The Primary Tag is the first tag you get to define when creating your new lens, and it is an often misunderstood and very under utilised by many Lensmasters. Admittedly, it doesn't seem do a whole lot, but there are some important points to note:
- In some lens formats (e.g. Ever.com and SquidWho) the primary tag appears at the very top of the page, next to "Explore more:".
- Most lenses (maxxed) have a box in the side bar titles "Explore more...", containing links to the Category and Primary Tag of the lens, plus all the groups it belongs too.
- Another feature of the sidebar (which is not always present) is the tag list, which is usually headed by the Primary Tag (on un-maxxed lenses), and then the first 5 regular tags (in alphabetical order). The remaining tags are hidden, and search engines may ignore these ones.
- Every appearance of the Primary Tag on your lens adds weight to that key phrase on your lens.
In addition, I am working on a new project that will make these Primary Tags even more important! So, you need to make sure that your these tags are as optimal as possible.
Here are some tips:
1. Your Primary Tag wants to be the most important key phrase that you can think of. For example, if your lens is about a person or a product, stick to just their name.
2. Keep your tag to just 2 or 3 words, where possible. One word is not always specific enough (unless the subject is a strong brand like Pepsi), and more than 3 words can sometimes be too specific. Of course, it does depend on your subject matter.
3. Don't simply repeat your Lens title again (even though this is the default when building a lens). Your title should include as many keywords as you can sensibly fit (no keyword stuffing!), while your Primary Tag is about your key phrase.
4. Format your Primary Tag nicely - keep it Capitalised, spelt correctly (!) and don't include any special characters or quotes ("). Use spaces between words, not dashes or underscores.
5. Make sure you repeat your Primary Tag as a regular tag too. The tags appear as the Meta Keywords at the top of the page, and you don't want your key phrase to be missing from it.
6. Pick a Primary Tag which is popular, i.e. people will be likely to be searching for it and other lenses are might also have the same Primary Tag.
Here are some examples: Doctor Who :: Discworld :: Digital Camera Accessories :: Smart Phones
Bad examples: The Whole Lens Title Again :: Kee Frase Spelt Wong :: lowercasewithnospaces :: "Phrase in Quotes"
I hope that people remember these tips - I need to go and change a lot of my own Primary Tags having just looked at a few of them. And remember - I'm developing a project that'll bring these tags in to their own...
(This post was written by thefluffanutta, lensmaker extraordinaire and all-around great guy, and was originally published on SquidU.com, Squidoo's forum and lensmaster lounge. It's great advice, typical of thefluffanutta who is more than generous in sharing great advice as well as his creation, SQUIDUtils.com, Advanced Tools and Utilities for Expert Lensmasters, with the masses. Thank you, thefluffanutta, for permission to republish.)
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
From Squidoo Nobody to Squidoo Somebody in 2 Easy Steps
While looking for lensmasters to invite to join my 2008 group this morning, I was surprised how many Squidoo nobodies I found. What made these lensmasters nobodies? Two things, each with an easy solution. Read on.
1. You're a Squidoo nobody if you don't have a Squidoo bio. It's simple enough to set up a default bio on your profile or from any of your lenses, so there's no excuse for active lensmasters to publish a lens with the default, "This is my bio. I'll edit it later." No, no, no. Take a minute and edit it now. Take credit for your work. Establish some credibility for yourself as you begin to establish your reputation within the Squidoo community. You can update your default bio any time or provide a more lens-specific bio for any single lens as you prefer. Including a picture is highly recommended, but even an interesting avatar is better than the default orange mugshot of nobody. It's no fun to be a nobody, so to become a Squidoo somebody start with a brief bio and add a picture, something that other lensmasters will recognize at a glance as they get to know you and your lenses on Squidoo.
2. You may be a Squidoo nobody if you don't allow other lensmasters to contact you. Who knows when someone will take an interest in one of your lenses and want to send you a personal comment. Maybe your long-lost, wealthy great-uncle will recognize you as the family member he's been trying to contact. Maybe someone will like your work well enough to offer you the propo$ition you've been waiting for. If you need to enable your "allow contact" option, go to the "My Profile" tab on your dashboard. You'll find the option with the e-mail preferences. While you're there, be sure you're signed up to receive the daily and weekly newsletters from Squidoo, which will help you keep up with the other Squidoo somebodies and their lenses.
Stop being a nobody. Go update your bio and your contact information right now. Somebody important may be trying to get in touch with you, so don't let a potential great opportunity slip away.
