A Twisted View About Success on Hubpages
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Two Things, or Maybe One Things
Recently I have been considering writing on Hubpages with the goal of generating a living income. I received an email the other day notifying me that I had accumulated 100 followers! In that email was a link to Hupages success stories. There are a decent amount and I studied the highest earners in earnest.
There were two things that struck me. After I recovered from the backhanded blows, I evaluated what they were. One idea that becomes apparent is that SEO, backlinking and being involved in the Hubpages community are nearly essential to becoming a 2011 dot.com writer millionaire, or shall we say, thousandaire. Although I have to admit, I still don't know what the heck backlinking is or how to do it. I know if I sit down and just read about it and experiment, I'll have it down in a day. But when I consider this, I also have to consider another source of practical knowledge: The Bible. God says that, "a day is as a thousand years..." and so on. You get the picture. Well actually you don't. Because although I have searched the internet to and fro for a picture to represent the "thousand thing" analogy, I realized that since pictures are worth a thousand words, my readers would get bored because a lengthy article... zzzzzzzzzzzzz blah blah blah.
The Numbers Start to Add Up
But then I ran across one hubber in particular that caught my eye. After I asked him to give it back, I took stock of the other success stories and compared them to his. While others may have proudly added a total of 600 hubs to their profile to make that $1200 a month, this particular eyeball thief had only published about a third that number and was making even more monthly income!
The Master Key
The key was this: While other hubbers (successful ones of course - and I'm not saying they are doing it wrong either since I haven't even broken the $100 mark myself) spend approximately 2 hours on research and writing for each hub, this particular slowpoke spends about 6 hours on research and writing, and of course a little more time commenting on other hubs with the end result being that the lazy slob publishes one hub a week instead of the required three the other industrious little hubbers put out.
"Real Writing"
The moral of the story of course is quality over quantity. But that all depends. Depends on what? It depends on what kind of writer you are. Are you an analytical writer with a need to completely understand everything about your work? Maybe you are something that is the exact opposite of what you don't find in most papers: a real journalist who digs deep and cites real and verifiable sources. Seriously, how can a real journalist write a piece that depends completely on the Associated Press?
Journalism No Longer the Holy Grail
"But that's a pipe dream!" you scream. At me that is. (Was the exclamation point really necessary since I added a description of the kind of tone being used? Whatever, I liked it that way. If you don't like it - No! Wait! Don't go!). Ahem. Yes yes, I know that's not the real world. Papers have to put out content that the masses will pay for. Thankfully, more and more the internet is killing the papers and allowing real writers (real bad writers) to put out content and make residual income off of the ads placed next to your articles for your convenience mostly by Google Adsense.
This puts us in the precarious position of generating an independent income, thereby allowing us to stick out our collective tongues at the traditional tie-me-down publishing venues (which by the way, still insist on using old typewriters and carbon copies), while scraping our bellies, hanging our tails and licking Google's face, imploring Google Alpha to stick around and keep us motivated to write so we can earn our paychecks. Of course we internet content producers will bemoan the day that a nuclear bomb sends out an electromagnetic pulse destroying every working computer in sight and those out of work paper journalists will have the last laugh, right along with the cockroaches I'm sure.
Incidentally, if the internet ever fails on a global or even national scale, I am very sure that we'll have bigger things to worry about (like those 10 foot long radioactive cockroaches).
Bringing in the Loot - Make it Hurt
I have wandered from my original point to make that second one: as long as writers put out good content which brings in the loot at Adsense, then we'll be able to write for a living online. Now I also know that my comments concerning journalism and the ethics practiced by those in "real" journalism (Time magazine writers need not apply) will provoke some ire. Although I seriously doubt that the big names in journalism will even pay attention to this humble hub, maybe it will attract writers from smaller papers who still feel a sense of pride in what they do and are severely offended by my small minded comments. Good. Please add your comments below. This will increase traffic to my hub which will lead to more revenue for me and also contribute to your continual demise. Go ahead. Comment. You know you want to.
Besides, I am only hitting where it hurts. But due to the whimsical nature of this particular piece, do not expect to drag me into a serious and heated debate, because I won't go there and furthermore I will pummel you with inane and backward logic common to flame wars on religious and political Youtube video comments sections or other misguided forums.
Back to Basics
Where the hell was I going with this? Oh yeah, Successful hubbing. Point is that trying too hard will not quite get you there. Like a P-51 Mustang trying to break the sound barrier (before the orange, pointy airplane did it), you'll succeed in getting past the sound barrier at the expense of your wings. Hmmm. Good analogy. If you love to write, writing well is like flying. Find yourself a thermal and enjoy the leisurely ride to higher altitudes. The real challenge is finding that thermal and staying inside it. The other way is to beat your wings until you think your heart is going to explode and when you think you've struggled to the top, you look up and see a happy bird several thousand feet higher who got there the easy way and is now effortlessly staying there by using the tops of thermals and other currents only he can use. You're not high enough.
My Final Point - Honest.
So SEO can be a good thing, but it occurred to me that if a writer makes the most money by using his natural talent rather than mass producing strings of words in the proper order to regurgitate the expected tripe that browsers seem to feed on, then maybe we shouldn't worry about SEO either! Man what a concept.
Which leads to my final epiphany about writing for success. Cut out the SEO. Cut out the backlinking, the word counting and the spammy content. Take the easy path to success: don't write anything at all, just leave the page blank and hit, "publish."
Whoops, here are some ads:
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SEO is very hard for me to understand. I haven't been writing for awhile due to some personal issues but even when I was I could never figure out how to make one cent. I am now trying to write again and really want to figure this thing out. I really need extra income!! Great article! I voted it up!
Hi 50! I wasn't sure if anyone would get the blank page joke. I wasn't sure if this hub was even entertaining, but your positive feedback helped seal the deal (well, that and my brother when I read it to him). Exclamation points and smiley faces are my favorite ways to express myself, but one would think that is completely counter-intuitive for a writer to do :-( I think here on HP, we're allowed.
Oh my God, Karma. I don't get it, it feels more like pressure to conform to a system that benefits HP rather than rewarding good writing. That's alright though, HP is pretty awesome and no one is perfect. I may try that trick you mentioned though, see what happens.
As far as followers, I think the higher quality writers gather more followers, and your stuff is interesting, not to many people live like you do. But I have plenty of followers that are just content producers. I try to ignore them.
