Measure of success?

1. 73

   JG11Bravoposted 10 years ago

   The lack of stat updates is driving me insane and got me wondering if I'm over-the-top with my constant supervision of my view count.  I seem to hone in and focus on anything I can quantify as a measure of my success since I seem to get minimal comments on my hubs, the total views being first and foremost.
   
   That said, I wonder... How do you measure your success?

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      psycheskinnerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      My goal is a payment each month.  I am not quite there yet.  But it sure saves time to just check in with the goal once a month

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         JG11Bravoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I suspect that I'll wind up doing the same once I start accruing any variety of earnings whatsoever.

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            CMHypnoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Patience, you've only been here two weeks.  It takes time to write good hubs, it takes times for them to gain traffic, it takes time to gain followers and it usually takes time to make first payment.  Give yourself a break and think 6 months rather than 6 weeks.

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            1. 73

               JG11Bravoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Oh, of course!  I don't expect to earn anything for some time yet.  Truth be told, I write more as a hobby than anything.  The only reason I write here is that I enjoy the assorted accolades, awards, and the constructive criticism offered by what seems to be a very pleasant and helpful community.  I take more pride in my EC's than I do in my Earnings Summary.

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      paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Money, enjoyment, satisfaction. The order changes as to whether it is a how-to or creative writing.

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      Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      A forum is "a place where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged."  So it is a proper place to express your feelings about the lack of stat updates.  I started the thread "I wish the stats would update" which expressed my feelings, and, after 74 posts, Matt closed the thread.
      
      I think feelings are important and that this is the place to express them.  Like you, I do monitor the stats throughout the day and rely on them to direct my attention to what needs to be done.  I also check to see which Hub's traffic might be influencing the CPM. With holiday Hubs, there is only a short window of time to make money with them and to lose 1 1/2 days of the stats is a lot out of a 21-day opportunity.  I have had success here with holiday Hubs, but they do require constant monitoring and tweaking during their limited optimum traffic period.

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         paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         HubPages stats are for a convenient overview. Analytics is where one goes for specific analysis (even with the mess that Analytics is...).
         
         Btw, per a sometime-ago staff post, hub stats maintenance is outsourced, i.e., not done by an HP staffer.

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         epsonok0posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I did see that the thread was closed and was sad because their was a lot of good talk on their. In the future post to free forum discussion as the only rule their is no forum fighting and TOS violations. Generaly unless their is a request from the specific creator of the thread to shut it down, the will not in that forum. To shut your own thread down, edit your first post and type, "I see that this thread has bla bla bla (type what your reason is), so I am asking that it be closed".

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      Susana Sposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Over the last few years it's definitely been the amount of monthly income. Last month was successful - I earned over $600 on HP.
      
      In the early days I used to give myself little targets, mainly based on traffic levels and number of hubs published. E.g. publish one hub per week, reach 500 views per day, get a specific hub to reach 50 hits per day etc, or spend a few hours doing keyword research to find some promising (high traffic/low competition) phrases.
      
      Oh yeah - and do use google analytics for your stats - you'll find it much more helpful in the long run. HP's stats have never been good enough and were only designed to offer the basics.

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   5. 69

      quiterandomposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      My measure of success is only that someone was able to find information they needed easily, or helped someone understand an idea or process more thoroughly.
      Pretty low standards, I know.

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   6. 85

      Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I certainly don't use comments as any kind of measure, because most comments are made by members of HubPages. We are a very small community, and if your traffic is mainly from within that community, you will never be successful!
      
      Like other established Hubbers, I look at my payments to judge my success more than anything.

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2. 81

   Mark Ewbieposted 10 years ago

   My measures have changed in three years.
   
   First was to get published on HubPages!  Funny now, but when I started I thought "Whoo this is the internet - I hope I am good enough"
   
   Next was accolades and comments and likes and all that stuff.
   
   Then came search engine traffic.  Occasional shares and links.
   
   With that came a little money.  Google have more or less killed search traffic as far as I am concerned. It is too random, unfair and arbitrary to be worth chasing.
   
   My fun success today was a first Zazzle sale.  My main aim more these days would be to get decent social traffic through people liking my stuff enough to share it.
   
   
   

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      JG11Bravoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I fall firmly in the second category just now, and that timeline looks pretty darn accurate to me.

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         Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Well look - good luck to you.  There is plenty of support on HubPages - people ranging from novice to experienced.

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            JG11Bravoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Much obliged.  I'm not in a position where I'm going to drive myself insane over it, but it admittedly feels good to see some growth in popularity.  Affirmation that I can write things that are worth reading, I suppose.

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               epsonok0posted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Try to make a Facebook page devoted to your work and make sure your friends list follows it, Then share each hub to Facebook. 1 A DAY! and you should gain more traffic. Your readership will increase over time. Some days I get 1 or two visitors to all of my hubs other days its dozens on each.

