After HubPages

1. 82

   EricDockettposted 44 hours ago

   I haven't posted in a while, but I still check my accounts and these forums every day, just like the past 13 years.  I really wish HP would continue on in its current form, but that appears increasingly unlikely.
   
   It feels we are nearing the end of the line, but it's hard to just give up after over a decade of creating content. I thought maybe people might want to discuss their ideas for what to do after HubPages, if anyone has any.
   
   Right now, I am leaning toward moving everything to Medium. At least my content would have a home and the potential for readership, and for $5 a month it is relatively inexpensive
   
   Second choice would be building Blogger sites. Not the greatest option, but it is free.
   
   Third would be wordpress.com. The problem there is I'd need to make a bunch of sites, and that would get expensive even with lower-tier plans. I guess I could make one big multi-topic site, which would be about the same as discover.
   
   My main issue is I just don't have the bandwidth right now to build sites, write new content, or even spend a lot of time networking on medium.
   
   Anyone have an exit plan in place they want to share?

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   1. 66

      OldRosesposted 41 hours agoin reply to this

      I'm moving my articles to Substack.  I send them out as newsletters and then link to them like a blog.  Hard to explain.  It's easier just to go howtogrowit dot substack dot com to see what I mean.
      
      Substack is free to authors.  You can choose whether to have free newsletters or paid newsletters or both.  Mine are free to subscribers but I am linking to Amazon products as a revenue source.  So nice to be able to link to as many Amazon products as I want.

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      1. 87

         Genna Eastposted 39 hours agoin reply to this

         Thank you, Caren, for this suggestion.  It is definitely something to consider moving forward.

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   2. 71

      PaulGoodman67posted 41 hours agoin reply to this

      "I really wish HP would continue on in its current form"
      
      I think it's been a long, slow death. Even the "current form" is a shadow of what this site used to be, in my opinion.
      
      Now the decline is accelerating, and the end is upon us.
      
      I have to be honest with you and say that my experience with your plans is not positive.
      
      HP content doesn't generally work for Medium. You may gain a few cents in the week or so after you post, then that's it. You really have to write material that's geared for Medium but even then, the rewards are diminishing.
      
      The only people making money there seem to be those who spend a huge amount of time commenting and liking, and garnering attention that way. That's fine when there's genuine engagement, but there's a lot of disingenuous behavior that goes on.
      
      I wouldn't bother with Blogger. Google seemed to lose interest some years back, and the site is pretty decrepit. I still have half a dozen blogs there but it's impossible to revive them when Google seems happy to let Blogger die.
      
      I have the same issue as you with creating my own site. It's best if they're single issue, but I wrote here on a vast range of topics.
      
      There's also AI hanging over everything, which makes one wonder whether it's worth the time and money. The whole nature of search is transforming, making the model of making money from ads on articles that people have found via Google seem increasingly archaic.
      
      The other model is to promote one's work via social media. The problem with that is that you're competing with clickbait and sensationalist material. Balanced and thought-out articles aren't appreciated by the social media algorithms.
      
      So, to summarize, I've not really found a solution, and believe me, I've tried over time. Given that HP has been declining on and off for years, I've been very active in other areas.
      
      Sorry if that sounds negative, but it may save you some time. A site like Blogger was great ten plus years ago, but I really wouldn't recommend it now.

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      1. 82

         EricDockettposted 39 hours agoin reply to this

         I don't think any of them are great choices, but I have to do something. I like Medium, but I can only maybe put a couple of hours a week into it right now, and that would be tough. I guess another option is just to take down all my content and let it sit on my hard drive.
         
         My two main accounts still hit payout here every month, but that could change any time. Since TAG has not shown even the smallest amount of interest in preserving HP, it doesn't seem smart to wait until the bottom completely falls out before taking some kind of action.

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         1. 71

            PaulGoodman67posted 37 hours agoin reply to this

            I used to earn one or two hundred dollars a month at Medium with just two or three articles/month. Nowadays, it's more like twenty bucks.
            
            HP is even worse.
            
            I agree that it would be best to take some action but I don't know what.
            
            Substack is the fashionable choice. But I don't see it as a moneymaker for me.
            