I totally agree with your following / commenting system, my philosophy is similar. Whether talking about being sociable or making money here, it is just good practice to be civil and make a little time for others. The only exception is that now I no longer follow someone if they don't put out something I like.
Interesting story about the Jaguar owner, I've never heard of that. I have often thought about setting up a blog and writing short stories or other entertaining articles and merely having a simple one dollar donation request "if they like what they read" button. I think I'll still try that. Thanks for reminding me! If it works, I'll buy you a new rifle or something so you can continue to live under the tax radar.
Thanks for the encouragement and appreciation Dusty, even if you ramble (been drinking some cactus wine?).
rls8994, thanks for voting me up. It sucks when life gets in the way of things like writing, but that happens.
SEO is a weird creature. Too much SEO and search engines reject you. With the right kind and right amount of SEO, you get bumped up the ranks. But despite my sarcasm, I really do believe that SEO and other ranking techniques do not determine the amount of love your writings ultimately receive. The first thing is to love writing and love or really be into the subject matter. All those other techniques should be handled like regular maintenance on a car: Change the oil every 3000 miles, keep up on your fluids and buy new tires when they wear out. You could do all those things every week but it wouldn't make a difference on your vehicle's performance, at least not enough to justify the cost!
Same with SEO, do what you need to do (once you understand it), but first make sure there's gas in the tank (writing for the love of it).
Of course, I may be completely off the wall. Check out the Hubpages Success stories and read a few, find out how much those writers employ ranking techniques. Good luck!
I tied Hub pages into google also. If there is monetary reward for writing I don’t mind. I am not going to change my writing style or subject matter to make an extra buck. I do it for the enjoyment. If I was writing for money, I would research and do everything a successful writer does. I write what feels right and enjoy the positive feedback. I enjoy your hubs because they are informative and very entertaining. By the by, does it help to click through ads to help others to make extra $$?
Thanks for loving me Rob. I like your free and independent attitude. We'll have to find a way to reel you in and control you now.
We talked on the phone about clicking on other's ads, and now I think that it probably does generate more revenue. I think the only penalty is when you click on your own ads. That is explained somewhere here on Hubpages... just don't ask me where.
Good hub! I haven't broken the $100 payout mark yet either... Mostly I just write for enjoyment, as you seem to. Maybe one day we'll figure out the hubpages puzzle.
Thanks William, I plan to make it, just gonna keep trying till I do.
Good hub, good jokes, very thoughtful. Thumbs up!
Thanks Silver, glad you liked it, this is pretty off-beat for me.
Voted Up! I like your style! :)
Thanks cottontail. I'll be checking your style soon.
Great writing as usual ! Very gifted you are in sharing your thoughts...! : )
Thanks for reading my hub and thanks for the compliments Tobia.
I wish I could actually log in to give you the full-status-fellow-hubber thumbs-up (hyphens, baby, hyphens!) but it seems I've become disillusioned with HP and can't remember my password. How nice of your hub to bring me back to why I signed up for this in the first place: good writing and a belly laugh every so often, too. I, for one, am glad you didn't just publish a blank page. And, just between us, a bunch of research on a hot-button topic does not equal qualitative writing. The ability to make your readers laugh, on the other hand, is a gift. [insert smiley face here] I'm off to push some upward-pointing arrow now.
Great writing and funny. Keep them coming
Zollstock, you make me laugh too. And thanks for that hidden smiley face - colon, dash and ending parentheses. Yeah, we gotta keep it real yo!
I'm glad you liked it Utrecht11. I will.
Well, I rather agree. I can't get into the SEO and backlink kind of stuff. Am I lazy? Probably. I make my living writing, and my goal on Hubpages is to put in a year writing nearly every day on topics that interest me. I'll see what happens. In the meantime, my little recipe for Yukon Gold Potato Bread has the most traffic for some reason. OK by me.
I have a feeling you will see some success when you write about what you want to write about. Thanks for reading and commenting Ramona.
I was wondering what you've been up to recently when I came upon this very entertaining hub. I never had the foggiest idea about back links, rss and seo and all those technical things. Well now i've been banned for a tos violation, which I think is clicking on your own adds, it must have been those raunchy ones they put on my ladies underwear hub!! :)
Now i'll never get beyond the $38 i earned in a year ! Drat!!
Glad you found and enjoyed the hub Gypsy, and thanks for commenting. I miss seeing your stuff on HP, you haven't been banned from writing have you? Get a different account!
I think all that technical garbage is the drudgery end of the online writing game, just like any job. Right now I feel like one of those multi-level marketing wannabe millionaires spouting off the dogma with bright and overly happy eyes, believing in a system that hasn't paid off yet, but I have faith ;-)
After you told me about your run in with self clicking, I was very careful after that to avoid clicking on my own ads. Lucky for me, I never wrote about ladies underwear or I would have been banned too - although not because I want to wear them of course (except Saturday nights when I wear my high heels).
Seriously, I think writing online is a labor of love, but I love writing so much and despise working for a "job" that it is not a chore for me. The trouble is finding the time to write a good hub.
Funny, funny, funny, with a touch of irony. Although I begun my writing "career" for money, it quickly became apparent that I am not really going to earn much money doing it. I guess it's because my articles are not that commercial, or maybe just not that good. Or maybe I don't quite know the "writing ropes." Anyway I do enjoy writing and will continue to do so. Really good hub, Alexander. Voted up!
Fastfreta, thanks so much for stopping in, thanks for voting up, and I'm even more glad you enjoyed it.
I think the trick to making money is to apply the technical techniques to your writing, not to write for the technical techniques, and also of course writing what interests Google searchers - basically outside links.
This hub for example seems to attract other hubbers, but not much outside traffic, so not much money to be made here. But ultimately we must write what we love to write about, and I like your stuff Fastfreta, so I'm glad you have set yourself to continue writing.
Hi Alexander, I like your hub too. The style, the irony, and the attitude to writing, oh and the thermal thing. I briefly paused to imagine myself soaring, but I'm going to need practice to really go with that idea.
I am slowly thinking SEO is important. This is because my 'best' hubs are not the most popular with Google, whereas one or two, by accident, do get occasional search engine hits. When I say SEO I mean writing stuff that other people might be looking for.
