How To "Tweak" An Online Article
Tweaking Hubs Is A Privilege
Did you know that tweaking your hubs is a great privilege? Many, if not most, writing platforms will not allow you to keep making changes. Think of your morning newspaper. Does the reporter get to fix a spelling mistake once it goes to print? No, and a big apology is usually printed the next day if errors occur!
Being able to edit and improve your own work without any hassle or difficulty is one of the most desirable features of Hubpages. A wise hubber will take advantage of it. Tweaking your hubs allows you to make continual improvements and to do endless experimenting. If a hub does not appear to be working, try something else.
What exactly does "tweaking" mean? The dictionary says that to “tweak” is to: a)to pinch and pull with a sudden jerk and twist b) to make usually small adjustments in c) annoy or bother or to d) injure slightly.
So, tweaking implies small improvements and it sometimes involves a bit of annoyance and pain. And yes, tweaking can be a bit annoying because it takes time: time that might seem to be better spent writing something new. And it might hurt a little because it feels like you are never done. But it's worth it in the end.
Writing Online Is Complicated
Writing online is a very complex process. Keywords and SEO concerns are added unto the old concerns of writing: grammar, organization and style. So many factors need to be considered when pursuing success for your online work. Tweaking is a process where you make improvements on your hubs. It is an ongoing process and it is a good idea to review your hubs on a regular basis to assess what is working and might be changed.
What follows are ten good ideas for tweaking your hubs. Some of these suggestions are for beginners just new to hubbing and others might be new even to the more experienced writers on Hubpages. These are all techniques that I have used myself and have learned from my time here on this site.
Editing Gets Good Grades
Edit your hub for A+ Results.
1. Edit for grammar, spelling and typos
The first suggestion is obvious but necessary. Of course, we should all edit our work thoroughly before we publish but the casualness of Hubpages means that you can go back and change afterwards. Take advantage of this feature!
So read your work over after it is published. Sometimes we just don't catch all the errors. It's easy to do. So keep reading your work after it's published just in case. I know grammar very well but I get in a hurry sometimes and hit publish before it's done. It's so exciting to get my stuff out there that I neglect to go back and do the final edit. If you ever do the same, be sure to go back and check the hubs afterwards.
Get Organized!
Reorganizing your content can make it easier to read.
2. Reorganize Your Content.
Again, it would be good to make all these adjustments before you publish but sometimes we want to get the information out there. Later on, we think of ways that the information could be organized more effectively. What do I mean by reorganize your content? This might be changing the sequence that you present your information or arguments to make a stronger point. Perhaps you notice that your middle point is actually the strongest point: maybe move that point to be the last. I have done this in my own hubs and found that the whole article flows better.
As well, you might want to break up some of the text capsules into two or more capsules instead. Use your cut and paste feature to move text from the first text capsule to the new one. The advantage of doing this is that you will be able to break up the text and control your layout more carefully. Remember that readers of online content do not like to read too much at one time. Breaking up the content into different capsules allows you to add white space or dividers (covered next) or images.
Just to give an example, I started out this hub with three points per capsule. After looking at it in preview mode, however, I realized that one point per capsule would be more effective and allow me to elaborate on each point I needed to.
3. Add New / Updated Information.
Adding new information to a hub, or taking out old information, keeps the freshness of the hub. This is the exciting thing about Hubpages: it allows you to do this and to keep your articles current. This means that articles can have a lot longer shelf life than those that never change. An example of this might be a news story that you wrote about. If there are significant developments in the story, you might want to add an update at the bottom or work the new content into the body of the hub.
A recent example of mine was an article I wrote about Give Away Weekend, a recycling event that happens in Winnipeg, Canada. The event happens twice a year. So this year, I had to go back and change the dates of when the next one is taking place. I then placed the hub on Facebook and have received a fair bit of local traffic from the hub. This was a small tweak but very worthwhile. Look at your own hubs with an eye for currency and you might find some small changes that you can make.