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               1. 73

                  JG11Bravoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  I actually did the Facebook page thing this morning, finally... I do write more than one a day, though. Its a hobby and I write fast. I make no apologies for it.

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                     epsonok0posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     Its ok, but frequent Facebook sharing can drive people away.

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                        JG11Bravoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        I can't have that.  I only have about six friends to begin with.

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                           Rochelle Frankposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                           You need to get out more-- or maybe not,--some loners are very creative within their own space.

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                           1. 73

                              JG11Bravoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                              The space between my ears does well for me. Trust me, its "interesting" enough to keep me on my toes. Besides, I have a puppy. That doesn't leave much time for friends.

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                           epsonok0posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                           Encourage people to share. People love it if they can support something so encourage sharing with memes generated with a link to a hub the meme is about. Facebook is a meme and other such things, haven. Try that. When you put the meme on facebook be sure it says "share if you agree". That may spread it if it is good enough.

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      Dorsiposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Congrats Mark!
      
      Hey, I agree alot with what Mark said,,,,my success now is getting paid every month and I hope that ONE day I will make enough between HubPages, Zazzle, my website and the Examiner to make a little comfy living. At one point before Google pulled the rug out from many of us here at HP, some of us were on our way to being self sufficient writers $$$.
      
      So much for that. We are at the mercy of Google....so be diverse and be patient most of all! It took me 10 months to get my first payout.
      
      And I used to be an obsessive stat checker way back when. Now I usually look at the stats once or maybe twice a day, sometimes not at all for a day or two....

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         epsonok0posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         With Zazzle your 50/50 on earnings. I am there now for almost a year and almost no earnings. I have alright and original products and in my book it costs to much. My content has also been stolen a half dozen times.

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            Dorsiposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I only have a 20% royalty set on my products, and just started really trying harder at Zazzle with my designs. I'm almost to the $50 payout and tried in earnest just about 2-3 months ago. I've been there since 2009 or so but just didn't do much except things for myself.

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            1. 73

               JG11Bravoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               This Zazzle is forgein to me I'm afraid. Ill have to investigate.

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                  epsonok0posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  You pick a blank product. Put your own art on it. And try to sell it.

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      Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      That rasta is pretty cool, lol. I'm sure I know him (I lived in Clapham for years).

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   Lisa HWposted 10 years ago

   My measure of "success" on here has always been monthly earnings, and because of that - daily traffic in general and/or to any one Hub.
   
   I think, though, that taking a look at "My Account" at least once a day works well, because - at least for me - it gives me a reading of any ups-and-downs, so that I can see anything "dramatic" and trends within my own account.  While I'm there I scan for things like any broken links and do a quick check for unfeatured Hubs that may show up.
   
   Skipping days here or there is fine too, but to me, for the person who is kind of experimenting with different types of Hubs/writing, looking at least once a day at that 24-hour figure is part of keeping track of what's going on.  For the most part, I don't look at the traffic of individual Hubs at all. If anything shocking goes on with any of them I'll notice it when I do the same daily check of Google earnings.
   
   On the other hand, if I'm tired and/or have nothing better to do I'll go look at traffic and/or earnings for the heck of it sometimes.

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   1. 73

      JG11Bravoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Once a day?  I check mine.... slightly more often than that.

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4. 33

   Writer Foxposted 10 years ago

   Stats just updated.  Must have been something I said.

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5. 73

   JG11Bravoposted 10 years ago

   Not at all. I can relate.

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      Rochelle Frankposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I was going to say the same....

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6. 60

   paradigmsearchposted 10 years ago

   Every time someone visits one of my hubs, I have made a contribution to society. I like that.
   
   Seriously. If your hubs are visited, say 100 times a day, that is 100 minds you have contributed to. That is a very worthy thing to accomplish. And you even get paid for it. An average of 300 visits a day means that you have contributed to the minds of over 100,000 people in the course of a year. Personally I find that stunningly awesome. And it is a truly legitimate reason to feel good about yourself.

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      Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I like it when you make forum posts like this one!

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         paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks.

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         Dorsiposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         me too!

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            paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            You'll have to blame Bubblews for why they are so seldom.

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      Rochelle Frankposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      That is profoundly motivating. You have given me a new reason to step up my writing.
      
      I sometimes write hubs that people mark as helpful, or interesting, or even funny. I really enjoy having that small influence to evoke a thought or -- even to tickle the funnybone, since laughter or elevating a mood is also good for health.
      
      Thanks, Paradigm--- you lifted my spirit.

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         JG11Bravoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Seems like a fair number think that way. Its always pleasant to provoke a thought in a world where thinking often seems to be on the decline.

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         paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks. I'm glad I posted it here instead of Bubblews.

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7. 73

   JG11Bravoposted 10 years ago

   That's a good way to look at it, I think.

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