That's a toughie. I recently started following fastfreta who also writes great stuff, but not money makers. I hope the good writers keep writing good stuff regardless. I hope I turn out to be a good writer that makes money also, but whatever happens, happens.
However, if you can find it in your heart to write about American politics, wolves or wolfdog hybrids and Star Trek, you'll probably find the directions to the pot of gold. Time will tell if I am right. Live long and Prosper. (Do comments get catalogued on Google?
Comments do get catalogued. I know this from experience. It was quite exciting, someone found me, thanks to someone else's comment.
I tried writing a blank hub once. It didn't work.
I also tried writing a blank comment - like this one, but that didn't work either. I wonder why? This comment seems to have 'stuff' in it.
You are my hero Manna! Would the spirit of the blank comment or hub still be intact if you inserted a period after the blank space? I have encountered this weird phenomenom in web design (I only know html and css) that there has to be SOMETHING, anything to hold the place of a "blank" space. In fact, here's my idea if you want to try again. type in html code to make a space. I would demonstrate here, but the comments sections in HP don't allow html. You may be able to publish "nothing" after all. Thanks for commenting :-P
.
Hey - it works if you put lot's of spaces in.
Trippy !
He he, you're right!
Ha ha!
That felt good!
I have no hope of ever becoming a dot.com writer, however, you're analysis, subsequent opionions and delivery on the topic were definitely enjoyable to read. Nice job and maybe you'll see my scribblings on a bathroom wall someday...yes, I am aiming high!!
Hi Brutus, thanks for reading and commenting, I'm very happy you enjoyed it. I'm going to check out your scribblings soon, I think I'll enjoy debating with you (that was in the bio in the email).
don't ever become a dot.com writer. My can say this right now: my stated goal is to help others, and I would be remiss if I didn't say I feel that AdSense is the ulitmate odd job, something clicks, and then something doesn't. With 200+ hubs I have teh luxgury of playing around a bit more. Hats off to this hubs (PS, backlinking is also known as linking -- if you hit teh share it button, and then hit stumble upon, you've creeted a "link" or a "backlink" or whatever.--hope that makes it clear as mud)
As muddy can clear be on a rainy day. Just kidding, that is helpful.
I find that I have to fight the battle between writing for passion and commercializing. Once it becomes commercial, I might as well lick envelopes for a living. So I'm going to write what I love first and monetize second.
Thank you for reading this hub and the compliment.
Alexander-- my suggestion? do what you love, and sometimes it makes you money (in my case it does, but it took a long time!-- remember that although I've been on hubpages for a bit over a year, I've been writing online for more than 3 =))
Great hub! I started here almost two years ago with the delusion that I would make money right away. Honestly, how hard could it be? I love to write so thought it was be an easy task. I took a break for a year after writing for about three months. I didn't make a dime. At the time, I seen a ton of newbies following anyone that would follow them in the hopes of gaining traffic. I didn't see this as right at the time, because I like to interact with my followers. Too many, and you didn't have a clue what they wrote or how well they wrote. Most of the stuff may not fall in the interest range.
When I came back, I decided it would be for my love of writing more so than money. I follow people and try to do my best to comment on their work, but sometimes life gets in the way and I don't get a change to read it. I now have created a folder for those hubs I didn't get a chance to read right away in the hopes of finding time in the future.
I am slowly seeing money trickle in from a few hubs I didn't expect to make money. Hubs I thought would be money makers don't see much traffic at all. Where I once would be obsessive about it and my hubs scores, I just ignore it now and move on. I have seen my author score hit 100 twice in one week only to be a 92 before the day would end. The same has happened with my karma score.
I give you a vote up and look forward to reading more. If I don't respond right away, forgive me, chances are I have been drug away by the issues of real life. I have enjoyed reading your hubs and look forward to reading more. Thanks!
Hi tlpoague, very nice to meet you. I am starting to see that the love of writing is what we need to focus on first, even if that means we don't make a lot of money.
I tried to write a hub systematically and worked on it for the past two weeks, but although it was well written, it was dry as a bone and bereft of passion. I am not that kind of writer and I don't think most good writers can honestly produce good material just for money.
I'm really glad you came by and are following me, I'll be checking out your corner soon.
Thanks Alexander for the great Hub. I've worked as a bouncer, carpenter, machinist, teacher, and tutor; but with writing I'm doing something I love to do from the time I get up in the morning to when I go to bed late at night. Whether I make money with Hub Pages or not, I'm going to keep writing for the love of it. There are lots of ways to profit from writing than posting with Hub pages anyhow. Once I have a large enough selection of life memory stories written down I might even try putting them all together into a collection of short stories. What matters the most is doing what you love to do and sharing what you care to with the rest of the world. Have a great day and keep writing. Ken
Thanks Ken. I bet that you have plenty of material saved up from all of your occupations. I envy your life, writing all day and night is a dream come true. I agree with your sentiment about writing for the love of it. I will have a great day, because I am writing!
I did not know you started writing Hubs again, my friend. I just had a hunch today to come take a look—as I have countless times before with nothing new to see.
I do not use backlinks at all. But I do love the photographs you chose for this Hub.
I spend about eight hours on publishing each Hub. I am making $150 a month so far. But I am gaining invaluable practice at writing which I intend to put to good use by a writing a few books. They probably won't make any money either. We shall see what we shall see.
Hi James, great to see you, uh, read you I mean :-) Thanks for checking in on me. Yes, I am back, as much as I can. More hubs are definitely coming.
This hub was more about generating a laugh, a sarcastic commentary on making money writing online. I really do believe it's possible, and although 150 a month isn't much, it would pay for a trip to the beach and lunch - or a 100 dollar burger. I'll be glad to get to that level!
I'm glad you are writing your books despite the dubious returns, you will accomplish every writer's goal: to communicate ideas. At least that's my opinion.
I hope you're doing well, and I haven't seen your hubs in my emails lately (although I have missed the last seven hub notices) so I'm ready for your next one - unless it's about baseball ;-)
8 hours! I believe it, the amount of knowledge I gain from your long hubs is astounding. I think I spend about 4-6 hours on a good hub.
I learned something here and I really, really enjoyed this hub. I love your style and it was clear and crisp. Thanks for sharing your knowledge
Thanks for dropping by Ladybird33, and thanks for the compliments!
