Referral Trackers are a Pain!

1. 60

   Jo_Goldsmith11posted 10 years ago

   I have at least 5 referral trackers for those who wish to sign up.
   I have a total of 25 sign ups. This is good.
   However, those who have signed up are not blogging,
   or there is no traffic. Are these people ghosts?
   What is the sense of having these trackers, and someone signs up
   and doesn't participate in our community, and then
   you have nothing but useless stats that you can't get rid of? 
   Anyone who has any ideas, or comments on what
   I should be doing, I sure would appreciate it! 
   It gets discouraging to see someone take the effort to join,
   then not follow through and it shows their inactivity.
   
   Has anyone else have this same problem?

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   1. 97

      susi10posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Although I haven't had any sign-ups for referral trackers yet, I do see many new Hubbers who join HubPages, write a hub, realise that making money isn't as easy as they think and leave. That really annoys me, because if you put in the effort, you sure can get traffic and earnings. I am sorry I didn't answer your question, but I can definitely relate to you. I am looking forward to seeing others' responses later on.

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         Jo_Goldsmith11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Hi susi 10,
         Yea, I have been here for over 2 yrs now. Everyone of my hubs have been featured. So, contrary to some opinion (s) I think I am a fairly decent writer.
         It just gets so frustrating when you have ghosts who come here and leave.
         I will be sure to stop by and say hi over in your hub land area.
         Have a great weekend.   Shalom

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   2. 87

      Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Most people have the same experience.  I don't even look at my referrals any more - less than 1% of them are actually writing on HubPages!!
      
      When I first started on HubPages, I used to reach out to new referrals to try to help them get started. I soon found there are all kinds of reasons why people sign up.
      
      One problem with HubPages is the comments box.    The way it's set out, many readers think they have to sign up before they can comment - so some of my referrals are people who clicked on my link to read my Hub, then signed up to comment, with no intention of ever writing.
      
      Then there are the people who sign up, then look into the site more closely and decide they can't understand it.  I picked up a lot of referrals from Helium.com who decided HubPages was "too hard" - they didn't want to deal with capsules and advertising, they just wanted to write plain text in a simple text box! 
      
      Finally there are the people who sign up then never get around to writing anything, or write one Hub to promote their business and think that's all there is to it, or ... there are so many possibilities!
      
      Your inactive referrals aren't doing you any harm, why not just stop worrying about them?

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      1. 60

         Jo_Goldsmith11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Hi Marisa,
         Well, what you have said, makes so much sense to me now. I will check out Helium. I just have to add it to my list of all the others I am experimenting with. Tumbler, Word Press are two I am learning how to navigate through and make sense of how to fix the font size, and the ability to structure the article so it has a clear straight lines with margins that
         are easy on the eyes. The way I try to write my hubs. Working on learning over there how to space each line with 1.5 inchs from the next sentence.
         You are so cool!   I will quit worrying. thanks

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         1. 87

            WryLiltposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Marisa will probably also point out that Helium is a quick way to lose your copyright and end up getting traffic based on social bias.

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         2. 87

            Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            No, no!  Don't add Helium to your list - run, run as fast as you can! 
            
            I wrote a Hub on Helium.  It is not a good place to write, and it's a good example of why you need to read the terms of service before you join any writing site.   
            
            If you write an article on Helium, they keep it forever, even if you leave the site, or even if you get banned. You can, theoretically, publish it anywhere else you like - but good luck finding any other site that's willing to take an article that's already published online!!   They can even use your articles in books without your consent. 
            
            I'm not sure why you would write on Tumblr or Wordpress.com since there is no opportunity to earn money on either of those sites. If you want to write your own blog, start one on Blogger (where you'll be free to add advertising later if you want).  If you just want to write articles, try some other revenue-sharing sites like Infobarrel, Wizzley, Zujava.

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            1. 87

               WryLiltposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Just a note - you can earn off Tumblr, it's just a pain in the butt because you have to code in banners yourself, and be careful with aff links.

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            2. 93

               PegCole17posted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Be sure to read the terms of service at InfoBarrel:
               "unconditionally grant InfoBarrel, and any of its affiliates ... an irrevocable, perpetual, unlimited free of charge and exclusive right to publish the Original Content on the Site and/or on other Internet Sites the Original Content shall be referred to by InfoBarrel ...as InfoBarrel shall deem suitable under the terms and conditions of this Agreement, as well as allow users of the Site to view and further use the Original Content, free of charge, for any such purpose permitted by InfoBarrel, provided such use shall not be for profit generating purposes. Without derogating from the above, InfoBarrel shall be entitled to edit, delete, cutback, rephrase, reproduce, copy, translate, merge, add, use and make use of the Materials, in whole or in part, in any way or manner and at any time, as InfoBarrel shall deem appropriate in its sole discretion. InfoBarrel reserves the right to deny publication and remove any content for any reason. The decision to deny publication or remove content is up to the sole discretion of InfoBarrel and it's representatives."
               

