My First Year Writing for HubPages: What I’ve Learned and Goals for the Next Year

Author:
Marissa
Updated:
Oct 1, 2015

Making Money with HubPages

Love to write? Join HubPages! I write articles and get paid for them and will continue to earn from them as long as they exist.
ThePracticalMommy

Parents on HubPages

How to Leverage Your Experience as a Parent on HubPages
A hub written by the team of HubPages that explains what parents can do on the site.

Make Money on HubPages

New to HubPages? Start at the Learning Center! Using the Learning Center on HubPages.com
Are you interested in writing at HubPages.com but aren't sure where to start? Start at the Learning Center! Read this article to find out which Learning Center hubs to start with to become a successful hubber on HubPages.com.

Make Money Writing Online

A year ago, I knew nothing of HubPages. I had never heard of it. There I was: a new stay-at-home mom who had just given birth to her second child and needed a way to make a little extra income.

Little did I know what was going to happen.

I tried to think of things I could do from my home that would earn some money. Sure, there was Avon and other types of little businesses, but I’m shy and not much of a seller. There were survey sites to try, but they were so time-consuming and I didn’t trust them. I thought of freelancing as a writer. Why not try that? I have a BA in English, I was an English teacher, and I love to write. Plus, I know of a friend who makes her living as a freelancer and does very well with it.

Turning to the internet, I conducted a search of the qualifications of a freelance writer. Writes well? Check. Can conduct research? Check. Has a writing portfolio with XYZ in it? Huh? Um, no, but I have some great papers I wrote for grad school. Does that count?

Any jobs I found for a freelance writer asked for the portfolio. Dang. I thought I was on to something.

Somehow, in the midst of the searching, I came across either a review of HubPages or a HubPages article. To this day, I can’t remember. Either way, I found HubPages which seemed like a great place to start. Why? It was free, didn’t require a portfolio, and promised there was a way to get paid. Sign me up!

I got excited, but I was nervous. How the heck do I do this? Before I officially signed up, I started in the place where all newbies should go first: the HubPages’ Learning Center. There was a stockpile of information for me to read, and boy, did I read it. I absorbed as much as I could in that first day.

I was hooked, and I knew what I could write about: parenting! So, what was going to be my name? Somehow, I came up with ThePracticalMommy. It worked for me. I was practical (anyone who has read my hubs can vouch for me on that point!), and I was a mommy. Done.

After signing up, I got to work. I was filled with great ideas. I believe my first hub was about the Fisher Price Cheer for Me! Potty chair. It was short and sweet, and it worked for me. In a few days, I had written three or four parenting hubs. Life was good.

That was in my birthday week, one year ago at the end of March. Here I am again, thinking about where it all started. Life is still good.

my-first-year-on-hubpages-what-ive-learned-and-goals-for-the-next-year

Learn about HubPages

Scores on HubPages

Scores will go up and scores will go down. Don't let it drive you crazy!
ThePracitcalMommy

Thanks for the Fan Mail and Encouragement, HubGreeters!!

MightyMom was the first person to give me fan mail and encouraged me to keep going. Thanks so much to her and all other HubGreeters!
ThePracticalMommy

HubPages Money : It Takes Time!

If you write quality articles and publish consistently, you will earn money. It just takes dedication and time.
ThePracticalMommy

How long have you been here on HubPages?

What I Have Learned in My Year Writing for HubPages

The Author Score is annoying, but a great motivator. How many questions and forum posts are out there about the author score? “Why is my score so low?” “How do you get 100 score?” “What can I do to improve my score?” Listen. Fuggedaboutit. The Author Score is there to help you determine your status as a hubber, but it shouldn’t be your only life-consuming concern. Yes, it’s important, but don’t focus on it, especially in the beginning. It’s going to start out low, but if you continue to write quality hubs and stay active on the site, the score will go up. A big mistake for newbies? Following a ton of people in hopes to gain followers. You’ll see this repeated over and over in many other hubs and answers and forums posts: don’t do it. Why? You’ll see your score plummet faster than a bullet train falling off of a cliff. Boom. Crash and burn. Only follow those whose work you truly admire. Your followers will come in due time when you write those quality hubs.

Scroll to Continue

Use the author score as a motivator. Sure, we all have hopes and dreams of seeing that 100 next to our avatar every day, but don’t make that your only goal. If your score drops a bit, it’s time to write your next great hub, leave some awesome comments, answer a few questions and contribute to a forum post . Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

There are some great people out there, called HubGreeters, who will encourage you to do your best and do well on the site. One of my very first followers was the very kind and considerate hubber, Mighty Mom. She didn’t know who I was, and I didn’t know who she was, but she took a chance on a newbie and read my hubs. After I read the fan mail she left for me, I was thrilled. I was doing something right! Just seeing that gave me the motivation to keep going, and here I am celebrating one year on the site. Thanks, Mighty Mom!