Alexander, haha...I really enjoyed this (and beautifully presented too). There was much I could relate too. I vaguely know what a backlink is but have no idea how to create them effectively.
Love the blank hub concept. I had thought about writing a one-line hub..."How to make Money!!!"...Get a job at the mint.
Thanks for the chuckle Jane, I actually had to think about that one for a minute (it's 2AM - during the day it would take me about 5 minutes).
I had to go and read this again, and thanks for teh warm words and teh BIG HUGE smile! I can say this is an awesome hub!
You really are a sweetheart Rebecca! You must have been the one to push the score to 90, thanks!
Hello Alex, Thanks for info. and smiles. Haven't a clue about how it all works ,jandee---like you say 'if put mind to it well maybe a day' but so much to do,jandee
I kind of look at it like clocking in for a regular job (but much, much better). Working as a slave for someone else, you are forced to be productive, whether that be the job itself, or something not in your job description but related, or not doing your job but making your boss happy.
In any case, you HAVE to be there and you HAVE to do something. Writing for a living or a part time income can be the same in my opinion.
For me the trick is setting aside valuable time (as it is for everyone)and saying to myself, "I am here for 2 (or 6) hours and I am totally free to write - it is my job. Laundry and dishes can wait just like when I'm at a "real" job.
And that is really, really hard. Right now I'm a hypocrite by the way, I'm working ALOT of overtime and doing a side job designing a website, so that is my excuse. But when the overtime ends in April, I will be setting aside a regular time again to write.
Glad you got a laugh out of this article, and just do what you love. If you want to make money, be patient with yourself and write and comment and learn everyday.
Thanks for checking out the hub.
Great hub. My own "earnings" have yet to reach 20 dollars. I am just here to read and write, which I wish I could do more often, but life has other plans. Lolz.
I love your style of writing, it's exciting and interesting. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Phoebe, I will do it.
Thanks for the great info here.
Thanks Pastor, I didn't mean to write an informational hub, honest!
Nice AM. If it isn't from the heart I just can't generate the enthusiasm.
Agree with you MD, although I find that it can be a matter of degrees if I aim for the money, but I always want to keep it truthful. A surf magazine writer once told me that I should always write the truth - that was the main thing.
Nice hub.
I believe good writing is key to both enjoying what you write and having others enjoy your writing. SEO and the rest of it turn writing into a science which is great but sometimes a little tedious.
Very true! Thanks for coming by JDeAngelis, glad you liked it.
"But then I ran across one hubber in particular that caught my eye. After I asked him to give it back, I took stock of the other success stories and compared them to his."
:)
He he, you found the hidden gem.
I really enjoyed this. You had humor and loved the photos! especially the cat. It lookes like my cat when her belly is full, and she is trying to sleep. I loved the way you made so much sense! voted up! Because of all the wonderful reasons I mentioned! there is more, but I don't want to fill up the entire page. lol take care
Hi Jo,
your comment makes me smile. That cat is pretty cute, I'm thinking I might make it a theme in my hubs.
I made sense? Sometimes I wonder about myself, but when I find other people who are insane, I feel better ;-)
God bless you.
I prefer quality over quantity. Writing a lot of articles with no substance only makes me look bad. Great story.
Not sure how I missed your stuff before. I added you as a friend, fan or whatever they call it here.
Glad to meet you Pamela, thanks for the follow - I'll be by later to check out your hubs.
I notice you went to my hubs about Hubpages, I usually never write that kind of hub because there are so many people who know more than me. That's probably why you missed me. Plus HP is pretty big and it's easy to miss hubbers you like.
Looking forward to reading your writing.
Thanks for this Hub. I will say that there is a lot that I don't understand about HubPages and "success" either, but I will say that I do want a lot of comments, followers, and clicks :)
Over my time here on HubPages, I have found that while things may not make that much sense to me, HubPages does seem to know what brings in the income and they try to help you with this. For a while I thought that the whole Accolades thing was silly and trying to suck up your life posting comments and Hubs... but then I saw that the most I tried to improve my scores, the better my HubScore was and the better my Hubs seemed to do :)
Also, when I started HubPages, they had the Hub topic idea bank that would generate ideas for you to Hub about. At first I thought these topics were very strange, but then I realized that they were the most searched-for topics on search engines and that my Hubs were doing quite well for this reason! So I've trusted HubPages and have been content with my "success :)
Thanks for the Hub as usual!
I think the entertainment value was the most valuable aspect of this hub, but I'm glad people find it helpful. I really appreciate what you wrote here, I didn't know the suggestions resulted from Google searches - I am going to try and integrate that into my hubs. Also did not know about accolades, so you have ended up educating me - thank you very much.
I noticed that I make about 3 dollars a month now. It's nothing but I love it because it's consistent and I am starting to believe I can build that up. Your comment has totally encouraged me today, thank you. I will be by to check out your hubs and follow you soon.
I'm not much on the SEO, mostly just trying to follow people here to get them to follow me to increase traffic for whenever I write a hub. I'm also hoping that someday I'll write a hub that by chance is a big traffic producer.
Hi Phil! I think SEO is overrated, not because it doesn't work but because I hate doing it and then Google pulls the rug out from people who do SEO. I think your technique works best, my score rises whenever I start commenting a lot and it also rises when I write a decent hub. I do have a hub that gets a decent amount of attention - try writing (passionately) about wolves. Thanks for checking out so many of my hubs! I will try and return the favor.
Good stuff, Mark, and I think (or hope) that's the direction successful hubbers are moving towards. I realize I could write on topics that could produce greater short-term results, but I figure if I keep attempting to produce quality hubs, I'm far more likely to maintain consistent followers over time (and be a little less embarrassed to share with family and friends).
Well done! I enjoyed reading this.
I hear you on the embarrassment factor. I thought about farming content but realized the smell of manure would diminish my talent and the respect my friends and family have for me as a writer. I get the sense from a few good bloggers and a decent amount of hubbers that quality content sees them through even if they don't see the temporary high revenues that content manure farmers grow. Fighting the system to take advantage of it is wasting a lot of energy and ignoring the rewards we get from writing and reaping the benefits of using our skill and talent to make honest money. I'm heading over to check out your hubs.
