Should You Write Hubs for Hubbers?

I have written a few hubs that are aimed specifically at other hubbers, either new or of the more experienced variety. I try to make my hubs different and not the same information that is already out there. Or sometimes it's very similar, but from my own perspective which can add another dimension to the subject matter.

Most of the hubs I write about Hubpages are things I have noticed in terms of changes that have happened or things that have affected my account. However, after writing a few hubs that are very popular with solely hubbers I have noticed very specific patterns.

The aim of this hub is to help you determine when you should write a hub aimed at other hubbers, as well as the benefits or cons of doing so.

There are a number of reasons I write hubs for other Hubbers.

1. The first hubbing hub I wrote was actually when I set my new years resolution to write ten articles on Hubpages and see if this writing thing works. I wanted a journal type hub that other people would know what my goals and achievements were, so I couldn't just throw the towel in. It's so much easier to give up when no one else knows you're even trying.

I wanted to be held accountable for my actions and to ensure I met my targets. So my 2012 Hubpages Experiment was both for myself and other hubbers. Since I was relatively new, I didn't feel it would be right to try and teach others to suck eggs. I didn't know if my experiment would work or if it would fail before it even got started. My aim was for others to know I was here and was giving it a go.

2. I then found myself having different experiences on Hubpages that I wanted to write about and to share with others. I wanted to find out if there were other people who were also experiencing the same things and if they had solutions. I tended to check the forum first to make sure there weren't any easy fixes that I was just too silly to figure out!

I found myself staring into the sun at times and getting distracted on Hubpages. There's so much information here and it's easy for a new person to get lost. I did on quite a few occassion in the beginning.

3. When I felt I understood something and others would want to know the truth too I shared the knowledge and information I had. I tried to use numbers and stats to back up my claims as often as I could. I have found that although most people hate doing maths they find them super helpful in explaining things that perhaps words couldn't as clearly or as succinctly. many hubbers seemed to find this helpful on my latest hub - Hubpages Income - The Real Story.

I like that maths and equations are emotionless and outline the actual situation rather than what someone "thinks" or "feels". Those are great things too, but they can cause controversy or a lot of arguements. Also they tend to be one persons opinion rather than what the actual data is telling us. However, sometimes it's hard to show the stats since there are restrictions on what you can show to others from your Google Analytics or Google Adsense Dashboard. For this reason, trying to explain how the new Hubpages layout killed hubber's adsense income was difficult to get across clearly. Perhaps I'll re-write it with more graphs and figure out what details I can use to show the negative impact the new layout has had on my account.

From writing these types of hubs, I have noticed certain patterns which differ from my other types of hubs.

There are a number of benefits in writing hubs that other hubbers will find useful.

1. You are more likely to get comments. When I write hubs that help other hubbers then these same hubbers tend to leave comments. They can give positive feedback on what you've explained well and where further clarification is needed.

The hubs with the most comments on my account are always the ones written with hubbers in mind. One of these hubs has over 200 comments. Granted, some of those are my response to the comments, but in my eyes that's a lot more than my other hubs have.

2. These same types of hubs also result in an increase in followers. When you help someone they tend to follow you and are probably looking for more helpful information like you have provided in the past.

I think most of my hub followers have come from these types of hubs.

3. You meet some of the most interesting and helpful hubbers too! Some of the closest friends I have on hubpages have come about from these types of hubs. Hubbers who feel they've finally met a fellow hubber that "get's it" or has explained something they've never been able to understand before.

Or you get a hubber that needs some help and before you know it you are working on a joint project and testing things out together. Some of these have been successful, some unsuccessful and others are still in motion.

Sometimes it's great to have someone that writes online just like you do and who understands the trials and tribulations. I seriously don't think I would have gotten through some of the harder times on Hubpages without them. Friends and family don't get it and many of them don;t have a clue about working online. Sometimes you just need a sounding board and someone to bounce ideas off.

4. You can share your successes with other hubbers. Is anyone else really going to understand why you are so happy that you got a 10,000 views accolade or perhaps a 100,000 views accolade? People who don't write for a living aren't going to be impressed that you wrote 100 articles and are still getting paid peanuts. They won't understand the excitement you get when you get your first 1,000 visitors to a hub or you get your first positive comment.

There are some things which are better kept within the hubbing community.

5. You can feel good about helping someone else and giving back. The first person who ever helped me on Hubpages was Shadesbreath. I asked him something and he gave me a great response which set me in a certain direction on Hubpages and I was off.

Since then, I have helped other hubbers and it feels good. Sometimes sharing your experiences or insights can help other people more than you could imagine. I did this when I aswered a question asked by prairieprincess about how entertainment hubs can make money. Don't discount the knowledge you have that you take for granted. It probably took time and experimentation to get there. Others may not know about it or how to do it successfully. You could give some guidance.

Or you could be selfish and sit alone in your little corner of Hubpages and laugh at all us plebs giving everything away for free. Each to their own I guess.

Some of the cons for writing for other hubbers who are regularly on Hubpages are pretty self-explanitory, but others I found a little shocking.

1. Many hubbers who comment on your article haven't actually read your article! I found it shocking to think that even experienced hubbers who leave comments make comments which make it obvious they haven't read the whole hub, or haven't been paying attention while reading the hub.

There have been times when they disagree with a point and then state the same arguement I provided elsewhere in the hub. Or they ask a question that is answered in great detail towards the end of the hub. Or they agree with something you never actually said! I know this because I had to go through a hub three times to figure out what they were alluding to, until I realised they had made an ssumption based on what was written near the beginning of the hub.

I used to find it shocking that people who write hubs, and basically get paid from people reading their hubs, don't actually bother to read hubs properly themselves.

Congratulations, if you got this far on this hub and are actually still reading this hub. Just to confirm the point please include the word clap in your comment below, to show how many people have actually read this hub completely. I think the results will speak for themselves and prove my point completely.

2. Hubbers can't click ads. If you are looking to earn money from your hubs, then hubs written to help other hubbers isn't going to cut it. Hubbers are not supposed to click ads as it can result in them being banned from the site.

3. Far more likely to have your article flagged. Hubbers know how to flag your hub and report you for things that are wrong with your hub. Most people who come from search engines are simply looking for the solution to their problem and then move on. Hubbers are good at keeping the site clean of what they feel isn't the best material. So make sure you do the best you can by hubbers.

4. Hubs written for other hubbers are most likely to go into Idle status. I only have a handful of Idle hubs and most of them are hubs I have written for other hubbers. This is ok I guess as it's only hubbers that are really going to benefit from these types of articles.

5. Hubs are unlikely to have a lot of views. Although it may gets lots of comments from other hubbers, your article is unlikely to get thousands of views, unless you are a success story and have thousands of followers reading your every word. Or not, as hubbers don't actually read hubs remember!

The most successful hub that hubbers seem to enjoy the most on my account has approximately 2,000 views for the year so far. I have over 25 other hubs that have more views than this hub. On top of that, most of these hubs have many times this number of views, with one of them having one hundred times the number of views.

I have to say that for me it is worth it. I enjoy giving back and I think people appreciate some of the information or facts I share.

I hope that sometimes it opens their eyes as to what's actually going on that they were previously oblivious too, or clarified something that they were struggling with.

I may not make as much money from hubs that are written to help other hubbers but I make new friends, read some great comments which help me become a better writer and remember why I wanted to start writing in the first place; to help others.