Honestly, can you make any money writing poems????

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   mary615posted 12 years ago

   Just wondering...I write poetry because I enjoy it, but I wonder if it's possible to make any money with them.  The advice I get is to write "evergree" stuff that will attract readers for a long time.  I don't think my poetry is evergreen!

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      IzzyMposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I'm probably the wrong person to answer this, because I'm not a poet, although I do still have a copy of a poem I wrote 20 years ago that I am still half-considering publishing.
      
      The title of a poem is traditionally obscure.
      
      Sometimes the title is perfect for the poem.
      
      But how does the average internet user find it?
      
      To make money, you need traffic, to get traffic, you need to title your article using search friendly terms.
      
      Poems do not generally have search friendly or evergreen terms in their title.
      
      If they have search friendly and evergreen titles, most users will bounce quickly away, unless they were actually looking for a poem using those words.
      
      And that is where it is possible to make money.
      
      Write hub titles that contain a collection of poems about a certain topic that people are searching for, so when they land on your poem it becomes what they were looking for and not something they fell upon accidentally.
      
      Does that make sense?

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      SimeyCposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      You could make $500 this month!

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         mary615posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I wish, I wish....

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   Richieb799posted 12 years ago

   I wrote a few poem hubs just because I enjoyed it, but I think generally they don't earn.. you will probably see the lone '$' in the hub stats for a poem...indicating it doesn't have high earning potential
   I suppose you could try keyword optimizing them LOL

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      IzzyMposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I bought a Rolex watch,
      its shine it made me shimmer
      I sold it to a pal
      (he was a little dimmer)
      he said he loved that Rolex watch
      and wanted to be married
      I said hey mate  - he wanted rid of that
      excess weight that he carried
      and so my friend he felt obese
      and wanted to be thinner
      but y'know he wore that Rolex watch
      and it made him the winner
      he found this chick I know not how
      but Dolly bird she was
      and so my friend, who I defend
      became her Santa Claus.
      
      The end.
      
      I'm into rhyme and rhythm, can you tell? Apart from that, my poetry is exceptionally bad, but I think if this rhyme was exported into a hub, it chases more than one keyword.
      
      Took me 10 minutes to write, personally think it's the worst ever poetry in the world, and explains why I don't write poetry.
      
      Anyone want to buy it? Only $10,000 and its yours

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         Lisa HWposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I don't have the $10,000; but I'm thinking, maybe, you should post it as Hub.  Maybe there'll be ads for Rolex watches.  (Do they sell them on Amazon?    ).    (Oh..   maybe make the title, "The Rolex Watch", and maybe take the "the end" off it.  ).  (Better still:  "Lose weight with a Rolex Watch".  )

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            IzzyMposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            God but I love you!!
            
            You got the 'thingummy-ism' in it!!   [exchange for word I am looking for]
            
            Yes aimed for at least two keyword phrases, hit them, bounced out, over to Google.
            
            I would imagine though, that most genuine searchers for either keyword would also bounce out immediately.
            
            That's what makes this idea so worthless, but at the same time so educational for poets.
            
            Question Master (or is it wrylilt?) said it so well.
            
            Title your poetry hubs under a search phrase - ie Poems About Rolex Watches or Poems About Weight Loss, that way the searcher won't feel cheated.
            
            Fools Google all the time though. That's what happens when you rely on bots.

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               Lisa HWposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Not that I plan to write too many poems, but I was worried about that thing with any searchers (as if there would be any on two of my three poems anyway) getting angry if they got to the poem.  So, I did a very third-grade kind of thing:  "Blah Blah Title - A Poem".    I like Question Master's way better.  (I've just kind of assumed my few poems won't get any outside readers anyway.  I just threw in them into the mix to add a little variety.    )

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         mary615posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         IzzyM, that little poem wasn't all that bad!

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            IzzyMposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            LOL, not all bad, just most of it! I'm not a poet..

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               jfay2011posted 12 years agoin reply to this

               No.  It was good and had q catchy little tune.  You should publish it.

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      Lisa HWposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      This probably doesn't mean much (if anything), but I just went to check two of the, maybe, three poems I have on here.  The one I just wrote has one $.  The one I wrote awhile back has $$$.  I don't have a lot of hope for it, and maybe it's only the weird title; but just thought I'd mention it.
      