Very interesting article, and well written! I completely agree with you that "quality comes first, quantity second." I liked the way you added "humor" in your article-it was very entertaining!:-)
As for making money here on HubPages, I have yet to explore that myself-hopefully someday! Keep writing. I'm crossing my fingers for you that someday you will also earn bug bucks, and more importantly that your hubs will get the attention they deserved. Voted up-interesting/beautiful/funny/useful!:-)
Hi Caroline, sorry I didn't see your comment here, I didn't get a notification in the mail. Thank you so much for the endorsement and the votes. If you keep writing good stuff, I am sure the money will come. I am not making much, but I'm up to a steady few dollars a month ever since I joined the HP advertising program. As soon as my life settles back down, I am going to come back here with a vengeance and build that up and get back to reading other's hubs.
Great hub! Love the cat picture and your sense of humor. Not looking forward to 10ft nuclear cockroaches. Voted up!
You crack me up Gypsy, I have never read so eloquent a comment. All I can say is
Wow, I didn't think I would ever get to the "comment" section. It took me 10 minutes to scroll all the way down here. I have a feeling that you are a deep thinker!!! So...what was this hub all about??? lol No really, I do know, but what was it really about? Oh, right, comedy, right? I keep getting sidetracked, Alexander. Or I just have a memory problem...
Ha ha! I can't compete with your comment Susie, you get the last laugh.
You're sweet, Alexander. I was just a'kiddin. Have a blessed evening, my friend.
Can I just point out ANYWAY for the record that I have stated many times here, and in other places for that matter where I send out my thoughts to the masses (which aren't that massive by the way) that good writing and talent and great content are always going to trump anything backlinking and SEO are going to offer up. One need not forget that in the "real world" of publishing, that all it takes is to pick up a bad book and know that you'll never seek out the writer of it again. So it goes with SEO as well. It may work for a little while. It'll certainly work as long as SEO has a place. But I tend to think that it won't. That is, SEO. It won't last forever. I tend to think that search engines will get smarter. That Internet readers are not all that dumb. Good writing will outlast any trickery one wants to put out to get somewhere. Good writing will be the thing that lasts. I'm not saying I'm a good writer or that my content is superior to anything that an SEO writer puts out. But I know that my bottom line at the END of the line may ultimately determine that, and I'm fine with that.
HubPages is truly a fascinating place. That's to be sure. And I can't say, even through my recent tribulations, that I haven't had fun here so far, or that I'm not having loads of fun right now as we speak. I have. And I am.
As for getting paid? Well, that is, of course, an added bonus. I'm certainly not inclined to send any checks back to Google, that's for sure. Do I expect to stumble upon a career in light of SOMEONE, one of those REAL publishers or REAL writers noticing what I write here is maybe worth a little something more? Not on your life.
Either way, whether it's here or somewhere else, I CAN say I'll keep doing it anyway. I'll keep doing if HubPages goes away, hell I'll do it if the Internet goes away. Come hell or high water I'll FIND a way even if I have to invent it myself.
As for the checks? Back to that, yes. I'll do it if those go away too.
BTW, I think you were alluding to something else which I think is true. If you write something thought provoking in a forum like this, people are going to respond, and it's their responses which get included in all that indexing. Write a great idea and let others add the SEO as they comment on it. Hmmm. :)
To paraphrase what Springboard said - if you write well enough, you don't NEED to know what backlinking is - folks will do it for you.
That Todd Shaw, what a comedian. He knows damn well the only way to make money writing on HP is to write drivel. Just look at some of the chosen and follow the pattern. Write about shit you know nothing about and add some photos and call yourself a photographer then stop by and watch me throw up:-P Good luck though. Peace!! Tom
Sorry it took me so long to respond to all your comments, especially you Springboard!
From what I have observed, it's consistency in one's work that gives success, and persistence in what they are doing. I think it's a double element. If you love to drive your car all day long, you can be a great driver and enjoy the ride. But without regular oil changes and maintenance and so on, you won't be driving for long. I like to think that SEO and backlinking aren't necessary, but some sort of self promotion is necessary and the way we choose to do it dictates the results. I prefer long and slow and steady, allowing readers to find me naturally for the most part. The more I focus on the money, the crappier my writing gets.
I agree, we must keep writing - to hell with Hubpages or even the existence of the internet - BUT, I hope we are never reduced to handwriting everything. I love to type away the hours, and I can even adapt to a typewriter, but God forbid you find me drawing animal pictures on some mountain cave (with crayons).
Wesman, thank you for the encouraging words and the visit.
Justom, what you say makes sense. Why just the other day, and the day before that, and the day before that,... I gained another fan from a foreign country that talks about how nature makes her relax and that it is good. I don't know if that's drivel or true expression. Either way, I have to agree. Who wants upchuck for dinner?
Where have you been all my (HubPages) life? I just discovered you from a comment you left on a hub of someone I follow and thought 'he's the very fellow for me' (same warped sense of humour). So here I am ... and you are!
Gave up with keywords, SEO, back linking etc. after the first 3 months and now I just write what the heck I like when I like. Sadly I can't quite kick the daily stats check habit though but I'm having fun ... especially when I find a golden nugget like you amongst the ... er, other stuff.
Oh wow, what a comment. Sorry I didn't see this one sooner, I just happened to check my comments section on my account page, I never received a notice for this one in my email - sheesh.
Yep, I'll agree we are like two peas in a pod :-D I am finding that audience building techniques do work to some degree, but it isn't a factory work proposition, if we keep our passion at the forefront and enjoy the entire process, and things move financially from there, that's great. But like you said, finding people like you are the real gold here.
However, I think I will never do SEO - to me it's so false, changing your artfully considered words to suit the driving needs of the fickle Google searchers. I know it works, but if we do good work, it should speak for itself right?
This was an amazing hub. i thoroughly enjoyed it and hung on every word. I don't normally read hubs this long but I was there with you the whole way, nodding and mmhmming and cringing and laughing. You're gifted. You're a truly terrific writer and you have a lot to say and it seems to interest me. It is a pleasure to follow you. i look forward to more and more of your hubs.
You really will have to write again Alexander!
You really will have to write again Alexander!
Thank you very much PDX, I am humbled by your equally well-written comment.
Gypsy, you said it twice. Therefore I must take your advice under serious consideration :-) How about you?
I still write but not here.
Personally "Money", isn't my objective at all, I'm looking to show the world what my mind has been thinking about ever since I was born. I believe we all have some intense stories to tell to the world, ummm. We should all be thankful, that our stories are getting heard and read today on Hubpages, so If anyone else is like me they too are here to get their voice heard.
A digital voice that gets "Heard", across millions of potential web locations, & to viewers worldwide whom are starving to feel what you've been through, to absorb knowledge you possess, to read whats in the deepest corners of your mind, to discover the truest essence of a complete strangers perspective view point on this thing they call Life & so much more countless reasons.
Hubpages is that in a nutshell to me, they could have a called it anything & I would still be here, because I've been here ever since I discovered how to write onto the web by means of blogging, hubbing, or whatever they wanna name it. As long as a single person can see what I have to get out of my mind, that's all that matters to me.
Adsense that for all I care, its only worth what efforts we all put into this machine counter thingy they call a computer & the Web. If you simply let it all go, and write from the heart, if the blessing is due to you there is nothing to stress just let it flow. Like he stated above with the part on the the "P-51, the happy bird & beating your wings).
Powerful hub you have here, I love it when a plan works out such as this beautiful hub you wrote @Alex. Voted up on all levels.
Great inspiring response CloudExplorer. Perhaps I shall write here again!
Wow CloudExplorer, what a magnificent perspective. Your point is very valid, although I have to admit I don't completely understand people that have no desire for money but just want to express themselves. I need to cultivate that attitude in my future ventures, although I went through a period of learning where I figured out that the passion for writing and expressing what's on your heart is the most important element in producing hubs or anything on the internet.
Some people can write garbage and be successful, but we don't ever want to find ourselves in that miserable state - not as genuine writers anyway.
I love that you got the idea I was trying to get across with the P-51 and the struggling bird.
Thanks for finding me and writing such mighty comments even on my fanmail. How can I refuse such graciousness? I'll be by to read your hubs soon my friend.
Please do Gypsy!
Absolutely loved your almost stream of consciousness/humorous style of writing. You imparted some great info even if you didn't mean to and I am still laughing as I type these comments. And, before you ask, that is a bit like walking and chewing gum at the same time. What can I say, I am proficient at multi-tasking. GClark
Thank you! Keep up the good work!
GClark, thank you - you are right by the way, I didn't mean to impart much knowledge, and I'm glad I achieved my main goal. But I can see I'll have to work much harder on that, because your comment was coherent and apparently you multi-task well. I consider that a challenge! I'll drop in for a visit soon.
PDXKaraokeGuy (I thought I'd spell out the entire name this time just to prove I'm not lazy - at least not always) thanks and I'll do my best.
cool. I didn't actually think u were lazy ;-)
I like your response to one of my questions; and, decided to look at some of your hubs. I not sure if I enjoyed the article or the comment section better. If the key to "success" on blogs is to write drivel that says nothing, then I can do that. (I think I can do that. I am pretty sure some of my Hubs are drivel. People keep reading things into them.) That is probably not the point of your article. I don't understand SEO; and, am under the impression that the industry (Is that the correct term?) is geared to sites that sell something. I think this might be the longest comment I have written.
You have peaked my curiosity leroy, I am coming by to check out your drivel and I am sure your drivel is better than the usual drivel one finds on spam sites and forums. The question you posed sparked my brain to think about the value of money and what drives it, and your comments make me think too. Your my kind of driveler.
I would have to agree that the money aspect drives the internet engine (pardon the half-pun), but it always amazes me that it starts with a passionate few who get things rolling without apparent reward. Take blogging. That started at a time when the internet was still not part of the physical commercial media, and after years of people blogging - posting personal musings and other information, it became profitable. Even now, many people don't entirely believe that you can make money on the internet creating commentary on finances or daily routines or other seeming nonsense. I love capitalism when it works.
Is it working for you Alexander?
It's starting to, yes.
Mark, I just went back and dug into your profile...and started in.
I found hubs by mistake one day..I jumped in and spewed out some thoughts....then I put on a writing I had done several months before....I had never shared it with anyone before, but I thought what the heck...I ended up getting some good comments and have developed some fantastic friends.
I made three bucks one month! But what really makes me excited is the comradely that I have found here.
I am learning more and more about writing...I have now done (attempted) a few poems, and have shared many "rants" as I like to call them....
Overall, this place is a blast and a blessing to me.
Thanks for sharing with me on my hubs...and for this one.
Chris
I agree Chris, camaraderie is one of the best aspects of HP (the very best is being able to write and be seen of course), I have met so many interesting people with different and great views on everything, that I think HP is very special and irreplaceable.
Believe it or not, you've been on my mind lately and I am planning on lurking your profile and checking out more of your work as well - so feeling's mutual.
Rants from other hubbers are fine, but I don't think I'll ever do that because when I rant, it's ugly.
Grateful for your visit brother.
Alexander - Found you through a comment on someone else's Hub. Read your profile and then this Hub. Wow. Part of me is so encouraged by and impressed with everything you wrote (thoroughly enjoyed the humor, irony, etc., you sprinkled through out your serious plea that we care about writing, and writing well, first and foremost)....
And part of me is flat-out jealous because I would like to have written it myself! :) Excellent Hub. I so appreciate and agree with your emphasis on the craft and quality of writing, then caring for and supporting the community. You placed SEO and monetizing where they belong...at the bottom of the list.
I have to go grade papers now, but I will be back to explore some of your Hubs. Thanks again.
phdast7, sorry it took so long to get to your comments, I didn't want to just dash off a quick and easy response to such eloquent compliments!
Don't you just hate it when someone beats you to a subject you want to write about? I am so looking forward to reading your profile and visiting your hubs.
I am honored a teacher gave me such a high grade ;-) Thank you.
Great Hub Alexander
I reckon I've given up trying to break the sound barrier (or the pound barrier I suppose since I live in Scotland) and float on the thermals instead.
Thanks for an entertaining and also informative read
Thank you very much Shinkicker, very much appreciate your visit. I promise I will come by soon. Do you get a lot of thermals in Scotland? ;-)
I loved your hub. I don't make the money I probably could if I did what the money-makers do. However, I would be bored to death writing product reviews and sales pages. I hate shopping myself and so it's hard to do affiliate stuff I'm not interested in.
