Hello Hubbers!  A lot has been going on at HubPages Headquarters, and we have been deciding on our overall goals for 2014.  In 2013 our main goal was to improve quality on HubPages and, with your help, we think it’s been a great success.

Our overriding goal for 2014 is to grow high-quality Hubs.  Ultimately, we would love to see 200 outstanding Hubs a day!  We measure outstanding quality using our Writing Scale’s example of an 8 or better.  As a community and a team, we feel like this goal is the key to the survival of HubPages.  Are you in?  We think we can do it; if we can’t, then nobody can because you are part of the most amazing community out there!

One of the ways we think we can reach this goal is to provide a challenge for Hubbers. We have been listening and many Hubbers, veterans and newbies alike, would like the chance to earn more for their high-quality Hubs. Plus, we want to motivate you to write more of those outstanding Hubs.  We hope that this new challenge helps!  Starting next Monday we are going to have a week long challenge to increase the number of great Hubs. We are calling it the Grow the HubPot Challenge!  Here’s how it works:

• The challenge begins Monday, February 24th at 12:01 am PT (midnight) and ends on the following Sunday evening, 11:59 pm PT (midnight).
• For every Featured Hub, HubPages will put 25 cents into the HubPot
• There will be a Daily Winner and a Grand Prize Winner
• At the end of each day we will choose one winner that will receive 50% of the HubPot
• The remaining 50% of each day’s HubPot will go toward the Grand Prize HubPot
• At the end of the week, one Hubber will win the Grand Prize HubPot
• Hubbers can only have one Featured Hub per day that counts toward the contest across all of their HubPages accounts.  The Hub that counts toward the contest is the first Hub published that day, so be sure that the first one you publish each day is your very best.
• To choose the Daily Winner, HubPages Staff will choose the best 10 Hubs of the day and one winner will be chosen using a random number generator
• To choose the Weekly Winner, HubPages Staff will choose the best 10 Hubs of the week and one winner will be chosen using a random number generator
• Hubbers have to be in HEP program to qualify; all payments will be added to your HEP balance.  Hubbers must meet the $50 payout to receive the bonus
• All awards will be given out the following day
• We will update you by 2pm Monday through Friday on the finalists, winners, and the Grand Prize HubPot numbers!
• Saturday and Sunday winners will be given out on Monday along with the Grand Prize winner

To read more about the rules of the challenge, please see our official guidelines.

The Grow the HubPot Challenge will begin next Monday morning!   We hope that this provides an incentive to start writing those fabulous Hubs!   Our goal is to have 200 high-quality Hubs produced a day and to have Hubbers work as a team to grow the HubPot!  Good luck!

Hubbers, starting today there is an exciting new way to earn from Amazon products on your Hubs: the HubPages Amazon Program. Some of you may recall talk of the Amazon Program way back in late 2011, when we originally hoped to launch it. Unfortunately, we had to pause development work at the time, but we are very excited to finally be able to offer the program to HubPages Earnings Program participants!

How the Amazon Program works:

Hubbers who participate in the HubPages Earnings Program now (or are eligible to) have the option to earn from Amazon products directly through HubPages. The program will track referrals from your Hubs and the resulting purchase activity on Amazon. You will accrue into your HubPages Earnings Program balance from this activity, based on a commission from transactions on Amazon that occur after a referral from your Hubs.

To register for the Amazon Program, you will need to:

• Enable the HubPages Earnings Program (i.e., provide a PayPal address and tax form)

• Associate an approved Google AdSense account

• Verify your phone number

• Have at least one published Hub

Benefits of the Amazon Program for Hubbers:

The Amazon Program offers a very high Amazon commission tier because the volume of sales across HubPages is aggregated for the benefit of the entire community. Because of this, most Hubbers will earn more via the Amazon Program than they would on their own. Another advantage to switching is that earnings across the Ad, eBay, and Amazon Programs will be consolidated, helping you reach the $50 payout threshold faster.

Here are some answers to questions we think you will have about the transition:

I already have my own Amazon Associates ID linked on HubPages. What will happen to that?

We understand that some users may prefer to earn from Amazon directly, which is why transitioning to the HubPages Amazon Program is not mandatory. We do, however, encourage you to consider switching to the Amazon Program if you *do not* currently earn at a high Amazon commission tier.

I already have Amazon Capsules published. Do I need to edit those?

No editing of existing Amazon Capsules will be required. HubPages will take care of all the back-end work to make sure that the Amazon Capsules you have already published transition correctly with no additional work required on your part.

Amazon links created via the Amazon tab in the Text Capsule linking tool will automatically be updated with your HubPages-issued affiliate ID. Amazon links added ad hoc (copied and pasted from the Amazon site) will not.

Please note: due to caching, the affilliate IDs across all of your Hubs may not switch immediately. Please allow up to four hours for the conversion process to complete.

How do payments work for the Amazon Program?

Earnings for the Amazon Program will be pooled together with earnings from the Ad and eBay Programs to help you reach the $50 payout threshold faster. However, Amazon Program earnings will be credited to your HEP balance a month later than the Ad and eBay Program. The reason for this is to protect ourselves and the community from fraudulent practices that have the potential to arise with a shorter payment cycle.

What about open balances with Amazon if I switch?

Open balances with Amazon after the switch will be paid out per the Amazon Associates Program guidelines. Note that if you are using your personal Amazon Associates ID elsewhere on the web beyond HubPages, such activity may still contribute to your balance in that external account.

Can I switch back to my personal Amazon Associates ID after signing up for the Amazon Program under the HubPages Earnings Program?

Yes.

May I use my HubPages-assigned Amazon ID outside of HubPages?

No.  The ID that HubPages assigns to your HubPages Earnings Program account is authorized for use only on HubPages.  You are not permitted to use it off of HubPages or to provide it to others as downstream affiliates of you.

I am already enrolled in the HubPages Earnings Program. I am already part of the Amazon Associates Program via my own affiliate code. What are my options?

Your personal Amazon Associates ID will continue to work. You can switch now to participate under HubPages and take advantage of the high commission tier provided by HubPages. You will be able to switch back to your own Amazon Associates ID at any time.

I am not enrolled in the HubPages Earnings Program. I am already part of the Amazon Associates Program. What are my options?

Your personal Amazon Associates ID will continue to work. If you would like to participate in the HubPages Amazon Program and get the high commission tier, you will need to sign-up for a HubPages Earnings Program account.

Note that while you do not need to participate in the Ad Program in order to participate in the Amazon Program, you do need remain in good standing with HubPages and compliant with any rules that may be set by Amazon. This includes having an up-to-date account in the HubPages Earnings Program.

I am already enrolled in the HubPages Earnings Program. I do not want to join the Amazon Program. What do I need to do?

You do not need to take any action. The default status for the Amazon Program is “off”.

We encourage you to stop by our main FAQ to learn even more about the Program and visit the official Forum announcement where you can ask questions and report bugs. We hope you enjoy the Amazon Program!