As welcomers of new Hubbers, our fabulous volunteer HubGreeters meet a lot of writers who are nervous about their new Hubbing endeavors. Thankfully, HubGreeters are happy to offer support to those with the online writing jitters. In a short series of blog posts, some of our HubGreeters will share their top tips for new Hubbers.
Our first set of newcomer-friendly tips comes from emichael, who, in addition to being a HubGreeter, is a fabulous photographer (and second place prize winner in our HubPatron of the Arts contest for his Hub Music of The Street).
Here’s his advice:
1. Don’t worry, just write!
It can be easy to get bogged down in the details of writing on HubPages. Questions like:
- “Why is my Hub Score so low?”
- “How can I get more followers?”
- “What are all these accolades about, and why don’t I have any?!”
- “What the sweet glory is a HubNugget?!?!”
Relax.
Take a breath.
It’s really not that complicated. All you need to worry about is finding a topic that interests you, which you are knowledgeable on. Do your research and start putting your Hubs together. As you publish quality work, the followers will come, the score will rise, the Accolades will be bestowed, and your addiction to HubPages will be complete.
2. If you won’t read, don’t follow!
It can be tempting to follow lots and lots of Hubbers all at once. It’s understandable. You want to get connected. You want people to read what you have written. I mean, come on, that’s why you joined, right?
But trust me. You have to let that process happen organically. Write good stuff, and the readership will follow. You have to be patient.
Following lots and lots of people you don’t necessarily care to read will result in a few unpleasant things for you. Your HubScore will inevitable plummet and you will be overrun with notifications about new Hubs published by people you follow that you care nothing about!
So be deliberate with your following and wait for people who are interested in your writing find you.
And, if over time you are not getting the followers you hoped for, take it as a sign that maybe you need to spruce up your writing or beef up your Hubs!
3. Write. Wait. Read. Rewrite. Publish.
It is important to not be too hasty and haphazard with your Hub construction. This will result in poor writing, bad grammar, misspellings, sloppy layouts, and just plain amateur Hubs. Trust me, as someone who does a lot of perusing of Hubs, if a Hub only has one heading followed by a block of unbroken paragraph and a pixelated, watermarked image, I don’t even bother.
So take time.
Break up your Hubs into sections. Use original images. Then let it sit. Come back to re-read and rewrite, and THEN publish your Hub.
4. Go forth and explore!
There are so many good things on HubPages. From awesome recipes, to how-tos, to craft ideas, to short stories, photography collections, even whole novels! Take time to explore, and you will find a great network of writers who will provide you with honest feedback, criticism, support, and encouragement unlike any other writing site.
[Thanks, emichael!]
HubPages Blog 
Awesome suggestions emichael! These are really great tips and suggestions for new Hubbers just starting off! You have explained well the basics of getting started on HubPages as a writer. This will help many people!
JSMatthew~
Excellent advice emichael! This would be good for seasoned Hubbers too! 🙂
This is such a great post! Informative and encouraging. Glad to have read it, and SO glad to be working with such a positive and intelligent hubber. Thanks, emichael. 🙂
Great tips, eMichael! I have been going back through old hubs that I wrote and published out of zeal to get going and I noticed the small grammatical mistakes that happen because of it. I now am doing better as writing, letting it sit a day, reviewing, editing, and then publishing. This allows me to reread what is ACTUALLY on the paper versus what I meant to say, which happens when we are too zealous and just type and publish. I love that you said not to worry about the Hubber score as a focus. I am hoping I am not naive in believing that will come in time if I am diligent to read other hubs, interact on the community, and write quality hubs people want to read. Thanks for sharing these great tips to help us newbies along!
You got it, eMichael! Positivity rocks on HubPages!!!
very encouraging article Michael, its nice to see someone motivating new writers to not be afraid and just write!
Some very sound advice that I wish I new when I started out for my first time on Hubpages, I found myself overloaded sometimes trying understand too many irrelevant facts at the beginning, although after an initial time you will learn them.
The most important issues for concern when starting out on Hubpages is to focus on the writing and taking your time, try to establish a pattern for editing, layout and relevant knowledge based research.
Luckily I have now gained that experience and agree with what you have said, nice simple and easy to remember, but important too.