What do you do when 3 bloggers each want you to write about a different rev share site?
I have one reader who wants me to write at and review Snipsly, another reader who wants me to publish at Virily, and I want to write at and review HubPages.
Which rev share site should I pick?
How about all 3?
This post will explain how to write at HubPages and Snipsly. In addition, this post will review the definition of a rev share site and how to write at Virily.
Note: Steemit is a popular rev share site that people report can be quite lucrative.
However, this article will contrast HubPages, Snipsly, and conclude by evaluating which is the best for you.
It’s been seven months since the publication of my Virily review. A reader asked me to write a follow-up post about Snipsly. I want to explore HubPages.
This article will review all 3 revenue sharing sites.
What is a Revenue-Sharing Site?
When you write for a revenue-sharing site, you are writing for a site that shares its revenue with its writers. The revenue usually comes from advertisers. Writing for a revenue-sharing site is a form of blog monetization.
HubPages
What is HubPages?
A place where you post content and can make money. You post your content in “hubs.” HubPages rank on Google. Longer articles tend to do better and stand out. Since the goal is to get page views which can bring you money, you should try to make your writing unique. Do you have to make your post unique? Yes. Reports exist of users being banned for posting already-published content.
Background History of HubPages
When Squidoo closed its doors, its members were notified that their content would be moved to HubPages. Since this occurred in August 2014, and HubPages is still around, clearly this site has stood the test of time. Four years is longer than some rev sharing sites lasted.*
In January of this year, HubPages was acquired by Maven.**
Hubbers (as people who use HubPages are called) panicked when they heard only selected individuals would have their content moved to Maven.
Would other people lose their content if HubPages folded?
Good news for Hubbers: According to information conveyed in HubPages community forum, HubPages was not folding! Maven offered writers an additional opportunity, not a replacement opportunity.
According to HubPages, “We will continue to develop the HubPages Network platform, with the addition of new niche sites and a suite of unique services to help people create and maintain world-class content for readers around the world.”
How to Sign Up for HubPages
Step 1: Go to http://hubpages.com/ and click “Join.” You can make an account or sign up with Facebook.
Upload a profile picture, and add your bio.
Add your social media links.
Select 3 articles that showcase your writing talents. Add the URLs to those posts where prompted. These will sit at the top of your profile.
[Note: I was unable to click the drop-down to select my three articles. Nothing happened when I tried even though I refreshed the page repeatedly.]Step 2: I clicked “Save Changes” and “Start a New Article.”
Note: If I am to accurately compare all 3 revenue-sharing sites, I need to minimize the differences as much as possible. Therefore, I needed to write about the same topic at all 3 places.
In order to choose a topic with which I was familiar, I went to ProCon.org. The website offers information about varying controversial issues.
I chose the topic “Are Social Networking Sites Good for Our Society?” I have actually already blogged about this topic. However, Virily insists you publish original content so I couldn’t copy-paste excerpts of my article. Therefore, I used facts I read at ProCon.org.
Step 3: I chose a category and titled my article.
Step 4: I chose from the Political and Social Issues category, so I stated this was my subtopic.
Step 5: Starting a Layout: HubPages gave me a choice of picking a tutorial, which I opted to see. I clicked “Basic” Layout and confirmed I was human. Click “Continue.”
Step 6: I wrote my article making sure I linked to relevant content from my blog and clicked “Save.”
Step 7: Add a photo. Give source attribution if needed.
Step 8: Preview and publish! Note: A 48-hour wait period is required before your article can be published while the admins of the site approve your post.
Would you like to see my HubPages article? https://hubpages.com/politics/Are-Social-Networking-Sites-Good-For-Our-Society
This is your HubPages dashboard. Here you can search for articles to read, create a new post in any of these categories, receive your notifications, and see the earnings you’ve accrued.
How Much Does HubPages Pay You?
According to MakeMoney.com, you need Google Adsense on your site. Then, HubPages pays you 60% of the revenue if someone clicks the ad.
HubPages Testimonial
Nisar Hussain recommends HubPages. He includes HubPages on his list of the Top List of Article Submission Sites With Instant Approval. He ranks HubPages the 8th best site out of 30. His ranking is based on the Alexa scores of the websites.
Snipsly
Step 1: Go to http://snipsly.com/. Click “Register.”
Step 2: I clicked “Join Snipsly” and start making money. I received an error message saying I did not have permission to access the site on this server. I went to Tutorials and chose “How to Register for Snipsly.”
I went to the Home page in accordance with the directions in the Registration Tutorial. I followed the directions but was not brought to the window it said I would see.
I clicked 3 buttons that seemed to have potential, but I was repeatedly told I did not have permission to access Snipsly on this server.
I decided to try a different browser. I left Chrome and tried Firefox with the same results. I decided to restart my computer.
At Chrome, there was no change. I could not register. I clicked both “Start Making Money Now” and “Register,” each time I was told I did not have permission to access the site on the server.
Virily
I did not put my Dangers of Social Media article at Virily. Since I wasn’t able to publish it at either HubPages or Snipsly, there seemed to be little point. I wouldn’t be able to compare reader engagement.
