Getting the Hang of HubPages

Alright, this one goes out to my ex-Squids and new Hubbers.  First, the differences from Squidoo to HubPages.  Let's start with the good; I like that there is a key on HubPages that shows you all of the notices for the articles (hubs).  They are good and bad notices, but even when they are negative notices that means you can fix them.  There seems to be more opportunities for earnings, as there are several programs.  I also like how easy it is to follow fellow Hubbers and there is an even a tab to keep track of articles and comments you are following.  If you decide to delete an article you have 24hrs to undelete it.  Now for the bad, or at least inconvenient; I liked the earnings charts that Squidoo had which itemized which article was earning and how much a lot better than the earnings reports they have on HubPages.  It was nice to be able to use that as a guide to which articles are better for earnings.  I have yet to find out exactly when Hubs start to earn based on their tier system.  I preferred the liberty to change the design and look of the Squidoo lenses that I wrote and I feel like all the ones on HubPages pretty much look the same.  HubPages also doesn't seems to have a lot of avenues to share your writing, such as the internet Magazines Squidoo had put together.  Now, it did take me a while to figure things out with Squidoo, so maybe I just need to do a little more digging to figure out some new things.

Here is the good stuff; tips on what to do when you have switched from Squidoo to Hubpages.  It helps to search other articles and follow other Hubbers, so you can learn what a good article looks like using the new format as well as getting your name out for people to check out your writing.  If I learned anything starting out on Squidoo it was that networking is key if you want to make money writing online.  Also it is good to start going through your articles to edit, correct, update, etc.  I unpublished all my articles that contained "violations" and am going through one by one correcting them.  I also am fixing any broken links or deleting them all together.  After I started this process I reapplied for the Google AdSense program and was accepted!  I am making money again!

Here are the articles that I have edited and updated, if you are seasoned Hubber please let me know if you have any ideas as to how I can improve my writing: Calming Products for Babies, Top Toddler Toys for Playrooms, Betty Crocker Holiday Cookie Mix.

Just to be clear, in case you are just getting started on this journey, writing online does not usually make you a ton of money.  Those that have made a good amount of money from it treat it like a full time job, network like crazy, and usually write on multiple sites.

The way to push yourself to success though is to focus on why you write, not on the money, and to make goals.  My goals are to have all of my current articles updated by the new year and to write and publish 10 articles within the next 6 months, bringing my total count up to 40.  Wish me luck and good luck to all my fellow writers!

See You Later Halloween, Hello Christmas!

Hello All,

My family went on vacation for two weeks and I tried to make sure to keep up with my lenses while we were gone, but it can be tough!  Halloween brought good success, as I made more sales from those articles - not much, but I am still excited about it!  Not sure how long the high ranking will last from those, but it sure would be nice if it could stay that way throughout most of the month.   My Haunted Hayride Madness did really well, although I'm still kind of kicking myself that I waited so long to write it.  Hopefully it will be just as popular next  year.  It was featured with other lenses on the Squiddo front page through Halloween and, as seen, was mentioned on the Happy Halloween Magazine facebook page.  I was kind of sad to see Halloween go, but am getting excited about Christmas!

"Aren't you missing Thanksgiving?" you might ask.  Well, I have four articles I have already written geared towards November that I hope do well this month: How to Save on Major Appliances at Sears has already started getting some good traffic, as Thanksgiving is the next big large appliance sale - I also updated and pinged this article.  Carved Gourds - The Perfect Fall Decoration, which I wrote a while ago, but didn't really pick up and I feel that these creations are so amazing, so I'm hoping people will get to enjoy them this month.  Delightfully Easy Fall Casserole, this is a recipe people can be used for Thanksgiving leftovers and I may need to edit it a bit to get more of an audience for that.  My latest lens that I wrote right before leaving on vacation is A Great Gift for Black Friday, which features Black Friday hats that are just perfect for that day and as gifts for those joining in the shopping fun!  As it is already November, it is too late to write an article if I want to make money on it this month, so I am moving straight on to Christmas, hoping that these three articles do well while crossing my fingers.

Celebrate, the new Squidoo online magazine, is now up and running!  There are tons of gift ideas on there and right now it is geared towards Christmas.  I have already added some lenses to the magazine, which include: Take Along Toys - The Best Gift for Babies, these are very popular toys and a huge life saver for parents and I am really hoping this one will pick up soon, Stuffed Animal Storage Bag, which I need to update and am thinking about changing the title,  Top Toddler Toys for Playrooms, I originally titled this "top ten..." and then realized I was going down the wrong patch with the article, so I had redo the entire lens,  George Foreman Grill, a gift for him, and A Great Gift for Black Friday.  I also would like to add Must Have Helpful Kitchen Gadgets to the magazine, which also needs to be updated.

In more exciting news, I applied for the Giant Squid Club and was accepted!  After being accepted I also received a purple star for my Tricks to Quick Cleaning article!  I AM OFFICIALLY A SUPER SQUID!!!  I am so excited!  Here is to future lenses and helping fellow Squids!!! :)