1. You're a Squidoo nobody if you don't have a Squidoo bio. It's simple enough to set up a default bio on your profile or from any of your lenses, so there's no excuse for active lensmasters to publish a lens with the default, "This is my bio. I'll edit it later." No, no, no. Take a minute and edit it now. Take credit for your work. Establish some credibility for yourself as you begin to establish your reputation within the Squidoo community. You can update your default bio any time or provide a more lens-specific bio for any single lens as you prefer. Including a picture is highly recommended, but even an interesting avatar is better than the default orange mugshot of nobody. It's no fun to be a nobody, so to become a Squidoo somebody start with a brief bio and add a picture, something that other lensmasters will recognize at a glance as they get to know you and your lenses on Squidoo.
2. You may be a Squidoo nobody if you don't allow other lensmasters to contact you. Who knows when someone will take an interest in one of your lenses and want to send you a personal comment. Maybe your long-lost, wealthy great-uncle will recognize you as the family member he's been trying to contact. Maybe someone will like your work well enough to offer you the propo$ition you've been waiting for. If you need to enable your "allow contact" option, go to the "My Profile" tab on your dashboard. You'll find the option with the e-mail preferences. While you're there, be sure you're signed up to receive the daily and weekly newsletters from Squidoo, which will help you keep up with the other Squidoo somebodies and their lenses.
Stop being a nobody. Go update your bio and your contact information right now. Somebody important may be trying to get in touch with you, so don't let a potential great opportunity slip away.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Tell Them What You're Going to Tell Them
Do you use the introduction module correctly when you make a Squidoo lens?
If you're not sure, consider this method. When designing your lens, take the approach of, "Tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them." This works well in a training environment or for public speakers, and it works well for a Squidoo lens, too.
Use your introduction module as, indeed, an actual introduction to what the lens is about, whether you're presenting information or selling a specific product. Entice your readers with a hint of what's to come. Grab their interest right away or they may not read beyond that first module.
The body of the lens, then, consists of the "meat" of the topic. Present your topic or product and include supporting documentation, polls, Flickr pictures, YouTube videos, related books from Amazon.com and anything else that expounds on the main topic.
Then, summarize the topic toward the end, possibly by reiterating the high points or even by using the guestbook module to ask for input from your readers; i.e., "What do you think about this?"
By telling your readers what to expect, then delivering on the promise and sealing it all with a good summary, you'll be able to hold their attention all the way to the end of the lens. That's the type of lens that keeps readers coming back to you for more.
(Need some examples? This lens and this one are two that generally follow the "Tell them what you're going to tell them" model.)
If you're not sure, consider this method. When designing your lens, take the approach of, "Tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them." This works well in a training environment or for public speakers, and it works well for a Squidoo lens, too.
Use your introduction module as, indeed, an actual introduction to what the lens is about, whether you're presenting information or selling a specific product. Entice your readers with a hint of what's to come. Grab their interest right away or they may not read beyond that first module.
The body of the lens, then, consists of the "meat" of the topic. Present your topic or product and include supporting documentation, polls, Flickr pictures, YouTube videos, related books from Amazon.com and anything else that expounds on the main topic.
Then, summarize the topic toward the end, possibly by reiterating the high points or even by using the guestbook module to ask for input from your readers; i.e., "What do you think about this?"
By telling your readers what to expect, then delivering on the promise and sealing it all with a good summary, you'll be able to hold their attention all the way to the end of the lens. That's the type of lens that keeps readers coming back to you for more.
(Need some examples? This lens and this one are two that generally follow the "Tell them what you're going to tell them" model.)
Friday, November 30, 2007
Quick Squidoo Tip of the Day
Something I've learned from leaving comments on lenses of successful lensmasters: Hook a visitor in by including a particularly interesting module below your guestbook module.
After a visitor leaves a comment and the guestbook module closes, the module below pops immediately into view, so make that module something interactive. A poll module might be a good choice (poll participation seems to boost lensrank), maybe a great-looking banner ad with your own affiliate link, or, perhaps better yet, use a featured lens module that contains one of your related lenses. The point is to give your interested visitor a choice he is likely to take action on rather than just leaving your lens to go on to someone else's site.
Try it. What do you think?
After a visitor leaves a comment and the guestbook module closes, the module below pops immediately into view, so make that module something interactive. A poll module might be a good choice (poll participation seems to boost lensrank), maybe a great-looking banner ad with your own affiliate link, or, perhaps better yet, use a featured lens module that contains one of your related lenses. The point is to give your interested visitor a choice he is likely to take action on rather than just leaving your lens to go on to someone else's site.
Try it. What do you think?
Monday, November 26, 2007
Making Squidoo Great in 2008
I'm spreading my tentacles on Squidoo. I've become a groupmaster.
