So long, Hubpages...

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   K S Laneposted 4 weeks ago

   I started writing on this site a few months after my 18th birthday, back in 2018. I'd always loved writing and was excited to hone my skills and share articles with others. At the beginning I was only making a few cents a day, but I remember it being incredibly exciting. A few cents that I'd earned with my own writing- amazing!! I never posted much in the forums, but I enjoyed reading other people's posts- especially ones where veteran writers shared tips and stories of their successes.
   
   Over the next five-ish years I built up my catalogue to 60+ articles. I was studying science in university, so a lot of my articles were scientific 'explainer' type pieces, while I wrote others about pop culture and gaming. Earnings peaked for me in 2020, where I was consistently earning $400 a month. Around this time I also started freelancing for a few websites and was making enough to support myself for the first time, which was an incredible feeling.
   
   I posted my last article on this site at the end of 2021. Earnings had started to dip and the Maven takeover was in full swing and had started to decrease my enjoyment of the site. The spammy ads plastered all over the articles was a particularly sore spot. However, I still had a couple of articles that were getting 1000s of views a day and I kept earning steady payouts every month, so I stuck around and occasionally logged in to get updates on the forum.
   
   A few months ago, I realised that I hadn't received a payout from Hubpages in my Paypal account. I was puzzled and logged in to discover that for the first time since 2019, I hadn't made payout. While I probably didn't have any right to be upset about this, considering that I hadn't put any time into Hubpages for so long, I was still pretty disappointed. With how much the site has degraded over time, I started seriously considering pulling my articles. Yesterday's announcement about the arena group moving Owlcation to their new content management system has sealed the deal.
   
   I still have a couple of articles that get 100+ views a day, so I guess I'll port them over from Owlcation, but the rest of my articles I'm going to remove. The fact that TAG has only given people a few weeks to prevent their articles from essentially being stolen really doesn't sit well with me and I don't feel comfortable leaving the majority of my content on this website anymore. A few months ago I moved over to Medium and have been having some reasonable success there anyway, so I don't think this is the end of my writing journey.
   
   Anyway, I wanted to make this post to sum up my experiences on the site- sorry for the long read! After finishing my Bachelors in Science I went on to start a PhD in Chemistry and am now a few months out from finishing. It's crazy to think that Hubpages has been with me for this entire journey. I really credit my early experiences with this site in helping my to fuel my scientific curiosity, so despite the downturn over the past few years I'll always be grateful to Hubpages and the kind, dedicated community who still thrive here after all this time

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      JerryFisherposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

      Well I don't think I'd be so hasty. Moving everything to Discover might just be easier for HubPages to control, especially now it's under new (old) management. Hubpages are just as keen on earning revenue as we are, so I'm sure this is a well thought out strategic move to benefit all of us.
      Also, they have notified every single member by email so everyone has a chance and enough time to ask to move their articles.

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         eugbugposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

         Google doesn't like content mills though. I can't remember at this stage, but did we make much money before the network sites?

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         PaulGoodman67posted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

         “I'm sure this is a well thought out strategic move to benefit all of us.”
         
         It’s a business and they’ll do what they believe is best for the business. They’ve been very explicit in explaining that they no longer believe that the user-generated, earrings-sharing model works for them.

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   2. STAFF

      Matt Wellsposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

      Authors can request to move their articles to Discover at any time. We just would like the majority of articles moved before April 14th.

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         K S Laneposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

         Matt- this wasn't at all clear from the email, which states "If you want to request that your content move back to Discover.HubPages, please email hdavis@thearenagroup.net by April 11th, 2025."
         
         Thanks for the clarification, though. This definitely changes my feelings about the shift- I was pretty appalled at the fact that they seemed to only be giving authors two weeks to save their content before moving it to a private website and presumably monetising it for their own gain.

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      Kenna McHughposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

      K.S. Lane,
      
      Thanks for sharing. You have valid points. We've had our own journeys with HP, and it's been difficult for most of us for the past five years. TAG/HP's tactics and communication clearly show it's a management group that doesn't care for its writers. We've offered so many solutions to solve the downfall to no avail. It's sad. So, more writers are leaving, and more spammers are arriving. So frustrating!