You are not automatically handed $1,000,000 upon signing up on HubPages. What???? Yep, that’s right. HubPages does promise you money, but you are not going to get it in your first week. You might not get it in your first month. Heck, some people haven’t received anything in their first year! In my experience, the money will start coming after your first few months on the site after you have quite a few quality hubs. In all honesty, I didn’t see my first check until I was in my 9^th month on the site, and it was just enough to make it over the payment threshold. At that point, I had written nearly 40 hubs.

You know? I was okay with that. I knew, even after nine short months, that I wasn’t going to get a big pot of gold any time soon. I only had 40 hubs, which was a good amount, but not nearly enough to start earning big time. In the nine months, I also learned that my hubs had to ‘mature’, I had to be buddy-buddy with Google, and I had to be keyword/SEO friendly, something I wasn’t when I began on the site.

Just now I am starting to see more money coming in. (Please don’t ask me how much; that’s just getting too personal.) If you bide your time and learn all you can about being successful here, someday you will see your money coming in too.

HubPages can be like any other workplace: your boss may love you at times or make you feel like you don’t do anything right, and your co-workers will be pleasant one day but then hard to work with the next. Don’t take this personally. HubPages is a business, after all, and it’s one that is striving to be at its best in the market. Kudos to the team and moderators who do all of the work in the background, ensuring that the site remains successful!

Yes, I have been moderated (a hub of mine, at least), and it stung. It stung really bad. I was told a hub of mine wasn’t meeting a particular standard after being on the site for about 8 months. I took it to heart for a while, but then I realized: they’re not after me. They’re after my mistake, just like my principal would have pointed out a mistake in a lesson plan I worked hours on and submitted, feeling that it was perfect. So what did I do? Did I go on a rant about the moderators? Nope. Did I quit the site? Nope. I fixed it. The hub was fixed, and it was republished. Done.

Your co-workers on HubPages, your fellow hubbers, are regular people, just like me. They have highs and lows too, just like regular people. Hopefully you will only ever see their highs, as for the most part I have. You will make friends, hubbers who will follow your work, leave you insightful comments, and connect with you in the social networking arena as they would go out for a drink with you after work. Sometimes, though, you’re going to butt heads with other hubbers. It’s inevitable. ‘Familiarity breeds contempt’ the saying goes. Most of the time this starts over a disagreement or a matter of opinion, but it gets worse when one or the other maliciously refuses to agree to disagree. As I have learned in an actual workplace, it’s best to just let it be and move on in a positive manner. Don’t get too involved, and cherish the fellow hubbers with which you do have a great connection.

Hubbing is a lot of work. This goes hand in hand with the money issue. If you want to be successful here on the site, you will need to do a lot of work. Don’t for a moment think you can get away with the minimal and then become a millionaire. It just ain’t gonna happen.

It takes me roughly two days to a week to produce a hub. Why? Well, HubPages isn’t my first job; being a mommy and a wife is. When I do get the chance to write, I work my butt off trying to make sure my work is great. I jot down ideas, do some research, write the hub, edit the hub, read the hub, edit the hub, make sure I have keywords, photos, videos, polls, quizzes, etc. in place, edit the hub, and finally publish the hub. Unfortunately that doesn’t happen for me that quickly. It looks more like this: I jot down ideas, change a diaper , do some research, chase a toddler , write [a paragraph ] of the hub, make dinner , finish the hub , edit the hub, do laundry , read the hub while feeding the baby , edit the hub….you get the picture.

I write many words. Sorry, this is just an observation as I type….I’ll be done soon. I promise.

I want to keep writing at HubPages for a long time. It’s working for me, and I enjoy it immensely. Why wouldn’t I? I love to write, I have made some great friends, I’m earning a little money, I’m able to teach in a different capacity, and it gives me something fun to do in my free time (I’m sorry…ha ha…free time).

My Goals for HubPages

One of my 100s! It was a happy day!
ThePracticalMommy

My Goals for Writing on HubPages for the Next Year

Write at least 100 hubs in the next year. As of now, this is my 55^th hub. By this time next year, I want to be at 155 or (hopefully) more.

Stay at the top of the scores. Okay, I am interested in that hubber score. It motivates me. I reached 100 approximately four times that I know of, and it lasted no longer than a day at a time. I’d like to stay up there in that range. When I drop, I now know what to do to make it go back up.

Make more money. Why shouldn’t that be a goal of mine? I’d like to receive money at least at every payout. It doesn’t have to be an astronomical amount, but at least $50 a month would be nice.

Expand my outreach. Google has been kind enough to me. I’d like it to be my best friend. I’d also like to find more ways to backlink and market my hubs.