"ReGift" Your Gift Hubs
4. Repurpose Your Seasonal Hubs.
Certain hubs are written for one time of year. Christmas gift hubs are the most obvious examples. I have several hubs written for Christmas gifts. Since Christmas comes but once a year, I changed those hubs to read “gifts” instead of “Christmas gifts.” Since Christmas is coming again soon, I will need to go over and switch those hubs back to be exclusively Christmas gifts hubs.
Be creative in thinking about how you might make a couple of changes to be able to get some use out of these seasonal hubs.
Video on Hubpages Capsules
5. Change Your Layout.
The capsules are designed to give you the best possible layout. There are many possibilities. Play around with the different capsules by using the up and down arrows to see what is most attractive and flows the best. You can also move capsules using the layout bar on the right side of the hub in editing mode. Pressing the preview button while in editing mode will allow you to see how these different layouts actually look.
Layout Pointers
Here a few pointers about layout.
- Break up your text to make it easier to read
- In most cases, be sure to have enough text in the first capsule to allow for Google Adsense ads to be placed there.
- Experiment with different layouts by using preview. Look for attractiveness and flow.
- Amazon and E-Bay capsules may be placed between text capsules, beside the text, or at the end of the hub. They may not be placed beside the first text capsule. See what works best for you. If you are not getting sales, try a different layout.
- Pictures and videos can be big (across the whole hub) or can be smaller and wrapped by text.
- You can also try other capsules: quizzes, polls, maps and links.
- If you aren't sure if you like a capsule, press the button that says "Don't display this capsule" at the right side of your capsule editing box. Try it in preview to see how it looks without that particular capsule. Don't delete it but leave it in case you want to put in afterwards.
Don't Be Afraid To Make Changes On Your Hub!
More Information on the Advantage of Videos
6. Add A Video
If your hub does not a video, consider finding one for it. Adding a video means that you have also created an unseen backlink for your hub, embedded on the video itself. You can find videos on YouTube about almost everything under the sun. The video gives your hub more of a modern edge, too, and appeals to the internet generation. Of course, vidoes are not appropriate for every hub. You must use your discretion with all of these suggestions to see if it works for your particular piece of writing.
7. Add Some White Space.
One of the wonderful things about Hubpages is the ability to create a visually stunning article, that looks good, as well as sounds good. Adding white space can make your article more attractive. Every hubber has their own style of publishing and so this won't work for everyone but it is something to consider. How to add white space? Press enter several times after a section of writng or at the end of your text capsule. This creates space between your sections and can make the hub easier to read.
8. Add Some Dividers.
Dividers are another way of breaking up a hub. They separate one section from the next and provide some visual interest as well. There are several websites that offer free dividers of various styles and colours. I have a few that I tend to use and try to make the divider fit the style of the hub. You might not want to use dividers if you are just typing up a quick hub but with the longer pieces, they can make it easier to read. It is important to remember that reading on the web is different than reading a book because people have to stare a screen. Dividers help make that process easier.
EDIT: August 21, 2014: Since writing this hub, hubpages has discouraged writers from putting dividers into their hubs. I still do use them, myself, but I can no longer encourage other writers to do so.
Amazon
Thank you to Silus Grok for use of this photo
9. Adjust Your Amazon Capsules
This point will apply to those who are trying to make money from their hubs. If you would like to make some money off this hub, it is good to adjust your Amazon capsule placements from time to time. What do I mean by that?
First of all, if a hub is getting a lot of traffic but no Google clicks, consider placing Amazon on there if it is appropriate. Amazon is best placed on hubs that sell or feature some kind of product because Amazon sells products. Amazon does not work that well for strictly idea hubs.
Secondly, if you are not getting Amazon love, consider taking it off. You don't have to completely remove it but push the "Don't display button:" Sometimes taking Amazon ads off will actually put more focus on the Hubpages and Google advertisements.
