Why I'm Excited About Earning Dimes - How to Make Money on HubPages

While I can't disclose exactly how much I am making or what my page counts are, I do want to talk about why it is exciting to see a steady increase in HubPages income, even in small increments and how this form of residual income, over time, can easily replace hours and hours of work you're putting in on other projects.

Whether you just want to pay off a few credit cards, or you want to tan on a beach in Florida while your articles earn you money, HubPages offers several advantages over other options that I am beginning to see more clearly with each hub that I publish.

When it comes to choices of places to put your work online, there are numerous ones where you can publish your work. When it comes to traffic, HubPages is one of the best choices I've personally found. Yes, I still publish work on my own website, on my own blog. However, it has taken me two years to earn there what I will likely earn in a few months here on HubPages. The amount of traffic that the site receives is highly beneficial to writers wanting exposure.

With so many sites putting behind their shared earnings models (eHow and BrightHub both have ended these programs), HubPages stands out as one that still offers this benefit to writers with a voice.

Still, it is a good idea to publish a few pieces on other sites, create backlinks to your HubPages articles and keep your face in front of new readers who may just hop over here to HP to read more of your work.

Is life as a freelancer for you? It depends. If you enjoy freedom and don't mind a little uncertainty about how much you're getting paid and when it will show up, then freelance writing or other freelance work might just allow you the freedom to work when you want, where you want. On the other hand, if you prefer security above all else, then freelancing might not be for you.

If you do choose to become a full-time or even part-time freelancer, reading guides about online writing, freelance success and how to increase your freelance income can help you begin to build a residual income that will allow you to make more and more money each year.

Residual income is superior to other income because it allows you to increase how much you're earning without doing additional work. For example, if you write an article on HubPages and it earns $5 a month, you don't have to do any additional work (in theory). You simply earn $5, or whatever, month after month until the end of time on that one piece of work that has already been completed. Times that by however many dollars you need to make and you can see how a residual income builds over time, with more articles.

The true beauty of residual income is in the ability it affords to build your annual salary. Instead of doing ABC job for $10/hour, you make $5 for doing nothing. You can then use that time to build additional residual income or to work an outside job. You increase your salary over time for the same amount of work with residual income.

The goal of many is to one day bring in enough residual income to retire nicely and sit on a beach while the income rolls in. Wouldn't that be a dream come true?

Once you've figured out the type of articles that work best for your hubs and the earnings start, you will likely see an upward trend. Keep adding hubs, visit other people's hubs and begin to network on HubPages. if you'll commit to spending an hour or two several days a week on HubPages, then you can expect that your earnings will increase.

Let me tell you why I'm excited about seeing an upward trend in my earnings, even when it's dimes and quarters. I have been through this process before at eHow and BrightHub. I know that with time those numbers will continue to build. Before they ended their program, I was making decent money at eHow and only writing an article or two a week. I expect the same results here.

The earning trends might disappoint some when they don't see the money adding up quickly, but understand that residual income takes time to build. Keep writing hubs, do solid marketing (not spamming) and you will begin to see better and better results.

I have three friends who tell me they are making solid money on HubPages. For one, it is her main source of income these days. There are many others who claim to be. However, if you aren't making money, then that makes little difference.

However, you can certainly learn from those who are earning money here. Read their hubs. Learn from the way they lay out an article, the tips they offer to others in the forums and the quality of their writing. Eventually, you will be making money as well. How much? It varies, depending on a wide variety of factors including the topics you write about, popularity of the subject, how many other hubs are listed about that subject and other factors you may not even control.

Can you do anything to increase your earnings? Definitely. The best thing you can do is to create a HubPages plan of action. Your plan of action should include the following:

• Think about what topics you are an expert in and can easily write about. While you'll still need solid research, these will be easier to write.
• Browse around HubPages to see what is needed. If you want to write about crochet, what has not yet been covered or how can you cover it differently.
• Choose at least several categories. One may not do well, but if you branch out, others will and you'll begin to earn money.
• Learn about keywords and how to use them to get better traffic.
• Set up a daily schedule for working on your HubPages. For example, can you put in an hour a day? If so, how will you use that hour? Will you spend Monday, Wednesday and Friday writing new articles and Tuesday and Thursday marketing or organizing.
• Educate yourself. Spend time in the forums and reading tutorials on how to use HubPages and improve your statistics, articles and earnings. Implement the ideas that make sense.
• Be patient. The earnings will not add up quickly at first, but after a while you should be making solid money.
• Rethink your plan every few months. Can you put in more time? Do you need to put in less? Is there anything else you can change or improve?

If you're looking for a get rich quick scheme, then HubPages isn't the right choice. However, if you love to write, have information to share and a little time to spare, this is a good use of your time. In the end, even if HubPages turns out to not be right for you, you will have written some solid articles that you can use to promote yourself or your business, bind together and resell as a book or post on your own site.

Patience, time and solid effort will pay off to those who take the time to build a residual income here or elsewhere.