Nuggets Of Wisdom

I was sitting in my bunker this morning, trying to put together some new interview questions for this week. I had barely put pen to paper, when there was a frantic knock at my door. Now I have no idea how they did it, but Hank and Naddy, of HeSaid SheSaid fame, had somehow found their way to my Hell, Michigan bunker, all the way from their favorite loveseat.

They were obviously excited,and talking a mile a minute. So I flipped on my recorder, and got every word of what would be the easiest interview I have ever done. In fact, I never asked a single question. I probably couldn't have gotten one in edgewise. Man, do these two have energy! I love it!

Here's what they had to say:

When Hank and I heard about the 30 hubs in 30 days from Frieda, we thought, "What fun, that it would be a good idea." It didn't take much coaxing. Hank and I had a few things we could share and write about; and between the two of us, it wouldn't be so hard. We seemed to hit it off pretty well and were relieved to have someone showing us the ropes a bit. We didn't expect much. We had a few dear fans with the same interests, all great writers.

And one day, I checked hubtivity and I saw a hubnuggets hub was just published and went in to check it out. (Frieda's won two, you know, so we were familiar with it.) I scrolled down to see what golden gems the team had in store for us this week. Low and behold, Top 10 Naddy's Favorite Things, which I wrote, was in there. I had to do a double take, I honestly did. I couldn't believe it! It was most exciting. I screamed with delight.

Once I gained controll of myself I went straight away to our hub and I advertised! Yes I did. I put in the picture, I put in a link, I explained about the nomination (a smidge at the top of the hub that told people to look to the bottom for more information, I made out a letter with links to our hub as well as to the Hubnugget hub (written out not hidden), and told people that if they like the hub, or laughed just a little, to go vote and to please copy the note and e-mail it to everyone they knew. Then I went and did the same on our profile page. I had Frieda twitter our hub and profile. I also had her facebook it. (Hank and I don't do either). And then I watched and made sure, as always, to answer comments as soon as possible.

I kept a close eye on the voting poll results. We stayed in the top three throughout. In the mean time, I wrote a few more hubs, and got quite a bit more fans. It was exciting! So much support came our way. Not to mention, people were introduced to the Hubnuggets contest from out advertising on our hub and profile. Who's to say which influenced which in the end, but we won and gained quite a few more readers; devoted ones at that, I might add.

Prior to being nominated into Hubnuggets, we had about 13 fans I think. Within that week we had shot up to around 36. And now we have 54. Excellent I'd say. And it wasn't all because of Top 10 Naddy's Favorite Things. People browsed beyond that to some recipes and other nosalgia pieces.

My advice to Hubnugget wannabes:

Advertise, and advertise clearly. Make sure people know where to go, what to do, simply, but clearly, with links written out for those who get your info somewhere down the line where the link doesn't work. Get friends, who people respect, to advertise for you as well.

Be visible. No sense in hiding at such a wonderful moment in your life. Go to other hubs and comment. Go the forums and comment. Let people get to know you. Answer comments you recieve on your hubs, letting your personality show through, not just a thanks. Get to know your fans. Check them out. Chances are you've got similar interests.

Write more hubs! Give the people that stumble upon you something else to read, more stuff to look forward to. It's the perfect opportunity to get yourself noticed, to stay in the limelight so to speak, and another great way to sell yourself. Let people know you're having fun, and that hubpages is a great community, by writing more hubs and contributing more of your pieces. Let them know you're an active member and others will get excited about you, about hubpages and hubnuggets too.

So glad to be a part of this wonderful community. Thanks to everyone for their support.

~Hank and Naddy
Hesaid Shesaid

It sure sounds like they learned the ropes lickety split, and were anxious to let the world in on the secret of HubNuggets. Next time you're surfing around Hubpages, make sure you stop by their place and say hi!