Writing HubPages

Are Vampire Appliances Bleeding You Dry?

2010-09-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

Did you know that your new flat-screen television, DVD player, stereo system or cell phone charger could be an "energy vampire"? Yes, many of these everyday appliances and many others could be bleeding you dry even when you aren’t using them. Any appliance that uses standby power, often referred to as instant-on appliances, draw electricity even when they are turned off and are “energy vampires”.

This goes on every day, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year whether you are at home or away. And believe me, you are paying for it. While instant-on appliances are convenient, you might think twice if you knew what it really costs you. Reducing the energy used by these appliances can lower the typical household energy bill by five to ten percent. Learn more about vampire appliances and what you can do about them in my new hub "Are Vampire Appliances Bleeding You Dry?"

Vertical Jump Training Blog online!

2010-09-05T15:25:00.000-07:00

While I do enjoy writing on HubPages simply for writings' sake it is a only part of a total internet marketing strategy. Using Google Adsense and Amazon affiliate ads, I am able to produce income from my hubs. The past month have seen some great strides in this area as my Adsense income, though still small, has begun to increase and rarely a day passes without making anything. This month has also seen an increase in my Amazon commissions as I think I have found a formula that works well, especially for seasonal hubs. I will share more about this later.

As I approach retirement age, I am looking to build a residual income to supplement my retirement income. My hopes are to make a few hundred dollars a month with HubPages and a few hundred more with some other niche marketing websites. The strategy is to create a handful of niche websites that each produce $200-$300 dollars a month. Then I can realize a supplemental income of $1000 to $1500 per month. That is not a life changing sum but certainly would be welcome in retirement. The strategy provides multiple streams of income so that all my eggs aren't in one basket. If one niche stops performing, I can shut it down and develop a new niche website to replace the lost income.

I have just launched my second niche website using this strategy. I have 2 sons that play basketball competitively. Each one have sought to increase their vertical leap, a sought after ability in basketball, volleyball and several other sports. They have purchased and completed a couple of vertical jump training programs. They got me thinking. After doing some research, I determined there is a large demand for information in this niche and it was a good candidate for niche marketing; highly defined, good demand and not too much competition. So, I started verticaljumptrainingblog.com to target this niche. I still need to add more content but it is off to a start. If you visit the site, I would appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have to make it better. Whatever success or failures I have, I will be sure to share. Thanks!

Internet Marketing for Retirees

2010-07-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

I also have a blog about internet and niche marketing your can follow at richardstephen.com. On it I blog about such things as niche marketing, search engine optimization, social media marketing, etc. As I am approaching retirement age in a few years, I have shifted my focus to internet marketing for retirees. By its very nature internet market is a great way for retirees, and anyone else, who are looking for ways to supplement their income. Today I published this hub that discusses in greater detail just why internet marketing is a great fit for retirees. Check it out!

Humorous Quotes from Former VP Dan Quayle

2010-07-27T15:51:00.000-07:00

I don't blog about all the hubs I write but I do want to share this one with you. I recently stumbled across a few quotes from former Vice President Dan Quayle who was quite well known for putting his foot in his mouth. I had completely forgotten just how funny his gaffes were so I wrote a hub about him. If you need a laugh, please check it out: Humorous Quotes from Former VP Dan Quayle

Home Improvements Make Great Hub Topics

2010-07-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

Like many writers, if I dare call myself a writer, I suffer from writer's block from time to time. Sometimes I go completely blank for what seems forever. Lately, though, I have been doing a lot of home improvement projects around the house. Some are simple repairs, others are attempts to 'go green' and save some money in the process.

After completing a few of these projects it dawned on me that some of them would make great topics for hubs! Surely, there are people out there who are contemplating similar projects themselves and would benefit from my experience. Sure enough, there were. These hubs, while not burning it up, are getting consistent and growing traffic. So, if you are finding it hard to come up with hub topics, consider all your DYI projects for inspiration.

Check out my hub on installing or retrofitting your home with dual flush toilets, if you are interested.