Have a few more Hubs of the Day. This to me is another great motivator, kind of like the boss giving you an unexpected bonus. I had the hub of the day about three times now. It’d be nice, although not necessary, to see a few more. (Wow. The boss in my head just said, “Get to work, McKenna!”)

Final Words about My First Year on HubPages

Thank you to all of you who have supported me in the past year. Without your kind and thoughtful words, I might not have been motivated to keep going.

Thanks to HubPages for giving me this opportunity to do one of my favorite things: write what I believe in.

Here’s to another year on HubPages.

~Marissa

©ThePracticalMommy

HubPages Views

As of November 20th, I have over 100,000 views on HubPages!
ThePracticalMommy

2012-2013 HubPages Update

I joined the Apprenticeship program in May 2012 and love it!
As of September 2012, I have 104 hubs written on HubPages. By the end of October, I will have 112 or more!
I have been earning money consistently since joining the Apprenticeship Program. In fact, since May 2012, I have made the payout and more each month!
I graduated from the Apprenticeship Program in October 2012.
As of the end of November, I will have 117 published hubs.
As of February 2013, I have 132 published hubs, over 900 followers, and over 300,000 views.

Parenting Articles Online

Want to Sell Your Kids Used Clothes, Toys or Other Items on eBay? How to Be Successful Selling Kids
Are you looking to sell some of your children's items on eBay? Start here with some tips and tricks I have learned when selling kids items on eBay. (General eBay tips provided as well!)
Am I Ready to Have a Baby? Questions to Ask if You A...
Are you ready to have a baby? Do you have what it takes to become a parent? Take a look at some of these questions and honest responses before you consider pregnancy and having children.
How Early Can I Take a Pregnancy Test ?
Am I pregnant? How early can I take a pregnancy test? Are you trying to conceive but don't know when to take home pregnancy tests (HPT)? Find out about home pregnancy tests and the best time to take one if you are trying to have a baby.
Guide to Declutter Your Home: Ideas & Tips for Decluttering and Organizing Toys & Kids Playt
Do you feel like toys have taken over your life? Read to find some organization tips for your children's toys.

Comments

Amelia Griggs from U.S. on June 02, 2017:

Nice hub! I have been on Hubpages since 2011. I tried to look into the apprenticeship but it was no longer offered in past. A lot of things have changed on Hubpages, but we keep on writing!

Happy Writing to you, you have some great hubs.

Easylearningweb/Amelia

Ramy Saber from Egypt on July 20, 2015:

Thanks for sharing your experience. I also want to learn and write good, creative and informative articles in the hubpages.

Kathryn Grace from San Francisco on November 10, 2014:

As a new Hubber (Squidoo transplant), I am constantly looking for articles to help me succeed here. Thank you for your tips.

Fay Favored from USA on November 09, 2014:

Glad I came across this article on your first year's journey here. It is a lot of work and hopefully will be rewarding in many ways.

Marissa (author) from United States on February 18, 2013:

DIYmommy, I'm glad I'm not the only mommy who writes hubs while taking care of other more important priorities! :) I know there are several others out there who also do the same thing, but it's nice to hear from someone like me. And to think that soon I'll be adding another newborn to the mix!

When I applied for the Apprenticeship Program, I got a response within two weeks or so, but that was prior to the program gaining some popularity. I was in the second or third group to go through the program, and I think at this point they have had four to six groups go through or currently going through the program. Don't lose hope if it takes a while to hear back from the team; they have many applications to go through, plus much more on their plates with all of the recent changes here at HP. Keep on writing quality hubs in the meantime! Best of luck getting into the program! :D

Julie on February 17, 2013:

I know you wrote this awhile ago, but this was one awesome hub! Very motivating and inspiring! While I'm fairly new to the world of HubPages, my husband has been writing online content for years, between blogs and other Web 2.0 sites like HubPages. He is just short of publishing his 900th article now, and just crossed the 1,000,000 unique visitor mark on a much lower authority site than HubPages. During that time, I've tried to learn as much about SEO as I possibly can....I went from casually observing, to helping him craft content, but, now, having just applied for the Apprenticeship program last night, I really want to venture out and HubPages is my way to do that. While I'm not quite as 'established' as you, my "story" seems eerily similar. I couldn't help but laugh when I read THIS part: "I jot down ideas, change a diaper , do some research, chase a toddler , write [a paragraph ] of the hub, make dinner , finish the hub , edit the hub, do laundry , read the hub while feeding the baby , edit the hub….you get the picture." With a three month old now in the house, this sounds a lot like what I have been doing lately....attempting to build my repertoire of HubPages articles while constantly caring for a ravenous baby boy.

