My 100th Hub!! Why Join Hubpages? What to do once you've joined, How to have fun, meet people, and make money!

Hello everyone!

This is my 100th hub! Time has gone by fast! It was really exciting celebrating my 50th hub! Now, that I'm in this "game" I realize I need to write 100-200 more!! But let me start telling you everything I've learned, for this is a tradition of 100th hubs.

I love all my fans and friends on here, I've met some really cool people, and I'm praying I make some substantial money soon. Last time I checked about a week ago, I was up to almost $14. One thing I learned here is that it takes time to make money, time for hubs to mature and start to really attract google searches, and time to really take off. That is why I'm being patient and realizing that quality hubs and the keyword tool are the two most important aspects to Hubpages. There are those who don't need or care about making money, but most of us, and I'm one! want to earn money to help pay the bills or even better pay our rent, etc.

Hubpages

The longer I am here, the more I learn. Learning is inevitable. It's true that some grow stagnant, but in most cases, I think people tend to seek help and turn things around. How does one learn? Many ways, friend. I will show you what I've learned so far in 5 months and 100 hubs!

1. Reading hubs about hubs-many writers on hubpages write great hubs on how to write good hubs (like this one)
2. Participating in the forums -asking questions and reading the many posts on "how to do this" and "how to do that". When you go to the Need Help? Ask Here forum.

Some of the most valuable advice I got was in the forums.

The Keyword tool

When you go to the keyword tool, (do a google search for "keyword tool", type in the url of your hub and then click exact (lower left) and choose keywords- these are the top search words entered into google search, and enter them onto your hub page where you put keywords (right bottom).

A Very Valualbe Keyword tool Tip!

It takes less effort to use fewer keywords, have you noticed all the "greats" use like 10 keywords? Why? Well for one it takes less time. But as you do keywords you should be advised, it's best to accept the best ones. Keywords that have 3,000 monthly global searches or more next to them are the best to use. Instead of using 50 "useless keywords" use 10 or more really good ones.

Also:

1. Read and follow tips at the Hubpages Learning Center
2. Read all the Frequently Asked Questions
3. Go to the NEED HELP ASK HERE Forum

Hubpages~ is it Complicated?

Yes! and No.

It is complicated to learn some things over time, such as SEO [search engine optimazation] this is actually a fancy word to describe the Keyword Tool and some other things.

It's time consuming to read the rules, watch the helpful videos, and learn. It takes patience and time- don't try to learn it all in one day..........you head will explode !!!! :-(

At Hubpages, the creators have made it simple to just type in, or copy and paste, one of your original stories, poems, etc and then watch it grow.

Practically everyone is very helpful in the forums and many are very friendly too :)

The easiest and most enjoyable part for me is writing good, quality hubs. This is my goal, and the surest way to keep visitors on your page longer and interested, is by writing good, quality hubs and they should be 500-800 minimum words, preferably 900-1200. The longer your hub, the more interesting, the more good information, the more useful, the more videos, and photos, and capsules you use, to make it a vision for the eyes, and intellect for the brain, the better success you will have.

Writing hubs

Writing hubs is easy for many, when they have a natural flow of ideas, but it is often necessary to back up those ideas with facts [and research] however little or big you do, as long as your story is sound, etc. Just relax and let your thoughts, emotions, and creativity flow! This is a place to vent and you may treat it like a journal-though you obviously need to edit it first!! If you have trouble coming up with ideas, go to the Idea bank, which is under your account and there on the list.

You will also need to explore hubpages, and try clicking on everything--this is good for beginners or the computer challenged---to see how everything works and where it leads to. Honestly it took me a long time to figure out there was an idea bank or that there was a special awesome keyword tool, so if you're a beginner, and you're reading this hub, bookmark it and reread it, for it's very very important to pay attention to all I'm telling you. And yes, I would appreciate all comments, voting up, and clicking useful, funny, beautiful, or awesome!!! Thankyou!!

It often can be. We don't always feel inspired or get ideas easily. Writing hubs can be like writing an essay or "term" paper for school. It takes thought, action, and research, but it can be fun. Most of the time I love it. Other than the keyword tool, or "work" I need to do, I just love writing, venting, and letting things out. I love sharing my experiences to help others.

People like to read/hear what's from your heart and what you've experienced more so than some term paper on facts. You can do historical and educational pieces but putting in a little of "you" helps !

Is Making Money Important?

To most, yes. Once we learn all the "stuff" or most of it, we can focus on optimizing our performance and quality, etc. Some making money tips are:

• USE THE KEYWORD TOOL AFTER EVERY HUB
• WRITING GOOD QUALITY HUBS
• BACKLINKING

WHAT IS BACKLINKING?

In simple terms, it is giving your url of your hub to another place to Link to Hubpages, to your hub. There are many such places. When you publish a hub, above the Comments section , there's a button in gray called Share. Click on this and you can share with many places quickly like facebook, twitter, etc (but you must join and have accounts there.) So, if you already have an account on facebook, go ahead and share your hubs everytime you publish a new one. Also, you (should) join some new places; some which work well for me are shetoldme.com and reddit.com. (See my profile for the links.)

The Very Most Important Thing to Do When you Join

Go to "my account" and click on Affiliate Settings. Follow all the instructions and give them your tax info. This will enable you to start earning money on Google, and Amazon. You will NOT earn anything if you don't do this!!!! The way your Google ads work is: Hubpages will display your ads 60% of the time, this give you a 60% chance to allow people (visitors) to click on your ads--even if they don't purchase. The more clicks (traffic) you get the more $$ you make. To learn more, visit the forums, or read some valuable hub about these items. Some wriiters I recommend are RebeccaE, WryLilt, and MarkKnowles.

Being a writer of Hubpages:

• My writing skills have improved
• I've met supportive hubbers who leave wonderful comments
• I've met cool people
• I've learned my hubs have made a difference for others
• I learn everyday about all kinds of things by reading other's hubs

Hubpages is my favorite website next to Facebook.

I hope it becomes one of yours too!