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2. 71

   relacheposted 10 years ago

   It sounds more like the referral trackers aren't a problem at all, but that you aren't happy with who is signing up.  If you don't work specifically at attracting skilled, active writers to join the site, then you just get whoever happens across the trackers.

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      Jo_Goldsmith11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      wow. You came across to me rather cold and judgemental.
      What did I ever do to you? Wishing you a nice day, anyway.
      Shalom

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      1. 87

         WryLiltposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         That's Relache. She says it exactly like it is, so at least you know she won't bullshit you
         
         She's right. I have about 500 signups on all my accounts and only about 5% have ever written a hub. And out of those, only about 2% have written more than five. And I'd only class two as semi successful hubbers.

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         1. 93

            PegCole17posted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I have a similar situation, Wry Lilt. I have 37 signups with only about 3 being active writers and over 115,000 views from those few active trackers. I feel lucky that one writer is a great writer with lots of hubs. The rest, when they get ready to write, they will. In the meantime, the stats are of no concern to me.
            
            Jo, I'm sorry that you've had little luck with the referral trackers, but it is true that it has nothing to do with the trackers, rather the people who've used the link to sign up. Slackers. LOL. One of the people who signed up under one of my trackers is my brother who works full time. Once he retires, he plans to write. In the meantime, his stats are low. Another one is my dentist who plans to write someday. No worries, it doesn't affect me in the least.

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            1. 60

               Jo_Goldsmith11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Hello PegCole17,
               Thank you so much. It is so nice to see you.   I think I have some other ideas, that I will just take the majority information, and just not worry about it. As far as copyrights, trademarks. And for someone to copy something and claim it for themselves. I have been down this road, a couple of times.
               It obviously wasn't one of my best ideas, because I don't know about it. Therefore, they are sadly coming to realize, they did all that work, for nothing. No reward from it. Now, this is Karma

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         2. 60

            Jo_Goldsmith11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Well, WryLilt, I am working on learning to accept that some folks communicate in this way. I have run ins with personal face to face interactions with abrasive communications and it doesn't go well for me or the other person who chooses to approach it their way. Thank you for the heads up.

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         3. 60

            Jo_Goldsmith11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Well, WryLilt, I am working on learning to accept that some folks communicate in this way.  Thank you for the heads up.
            
            relache,
            Thank you for your advice, I accept these lines of communication and I appreciate the advice. I will get right to work. Will make sure to come by later and read your amazing work.

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      2. 71

         relacheposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         That's how you chose to interpret what I said.  Which happens to be true.
         
         If you want to make money from quality referrals, you have to go find motivated, skilled writers.  In my experience, those people can't be made or encouraged, they have to be that way when you find them.

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      3. 84

         psycheskinnerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         The cold fact is that most people who sign up never make hubs.  So unless you specifically recruit suitable people, this is what will happen. 
         
         You can either target people to sign up, or go for bulk and hope to get a few real earners in the mix.

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3. 94

   Blond Logicposted 10 years ago

   Hi,
   
   I too have noticed this. When someone signs up, I try and become their first follower and welcome them to Hubpages.
   
   I know there are others who mentor the newcomer for awhile. I tried this once but they didn't respond.
   
   Good luck, I know there are other hubbers who are doing well from their referrals.
   
   Hang in there.

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   1. 60

      Jo_Goldsmith11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      See, I have these people who I think are surfers or spamers or something is going on. They sign up with my link. They write two hubs and then leave. The scores range from 7-65! So, If you have any ideas on how do I remove the non active ones, this would help. I looked through the HP help and searched for it, couldn't find anything. Thanks for your comment.
      Shalom

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         WryLiltposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         You can't remove them. You get 10% advertising share for the life of their account. So if those two hubs ever make money, you may be able to earn a few cents.
         
         Writing isn't for everyone. Many think it's as simple as blogging, which it's not. Blogging will not make you money.

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         1. 87

            WryLiltposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Just looked at your profile. You're here for fun and creativity, not money. After 2 years you have 23 hubs. Why assume your referrals will be different?

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            1. 60

               Jo_Goldsmith11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

               I had 50 once upon a time. I erased last years articles before I began a new working slate for the new year 2013. I wanted to save the material and brush it up on my spare time, (when ever this is) and resubmit to see if the comments and activity go up at all? It's one of my many theories I am working on.    Thank you again, and I hope when I am ready, and really desire the concept of making money. I will receive the same response as I have thus far while I am on my learning curve.

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                  WryLiltposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Good luck You may want to work on your SEO, particularly your titles

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                     Jo_Goldsmith11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     Okay this is another thing. SEO and titles? When I choose a title of my hubs. It is based on what I will most likely open with in my article or the article in it's entirety is a reflection of my title. So my question is WryLilt,
                     Where do I find better titles, google? This is a program that fights with my PC often.

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                        WryLiltposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        Titles need to reflect what people would type into Google to find your content.
                        
                        For instance "A Journey with Emma and her Daddy" wouldn't match searches on child abuse. "Emma - Story Of A Young Child Abuse Victim" would be more likely to match people who are searching for things like "Child abuse", "Child abuse stories" and so on.

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