're the best.

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               Miebakagh57posted 8 months agoin reply to this

               I'll check AWAI, and see how worthy its for me.

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               jansharesposted 8 months agoin reply to this

               Thank you so much, Shauna. I will check it out.

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      WriterJanisposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Thank you Paul and a very Happy, (and hopefully prosperous,) New Year to you!

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      viryaboposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      A happy new year to you too Paul, and to all my fellow hubbers out there. Let’s hope things get a bit better this 2024 but I’m tired of crossing my fingers, so, I wait and see.

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      Kenna McHughposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Happy New Year, everyone.

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      Rodric29posted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Happy New Year 2024!
      
      It has been some time since I've attempted to do more than edit old articles on HP. Maybe this year I will give it another go.

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      tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      I offer empathy for the fist sentiment. And, I join in with you united that the beginning of a New Year does present opportunities.

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   theraggededgeposted 8 months ago

   May be time to spread our wings and try something different?
   
   Happy New Year, Paul and all. Xx

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   Miebakagh57posted 8 months ago

   But I wouldn't welcome writers here to experiment with AI.                                                   In reality, it doesn't pay.                                        Happy New Year everyone.

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   Venkatachari Mposted 8 months ago

   Wish you all a Happy New Year. Let us keep hoping for Good always. That is the best thing to do.

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   patriziaphotographyposted 8 months ago

   Happy New Year everyone!

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      theraggededgeposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Happy New Year, Patrizia, and welcome to HubPages.
      
      I read your first article. You need to know that you cannot promote your business or use AI here. It's a site for writers.

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6. 89

   Jodahposted 8 months ago

   A happy New Year to you Paul, and everyone else.

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7. 69

   Vlado - Val Karasposted 8 months ago

   Happy New Year to all Hubbers and to your dear ones as well! Now, if there is anything at all true about that "Law of Attraction", the more we complain, the more we are getting just more of the same. So, how about challenging that "law", by being grateful for what we have got through all these years out of Hub Pages. Who knows...lol.

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   1. 96

      PaulGoodman67posted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Of course, I'm gratefull for past times here at HP but I see the spirit of a New Year is about looking forward, not just back.
      
      I'd rather see the positives in my life and they're generally elsewhere. Hope is in short supply here.

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   Drew Agravanteposted 8 months ago

   Happy New Year, wishing for a better year for everyone. ^^

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9. 94

   jansharesposted 8 months ago

   I join you, Paul, in hoping for a better 2024 with new adventures and opportunities for new plans, outside of HP. I was hanging in there with hopes of reaching 2 million views by spring. According to my calculations at the rate we're going, I will fall way short of that goal.

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   1. 96

      PaulGoodman67posted 8 months agoin reply to this

      I used to love signing in to see my views and earnings every day, nowadays, it's painful.

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    ChitrangadaSharanposted 8 months ago

    Happy New Year to all the fellow writers on HubPages!

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11. 69

    Vlado - Val Karasposted 8 months ago

    Being an oddball, I have closed this account four times, and came back only to have some more fun expressing my thoughts in my articles and in poems.
    Through a few emails that I received as pleasant surprises, I actually discovered that some folks were REALLY enjoying reading my crap, so I believed that, since it was not one of those praises you get in mutual business of praising which was so popular in "Comments" section.
    If I had wanted to make a few hundred bucks on the side each month, I would have got employed part-time at a nearby Walmart -- not expecting HP to reward me for my hobby.
    In my 79 years I have learned what I could expect from whom. Besides, writing for many hours each day stops being fun, because I don't see a long exposure to this laptop screen as very healthy.
    As I said so many times in my somewhat controversial texts: to each their own, I am not a normative dude.
    We always have a choice, and right now, we could see HP as a "sinking ship" and get the hell out of here, or we could stay and keep writing while knowing that adequate rewards are an illusion -- while deriving some fun out of it in the process, not complaining about it.
    As for me, one day I'll just replace this retirement hobby with something else. One's got to know what one wants -- and doesn't want.
    Should I apologize for this lengthy text? Hey, I am still honestly wishing all hubbers the very best in the New Year, and that includes a favorable unfolding of this crappy situation with mediocre views and earnings.