Virily Testimonials
Consider this conversation left by members of the Writers Accountability Facebook group when discussing Virily and the longevity of a rev share site:
Barbara Hart Radisavljevic: Do you think these changes are a sign that Virily has a long-term plan in place? Do you feel secure about the content you’re posting there and your chances of getting paid? Could this be the one site that defies the odds?
HubPages:
Pros:
I felt I had help. A tutorial was offered to me. Also, when I was done writing, HubPages recommended using different style fonts.
I read I’d have to wait days for approval. It only took 12 hours.
A forum exists where you can get specific help with your hub (content).
You can use HubPages to read interesting content. For example, when I registered, I indicated I was interested in marketing. When a member posted a marketing article, I was notified by email.
I know an influencer who writes for HubPages. If she’s there, I’m guessing the site is worth pursuing.
Cons:
I had technical difficulties.
You have to wait until you publish 5 posts to get out of what HubPages calls “Boot Camp.”
Online reviews complain the staff isn’t helpful.
I was confused at times. For example, I was confused between the Capsule title, the Subhead, and the Article title.
Google Chrome’s icon blocked my words.
My article was not approved for publication! The reason: I included a link back to my website.
Here was the explanation the site sent me:
Note that promoting your own articles or linking to external sites is not allowed and may result in the closing of your HubPages account. This especially includes the unsolicited posting of links to external sites and the opening new threads for the sole purpose of posting a link (whether to one of your articles or an external site).
I clicked “Edit,” removed my link back to Mostly Blogging and clicked “Publish” once again.
I heard back about the status of my revision within just a few hours.
Guess what? My article was rejected again!
No explanation was offered this time, just a suggestion to submit my post to the Forum where they could advise me.
Note: New HubPages members must go through this Boot Camp process five times.
Do you want to know my reaction this time?
I say forget it. I’ve spent too much time trying to publish one article at HubPages already.
Would it have been worth my time to continue to try to get out of Boot Camp and have my article approved by HubPages?
No! According to the MakeMoney.com blog, you need to be an affiliate of Amazon, eBay or Google Adsense to make money with Hubpages, and I’m not an affiliate of any of those.
However, blogger Treathyl Fox uses HubPages and reported conflicting information when I asked her if you need a Google Adsense account. According to Treathyl, “The answer to your question is NO. You don’t need it. But if you have a Google AdSense account and associate it with your HubPages account, you’ll be very glad you did. I am!”
Treathyl explains how you can monetize with Google AdSense which is needed with HubPages.
UPDATES:
Update March 2020:
I heard from the people at HubPages regarding the necessity to attend Boot Camp.
According to HubPages,
“Your article was unpublished because you are still in Boot Camp. To pass Boot Camp and avoid having your work unpublished for not meeting HubPages’ minimum quality standards, you need to have five Featured articles.
A Featured article is an article that our Quality Assessment Process (QAP) has identified as being of particularly good or high-quality. Boot Camp is a program that all new Hubbers must go through to learn about our quality standards. To graduate from Boot Camp, you must publish at least five Featured articles. Until Hubbers graduate from Boot Camp, articles that do not pass the Quality Assessment Process will become unpublished.”
Frankly, this made me feel a little better. I believed my writing was rejected, but apparently, all newbies must go through this vetting process.
More information about HubPages Boot Camp can be found here.
Snipsly
Update September 2018:
According to Treathyl, the Snipsly domain is for sale.
Pros
Snipsly uses Google Adwords. They give 80% of their advertising money to their writers.
Cons
I was not able to make an account despite repeated attempts.
If something is difficult or time-consuming, people won’t do it.
Virily
Pros
Since my original Virily review, the site is even more engaging. Now Virily has a feature called “Challenges.” Many people challenge me over the years to photo challenges on Facebook. Now, you can have fun challenging your friends on Virily.
Cons
You must publish original content.
The wait time to get your article approved is a little long for my liking. I want to see reader reaction immediately!
Clearly, no contest, hands down, it’s…
Virily!
The site is easy to use, easy to generate engagement, fun and has money-making potential.
Wrapping Up
Readers, please share, so other people interested in writing at revenue sharing sites know about these options.
I look forward to your views in the comments section: Do you write at a rev share site? If yes, which one? Do you recommend the rev share site for other writers?
Related Post
10 Legitimate Ways to Make Money Online
Sources:
*The Writers Door Facebook Group
VIRILY UPDATE: October 2019
After not spending time on Virily in a long time, I noticed traffic from Virily in my WordPress dashboard stats.
It’s true! Virily generates traffic for you even when you no longer actively use the site.
Janice Wald is the founder of MostlyBlogging.com and co-founder of the Mostly Blogging Academy. She is an ebook author, blogger, blogging coach, blogging judge, freelance writer, and speaker. She won the Best Internet Marketer Award and the Best Blogger Award at the 2021 Infinity Blog Awards. Wald was also nominated as 2019 Best Internet Marketer by the Infinity Blog Awards and in 2017 as the Most Informative Blogger by the London Bloggers Bash. She’s been featured on Small Business Trends, the Huffington Post, and Lifehack.
