Why Blogging Improves Hubbing | A Connection

I've been an avid blogger since 2007. I opened a Wordpress account as a young mom desperate to channel some creative energy into something that connected me to the outside world. It took me years to build any sort of traffic, as I didn't really focus on keywords, tags, or writing interesting articles. I simply vented on the Web about how difficult it was to be a stay at home mom to three children under four.

Fast forward five years and I am about to enter the world of school aged kids. All three of my children will be in school full time starting this September and I'm left with this question: What am I going to do for part-time work? Back in April, I noticed that my blog traffic had increased and people were engaged with my writing. Why couldn't I put these skills to use and make some money? Enter Hubpages.

As soon as I immersed myself into the Hub community, I became addicted. I could write for money, meet all sorts of neat people, and build a writer's portfolio. I quickly learned that earning a decent amount of cash would take some serious time, so I went about researching all I could find on online writing and Hub success stories.

About two weeks into my journey, I wondered, "What good is my personal blog if I can't make money? Why not just transfer all my posts to Hubs?" Thankfully I didn't throw in the towel and stop with my personal site. What I started to realize- blogging improves hubbing.

Personal blogs typically attract friends and family who know and love you. Some of my first and most loyal viewers were my aunts, uncles, and other relatives scattered around the country. Once I started writing articles for Hubpages, I had a free advertising opportunity on my blog. Whereas my aunt Terry might normally not stumble upon my article about smartphones, she may see it if I've posted a link at the bottom of my daily blogging journal- something she is sure to read.

The same worked in reverse. The more people I met on Hubpages, the more traffic I gained on my personal blog as well. Both mediums feed each other, giving a boost to all my writings overall. Not bad!

My blog is a personal endeavor- my hubs are more informational. However, I find that I can use my venting to spark ideas and vise versa. For example, the other day I went on a long diatribe about my frustration with men, boobs, and nursing. I wrote all about it on my blog, talking about my personal experience, using sarcasm, the occasional curse word (oops), and other random musings.

Once I was done, I thought, "Why not write a hub about the ins and outs of nursing in public?" I wrote it up in less than an hour because my mind was already on that track. I linked both of them up and watched my traffic grow!

I did the same thing with my recent staycation. My personal blog contained funny stories, pictures, and other personal thoughts about our particular vacation- the hub in turn became the "how to staycate" that was birthed from my blog.

Personal blogging fuels the creativity needed to produce a good hub. It also gives you an outlet for the personal "stuff" so when you get to the hub writing, you are working hard to produce evergreen content for a wide audience.

I may be a Hub newbie, but I am an ancient blogger. Five years in the blogging world is a long time! For many of you, blogging is already on your to-do list. Try using your blog and Hubpages as a team; fueling thematic ideas. But don't despair if you are someone who hasn't entered the world of blogging yet- you can start today! Here are some of the basics of blogging:

Figure out what platform to use:

• Wordpress: Sign up is free of course, but if you want to monetize, you'll need to develop your blog a bit first, and then apply for their ad program (WordAds). If your blog has regular traffic, you may be accepted. The money is slow as you can expect a $1.00 for every 1000 clicks.
• Blogger: This platform allows you to run Google AdSense on your blog right away, and most anyone can get this type of account. It is not as competitive as Wordpress, but it may take awhile to reach the $100.00 payout mark Google requires before you receive a check.

Build an audience with personal information, pictures, stories, anecdotes, and links to all your hubwork! I find that people enjoy the peek into personal life- even the mundane postings draw a crowd because at the end of the day, people want to know they aren't alone in the drudgery.

Implement many of the hub principles on your blog. Share, share, share on social media. Work on tags and keywords as best you can, but don't sacrifice that juicy tale just because Google won't find it. Remember, your personal blog is your place to brand yourself, a place to showcase your best hub work, and to tell your story.

So here is the deal: I think it is my personal blog that has helped with my solid start to Hubpages. Of course, I realize that writing good content is the staple reason for decent traffic, but here are my basic earnings from Hubpages after approximately six weeks. From the research I've done, it seems that these numbers are decent- and I've implemented all the other tools Hubpages recommends; social media, back-links, SEO, good content, and being an active community member.

I know that isn't remarkable in terms of dollar amounts, but I consider myself encouraged by those figures, given that many hubbers had to struggle for at least a year before reaching payout! I do recognize that the Ad program at Hubpages helped out a lot of hubbers that previously had to use Google AdSense only (which is pennies) and us newcomers get the benefit of the program right off the bat.

So if you are doing all you can to keep your Hubpage momentum going, consider using your existing blog to fuel your work, or go ahead and create a personal blog page. If you join Wordpress, you'll begin to reach out to the blogging community there and may find your audiences overlap. It is worth a shot!

-Julie DeNeen