If you don't mind me asking, did it take you awhile to hear back about being accepted into the Apprenticeship program, after you had applied? I really would love to give that a shot....it sounds like it worked out great for you--challenging, but, it sounds like it was rewarding at the same time.

Marissa (author) from United States on November 03, 2012:

daisydaz, I highly recommend the Apprenticeship Program. If you're able to do it next year, you should! It is quite a commitment, but it is definitely worth all of the benefits. Many people in my group had jobs and families to take care of while taking the course but they were able to finish just fine.

My second year is going great! Thanks so much for reading and commenting!

Chantele Cross-Jones from Cardiff on November 03, 2012:

Well you seem to be on the right path, slow and steady is the way froward. I am thinking of applying for the apprentice programme in the new year, too busy at the moment adn know it will take some time dedication to do it properly! Hope your second year is going well and your hear for many more.

Marissa (author) from United States on November 02, 2012:

creativegenius, good luck with your goals! I hope you are able to accomplish them. Thanks for reading and commenting!

Brian Scott from United States on November 02, 2012:

Thanks for listing your goals. They inspired me to create stronger goals for myself at Hubpages.

Marissa (author) from United States on September 15, 2012:

Gail Meyers, I appreciate your comment. Thanks for reading!

Gail Meyers from Johnson County, Kansas on September 14, 2012:

I enjoyed this hub, as well as your writing style. Thanks for the insights!

Marissa (author) from United States on September 04, 2012:

georgiebird, thank you very much!

Marissa (author) from United States on September 04, 2012:

spartucusjones, thank you very much for your kind words!

Taylor on September 03, 2012:

This was really so helpful, thank you! (And good luck with your next year of hubbing) (:

CJ Baker from Parts Unknown on September 03, 2012:

Thanks for sharing your personal insights! We can all learn form each others learning experiences. You have set many practical goals for yourself. All the best in reaching them and having an even more successful second year!

Marissa (author) from United States on September 03, 2012:

chrisinhawaii, dwachira, Suzie HQ, suzzycue, thank you all so very much for your kind comments and words of encouragement! I am working hard on my goals for this year. Being an Apprentice certainly does help with writing more hubs; I hope to reach my goal of 155 really soon! I wish you all successful journeys here on HubPages!

Susan Britton from Ontario, Canada on September 03, 2012:

Happy hubbing in your second year. It is encouraging to know you get a regular paycheck even in your first year. I like Hubpages and think that there is a lot to learn and ways to grow here in writing. Thank you for sharing your first year journey with your fellow Hubbers.

Suzanne Ridgeway from Dublin, Ireland on September 03, 2012:

What a great honest look at your 1st year here! You have done so well and I congratulate you on all your achievements. Thanks so much for all the tips, advice and words of encouragement which as a newbie of 4 months, are invaluable! Voted up and more plus sharing!

Danson Wachira from Nairobi, Kenya on September 02, 2012:

Great article ThePracticalMommy, even though i have never hit a Hubber score of more than 90, i have learnt to be comfortable with my Hubber score and i do agree with you that it is not the only thing on Hubpages, it should not be a worry. Voted up and useful.

chrisinhawaii on September 02, 2012:

This was a fun and well-written hub, Marissa. I'm always interested in how other hubbers are doing and excited to see em reaching some goals and having a great experience...it's motivating.

And congratulations on your progress to add 110 hubs on year 2; looks like your right on track to reach hub 155 right on time!

Voted up and gonna share it too. Aloha!

Marissa (author) from United States on August 30, 2012:

Whalefeather2, thanks for reading!

whalefeather2 on August 30, 2012:

Great advice...thank you!

Marissa (author) from United States on April 18, 2012:

GoodLady, thank you very much for reading and commenting! I too hope to get to know you better soon. :D

Penelope Hart from Rome, Italy on April 18, 2012:

Really enjoyed reading your experience with the whole process and thanks for sharing.

Voting up.

Really looking forward to reading more of your Hubs and knowing you better soon.

Marissa (author) from United States on April 01, 2012:

kjrzeek1, I'm glad you found this useful. Thanks for reading and commenting! Good luck to you!

kjrzeek1 from New Jersey, USA on March 31, 2012:

Thank you for the information. I am just starting out and want to make the best of my experience. This Hub has started me on the right track.

Marissa (author) from United States on March 29, 2012:

premsingh, thank you very much for reading and for your comment! I appreciate that you agree with some of my points. :)

premsingh on March 29, 2012:

Some of the observations are very correct. I also feel in same way whenever a hub is asked for resubmission due to unmatched or irrelevant products. Its also true that staff and moderators here have totally professional approach. It may be understood by a person only who runs a site. I may understand how difficult is it to write a hub by a part timer. Many times,hubbers start a new hub but unpublish it after sometime due to self-dissatisfaction. Anyway I love and appreciate this hub.