            While it's more likely to survive AI, writing for a subscription-paying audience is a different thing to writing how-to or info articles that are designed to be found by search engines. Most HP material wouldn't work there with regard to building a large number of paid subscribers.
            
            People have differing aspirations for earnings. I want the potential to earn hundreds. I don't want to spend ages putting together articles and just earning a few bucks. That's not practical or desirable for me.

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   3. 78

      Kyler J Falkposted 39 hours agoin reply to this

      I've thought about publicizing and mentioning creating a crowdfunded site of our own owned and ran by the authors, and overseen by a select few dedicated authors who believe in creating a space for the refugees from this site. I'd go and do it myself right now, but sadly I don't have the time to commit to building and running a site and setting up the servers.
      
      As of now, when HubPages goes, so does my main side hustle of writing. Other sites require far too much consistent social interaction to garner attention, and that just isn't my style.

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      1. 84

         SerenityHaloposted 34 hours agoin reply to this

         I love this idea and wish we could make it happen.

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   4. 100

      DrMark1961posted 35 hours agoin reply to this

      I still write for Pethelpful (not HP) but am not sure how long that is going to last. Most pet owners that do a Google search now do not even open up any articles as Google just scrapes all of the answers and spits out an AI reply for the searcher. Heaven forbid they learn any substansial info that goes against the AI answer.
      As far as an exit strategy, I also post videos on Youtube. I just took some of my older articles and post it with videos. It still has yet to do much, even for the articles that did well on HP, and as Paul pointed out that is being swallowed up by AI and will probably disappear as an alternative in a year or two. None of the other writing sites I have found are even worth messing with though.
      For all of your aquarium and fish articles, you can contact yourpetsathome.com and ask Louise if they are interested in adding a fish section to that site. It is former HP writers on that site but when we last talked it sounds like there is not much traffic there. It is a start up so they are not paying yet, but it does have some hope for the future if things look up.
      I hope you are able to find something that I have not. I enjoyed reading your fish content on Pethelpful back in the day.

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2. 90

   Venkatachari Mposted 38 hours ago

   I have six blogs on Blogger and one WordPress blog. All are free sites.
   
   The six blogs are for six different subjects. My main blog is for worship prayers, and festivals. It is doing well, although earnings are $ 3 to $ 4 per month. One is for Economics and Accounts posts. One for Telugu TV serial reviews, one for food and body articles, like that.
   
   But, I have no plans for shifting my articles from HP as of now.

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3. 85

   viryaboposted 37 hours ago

   I have 4 accounts on this site. And I have been working towards, and preparing for these days. Why?  Because HP has been dying slowly and consistently for a long while. Not just recently.
   
   On one of my niche-specific accounts, I turned the articles into a KDP book: ebook, paperback, and hard cover. I sell occasionally. On another, I turned some of the choice articles to published books.
   
   I have also taken many articles to my 3 Wordpress sites (they are niche-specific as well), and quite a number are now on my Blogger blogs.
   
   I have a handful of them on Medium as well, though they don't do well there, but I feel better having them away from here, even though they earn just cents once in a blue moon.
   
   I still have much to do. I'm sick and tired of the uncertainty here, and now, the stealing is really pissing me off!

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4. 71

   PaulGoodman67posted 30 hours ago

   Short videos and AI are where tech media companies are putting their money.
   
   AI can steal any writing published online, regurgitate it, and offer it up for free. That means human writing is headed into niche territory, like handmade clothing and music recorded onto cassettes.
   
   All online writing has the same issue, certainly if it’s factual info.
   
   Probably best to do what Dr Mark’s done and try making videos, or wait and see if AI offers new opportunities for freelance earning.
   
   I guess podcasts are a possibility too but the competition is crazy.
   
   It’s not a good time to set up a writing site, in my opinion.
   
   The only workable model I can see is earning from subscription readers and that’s a tough area to make work as a serious income source.

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   1. 100

      DrMark1961posted 16 hours agoin reply to this

      The only change I would make to that statment is "AI WILL steal all of your content once it is published online." There is no such thing as evergreen content anymore so if you do not get immediate views from a "fan" audience you are just writing for your own entertainment.
      Yes, subscription audiences would work but the model we counted on for so many years just does not appear to be viable any more.

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