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    1. 96

       PaulGoodman67posted 8 months agoin reply to this

       I love writing and am happy to spend lots of hours doing it. Working at Walmart doesn't compare for me.
       
       The earnings for me funded something that I enjoyed doing. It was never a full-time income but it was possible to earn more than a "few hundred."
       
       The beauty of the site was always the "passive income." Once a decent body of work was built up, it didn't matter if you took time off or slowed down.
       
       Alas, that doesn't work when each Google update brings another drop in traffic.
       
       People decide for themselves what they want to do. As long as there's a chance of a turnaround, however remote, I'll keep looking in.
       
       It has to be said that there are plenty of great poetry sites, many of them more dedicated to poetry than here IMHO, but this site was one the best for earning from writing and publishing practical articles.

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    Vlado - Val Karasposted 8 months ago

    Paul -- You are obviously a very productive and passionate writer, and more power to you. I am old and wrong about many things. Like, I never saw HP earnings as a "passive" income, if you have to spend hours and hours every day on earning it -- and even HP in its ads mentions how it takes some "hard work" to make "stellar" articles. So, in my poor vocabulary of someone whose English is only his second language, that wouldn't be a definition of "passive".
    By the way, I was not "suggesting" to anyone to work at Walmart -- certainly not talking about "you" who obviously made more than "hundreds" a month. Rather, I was having in mind an average, or even less than average HP earner. Let's say -- us poets, political satirists, and other not-how-to writers. From everything that I am gathering, you are not a typical HP earner, but among those more successful ones. Again, congrats on your writing success, and I mean it, since I am not jealous -- I know my limitations.
    Everyone should -- while dreaming is free.

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    1. 96

       PaulGoodman67posted 8 months agoin reply to this

       You're absolutely right that it's important to be realistic.
       
       However, I just wanted to make the point that for some, writing is a passion and making money from a passion is a great thing.
       
       When I read your words about "passive income," I'm not sure that you grasp how the site is intended to work. Although some writers do use it for poetry, HP is essentially geared around attracting search engine traffic to practical articles.
       
       If you can secure search engine traffic for your articles, there really is no need to "spend hours and hours every day on earning it."
       
       However, without search engine traffic, the passive income disappears and the site suffers. That's what's happening now.

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          Miebakagh57posted 8 months agoin reply to this

          Paul, your last paragraphe found me well.                                            SEO is still very vital in online writing, specific at hubpages.                                           But the Google updates is turning seo, a mystery to many writers here.

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    MsDoraposted 8 months ago

    Just want to add my "HAPPY NEW YEAR" to all you passionate writers. Also THANKS to HP for what it used to be.
    
    "Good Bye" and "Good Luck" to those who are leaving. I wish I knew where to go. Undecided!

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    Vlado - Val Karasposted 8 months ago

    Paul -- Don't ever grow old -- you see how fast I get confused. Namely, after you said: "I love writing and I am happy to spend lots of hours doing it", I misread it, so, according to your latest words, "you don't have to spend hours and hours every day on earning it", and now I finally got it.
    
    Yes, I understood it all along that HP was preferring "practical articles".
    I am passionate about writing simplified versions of topics based on stress management, self-advancement per studies like epigenetics, neuroplasticity, mind-over-body medicine, and our human quantum reality, as well as political satires.
    However, in this materialistically oriented collective mentality, reading public would rather be emotionally messed up, as long as they can get a tip on HOW TO fix their car or HOW TO cook a Hungarian goulash.
    It doesn't bother me, since being bothered is "against my religion".
    
    Thus, we all have our intellectual tastes, and it's perfectly fine that we are viewing Hub Pages issues from a different perspective.
    Meaning that I am not telling anyone else to see it with my eyes, just expressing my own view, by which earnings are of a secondary significance. To me, it's all about having a chance to literary express myself and to reach a few readers with similar to my own mindset.
    Let us stay with this.

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