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   dougwest1posted 4 weeks ago

   With Hubpages dying, where can writers go to make a few dollars writing articles to be posted online? I have done some searches and not found much. Does anyone have any ideas what comes next for writers after Hubpages?

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      Gregory DeVictorposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

      If you have developed your own online brand, you might want to look at Substack.com. It is a bit overwhelming to get started there, but there are also some excellent videos that can help you through the process.
      
      Substack can be an ideal place for an author to promote their brand, but it takes lots of work and dedication.
      
      Remember that Substack is a "completely different" writing platform than HubPages. It is a whole different language.
      
      Substack's text editor is a bit different from HP's, but it is relatively easy to adjust.
      
      Edit: I see that you write history-related articles. There is a Substack community called the Society of History Writers that might interest you. Holly Brown from the UK is in charge of that group.

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         Kenna McHughposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

         Gregory, I am curious what you plan to do since most of your articles are under HobbyLark.

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            Gregory DeVictorposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

            I have condensed all 101 American nostalgia articles on Hobbylark down to revised articles of no more than 1,500 words apiece. I had to do complete rewrites on all of them. Lots of work.
            
            These revised articles are separate from the ones published on Hobbylark.
            
            I also have written about 50 new articles.
            
            Right now, I have American nostalgia articles from the years 1850 to 2016 inclusive. That's almost 170 articles.
            
            Ultimately, all of these articles will be published at Substack. Like I mentioned above, Substack is an ideal environment for authors who are promoting a brand.
            
            I see that you have a sizeable number of articles dealing with the entertainment industry. Perhaps you could promote these as your "online brand" at a site like Substack. Have you thought about doing this? Yes, you may have to do some editing, but it is worth it over the long term.

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   Venkatachari Mposted 4 weeks ago

   It could be your own blog. Get a Blog, free or premium, and publish your articles there. Or, write for others and get paid.

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      Kenna McHughposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

      Writing for others is slim pickings. It's more like editing AI for others.

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      eugbugposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

      I have a 200 article science and engineering blog. After 16 months, Google still haven't indexed it. bing only imaged it recently, but that'sonly after nagging bing repeatedly. Google don't have customer support. I managed to get it approved by Adsense, but it's still only earned 47c. Maybe others might be more successful. Haven't any luck with Substack, but I've only got half a dozen articles there.

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   Abby Slutskyposted 4 weeks ago

   I requested that my articles all of my articles be moved back to discover. It appears that they have, but if I type in my name with the article name and Hobby Lark or other category, it is possible to find them online that way. I want to be sure Arena is not getting that benefit. Why is this happening? Thank you.

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      CYong74posted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

      Takes a while for Google and other engines to recrawl.

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   Janda Rakerposted 3 weeks ago

   So sad! So do I understand correctly? If I move my articles from WanderWisdom to Discover, will I still be earning? Or not? Will the sub-title "WanderWisdom" move to Discover? If not, how will readers find those travel articles? Will what I've earned so far be credited to me?

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   Janda Rakerposted 3 weeks ago

   Also, I'm puzzled by the accounting system. (I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't yet earned payout, but I'm still "climbing" slowly toward that goal.) But a couple of months ago, one day I earned about one dollar, and ever since, almost everything I earn get credited back, a few cents at a time. Soon that progress will be all gone, and I haven't any idea why. Any thoughts? How can I find out? If I move to Discover, will I still be earning money toward the original payout? This is discouraging. I do enjoy sharing my travel essays and photos and would love to continue doing so. Suggestions?

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      theraggededgeposted 3 weeks agoin reply to this

      They will earn at Discover but most of us have noticed a big drop. Personally,  I requested all mine be moved.

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      PaulGoodman67posted 3 weeks agoin reply to this

      Janda - read the latest official announcements. If you want to earn anything, then you have no choice but to request that your articles are moved to Discover. If you leave them in Wanderwisdom, they will go to an Arena Group site and earn you nothing.
      
      It's a choice between not earning much or zero. Most people, including me, prefer the former.

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