What went wrong? My hub is not featured: quality

1. 69

   marieryanposted 7 years ago

   I have written several hubs and only this one has been flagged as low quality. (Shock-Horror)
   
   I tried to tweak it yesterday, and I also  removed a few Amazon capsules, believing that may have been the problem.
   However the status is still the same.
   
   I wonder if anyone could give me an idea about how I could improve quality.
   The fact that this is the only hub that this has happened to is really confusing me.
   
   I hope I can add this link here. Please remove if this is not appropriate!
   
   https://hubpages.com/entertainment/How- … cal-guitar
   
   Regards. Marie.

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   1. 90

      wildernessposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I would recommend removing the sidebar capsules and making them full width - HP will do it for you in the near future if you don't do it now, anyway, and the bots may not put them where they should be.  I'm in the process of going through all my hubs and getting rid of those now.
      
      I'm not a fan of the numbered headers.  You might take out the underlining as well.  Euros could be changed to dollars; HP is primarily an American site.  Some of your photos have no attribution.
      
      Outside of these minor points, I don't see anything wrong or why it isn't featured for quality reasons.

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      1. 69

         marieryanposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks for replying, Wilderness.
         I'm going to go back and thoroughly revise all the issues you great people have flagged up for me!
         Thanks for the advice.
         Regards. Marie.

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   2. 81

      lovebuglenaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      You should definitely get rid of half-width capsules and make them all full width. Makes the hub look more organized and readable.

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2. 88

   Carola Finchposted 7 years ago

   This article certainly has the potential to be featured, but I would suggest you make a few changes.  First you have to either explain your expertise in the subject or quote some reputable source at the beginning of your article to establish your credibility as an expert in the subject matter.  Ideally, you should either be an expert or quote at least three reliable sources.  This is one of the requirements of moving to niche sites. 
   
   I would take out some of the personal comments and stick to the topic.  They are distracting and do not add to the reader's knowledge.  Take another look at the title: is there more useful information you can add? Some style points: all words in the title should be capitalized that are four letters or more.  ALL CAPS and exclamation points are no-nos.  Exclamation points should rarely be used, preferably not at all.  Good luck.

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   1. 81

      lovebuglenaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I have hubs that have been moved to niche sites and they don't cite or quote any sources. So, I do not think that it's a requirement to have sources in hubs.

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      1. 88

         Patty Inglish, MSposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         So have I, but I was then asked later to add the sources, even though I am degreed and have substantial work history and expertise in the field.
         
         I think that not all Hubs/topics will need sources, though.

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         1. 69

            marieryanposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks Patty. I'll look into this.
            Regards. Marie.

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      2. 88

         Carola Finchposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         All I can tell you that the editors told me that several of my articles could not be moved to a niche site unless I established myself as an expert or referenced several sources (or both if possible) at the beginning of the article.  They may not be as strict with older hubs that have been on the web for a while and are doing well, though I do not know for sure.

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         1. 86

            Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            It depends what the topic is.  If it's anything to do with health or wellbeing, then they insist on a lot of references.   Not so much in other areas.

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      3. 69

         marieryanposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks for interest, lovebuglena.
         It's getting a bit complicated.
         Regards. Marie.

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3. 69

   marieryanposted 7 years ago

   Thanks so much for reply, Carola.
   I agree with the points you make, there were lots of things  I hadn't realised.
   
   I really appreciate the time you've taken.
   The Hubpages Community is so helpful and generous with its time.
   Regards.
   Marie.

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   1. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Carola has offered some good advice but I don't agree with one thing, which is the advice to remove personal comments.
      
      HubPages WANTS personal experience.  They don't want "purely personal" stuff, bu they do want writers to share their personal experiences of products, services, hobbies etc.  That's what differentiates HubPages from Wikipedia - our Hubs are not just dry statements of fact, they include our own experience of the product or service or hobby or location. 
      
      If you doubt that, then remember you are not even allowed to include an Amazon product unless you claim personal experience of it!

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4. 86

   Marisa Wrightposted 7 years ago

   I'm guessing the underlined items were originally Amazon items and that's very likely the reason it was unFeatured.
   
   These days, if you are going to include an Amazon item then you MUST choose a specific model, and say why you recommend it personally.  For instance, if you wanted to include a footrest, then you'd need to say something like, "I like the fact that this footrest folds to fit in my guitar case and yet is sturdy enough that it feels solid under my foot".     Don't say, "This footrest fits neatly into a guitar case yet is sturdy enough to feel solid"- that will be seen as too impersonal.
   
   One more note, though it probably isn't the reason it's unfeatured - I recommend people NOT to use photos from Photobucket.  Photobucket doesn't police its content and most of the images are stolen.  So you may be using a copyright image without knowing it, and that leaves you open to prosecution.  Pixabay is a much safer option.

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5. 88

   Carola Finchposted 7 years ago

   I was not the one who made the suggestion to remove personal comments.  I believe that that is not allowed on HubPages.  I agree that personal experiences are good, but they need to add something to the topic other than a personal opinion.

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   1. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Ah.   I see a lot of well-intentioned (but ill-informed) Hubbers telling people to write in third person and avoid injecting themselves into the article, and I jumped to the conclusion you meant the same thing, and I apologise for that. 
      
      I agree that it's not appropriate to include personal comments if it doesn't add to the topic.  But personal opinions are definitely valid - like I said, the Amazon rules are a perfect indicator of HubPages' view on that.  If you feature an Amazon product and say, "Industry experts say this is an excellent blue widget", they will snip the ad - that doesn't meet the requirement.  If you say, "I have found this to be the best blue widget", it will be allowed.

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      1. 69

         marieryanposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Hi Marisa.
         Thanks for time replying to question and comments.
         I wasn't aware of the photo issue with Photobucket. I wrote this hub a long time ago when starting out and just stumbled into Photobucket in those early days. I will address that immediately. I'll try Pixabay.
         
         I also understand now a bit more about the 'personal experience' element. Thanks so much for clarifying that with Carola!
         
         Great help and good advice from all.
         Regards. Marie.

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6. 69

   marieryanposted 7 years ago

   Update on post about learning Spanish Classical Guitar .
   Thank you so much to all those who gave me encouragement and advice on how to improve the hub, which had been unfeatured due to quality.
   I worked on all the issues suggested and I'm so happy to anounce the hub has got "featured" status again.
   Thanks to everyone for giving their time and expertise.
   Kindest regards to the hubpages community.

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   1. 88

      Carola Finchposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Congrats!

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