And finally, if you are not getting any Amazon revenue, consider changing the placement of your Amazon capsules. You can put them at the side of your text, at the bottom of the hub, or between text capsules. Try different layout to see what is most effective.
10. Do Your Summaries
Just recently, Hubpages added a new feature in which they notify writers when their hubs do not have a summary. Consequently, many hubbers have been frantically going to their hubs and placing them in. For the last couple of weeks, I have been putting in summaries in many of my hubs that did not have them. I am not finished yet but I did notice an improvement in traffic on the hubs where I placed the summaries.
Summaries used to be generated automatically from the first few sentences of a hub. Now, they must be done manually. It's inconvenient but the good part is, we can craft summaries that suit our needs. A summary is something to catch people's interest and should tell what you hub is about. It is a good idea to have some keywords in the summary, too, because Google Search does look at these summaries.
I hope these tips have been helpful. Happy tweaking, fellow hubbers!
Poll
Comments Are Appreciated!
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on April 11, 2017:
@Gyanendra, I see you have a strong desire to write. Keep working on and you will continue to get better at the language. Have a good day -- congratulations on getting your first one published. I enjoyed your story.
gyanendra mocktan from Kathmandu,Nepal on April 06, 2017:
Thank you again. My problem is critical. I have not been able to post 5 articles as a beginner should. Because I was not prepared. thank you.
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on April 05, 2017:
@Gyanendra, I am glad it was helpful for you. Don't give up on your writing. You are learning and you will get better. Have a wonderful day!
gyanendra mocktan from Kathmandu,Nepal on March 27, 2017:
Thank you for your valuable information. I;m non-native English speaker. But not a good writer. My first article is rejected. But I am not frustrated. I've tweaked my article today and reposted it.
Thank you
Kristen Howe from Northeast Ohio on June 24, 2015:
You're very welcome. I'll bookmark it for future reference.
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on June 24, 2015:
@Kristen, I am happy you find it helpful. I was helped by so many kind people when I came to Hubpages, too. Take care!
Kristen Howe from Northeast Ohio on June 20, 2015:
Great tips on how to tweak your hubs. I would keep this in mind every time I edit or update a hub. Voted up for useful!
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on November 11, 2014:
@Misslong123, I know it's been quite a while since you wrote this comment, and sorry for the long delay in responding. But I just wanted to thank you for your kind words. I am so glad that it was helpful to you, in tweaking your own work. So glad I could be useful! Take care and have a wonderful day.
Michele Kelsey from Edmond, Oklahoma on October 10, 2013:
Just wanted to let you know that once again I studied this great article and took lots of notes. I've been taking a break from writing for a while to concentrating on studying those who I think are great writers. I took very detailed notes on this one, and I hope you don't mind if I use your suggestions in tweaking my own articles. I found them very useful, and you did a really great job of laying out the information in a fun and informative way that was helpful, but kept my attention. I find so many experts out there who just write long paragraphs after paragraphs, and it is really hard for me to distinguish between what is "fluff" and what is the good stuff. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge with those of us who are still learning. You are awesome, and I am happy to keep following you! ~Michele
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on April 21, 2013:
Misslong, I would be so happy if my article helped you in improving your work. It is a lot to learn when you first start. Welcome to Hubpages and I wish you all the best!
Michele Kelsey from Edmond, Oklahoma on April 20, 2013:
Thank you so much for your unique insight. I am very much a newbie, and I'm trying to decide what to learn about first. I have written quite a few hubs now that I think are pretty good, but I didn't proof them well, and I did not tweak them in the ways you mentioned. This article really gave me some great notes on what to do next. Thank you so much!
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on October 23, 2012:
SJ, yes, that is right. Simply add in the pictures capsule and it will automatically fill the page. Thanks for the comment and have a wonderful night!
Amy from Colorado on October 17, 2012:
Thanks for the tips. I like the white space and divider ideas. For dividers, do you just add it as if it were a picture?
