Are you giving HubPages a trial run?

If anyone has followed me for any length of time, they are aware that I also write for a site called HubPages, of which I have been a member for many years. I did take a few hiatuses from the site, as things changed here and there that I wasn't all that comfortable with.

But I always found myself eventually making my way back. 

I mean, consider that the money's better there than it has ever been here at BlogSpot. It is what it is. I don't write primarily for the money. I like doing it. But let's face it—you still have to keep the lights on.

But there does seem to be a bit of "trouble in paradise" at HubPages as it seems problems are beginning that might be the markings of the beginning of the end. They haven't stopped paying. No, that's not it. But the status page is broken, and they haven't updated it, for going on three months, as I write this.

There are questions looming about whether HubPages is now considering going kaput, a decision that would be made by the parent company that owns it, The Arena Group. We haven't heard anything official, but of course, we're not stupid and it's not like we can't see that the potential writing may be on the wall, here.

Naturally, I hope that's not the case. Like I said, I like the site.

I did write an article for the site shortly after the statuses got stuck called An Innocent Woman? The Belleville McDonald's Shooting Incident, and it did get accepted for publication and did also become a featured article, a designation that simply puts the article in a "high quality" status that the site gives more attention to regarding internal promotion.

So, despite the stuck status updates, at least that part is still working. Or, I should say, it was working then. I wrote that article two months ago a couple of weeks into the statuses being stuck.

Needless to say, because the status updates are still stuck, and there's been no real communication from the powers that be on what's going on, or whether it's really being worked on to unstick them, it has made me a bit reluctant to pour my heart and soul into anything to publish there.

Who wants their efforts to be all for naught, right?

But, there was something that I wanted to talk about that I felt was just more suitable to the HubPages format, and thought well, maybe I will be doing this for nothing, but I'm going to give it a whirl anyway, and see what happens.

Will the article get accepted? Will it become featured? Or is that now broken too? I suppose I will know soon enough. Perhaps you will too. 

Thing is, it generally takes about two days to get accepted, and another few days for the article to be "classified." I have my profile settings set to only show featured articles. So, if one were to visit my HubPages profile, if it is ultimately published, but more importantly, featured, which most of my articles are ultimately, then it will show up there.

I guess we will have to wait and see. Is it on my HubPages profile now, or does it forever live in limbo? 

I suppose at the end of the day, whatever happens, it will tell me more than I know now about at least the status of the site and how they are handling future articles that appear there. It will also tell me if I need to begin to set the wheels in motion to find a new home for my work.

Like the things I write about or the way I write about them? Follow me on my Facebook page to keep up with my latest writings wherever I may write them. Want to help me keep the lights on? Consider the next time you are headed over to Amazon, using my link. I get a little something for every purchase you make, and it is greatly appreciated.

©2025 Jim Bauer

Why does writing for Blogspot suck?

Okay, so that may sound a bit harsh at first glance considering I have been writing for Blogspot for a very long time and have at least two current active blogs on here, the main one being The Springboard where I write most often. And the fact that I absolutely love the way the platform is set up to post. It's nice and simple, and easy to work with.

I have also built a strong audience of readers, and through the years my posts have received hundreds of thousands of views—that's all potential ad loads and from those numbers, you would think that the blogs earn a considerable amount of ad revenue money.

They don't. In fact, Blogspot is the worst performing of any writing platform I have ever been on. Which is strange to me considering it is directly tied to the biggest ad platform in the world, Google AdSense.

If Blogspot ads worked like they do at another site I write at that receives a significant number of views as well, HubPages, my ad revenue would be in the high hundreds, if not thousands per month. And I would write more often on HubPages if HubPages was more geared towards what I want to mostly write.

Blogs.

HubPages is more geared towards longer length, evergreen articles. Which is another reason Blogspot is more suitable to the kinds of things I write about, which are timelier and have a shorter lifespan. It requires less formatting, and I can just sit down and write my thoughts and keep it rather simple.

So, it's a double-edged sword. Blogspot offers less in terms of monetary value, by a lot, but does offer exposure in other ways, which sort of helps to make up the difference—although, other places I write also have different audiences, so it's not exactly a direct shot for readers going back and forth from one place to another. Even here, with the Springboard Answers, it's a different audience from The Springboard, and a different audience from HubPages.

It has even been difficult to transfer my Springboard audience from the main blog to my YouTube channel which directly correlates with the material on The Springboard—and while my audience is quite large based on the numbers, few people follow my Facebook Springboard page either, where I post links to almost all of the writings I do.

Part of it could be that because most of my "work" on Blogspot happens to be political in nature, there just isn't the same availability of ad revenue there to make the payoff. Either way, there is a mix of financial and stock market opinion that exists both here and on The Springboard that one might think could also make up the difference—but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I should point out that my assertions here are not complaints. They are simply observations, and perhaps a bit of reflection as well. As I said before, I simply love the Blogspot platform and write on it more than anywhere else despite the real downfalls of doing that.

But it also highlights just how hard it is to actually make a living blogging, even when you have close to a million views and a large audience—some more loyal than others.

Sure, I could attempt to monetize the blogs in other ways. For example, make more Amazon affiliate offers. Ask for donations. Sell merch. All of those things are technically possible. But not necessarily practical, at least not for my blogs and the things I write about. That's generally the best way to maximize earnings if you have a large enough audience on YouTube. Perhaps sponsors might want to reach out for endorsements of products and services, but that doesn't translate well on blogs either.

Either way, I will continue to use Blogspot despite the misgivings, and frankly, the disappointment I have with the monetary value of doing what I do here. If it remains to be nothing more than a labor of love, that still works for me. 

It's still fun to have ears and eyes on what I do even if it doesn't add up to dollars and cents.

Like the way I write or the things I write about? Consider following me on my Facebook page to keep up with the latest writings wherever I may write them.

© 2024 Jim Bauer

The Springboard on HubPages:

What if Bob Joyce Really Was the King of Rock and Roll?

Whoever Pastor Bob Joyce really is, his story rekindles the imagination for many people that the King of Rock and Roll never really died, and the legend, and the legacy lives on through him.

How I Went From Navigations to Ship's Stores on the USS Enterprise

My time in the United States Navy was supposed to go very differently. Yet even though it didn't necessarily happen the way I thought it would, what I experienced nonetheless was something I will never forget, and certainly never regret.

What Are the Drones Doing Over Our Heads?

Despite reassurances, the mystery of the drones over New York and New Jersey has imaginations running wild. Until we have some answers, it's anyone's guess why they are there and what they are up to, leaving growing public concern and speculation.

If you'd like to see the entire table of contents at The Springboard on HubPages, you can click here to see my full profile and catalog of articles published there.