Starting to blog or write online? Dont start without reading this!
blogging is essentially writing, sharing, on the net.
it is not different from what writers did before, neither is it the same.
But it is and indeed a very powerful tool today.
Whether to blog or not, is something I wrote about at To Blog Or Not To Blog - 10 reasons why you should blog
check it out.
This hub is to try and make a list (13 awesome reasons to choose hubpages) of why hubpages is where you should start blogging, rather than any other blogging platform.
This is a long hub 1300 words, but I can guarantee you will pick up some awesome tips if you read it all. Happy Hubbing!
So why Hubpages? 1. Coz it's FREE
It is FREE.
100%.
Nothing is charged for.
- No set up fees
- no monthly fee
- no server fee
- no bandwidth costs
- no upkeep
- no maintenance
- nothing
write what you want, post it & you are done!
So why Hubpages? 2. Coz it has READERS
yes, many a poets, writers and scribes have written something and then spent the rest of their lives trying to find someone who will read it.
It is so bad that there are sites who charge you to read your stuff or to post it to other sites which are essentially free.
Hubpages already has the readers.
They are here and they visit everyday to read!
So why Hubpages? 3. Coz it has a COMMUNITY
read most bloggers who have done very well for themselves and they will tell you that the number one aim of any blog should be to create a vibrant community.
develop a bond with your readers, become a voice to listen to, to talk to, to share with and your blog will be a success.
well, guess what. Hubpages already has that!
a very vibrant, interactive, talking, sharing, motivating, community.
Hubpages also lets people follow you called followers.
These followers become your own special community, who get updated whenever you publish something new etc.
So why Hubpages? 4. Coz it has SEO
what is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization.
Why is that important?
hmmm, maybe I should do another hub on that, but for the moment, here is the quick version. Most people reach your blog, your blog post, your article because they are looking for something. So essentially they come from search engines.
My hub on what do lines on your hand mean or hobbies & interests on a resume rank on the first page of a Google search.
check out the screen shots or do a search for yourself and see!
So since you rank on the first page (in some cases in the top 3) the chances of people stumbling on to your blog/hub are so much higher (research shows that people generally choose from the top 3 results on a search results page)
Hubpages also has something called the TITLE TURNER
According to experts the title of a blog post is very important. Maybe even the key in generating search traffic.
Hubpages regularly gives you ideas on what keywords to add to your title to make it more appealing to searches!
Awesome!
In the pic, I have already updates on hub title and am doing another.
So why Hubpages? 5. Coz it has MONEY!
It took me sometime to make money from my blogs ( I edit the very popularwww.hospemag.com - one the largest hospitality e-mags in the world ) but that was because I had to build a community first and create loyalty for my blog. Once that happened, it started appearing higher in the search results.
Also, I needed to learn about adsense and other money making options (affiliate marketing etc)
with hubpages, that stuff is already here.
Adsesne is here
Amazon (affliate selling) is here
E-bay is here
Kontera is here
The money is already here and they are willing to share a good portion with you!
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They also have an awesome concept of running writing contests.
Yup.
They pay you to write on particular topics and regular draws make you win!
YIPEE!!
The latest one is here
So why Hubpages? 6. Coz it has TOPICS
yeah!
Hubpages puts all the conventional wisdom aside.
How?
Every blogger worth is salt or blog :) says that you should find a niche and in it another niche and then create a blog around that topic.
the more nichey the blog, the higher chances of creating a viable one with a community & loyal readership.
Now, because hubpages has so many topics, you can write about anything! that's right, anything under the sun!
so, I am not longer restricted to say hospitality, or careers etc. I can create a hub on blogging and maybe tomorrow I will do one on 'How to teach your computer to love you on a cold winter night when you run out of coffee or company'
ha ha! no, I wont do that hub, but you get the idea!
So why Hubpages? 6. Coz YOU can become an Expert on Anything
That is write!
see the screen shots >
There are 204000 hubbers as I write this!
WOW!
That is a lot of hubbers!
Now, how do you know which one to read?
They score you!
Tough. I know. But the good part is, the better your hubs, the more your score.
The higher your score, the more people who read trust you.
Awesome!
I write about various topics (as mentioned above), but hubpages lets me go further. It lets me create my own TOPICS!
under group, it lets me put together related hubs, so that, when you visit on of my hubs on that topic, you will be shown more under the same topic/group.
Awesome!
I write about a lot of other topics, but this is the first hub under BLOGGING.
As you can see I created a new group for it!
So why Hubpages? 7. Coz YOU can make money by getting others to write!
yes!
that's write again!
You can make money by writing yourself and also by getting others to write for hubpages.
Hubpages will pay you 10% of everything they earn.
Hmmm, so you ready to write?
Follow this link and sign up! CLICK HERE
Oh, just to make sure you sign up using my link, I will help you with good material, ideas if you sign up under my name!
So why Hubpages? 8. Coz you dont have to worry about DESIGN
Hubpages has a very easy to use interface.
But more than that, it was a super way to deal with parts of a good post.
So there are elements like:
- text
- photo
- links
- video
- affiliate links - ebay, amazon
- polls
but the best part if the super easy way you can create a compelling layout.
It is drag & drop.
Thats it.
That is how simple it is!
So why Hubpages? 9. Coz they have super STATS!
They tell you exactly what is going on with your hubs (read posts)
The stats include things like views, lenght of time, sources, keywords etc.
Check out the screen shots
So why Hubpages? 10. In Built Social Marketing!
Once you publish a hub, they give your hub a super URL.
This remains static and once links are created into this url, you are pretty safe.
Also, you can spread the word from within Hubpages.
They have a once click publish to facebook and twitter and really, if you are going to be a blogger, you better get used to the social media!
So why Hubpages? 12. MY FAV! They Motivate YOU!
They give you Accolades!
I love these things.
When I got my badge for 10000+ views of my hubs, I was like WOW!!!
Accolades are badges that appear on your Profile that share many different achievements you can reach on HubPages.
So why Hubpages? 13. They Let You Get Discovered!
Millions of blogs.
Billions of blog postings!
Hubpages finds an easy way out!
It launched 'HUB HOPPER'
Essentially, the community (the one I mentioned above) surfs new hubs, grades them and helps it easy for hubpages to rank hubs.
This is awesome.
So if there is something you wrote that you thought was nice and another person thought that was nice too, then suddenly Hubpages will start putting it up more!
More views!