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on March 14, 2012:
M.T., it's a continuous process, isn't it? I surprise myself sometimes with the new life I can put into a hub that seemed like it had everything it needed. Thanks for the great comment!
Shasta Matova from USA on March 12, 2012:
These are great tips for tweaking your hubs. I try to go back to my hubs, and often find new ideas or different ways to say something. Voted up.
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on March 11, 2012:
Sandra, I am so glad that you were helped with capsule arrangement. Thanks for coming by and commenting!
Sandra Busby from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA on March 11, 2012:
I fouynd the video on arrange the capsules very helpful. Thanks. Sandra Busby
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on December 04, 2011:
Deborah, it's a pleasure to "meet" you. I am so glad this was helpful. I received so much help when I first started and I'm thrilled to be able to help someone else. Welcome to Hubpages!
Deborah Brooks Langford from Brownsville,TX on December 04, 2011:
I am new on here.. and I want to thank you for all the great advice.. this really helps me to I just bookmarked this one and voted up up up..
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on November 30, 2011:
Rajan, yes, that extra space really adds to the look of the hub! I am so glad this was helpful. I have learned so much from other hubbers and am glad to give back.
I am so glad that you decided to follow, and I have also followed you, with the intent of looking at your hubs. I love that you talk about the LORD. Take care and blessings!
Rajan Singh Jolly from From Mumbai, presently in Jalandhar, INDIA. on November 30, 2011:
prairieprincess, this is a wonderful hub with a lot of sensible and practical information. I just put the one on adding white space in between capsules. Though I used to hit enter once I finished writing text for a capsule, now after the enter, I pressed shift and hit enter. This way I got 11/2 times the white space and the hub layout looks much better.
Thanks for these wonderful tips. I am adding this hub to the favorites bar so that I can get to it in a jiify when needed.
Voted up and awesome. I need to read more of your hubs and so I'm following you.
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on October 30, 2011:
Aww, thank you, Arlene. I am honoured. You are what I think of a "true writer" and I'm so very glad it was helpful. Take care!
Arlene V. Poma on October 29, 2011:
prairieprincess, it's a wonderful, wonderful surprise, and I am so honored to be part of your well-written Hub. Thank you so much! And I do find this Hub very useful as I write, so I've bookmarked it and also keep a copy by my computie. Keep on writing! You are a joy to many people here on HubPages.
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on October 28, 2011:
Arlene, I hope it's a nice surprise! I loved your hub and it inspired me to write this hub, so thank you so much! Take care.
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on October 28, 2011:
MzLizzy, thanks for such a great comment! Most of my errors are from "fumble fingers," too! I get so excited about what I'm writing that a couple letters get transposed or I use a small i for I, or something! It's so good we can change it.
And I think that's right about Google seeing it "fresh," too. Google likes changes, I guess, but just not too many. It's so hard to please, Google, isn't it?
As far as videos go, I've wondered about that, too, but the good thing is, that Hubpages is pretty fast-loading.
Again, thanks for an awesome comment. Take care!
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on October 28, 2011:
Victoria, I was surprised when I heard about the videos, too, but it something that even Hubpages suggests in their guidelines for a "flagship hub." The research explained more about why. That's so great that you are already tweaking: we can always use some improvements here and there! Thanks for the great comment.
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on October 27, 2011:
@Deborah, I am so glad that this was helpful. I have found this community so helpful in general, and I received so much help when I first started. Take care!
@Redelf, thanks for stopping by! The white space and dividers do really seem to help in making the content more palatable, don't they? Nice to see you!
@Danielle, so good to see you again! Thanks for the comment.
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on October 27, 2011:
@Nell, thanks so much for dropping by! I am so glad if this was of some use to you. Have a great night!
@Stephanie, I know you were one of the people that I learned so much from when I first started here at Hubpages and I am very grateful! Thanks for the comment!