Essential "Off Page" SEO Techniques

2010-07-07T19:16:00.000-07:00

Once your website has been indexed by Google you need to do some 'off page' search engine optimization (SEO). In a previous hub, I discussed 'on page' SEO techniques that can help get ranked quickly by search engines. You need to do both 'on page' and 'off page' SEO strategy to get the rankings and traffic you want.

‘Off page’ SEO means building a lot a links on other websites that point back to your web site. Thus, they are called ‘backlinks’. Quality as well as quantity is the goal here. For your page rank rise you need a lot of quality backlinks from sites which Google and other search engines consider to have ‘authority’. The more backlinks from authoritative sites the better. This is called “Link Popularity:

Essential "On Page" SEO Techniques

2010-07-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

For a website to rank highly in search engine results it is important to optimize the website code itself. This means making changes to the HTML code that defines what your webpage looks like and how it behaves. This process is called ‘On Page’ SEO or "on page" Search Engine Optimization. Though it may seem complicated, especially to a newbie, it isn't hard to do with a little effort. Effort that will pay off with a higher search engine ranking and increased traffic to your website.

How to Play Great Basketball Defense

2010-05-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

When one thinks of the greatest defensive players of all time, those with great speed and agility come to mind first. Stealing the ball off the dribble or intercepting the pass by gambling in the passing lanes are quickly recalled. However, most people don't realize that the best defense often goes unnoticed. In reality, it has more to do with playing smart, disciplined fundamental team defense than great athletic ability.

The main reason many players never become good defenders is that they fail to learn fundamental basketball defensive techniques and execute them with discipline and consistency. Fortunately, these are skills and traits that can be learned with proper effort and desire. What follow are some fundamental defensive skills and techniques that are often ignored in favor of a flashy, more exciting but ultimately less effective brand of defense.

Flexibility Training as an Essential Part of Your Workout

2010-05-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

Many people are quite fanatic, almost religious, about their workout routines. They follow the same regimen on the same schedule week after week, month after month. Others enjoy introducing variety into their workouts to stave off boredom. However, a very low percentage of people include flexibility training as a normal part of their workout. Little do they know they are not only limiting the effectiveness of their workout they are also placing themselves at greater risk of injury as well.

As you age, it is natural that your muscles lose strength, size and flexibility. This affects the range of movement around your joints and may lead to stiffness in the muscles and joints. This same lack of flexibility limits the effectiveness of your exercises and makes one more prone to joint and muscle injury. So as you age, flexibility training becomes even more essential.

Jeff Dedrick's Automated Ads Software

2010-05-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

If you have a ClickBank account and use it to sell or promote products in your market niche, you know that you can make some money with the top selling products. You also know how much time it takes to determine the top selling products and ensure that those ads appear on your site. Well, someone has developed a tool to make this take a whole lot easier, if not automatic.

Jeff Dedrick his just released his Automated Ads software to the public. Currently, this software is being offered for free but will soon become a $47 per month subscription. This software automatically determines the top selling products in the niche you select and creates a rotating banner ad of the top selling products in that niche. This software is being released as a teaser for the May 11th release of Jeff's full Automated Traffic system. Understanding that, Automated Ads is still a product worth having.

Street Smart Internet Marketing by Justing Michie

2010-04-30T10:56:00.001-07:00

I have downloaded my share of internet marketing and SEO e-books the past few years. Some I paid for and some were free. The vast majority of time I was disappointed. Most were shoddily written and prepared documents with little or no useful information. Many were simply regurgitations of material you can quickly and easily find elsewhere on the internet for free. Of course, I shouldn't have been disappointed as the main purpose of these free offers is to get your email address to add to their marketing list.

I recently acquired a free copy of Street Smart Internet Marketing by Justin Michie. As usual, I approached it with my typical skepticism. However, a quick perusal convinced me that this book was different. First, this was no quickly and sloppily thrown together piece of junk. This is a quality, 308-page pdf document with loads of useful information. There are 38 chapters in seven sections covering topics such as:

Electronic marketing
Designing and building a website
Email marketing
Search Engine Optimization
Website Promotion
Joint Ventures and Affiliate Marketing

This book was originally written in 2006 but Justin Michie has revised it and brought it up to date for 2010. This isn't a book you will read through in an hour or two. It will take time to read and digest. When you are done you will want to keep it handy for frequent reference. I had yet to write a review of an e-book because, quite frankly, they weren't worth the time they took to download much less write a review. This book is different. Take my word for it, Street Smart Internet Marketing by Justin Michie is a book you should take a serious look at. It's free so what do you have to lose?

Finally! A New Hub!

2010-04-21T16:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe I just published my first hub in 4 months and that I haven't updated this blog in nearly 5 months! I must confess that life has been unbelievably busy since the turn of the New Year. Today was my first real chance to sit down an write again. One would think that I would have pondered dozens of ideas for new hubs in the past 4 months but NO! Sure, I have a couple of ideas but work and family have kept me so busy that I've rarely even thought about writing.

What finally pushed me back to the keyboard to write? Honestly, I checked my Google earnings for the first time in months and saw that my hubs had continued to make money without any additional effort on my part. It wasn't a lot but it was consistent. This is the beauty of writing evergreen hubs. It also reminded me of one of my original goals in joining Hubpages which was to see if I could make hubs produce a decent residual income. With my hub count stuck at 38 that wasn't likely but revenue was trickling in. It was enough to make me realize that if I am willing to work this system, I could realize a useful income stream. So back to the keyboard I went. I wish I could say I started again solely for expressive reasons but that wouldn't be true. Oh, well! At least I am writing again.

Adsense Income Continues to Trickle In

2009-11-22T17:36:00.000-08:00

I continue to be encouraged that I really can make money using Adsense if I am willing to work for it. I had added a few more hubs in the previous weeks but they haven't been very successful. Hubpages stats and Google Analytics tell me that. However, I have been encouraged to see almost daily Adsense earnings for the past 3 weeks. I'm not talking big bucks here, heck, most days it is under a dollar. However, it is coming in consistently and it all adds up. And it is all coming in from hubs I wrote almost 2 months ago.

I am encouraged because the money is coming in without me doing any new work. So, if I put in the necessary work to continually write new hubs with broad appeal I can easily see my Hubpages generating $100, $200 or more per month. That is not enough to change my lifestyle but when combined with other streams of internet income it could very well begin to make a difference. An extra $500 to $800 per month will allow me to accelerate my debt service radically and become debt free even sooner!

The Success of My Nike Hyperize Review

2009-11-17T15:52:00.000-08:00

I have begun to use Google Analytics to learn more about what search terms are driving traffic to my hubs. The Hubpages statistics told me which of my hubs was getting the most traffic but not what keywords people were searching for that brought them to my hubs. Some time ago I wrote a review of the Nike Hyperize basketball shoe that my son had purchased. Very quickly it became my hottest hub accounting for almost half of all my hub traffic. In the months since I wrote that hub it has easily continued to outpace all my other hubs.

Through Google Analytics I was able to determine not only that my sports-related hubs and reviews comprised 3 of my top 5 hubs but why. It was my assumption that during these tough economic times people would be interested in learning more about personal finance and saving money. So I focused most of my writing energy there. It is my belief now, however, that sports and recreation topics are more popular because people want to take their minds off the economy and put them on something fun and relaxing.

Knowing this, I have shifted my hub writing emphasis away from personal finance and investing and towards sports-related topics. This is not to mean I will no longer write about personal finance, I will. After all, the reason I joined Hubpages, and write this blog for that matter, is that I enjoy writing for the sake of writing. Making money through my writing is only gravy.

So, I encourage you to start using Google Analytics. It is easy to sign up and free to use. Get familiar with the myriad of statistics it provides and you to will be able to choose topics that fit the demands of your readers.

Seasonal versus Evergreen Articles

2009-11-13T11:50:00.000-08:00

This will be a short posting as time is short at the moment. I've noticed that traffic to some of my hubs is continuous and growing while others have fallen to a trickle. Using the 'Hub Traffic Statistics' feature under 'My Account', it was easy to see why. BTW, the headings above each column (1 day, 7 days, 30 days, ever, etc.) are clickable and will sort the statistics for all hubs according to that heading. It is a quick and useful way to analyze basic traffic statistics.

Anyway, it became quickly obvious that those hubs that started with a flourish of traffic and quickly fell to a trickle were mostly on current event topics. Of course, once some time had passed since that event it is only logical that interest would drop off as well. This is an example of a 'seasonal' article.

The articles that have had continuous, even growing, traffic are those that have broad interest and are relevant to readers at any time. They are topics that have continuous appeal to readers. In other words, they are 'evergreen'. Needless to say, these are the hubs that have generated the most Adsense revenue for me as well.

I am not saying that you should not write on 'seasonal' topics. The topics you write about are determined by your motivations for writing. If you want to write about current events to voice your opinion or raise awareness of a particular issue, then go for it. If you hope to make revenue from those articles, then be aware that traffic to them will likely diminish as time passes and revenue with it. If your goal is to express yourself and develop a continuous stream of income, then 'evergreen' articles are more likely to help you achieve your goals. Just saying ...

Back to Writing Hub Pages

2009-11-04T16:26:00.000-08:00

After 6 weeks of what amounts to a forced hiatus from hubpages, today I finally produced another hub. The work load of my job and 9 days with the flu pretty much did me in for that month and a half. The break wasn't entirely unwelcome as I had grown a little weary of finding topics for new hubs. Unlike many hubbers, I don't want to write hubs on just anything in order to increase my numbers. I want to write hubs that have value to the readers or that touch on a topic near to my heart.

Now that Halloween is behind us I am already looking past Thanksgiving to Christmas. Having grown up in the great state of Alaska but currently residing in Southern California I usually begin to wax nostalgic for winter weather around this time of year. As the temperatures drop and the hours of daylight lessen I remember fondly my time in Alaska and the winter snow.

One of my favorite activities was making snowmen. I must have made several hundred of them. For me, snow and snowmen are part and parcel of the Christmas season. Even after so many years in So Cal I still long for snow on Christmas Day. No snow means no snowmen. So, I have taken to collecting snowman ornaments and decorations. I know it is kind of silly for a grown man but during the holiday season it is acceptable for the boy inside of the man to come out. So, I wrote a hub about decorating you home with snowmen. It contains links to some of my favorite places to find snowman ornaments, decorations and more. I hope you enjoy it.

A Tip for Finding Topics for Hubs

2009-09-21T23:58:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned it has been a little hard for me to find topics to write on of late. A bit of writers block, maybe. Sure, I could fall back on the topics I am most familiar with like finance or computer technology but I find that, with some exceptions, those hubs are not my most popular.

For a hub to be truly successful you need to find a topic that resonates with a large number of readers. If you target your hubs to a niche market, then don't be surprised when it isn't read very much. A niche market by definition is small. Believe me, I have written my share of nearly unread hubs. Your topic should have broad appeal and quality content.

While sitting at home watching my beloved LA Lakers a long time ago a disagreement arose between my wife and myself about how much sports I watch on TV. Now, I am a big sports fan but my TV interests revolve around basketball and football. I really don't watch baseball or hockey. There certainly are many more rabid and obsessed sports fans that I out there. However, that doesn't really address the problem I was facing, does it?

It seemed I was facing a dilemma. Continue to watch sports or neglect my wife and possibly harm our marriage. To be totally honest, the choice is obvious and it's not to continue to watch sports at my wife's expense though many guys make just that choice!. However, there was a third alternative and that was to help my wife become a sports fan herself. So I set about to find out just how to do that.

The results of my research and my experiences with her became the topic of my next hub, How toTurn Your Wife/Girlfriend Into a Sport Fan. In it you will find a lot of practical ways that can help make sports more appealing to your wife and maybe even turn her into a sports fan. Now, I can't claim that my wife is as big a sports fan as I but I can say that I have come home to find her watching the Lakers by herself on more than one occasion!

Anyway, that is not really the topic of this hub. The topic is how to find topics for hub and my point is to simply look around you. If there is some problem to which you have found a solution, there is a very good chance a lot of people would be interested in hearing about it. If you have some some way to make a job or task easier, there is a very good chance a lot of people would be interested in hearing about it. If you have found a way to build a better mouse trap, well, you get the idea.

Simply put, keep your eyes open for the things in every day life that trouble you, annoy you, make your life easier or make you happy. If you are an average person, and most of us are, then many of your experiences will be of interest to many people. Life is full of topics to write about, if you just look around!

Building Hedges to Protect Your Marriage

2009-09-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

Please bear with me if I digress from the topic of writing hubs though I will get back to that later. Recently, I found out that a family member and a close friend are both in the throes of divorce due to an unfaithful spouse. Sometimes I don't think that people think about the pain and damage that infidelity can and will cause their marriage and their families.

And I don't just mean their immediate family but the extended family as well. My wife has been deeply affected by her sister's pending divorce. The other siblings and their mother are also devastated. It seems today that what is important is self and that no price is too high to make sure that self is happy. Marriage and family have become secondary to keeping oneself happy. The notions of commitment and self-sacrifice are passe in today's hedonistic culture.

Marriages today are viewed as conveniences. When they become inconvenient, then it is time to end it. Who cares about the costs? After all, what is most important is that I am happy, right? But as I see marriages of friends and family fall apart around me, I keep seeing the same behaviors lead to divorce time and time again.

When I said "I do" to my wife, I was making a vow before God and man that I would put her and our marriage above everything else in importance. Above my career, above my friendships, above my family, above my passions. It takes commitment and hard work. It doesn't happen by accident but by design. If marriage is important, then proactive steps must be taken to protect it. No one is above temptation and selfishness. The prudent will build hedges around their marriage to protect it. Not to do so in today's world is like allowing the fox into the hen house. The results will be obvious and inevitable.

So, I did write a hub about building hedges to protect your marriage. It details a number of proactive steps that couples can make to protect their marriages. Some steps will be easy while some will be difficult. Some may be even be a bit embarassing in today's culture, but who care. You're not trying to impress the world but build a healthy, strong marriage.

Coming Up Short on the 30/30 Challenge

2009-09-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

Today marks my 30th day writing on hubpages.com. As I wrote about in earlier hubs I took up the 30 hubs in 30 days challenge. I had hoped that participating in the challenge would help me get off to a good start as an author on hubpages. Unfortunately, the past week or so has gotten increasingly busy at work leaving me with precious little time for much of anything including writing.

Since my last blog post I did manage to write 4 more hubs. That bring my total to 24 and 6 hubs short of my goal of 30. However, I still believe the challenge was a good thing because I learned a lot more about writing for hubpages than I would have otherwise. I seriously doubt I would have written 24 hubs this quickly and I know I wouldn't have become as familiar with how hubpages works had I not participated.

I've certainly learned a lot more about monetizing my hubs (adding Adsense or other income generators) than I ever knew before and even made my first few dollars. I've seen my traffic increased steadily and learned even more about how to drive more traffic to my hubs. All in all, it has been a great experience that reinforces my decision to get involved with hubpages. Besides it being a great forum for writing I am convinced that I can make money here with time, dedication and effort. Sure, I won't get rich overnight. Heck, I won't get rich at all but that isn't my primary goal anyway. It's an interesting experiment that I'm glad I tried. Maybe you should give it a try too!

Here are my 4 newest hubs. I hope you enjoy them!

How to Shoot Free Throws Better Than A Pro

Laugh Yourself to a Better and Longer Life

Understanding the Federal Reserve System

Prevent Major Expenses with Regular Air Conditioning Maintenance

First Adsense Income Realized!

2009-08-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

This week I realized my first income from Google Adsense ads. Boy, I was pumped! It wasn't much but my first instinct was to jump onto one of the hubspace forums and announce my good fortune. Fortunately, I elected to do a search first to see what kind of income other new hubbers were seeing in their first couple of weeks on hubpages.

While some hubbers did state specifically their Adsense income it was clear from the responses of others that this was not a good idea. Many were quick to state that Google frowns on the practice of publishing what your earn through Adsense. Taking a closer look at the Adsense policies it became clear that Google does not allow affiliates to publish the revenue they earn. I don't know the reason for this policy but it is there and it is clear. Apparently, some Adsense affiliates have had their accounts terminated for violating this policy.

Still, I am pumped to see revenue in only my third week writing on Hubpages. From what I've read in the forums I guess I am ahead of the curve as the majority of authors don't seem to realize any income for a number of months, if at all. I hope that this is a reflection that I am writing hubs on topics that resonate with readers and that these topics generate context-sensitive Adsense ads with products or services that interest my readers. The coming weeks will tell more. Still it is a measure of validation that my original conclusion about hubpages being a legitimate way to may some money was correct.

Getting Into the Swing on Hubpages

2009-08-26T23:09:00.000-07:00

This past week and a half saw a jump in traffic to my hubs. The jump was not large but was a noticeable increase in the average number of hubs over the previous week. I'm certain now that the increased traffic is partially because the search engines have begun to index my hubs. Also, when one of my hubs is read some of the readers my take a look at my profile, see some of my other hubs and read them. It's that simple. Search engines drive traffic to my hubs but traffic itself will drive additional traffic to my hubs, if that makes sense.

During this same time frame I have increased my participation in some of the forums. I also spent more time perusing the hubs of other authors and leaving comments as appropriate. It is common to have these comments lead the hub author to read one or more of my hubs thus increasing my traffic. You should only leave comments if the hub you've read is of significance to you. Some hubbers have been know to leave "fluff" comments solely with the hope of increasing their hubber score. Fluff comments do the author nor yourself any good. Participation in the hubspace community is itself a good way to increase your hub traffic and genuine participation in the forums and leaving sincere comments will help to increase your hubber score, it that is important to you.

Since my last post I have written 5 additional hubs bringing my total to 20 hubs in the 30/30 challenge. I must confess that it is getting a little harder to come up with good ideas for new hubs. I don't want to produce hubs just for the sake of increasing my count. I really do want to write on topics that may be of some help to others. So, here are the 5 new hubs for your reading pleasure:

New Credit Card Regulations toTake Effect August 20th

Review of the Nike Hyperize Basketball Shoe

Will a Basketball Rim Reducer Help My Shot?

How to Make the Most of Your Commute

Has Lady Justice Lost Her Mind?

30/30 Update & More Lessons Learned

2009-08-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that I am having a lot of fun writing hubpages. It's more than just writing the articles but also participating in the forums and connecting with the other authors who, by the way, have been singularly supportive and encouraging. It really is a great environment and community. The other hubbers are very free with their help and in sharing the wisdom they've gained through their hubpage experiences.

So, I've managed to produce 5 more hubs bringing my total to 15 in the 30/30 challenge. It is still easy to come up with ideas for hubs so that is not a problem. I am finding it takes between 2 and 4 hours for me to produce a completed hub. If I am writing on a subject with which I am quite familiar then 2 hours is the norm. Otherwise, research will add a couple of hours to the process.

I'm not seeing the traffic that I would like to see but it has been only a couple of weeks since joining hubpages. It takes a while for the internet search engines like Google, Bing, etc., to index the hubs and include them in search results. I have seen a slight increase this week and that might be that my hubs are beginning to show up in search results. Hubpages provides analytics one of which is traffic sources. So far, my hubs have been referred by only 3 sources: hubpages itself, Google and Yahoo Search. Hopefully, that will increase with more hubs and more time.

One thing you are supposed to do to 'market' your hubs is to post links to your hubs on other web sites. Hubpages recommends backlinks on blogs and other social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. Admittedly, I have been slow in doing this as I am not particularly big on social networking sites. I do believe it will be necessary in order to broaden my audience and drive more visitors to my hubs. I will do more of this in the coming week and report the results, if any, back to you in a later blog.

So, here are the 5 new hubs I mentioned earlier. Please take a look if you would like and, again, comments and crticisms are welcome.

How Credit Card Use Affects Your FICO Score

Investing - Reap the Benefits of Dollar Cost Averaging

Prague - City of a Hundred Spires

Understanding Key Economic Indicators

Michigan Legislator Introduces Pet Tax Deduction Bill

Lesson Learned:

This 'lesson learned' regards Google Adsense again. Be very careful about clicking on your own Adsense links. It is violation of Adsense policy to click your own Adsense links or to encourage or pay others to do likewise. The reason for this should be obvious. As an Adsense affiliate you make income when people click through your Adsense ad. The more clicks, the more you make. Obviously, without this policy you could sit there all day and click your own links, buy nothing and grow rich.

Google has developed a very sophisticated, proprietary system to detect fraudulent clicks. They are very secretive about this system and do not release any information about how it works. The reason for this should also be obvious. Knowing how it works would possibly allow unscrupulous people to circumvent it and profit from fraudulent clicks.

Suffice it to say, the system works very well. Some may say too well complaining that they have had accounts terminated due to fraudulent clicks which never happened. Such terminations can be appealed but such appeals are rarely granted. Once Google says you are done, you are done. So, resist that temptation to click on your own Adsense links. If it happens more than a couple of times, Google will know and they will terminate your account!

Making Progress on the 30/30 Challenge

2009-08-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I think I am making good progress on the 30 hubs in 30 days challenge. Here are 5 more hubs I have published on hubpages.com. This brings my hub total to 10. One third of the way there, however, I can see how you can run out of topics to write on once you have written 30 or so. Coming up with a continuous stream of hub ideas might become a problem.

Tips for Selecting a Financial Adviser

Be Debt Wise - Understand Good and Bad Debt

Coaching Youth Sports - Its All About the Kids

Review of the Air Alert Vertical Jump System

How to Improve Your Computers Performance

As I have gotten familiar and more confident with the hubpages authoring process I have expanded the topics of my hubs. One thing I have learned is to be careful when it comes to duplicating content. I published one hub dealing with the management of businesses in America. A key part of the hub was a quite long joke that illustrated the differences between the Japanese and Amercan business models. It turns out that another hubber had used this same joke in one of their hubs. Hubpages apparently scans published hubs for content duplication and flagged my hub as a duplicate. As the joke was central to the hub, I ultimately removed the hub for a later rewrite.

Hubpages didn't remove the hub they simply flagged it as a duplicate. I guess it leaves it up to you as to what to do about it. However, if you monetize you hubpages you need to be concerned about the duplication of content. By monetize I mean attempt to earn revenue from adding context sensitive ads with Adsense or by including Amazon or ebay advertisements. Google, who owns Adsense, can and will suspend your Adsense account if they determine you are copying content from other sites and presenting it as your own.

Once Google has suspended an Adsense account it is very difficult, almost impossible, to have it reinstated. Preferring to be safe and not sorry, I went ahead and removed the hub even though the bulk of the article was original content. You can search the forums on hubpages.com and find many examples of people who have gone amiss of the Adsense policies and had their accounts terminated.

You should thoroughly read and understand the Adsense usage policies when you sign up. This is not necessarily easy as these policies are oftern long and confusing. Hubpage authors have written a number of hubs regarding Adsense that I recommend you read. You can find a number of them by searching the hubs and forums on hubpages for "Adsense policies". Of course, any writer should be concerned about plagiarism and copyright infringement. Your hub articles should be your own original creations. Avoid copying the work of others religiously.

30 Day/30 Hub Challenge Accepted

2009-08-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

I've decided to dive head first into writing hubpages. Hubpages is touting their 30 Day/30 Hub Challenge especially to new authors. The idea is to write 30 hubs in 30 days to get hubbers off to a good start. The 30 day period starts when you publish your first hub so there is no fixed start and end dates to the challenge. The challenge is also optional so you can participate or not. Knowing that I can sometimes be a slow starter I have decided to take up the challenge. Being new to this I've also decided to stay in my comfort zone and write my first 5 hubs on personal finance topics. Here they are for your perusal. Comments and criticisms are welcome.

Cut the Fat From Your Budget

5 Personal Finance Web Sites You Should See

Beware the Dark Side of Debit Cards

Reversing the Trend - Tips for Getting Out of Debt

Financial Compatibility - Tough Questions You Should Ask Before Marriage

Here is what one of my finished hubs looks like. It will give you an idea of how hubpages formats an article that you may write.

Writing the hubs was really quite easy. Simply click on the 'Start a New Hub' button and you are on your way. A wizard guides you through the process of naming, writing and formatting your hub. It really is easy and after a few hubs you will be very familiar with the process. However, to start I recommend you stay on topics which you have some expertise or familiarity with. Build up your confidence first.

Also, search hubpages.com first for existing hubs on your topic. If a lot of hubs have already been written on it, think about a different topic or maybe the same topic written with a different emphasis or from a unique perspective. You want your hubs to be different and to stand out from the others.

Hubpages makes it easy to add graphics, pictures, video, etc. to your hubs. Adding these can add visual appeal to your hub as well as help your reader visualize some point you are trying to make. Pictures and text

A point of caution, however. When adding images, video or other content to your hub be sure you have the right to do so. Most images and videos have copyright constraints that limit who can use them and how they can be used. Unless you know for certain you have permission to use an image it is best to stick with images in the public domain. Images in the public domain can be used by anyone for any purpose without obtaining prior permission. If you search on Google for "public domain images" you will find a plethora of sites providing them

Welcome to My Hubpages Experiment

2009-08-04T17:04:00.000-07:00

Greetings and welcome to my 'Writing Hubpages' blog. My name is Richard Stephen and for years I've enjoyed writing on a variety of subjects with varying levels of success. I am by no means a professional writer but have often dreamt of being published one day and maybe even making a living writing. However, life and bills have always kept this just a dream. Too much work, too many bills and too little time. You know the story I'm sure.

However, finding a outlet for my writing has not always been easy. As the internet has grown in popularity and pervasiveness my writing opportunities have grown. Through the years I have developed my own web sites, blogs and forums. Maintaining them required coding and graphics and lots of time. Time I would rather spend writing articles not DHTML and javascript!

While surfing the internet a couple of months back I discovered a site called hubpages.com. I honestly don't recall how I ended up there but I am glad I did. As it turns out HubPages is a site dedicated to writers and provides an outlet for their creativity. A HubPage, simply put, is a web page. Each hub contains an article that you write on pretty much any topic you want. Of course, there are content restrictions such as no obscenity, pornography, racist propaganda, etc. but you will find topics covering just about anything.

HubPages are a completely free and fun way to get your writing out there for people to see. You can add pictures, video, news capsules, rss feeds and more to your hubs quickly and easily. You write and hubpages.com does the work for you producing a professional looking page you can be proud off. There are forums where you can discuss your ideas and get help from other 'hubbers' as we call ourselves.

If you want, you can even make some money with your writing through affiliate advertising with Google, Amazon, ebay and others. If you are an affiliate with these programs you can add context sensitive ads to your hubpages that can generate income when your readers click on them. I had tried Goodle Adsense and being an Amazon affiliate before with no success so I was skeptical.

However, as I read many hubs by many different authors I began to see that, with some effort, hubpages just might be a way to make a little money and develop an audience for my writing. It was free so what did I have to lose but a little of my time. Even if I didn't make any money, I still would have a forum for my writing. So, I decided to give it a try.

In this blog I will be telling you of my hubpages experience. I will keep you updated on my progress as a hubpage author, my frustrations, my successes and my failures. It will be my goal to make an honest effort to make this work and to give you and honest report of the outcome. So, here we go ...