      (I just looked it up.  It's had 69 views since Sept 20.  It's kind of funny, because it's a sentimental poem; but the title (which includes "fence", "porch" and "stairs" has ads for stuff like building new fences and stairs.    I don't know...   Maybe the advertisers wouldn't mind if a poem presents a "warm, fuzzy" memory about something as otherwise non-sentimental as porches and stairs.    )
      
      OK...   I just looked up the only other one I have.  It has 141 (not good, of course) views since July and one $.   Maybe there's something in the "weird title" of that one that has $$$.  Maybe the thing is to aim for a title that someone might see something to advertise on (as opposed to the other two I have; of which one is about writing, and the other is pretty much a one-word title that doesn't apply to the subject of the poem.)   I may test out these limited "theories" on a couple of more poems.
      
      Maybe the key could be, though, "tons" of poems with really, really, carefully constructed (but appropriate and applicable) titles.   
      
      There are a lot of people who wouldn't think the kind of stuff I tend to write would get traffic or earn, but I've been doing fairly well.  Maybe what poetry people need to really do is figure out how to make poems earn some money, rather than just accepting or assuming they can't.  (Or, if all else fails, throw in some non-poem Hubs to get an audience, and let them carry the account as far as money goes.    )  (Keep in mind that (like Izzy said) I'm not a poet either.  I only dabble, and I keep it really basic and simple when I do.  Someone who is seriously into poetry might have some better ideas. )

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      mary615posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I hate to show my ignorance, but:  where are you guys finding $ signs??

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         mary615posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I found the $ signs, thanks.  on my most viewed poem, I have potential $$ , so I guess that encouraging, huh??

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            QuestionMasterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            The $$$ signs are based on approximate earnings based on your keywords. If you never get traffic or never get clicks, you'll never get earnings.

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   QuestionMasterposted 12 years ago

   You'd either need to use directly searched titles such as:
   
   Poem About Bread
   Poem About Happiness
   
   Or try publishing a collection of poems in a form that requires payment before reading, such as eBooks or Kindle.

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      Lisa HWposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I missed your post here (at the bottom of my screen) earlier.    Do you have thoughts on using a more "literary type" title as the sub-title, with the basic "poem about bread" as the main title?
      
      (I actually do have a little collection of poems/verse pretty much ready to send to one of those.  I don't have a lot of hope for making any money with it.  A couple of people keep telling me to put a couple of the ones they like on something like a tile or a decorative plate (something like that), but I don't even know where to begin with that (except for something like Cafe Press, in which case what would stop someone from re-typing the poem they see and doing whatever they want with it.)

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         QuestionMasterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I don't know about posting in other forms - in fact anywhere you publicly post your work puts you at risk of losing it. If you're most worried about the copyright side, this hub may help with with copyright protection:
         
         http://fictionfactory.hubpages.com/hub/ … -Copyright
         
         When posting for search engines, I don't think there'd be an issue with having a title such as:
         
         The loaf of life - Poem about Bread.
         
         It may bring in some other longtail keywords if your poem title is loosely related to the poem topic (synonym wise etc.)

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   Bard of Elyposted 12 years ago

   I never have with my poems but if I include songs, which are poems with music, I would say, yes!

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   saddlerider1posted 12 years ago

   As the Epigramman oftens says, write from your heart and soul and the mind will follow. When you do this, readers will follow and be attracted to your scribes for a very long time. Look at history, we read of great poets and remember for how they stirred our souls then and today. Keep writing you have a voice and a talent, use your gift and let your inner Muse guide your quill. Hugs

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      mary615posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      What good advice, saddlerider1, when I first started on HubPages, I could have cared less about the money.  Even now, it's secondary to me. I'm just happy I have a "home" now to have my  creations published.  If I make $, that's good, if not:  so be it.

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   saddlerider1posted 12 years ago

   Oh and I forgot to answer your question, YES poetry does sell, just find the right vehicle to advertise your poetry in and it could sell, it's a slow process but it happens. I have two books of poetry now and the sales are starting to pick up, but more importantly to me is getting my pen name Vincent Moore out there and thankfully it's starting to stir some folks. Hugs

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   couturepopcafeposted 12 years ago

   http://www.thecreativepenn.com/

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      Jean Bakulaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I have also just published a book of poetry based on the Tarot (Rider-Waite, the most well known one). I am going to use it to teach a beginner's course. I will let you know how it does money wise, I don't expect much. But I think it was a unique way to explain the meanings of 78 cards, and am excited to see if it helps others learn. As for the writing, the cards cover each experience you have in life, and I was going through an intense part of life. So I needed the outlet!

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