@RH, I think we all have some of those that we wonder, "what was I thinking?" but it's great to be able to salvage them! I love the ability to edit so many times! Thanks for the comment.
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on October 27, 2011:
@SJ, thank you so much for the comment and the votes! It is such a great feature of Hubpages but sometimes we forget to go back and make a few needed changes. Nice to see you!
Arlene V. Poma on October 27, 2011:
Sneaky girl! Thank you so much for giving me a plug. I never would have found out until DzyMsLizzy left me some comments. You have many fine points here, so I am bookmarking your Hub. Voted up all across the board. Thanks, again!
Liz Elias from Oakley, CA on October 27, 2011:
Hi, there--
What a great set of points you make! I do tweak, whether to correct typos, because, as you say, we sometimes just get in such a hurry to just finish & 'get it out there,' that small things can be missed.
The spell check feature can help, but since I am a confident speller, I don't normally use it--then find I've made a typo and didn't see it. Usually, those are along the lines of "..meant to to..." instead of "..meant to do..." Not something the spell-checker catches anyway. Fumble-fingers--or fingers faster than brain! LOL
I have gone back and tweaked some summaries, made a few changes to layouts or content, but not a lot...however, it does seem to make a difference in traffic. I THINK what is going on, is that when you make a change, and hit 'done editing,' it is like a 're-publish,' and Google re-crawls it, perhaps sending it higher up the search. ??? That's just a guess...
I don't use many videos, and I don't watch too many, either, primarily because I find them annoying for not streaming smoothly: if I have to wait for the thing to continually stop and re-buffer, I decide I've got better things to do with my time.
Voted up, interesting & useful.
Victoria Lynn from Arkansas, USA on October 27, 2011:
prairieprincess--We are so fortunate to be able to tweak, and I do it quite often. I''m anxious to read your links on the importance of videos; I wonder how that brings traffic. Your tips are right on. This is a very helpful hub. Interesting and awesome and voted up, too! Thank you!
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on October 27, 2011:
Missolive, thank you so much! Your feedback means a lot to me and I am happy you found this useful. I have learned so much from your hubs and online work, so I'm glad to give back. Wow, you're bookmarking me? Wow, that's an honour! Have a great day.
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on October 27, 2011:
Dahoglund, I have the feeling that you are not an easy man to sell to! And I mean that in a good way! :) I'm so glad. The design aspect of Hubpages is pretty fun and I think it does draw the reader in. Thanks for the great comment!
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on October 27, 2011:
Sinea, I'm glad you found it helpful. Yes, I really like dividers for breaking it up and adding some colour. They are pretty easy to find: one of the easiest place to get them is to look at Office Clipart. And hey, I've never had anyone say they had e-mailed one of my articles to themselves. What a compliment! Thank you and have a wonderful day!
Daniella Lopez on October 27, 2011:
Awesome hub! Voted up!
RedElf from Canada on October 27, 2011:
Solid info - I really like your points about white space and borders!
Deborah Neyens from Iowa on October 27, 2011:
This is an excellent hub. I am still getting the whole Hubpages thing figured out, and these tips will be very helpful. Thanks.
Kelly Umphenour from St. Louis, MO on October 27, 2011:
Hi princess - I have just recently figured this out;) lol. I have been working on some of my earlier ones but you've given me some really fantastic and helpful ideas. I love it! I don't want to cringe every time I look back at the old ones:). I just didn't know how it worked or what I could get away with - you know! Lol
Thanks so much! This is up and everything
Stephanie Henkel from USA on October 27, 2011:
Your advice about recycling hubs by tweaking seasonal hubs is great! I'm a big tweaker, and find that adding a bit of new information or changing some layout elements as I learn more about hub crafting has paid off. You hub is very informative and useful!
Nell Rose from Buckinghamshire UK on October 27, 2011:
Hi, really good info, and it doesn't hurt all us seasoned hubbers to come back and re-check everything you have said, we do tend to get into bad habits, so I am going to bookmark this and make sure that my bad habits go away! lol thanks!
