Weigh in: HubPages at imminent risk of becoming irrelevant/shutdown?

Jump to Last Post 1-7 of 7 discussions (21 posts)
  1. Kyler J Falk profile image84
    Kyler J Falkposted 7 weeks ago

    Hopefully someone in administration will weigh in as well, but community opinion is just as important.

    I've been gone for a hot minute, my score has dropped by about 7-10 digits, but my gaming content (notoriously my most popular earning content) is still performing quite well. I get hundreds of organic impressions each day, impressions are steady, and though impressions on my more contentious content is becoming more sporadic, I'm not seeing much of a negative change in earnings.

    Individuals in the community here have mentioned TAG's record earnings and restructuring, the restructuring including them distancing themselves from HubPages as a whole while poaching specific content for their own gain.

    What do ya think, time to shift over to other platforms like Medium full time, or is HubPages still the hip and happening place for quality content creation?

    My main earners here won't do as well elsewhere, I've tested the waters, so I'd rather not have to change platforms and rebuild engagement. I have to admit I also have some sense of what may be misguided loyalty to HubPages for their convenient infrastructure.

    1. chef-de-jour profile image100
      chef-de-jourposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

      With over 450 articles on Owlcation and 12 years writing here I'm hoping there's still life in the old HP 'brand' but the signs are ominous. TAG has dropped the HP name from its website, there's minimal editing if any, and all enthusiasm for creating fresh material has faded. Pessimism, uncertainty and confusion rule the roost. As writers we've been exploited of late which some might interpret as abused. That's the reality.

      Yet some are earning still - I'm steady on 3 figures for the month for instance -  so I guess someone at TAG is assessing the income&demand or are they simply waiting for the next tax deadline to arrive before folding up the whole shebang?

      1. Kyler J Falk profile image84
        Kyler J Falkposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

        I really do wonder just how invested TAG is in keeping HubPages alive in the long-term. I can't imagine anything about the site itself really hurts the bottom dollar, more so the salary for staff they have managing it. Even just a trickle of profit would make it worth keeping around.

      2. SerenityHalo profile image93
        SerenityHaloposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

        I didn't realize HubPages was taken off the Arena website. Just double-checked for my own eyes.

        Perhaps they are quiet quitting us or in the process of selling to another company. I think they already took what they wanted, DenGarden and Pethelpful.

      3. SerenityHalo profile image93
        SerenityHaloposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

        I think our only hope is Matt Wells and/or a new owner. TAG seems to be breaking up with us.

    2. Cheryl E Preston profile image83
      Cheryl E Prestonposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

      Many of my holiday articles get boosts this time of year.  I did not like that on Medium you need paid subscribers and I did not et a lot of views. I was doing well on NewsBreak but things go up and down. Vocal Media is pretty good if you have the time to put into it.

  2. Jodah profile image88
    Jodahposted 7 weeks ago

    If your earnings haven’t dropped much and your articles are still being read, I don’t see any urgency to move them elsewhere. Though HubPages seems a slippery slope for most of us, some say they are still doing okay here. I find Medium a lot more beneficial for my type of content like poetry, short fiction, and articles about writing. Plus the ability to comment there is enticing.

    1. Kyler J Falk profile image84
      Kyler J Falkposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

      As our in-house, what I would label master poet, how are the earnings on poetry content over at Medium? My poetry is all dead here unless it's the immediate views I get from a new piece and the odd sporadic impressions every month.

      1. Jodah profile image88
        Jodahposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

        I am averaging about $200 per month on Medium from mainly poetry and short fiction, but you need to post something at least  four times a week, more if possible and engage with others.  Like the old days here when we would read each others articles and comment.

        1. Kyler J Falk profile image84
          Kyler J Falkposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

          That's a pretty good sum. I'll have to ponder moving all of my poetry over to Medium. Their social structure is hard on my brain, though. I have an pseudonym account over there that earns well for sociopolitical commentary, and if I added poetry to the repertoire it'd increase the burden. Ugh, decisions.

          1. PaulGoodman67 profile image98
            PaulGoodman67posted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

            When I started at Medium four years ago or whenever it was, it wasn’t hard to earn $200/month just publishing three articles/month.

            Earnings have declined such that, as Jodah says, I’d need to publish four or five times as much to make the equivalent, plus put in a LOT of social engagement.

            I don’t feel terribly optimistic about Medium either tbh although its decline has been slower than HP. HP feels increasingly moribund.

  3. Kyler J Falk profile image84
    Kyler J Falkposted 7 weeks ago

    Also, any good suggestions for alternatives outside of self-publishing to my own site? I don't have the time to invest in managing a low passive three-figures.

    1. PaulGoodman67 profile image98
      PaulGoodman67posted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

      It's been discussed multiple times here over the past few years and I've not seen a good alternative. (Almost) all of us are looking for what you're looking for and if anyone's found it, they're not saying.

      Most of the tech media companies are now more focused on publishing short videos and utilizing AI.

      Substack is maybe the only major alternative to HP I've seen but it's a very different animal.

  4. Ben716 profile image83
    Ben716posted 7 weeks ago

    Hubpages has been my passive-revenue content home for more than 15 years. As such, the only thing I'm left with is my fingers crossed. Even though I haven't published new content for awhile, I'll still remain a contributor, and edit articles that need editing.
    I was a content writer for Helium and also Suite101. I was contributing articles till the last day they shut off their website. And that's how it'll be with Hubpages - till the last day. This is despite reaching the withdrawal threshold over three months.
    My articles have always done well here than on any other platform. For now, though lazily, and hopelessly, I'm working on a personal website that I have postponed for more than 10 years:)

    1. PaulGoodman67 profile image98
      PaulGoodman67posted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

      I can live with that sort of end as long as HP don't do something heinous, like suddenly taking possession of our best articles.

      What happened with PetHelpful and Dengarden still concerns me.

      1. Ben716 profile image83
        Ben716posted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

        I hope it won't happen again.

  5. daydreams profile image95
    daydreamsposted 6 weeks ago

    I reckon the sort of site that Hubpages is has had its day - especially with the rise of AI etc.
    I'm still receiving some pocket money here from stuff I wrote years and years ago and don't even have that many articles but probably not a good use of time to write more.

    1. PaulGoodman67 profile image98
      PaulGoodman67posted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

      It now looks like we spent the past fifteen years creating content/data for AI to exploit, we just didn't know it at the time!

  6. Cheryl E Preston profile image83
    Cheryl E Prestonposted 5 weeks ago

    How do you make money on X?

  7. Cheryl E Preston profile image83
    Cheryl E Prestonposted 5 weeks ago

    To answer your question, all platforms have issues. I don't know what is going to happen with HP but I have a few articles that are doing well.

 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)