I can't write about things I don't care about. Period. It helps if I'm passionate about a subject, but I at least have to be interested. I simply can't sit down with a list of trending topics and research the keywords and then write. It isn't me. If I did that, I'd never have time to write.
On one hand, Google says to write for people. On the other they want you to follow certain styles that help search engines. Put the keywords in the first sentence and maybe in bold. Maybe I want to use a hook without a key word in that first sentence. I don't want to sound like a textbook. If I wanted to write research papers, I would have stayed in school longer.
So, I write what I know and then, when it's written, I may see if I can make it more search-engine friendly without ruining it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I know I'm not alone.
No you're not! I have been musing about this for quite a while. There are places where you can make a living writing about products and services like Demand Studios, but like you, I am absolutely not able to write that kind of... well, drivel. It's completely contrarian to my talent. I think the only way I'm going to be successful with writing is to follow my passion. It sounds like we are in the same boat.
The keyword thing perplexes me still because it completely changes the way your articles read. Affiliate marketing works apparently, I follow a good writer's blog who promotes an affiliate marketing system that has produced success and he constantly encourages his readers to try it before they buy his book - a fair gamble. But I KNOW I probably won't be able to finish more than a sentence of that kind of writing!
Now I also know your stuff is worth reading and I enjoy no writing more than when it's from the heart and not from the keyword list. I'll be by soon - thanks for commenting WannaB Writer.
Excellent response Alexander Mark. How about a novel or a biography of someone you admire?
Hello Gypsy! Biography??? You know, I never seriously considered doing one of those, who knows. But for now, I am slowly working on a novel but work stress has really hampered my efforts. I am still not sure if I should rewrite the first chapter or not! Thanks for the vote of confidence - that means much coming from you.
I love the humour in your hub and totally agree with your take on journalists!!
I'm slowly bumbling through, learning what I can about on line writing and what brings in the pennies. Hoping that one day the 'penny' will finally drop!!
You must be doing something right as I got cramp in my finger scrolling through all of your comments.
A fun hub, I enjoyed reading....
Hi debbie, thanks for the read and the great comment. Some of it was sort of luck I hate to say. I wrote a hub about wolf hybrids and grabbed several pictures I liked off the internet and that hub is the most visited of all time. I think it's the pictures that bring people in, and today I would be much more careful about what pictures I can or can not use, but there you have it.
I write about certain subjects that seem to be popular (quite by accident I assure you) and I often present a more "balanced" view that seems to appeal to people I think. I am not going to be modest here but those factors and some writing talent is what probably drives that tiny bit of success (then again, you may wonder how talented since I used, "seem," and, "quite," twice in this comment!).
I have never been great at establishing relationships in the real world but here I think my faults turn into positives. From your comment, I suspect you are a good writer too, plus I think you may be European or British from your spelling of humor (my brother insists on spelling, "check," as, "cheque") so that makes me like you even more ;-)
I'm being a little silly, sorry.
I'm glad someone finally voiced a similar opinion about journalists, I was starting to feel quite alone in that until you came along!
Now I've bored you enough, great to meet you.
Hi again Alexander Mark, I agree with you about the pictures drawing people in, I've been trying to use my own pictures most of the time, although I'm not so sure that it is a good thing as I'm no photographer. I find it fun though and I'm amusing the family, so I see no reason to stop, maybe in time I'll get better.
I tend to find people in the real world a funny lot too and exhausting to be around, one of the pluses of writing I find is that when the head starts to spin you can turn around and walk away, when dealing with real people I'm pretty sure that would be classed as rude!!
Very observant of you to notice my use of spelling, at least it meant you read my comment!! I've noticed many spelling differences between what I class to be the American version of a spelling and the English.
Never under estimate the power of being a little silly or daft sometimes, life is far too short to be straight faced all the time.
If we don't take what journalists write too seriously, then what they write can become a sort of laughter therapy, good for the soul!!
Anyway, I've now waffled on for far too long.
Nice to meet you too Alexander Mark.
Oh boy, it's been 8 days since you wrote that last comment! I must have dreamed writing a response ;-)
I am most certainly not a professional photographer but lately I am finding unique perspectives on what I see and I just whip out my phone and take the shot. I am planning on using them in planned future blogs - I think for us amateurs, it's our own personal perspective that makes a picture interesting.
I enjoy waffling with you (even though I like English muffins more), so I'll be coming by to check out your hubs in the near future.
I wish I could avoid all this technical backlinking and SEO stuff but who knows, maybe if I understand it some day, I may like it! One thing I know for sure is that if I can't write the way I like, I'm not going to succeed anyway! I'm still trying to figure out a way to make real money writing, I'd like to find a proven way to do it.
DO avoid all that backlinking stuff! I read a post by NJFM (No Job For Mom) that Google is once again scrutinizing search optimization strategies and backlinking is under the magnifying glass. Natural backlinking is encouraged though - meaning people link to your site because they want to, not because you paid for it. So I'm not sure where your own personal efforts stand (linking from HP to your own blog), but Google is becoming more and more successful at halting internet farming and encouraging people who genuinely want to express themselves to make money from natural searches and growth. I'm all for that. I have never done SEO, and seeing the changes that are happening, I never will. I could never trade the words I chose for empty keywords. It may sound good, but it wouldn't be my work. Might as well go work at a newspaper where half your work is cut so it will fit on the page!
I totally agree!
Loved your hub, just wanted you to know
Can't for the life of me do SEO,
Rated your hub up all the way
and had to comment on this day
I enjoy the writing so that's how I spend my time
even though in my hubs, you will never see me rhyme
Backlinking, SEO, and keywords make writing unfun
and now my compulsion to comment in verse is done.
toknowinfo, thank you. You said it right and I enjoyed your comment.
It seems to me that being active is the key. I haven't been writing for a month or two because I've been busy out of town and Google/hubpages just slashed my views from 200-300 a day down to 40 or so. Activity is definitely the key. Google rankings do not mean anything when hubpages can zap your account for not writing.
It's true, but you don't even have to write hubs to benefit. I haven't been able to write anything here because of some time problems for over a year I think, but I do comment around a lot and my earnings have been rising. I love residual income, and I can't wait to see what happens when I get back on the writing horse. Google is a fickle entity though, I feel your pain.
My numbers have gone back up, so maybe I just had a hiccup on google for a few days. It is hard to figure everything out sometimes.