SJmorningsun25 on October 27, 2011:
Voted up, useful, and interesting! Thanks for sharing these great ideas. It is a rare privilege to get to change things even after publication, and it's helpful to be reminded to take advantage of it. Wonderful Hub! Thanks for writing.
Marisa Hammond Olivares from Texas on October 27, 2011:
praireprincess - you've done a great job with this hub. You have included lots of great tips. Thank you for including the layout pointers and video. Very helpful. I'll be bookmarking this one :)
Voted up, useful, awesome and interesting!
Don A. Hoglund from Wisconsin Rapids on October 27, 2011:
I have made changes in hubs when they appear to need it but have not done anything consistently. This is probably because I hve not really got the feel for online style.But you have sold me on the idea that I should do more.
Sinea Pies from Northeastern United States on October 27, 2011:
Great hub! I've emailed myself the link to read it indepth on my lunch break. DIVIDERS! I love it. This is a new discovery for me but sounds like fun. I do tweek my hubs to make them better. That gives me a good excuse to share a pre-enjoyed hub again.
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on October 24, 2011:
Searchineer, thanks! I appreciate you passing it along. It is fun to "prettify" your hubs and this platform is so good for letting us do that. Take care!
searchineer from Melbourne on October 24, 2011:
@prairie wonderful information... shared it with my content team...
(dividers help make the hub easier to read and add some nice colour) I think I have been missing out on this... will try it in my hubs...
Tweeted it as well @seachineers
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on October 17, 2011:
Ipan, thanks for stopping by! I am glad this information is of some help. Take care.
lpanfil from Cleveland, Ohio on October 16, 2011:
I am fairly new to Hubpages. As I figure new things out from great hubs like this one, I go back and tweak my hubs. Thanks for paving the way with such useful information.
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on October 14, 2011:
Azure, thank you so much for your kind comments. I find dividers help make the hub easier to read and add some nice colour. Like you say, they're not great for every hub but seem to add a bit of zest to some. Take care!
Marian L from UK on October 11, 2011:
Nice hub pp, with some things to think about - you are right, we should be grateful that we are able to change things, I hadn't thought of it like that! I like the idea of dividers, I haven't used them so far so I might try putting some in my longer hubs, thanks.
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on September 27, 2011:
RTalloni, I am so glad that you could glean some help from this hub. I find that learning on HP never really stops and I've learned so much during my time here. Have a great day!
RTalloni on September 27, 2011:
Great tips on tweaking our hubs--thanks so much. Some of this I knew was true, but didn't know why, and knowing why makes a difference in how. Very good stuff here!
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on September 26, 2011:
Peanutrious, thank you. I am so glad that this information was helpful to you. It takes a while to understand everything here but it does get easier. Thanks again and take care!
Tara Carbery from Cheshire, UK on September 26, 2011:
I found this hub really useful. I really struggled to use the capsules etc but this makes it very clear. Thanks. Voted up!
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on September 21, 2011:
Tipoague, nice to see you again! Yes, I was glad to see that "A" symbol, too, because I had been lax about adding summaries before. I actually do think tweaking helps quite a bit, at least for traffic, if not for revenue. Take care.
Sharilee Swaity (author) from Canada on September 21, 2011:
Howard, thank you. Coming from you, I take that as a real compliment! I saw from your profile that you have been at this writing business for quite a while and I look forward to reading more of your writing.
That's neat that you noticed the similarities, especially about the linguistics. I am kind of a free spirit that's interested in a lot of different things. Thanks for the great comment and nice to meet you!
tlpoague on September 21, 2011:
Terrific point you have made here. I was glad to see the symbol for summaries. It reminded me that there were a few hubs that needed some serious tweaking. I am glad that HP allows us to do this. Thanks for sharing these fine points.
Howard S. from Dallas, Texas, and Asia on September 20, 2011: