Let me have it!

1. 60

   carpesomediemposted 17 years ago

   Hey, guys!
   
   I've been hubbing for awhile now, and while I think I know what I'm doing, lately I seem to be struggling in some areas.  I'm very OCD about my hub design, as you'll see, and also about how much I write and how I write it.  I'm trying to break out of that habit, and I'm wondering what tips and suggestions the community has to help me make my hubs stand out.
   
   The first thing I'm wondering is whether or not my hubs are too short.  I was always taught that anything above 350 - 400 words, for the most part, is not the best strategy when writing for the web.  I've stuck with that through thick and thin, and I'm wondering if this should be a best practice for me on HubPages or not.  Let me know what you think.
   
   The next thing I'm wondering is whether or not I should add more pictures and videos to my hubs, when they're that short, and if so, where.  Like I said, I'm a bit OCD about how I lay out my hubs (they're all the same!)  So, any feedback on this would be helpful, too.
   
   Anything else you guys have to offer would be greatly appreciated. 
   
   Melissa

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2. 61

   Ryan Hupferposted 17 years ago

   Hey Melissa,
   
   I think that you have a great topic and title, but it seems that the Hub is fairly short as far as word count goes. Also, I think that when people are searching for a topic they really enjoy lists and broken down paragraphs that are more bite-sized. The use of more text capsules with headers could probably help with that.
   
   Also, maybe a list of some tools/products that someone could potentially use to help them manage their cords would be helpful - if there are such things.

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3. 60

   carpesomediemposted 17 years ago

   Ryan:
   
   Thanks so much for your suggestions!  What do you think is a good, general word count for a hub?  Should I be shooting for maybe something in the 500 - 750 word range?  Or a little less than that?
   
   I like the idea of lists, too.  I think I'll go through my hubs and add to them where it would be appropriate for a list.
   
   Thanks again for the suggestions!

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4. 61

   Ryan Hupferposted 17 years ago

   Yeah, I would say that the 500-700 range, especially if you start using lists and other things to break up the content so that it's a little more reader-friendly.
   
   Glad that I could help - thanks for getting an Extreme Hub Makeover!

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5. 65

   Maddie Ruudposted 17 years ago

   My two cents:  I've generally found that between 400 and 600 words words best for me, but I don't stress too much over exact word count, more on whether it seems a reasonable length, visually, on the page: not so long that someone is scrolling down wondering when it's going to end, but not so short as to leave someone feeling like it wasn't worth visiting.

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6. 60

   carpesomediemposted 17 years ago

   Thanks for the word count suggestions Maddie and Ryan.  I'm going to work with the length on my future hubs and see what happens! 

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