I found your hub via a backlink that CloudExplorer posted on one of his Pinterest boards (thanks, Mike!). After reading it and some of the comments, it hit me that this hub has been generating comments for over a year! which tells me you have struck a chord with writers here at HubPages.
When I first came to HubPages, I was absolutely excited about using the "capsule" system to create articles. My tech writing background and obsessive-compulsive need to organize were thrilled with the format. And the opportunity to make some money doing what I love was a big plus! Over two years and close to 60 hubs later, I'm at an impasse. I went through a big SEO phase, beginning about a year ago, trying to understand what it was and how to use it to help my hubs generate more money. In the process, I lost sight of why I started writing here in the first place ... because I love to write. That doesn't mean I don't want my writing to generate income. It just means that writing what I'm passionate about has to be how I choose the topics to write about.
I still do a little SEO (e.g., some keyword research and a little on-page SEO), but it's typically AFTER I've written a hub. My best writing is done when an idea pops into my head, and I think, "I want to write about that!" I'll either do a little keyword research up front or, if the words absolutely must be written, I'll write the hub and then go back to do a little keyword research, add the appropriate keywords to the hub in the appropriate places, and then hit publish.
I hate to do what I call "on-purpose" backlinking, i.e., trolling the Internet to see what forum I comment in so I can leave a link to my hub. Fortunately, I also have a crochet blog, and a lot of my hubs are about crochet, so I can put links to my crochet hubs on my blog. But other than that, and commenting when I come across an interesting article that allows me to leave a link, that's all the backlinking I do.
This strategy hasn't made me rich. I get a payout, thanks to the HubPages Ad Program, about every other month and I just reached the $100 Adsense payout last month after 8 years of having an Adsense account. If I keep my hubs up, I'll get another one in a couple of years. So much for Adsense. I even took it off my blog because the ads looked tacky.
All this to say that writing passionately and money aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. You simply have to realize it's not a get-rich-quick scheme ... unless of course you write erotic romance novels like E. L. James and publish them on the Kindle platform (how I wish I could write genre fiction!).
Enjoyed reading this hub. Voted up and across (and sorry for being so long-winded ... the hallmark of a passionate writer :-))
I like your article and your witty humor! I try to make money here. However, it is hard for me to write a common piece. My gross wages is completely different than my take home pay here. People say they make so muck. I think they are talking about the gross income, right? I like how you expressed your thoughts and added cool pictures to grab our attention. ps, thanks for your support too!
Pwalker281, thank you for being so long winded, I learned allot and I really enjoyed your comment. I am now going to have to learn how to use Pinterest and give CloudExlporer a big hug (and some Pinterest love).
I agree that the Hubpages format is very well organized and easy to use, which makes it an absolute pleasure to write here.
I'm glad you shared your SEO story, it shows that working too hard at SEO can kill your passion for writing, but it appears you still find it a useful tool, so it wasn't a waste of time for you to go through that.
I had to chuckle when you described, "on-purpose," backlinking. I tried that once, it was horrible. I now realize that if I want to attract attention that way, I need to be involved with those other sites, care about what I am reading and that comes naturally to me anyway so when I do start that, it will be fun.
I haven't reached the Adsense payout yet, a little over halfway there, but I've been paid twice through the Hubpages ad program in the last few months, and it has really boosted my confidence in this, "online writing thing."
These days, being a successful writer has a lot to do with online presence, and to be honest, I like it. Book authors are required to market their own books anyway, so it seems to me that doing all this writing and marketing online is just another part of a writer's career. But, passion comes first and thank you for reiterating that point so well today.
Iamaudraleigh, you are definitely welcome!
I'm not sure what you mean by gross income because I just get paid out what appears on my earned money on my account page. For the first time, next year I'll have to file taxes for my meager income from writing! I'm pretty happy about that but it isn't much. I see you have written about twice as many hubs as I have and have almost twice as many followers, maybe you are getting paid differently than I am?
Yes, it is hard to write a common piece, but if we could write ordinary fluff, we wouldn't be here in the first place. And of course, I don't believe we would succeed here if we did.
Thanks for coming by, hope you're doing well.
50 Caliber Level 7 Commenter 16 months ago
Mark, voted all buttons up! there is that pesky, un-needed exclamation point again,Ha! oops again! and I spose I could go all day at that but I'll try and quit. I don't play with adsense at all. I've 3 times the "followers" and you have 2 times the hubs. I have a karma of 64 or 66, but that's top secret and I figured it out, at the end of me hub, just before the comment box I link to your hubs, someone elses hub and as they get it checked out my karma goes up? so I guess driving traffic up at your competitors site makes you a good guy. I've thunk about editing all of my hubs and adding those links above the comment box and see how it plays out. I am a reader more than a writer, I just couldn't resist the try at writings but I had to fore go the $$ adsense as It could mess up my poordom and effect my trust account monthly payment of $750.00 and by 12 comes to 9k just $10,500.00 below the poverty level. To off set that I eat snakes and quail, deer and Elk to off set the money a carnivore spends at the grocery, if it's meat and alive and I make it dead, as long as it is legal, it is Dusty and/or Dog food.
I never took making money seriously among those here I find that at the very least should be published as an e book. They are giving away, or maybe not, what I read for basically free. Of my followers about 10% actually read and the rest signed on to get me to return the "favor?" Which I did for a while but now I wait to see if they read and comment on at least 1 hub and if not I just pass and delete them. I hold exception, if they have only 3 followers I'll give them a boost. Then comes my other rule I comment they at least acknowledge with a thanks and after about 3 I stop reading them, as it is time I could be doing something else.
At any rate their are those that will play from any level to get their numbers like telling their wife is sick and he was living in his mansion, and it and his jaguar was getting close to repossession, bla bla bla and his life cold be saved back to his millionaire status if only he could get his numbers up, and it worked for him! People even offered to set up a pay-pal account to send money to. Now he did not accept the money stuff and other things as well, I'll give him that, but his numbers went up and he was publishing about his greatness in how many views he was getting, I never read them so I don't know how that turned out, if he thanked the readers.
So I'm rambling here as your blank page was a LMAO minute. It strikes me as hard to figure what makes success at writing. I stick to what I know so finding a matching photo is all I have to work for. Great commentary! Peace, 50