Squidoo groups are created by lensmasters (who then become groupmasters) as places to gather Squidoo lenses that have something in common. My new group is called Squidoo's Great in 2008 and will consist of lenses about anything having to do with the year 2008.
Since 2008 is a leap year, if you have a lens about leap years, then your lens "fits" the group and you may join. There will be a presidential election in 2008 (have you heard??) so lenses about candidates and the election will also be included. If you have a lens about the 2008 Olympics, a 2008 model year car, a breaking news story from 2008 or other noteworthy event then you are welcome to join my group. I'm looking forward to seeing what lenses the creative lensmasters on Squidoo will submit to the group.
To join a Squidoo group you can visit the group's page and either make a new lens or add an existing lens by clicking on the corresponding link. If I run across a lens that would fit the group, I might send an invitation to the lensmaster to join the group. All lenses that are submitted must be approved by the groupmaster, and groupmasters have the power to reject a lens for any reason, but especially if the lens doesn't fit the group's specifications.
Do you have a Squidoo lens about something having to do with 2008? Visit the group page for Squidoo's Great in 2008 and submit your lens. I'd love to have you and together we can help make Squidoo really great in 2008.
Squidoo groups are created by lensmasters (who then become groupmasters) as places to gather Squidoo lenses that have something in common. My new group is called Squidoo's Great in 2008 and will consist of lenses about anything having to do with the year 2008.
Since 2008 is a leap year, if you have a lens about leap years, then your lens "fits" the group and you may join. There will be a presidential election in 2008 (have you heard??) so lenses about candidates and the election will also be included. If you have a lens about the 2008 Olympics, a 2008 model year car, a breaking news story from 2008 or other noteworthy event then you are welcome to join my group. I'm looking forward to seeing what lenses the creative lensmasters on Squidoo will submit to the group.
To join a Squidoo group you can visit the group's page and either make a new lens or add an existing lens by clicking on the corresponding link. If I run across a lens that would fit the group, I might send an invitation to the lensmaster to join the group. All lenses that are submitted must be approved by the groupmaster, and groupmasters have the power to reject a lens for any reason, but especially if the lens doesn't fit the group's specifications.
Do you have a Squidoo lens about something having to do with 2008? Visit the group page for Squidoo's Great in 2008 and submit your lens. I'd love to have you and together we can help make Squidoo really great in 2008.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Six Quick Ways to Update A Squidoo Lens
It's important to keep your Squidoo lenses updated in order to keep both your lensrank and your search engine rank rising. Here are six quick ways to update a Squidoo lens.
- Add descriptions to your Amazon module items. A personal testimonial or review is most meaningful, but make sure you include at least a short product description rather than just the item name. Already have descriptions and reviews? Maybe it's time to rotate some old items out and some new ones in.
- Add a new poll module. If you already have a poll that continues to be relevent and active it's fine to leave it, but often an additional poll can really enhance your lens. Political lenses, especially, come to mind. What's your candidate been up to lately? Poll your visitors and see if they agree or disagree with his or her latest campaign tactic.
- Do you have a module that pertains to a holiday? Halloween is over. Replace your Halloween module with a Thanksgiving or Christmas module.
- Same is true with seasons. Change the products on your Cafepress module from short-sleeve t-shirts to sweatshirts, or vice versa.
- Prune the dead links. Periodically check to be sure all links on your lenses are active. Oftentimes YouTube videos or Flickr pics are no longer available. Replace those with fresh, active links.
- Review and update your tags. You're allowed 40 tags per lens. Make sure the ones you choose are the best ones. Be sure to check your stats and see how people are finding your lenses. Use the best search terms as tags.
Try to do one or more of these updates daily, if you have time, or at least weekly. Keep your lenses fresh to keep that lensrank rising.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
SquidVids!
What do you get when you cross Squidoo with YouTube? You get SquidVids!
It's so easy to get hooked on YouTube; there's so much to watch with video clips of nearly every topic imaginable. Likely there are video clips of something you're especially fond of, from your favorite team to your favorite hobby. Put the two together and you get an easy subject for a SquidVids lens. Better yet, choose your favorite Squidoo lens topic, find related video and you have yet one more way of seducing the search engines.
Once you've made your SquidVids lens, make sure you lensroll it to your related lens, and vice versa like I did with my eBay lens and my eBay Video Showcase. Let the Squidoo-Google dance begin!
It's so easy to get hooked on YouTube; there's so much to watch with video clips of nearly every topic imaginable. Likely there are video clips of something you're especially fond of, from your favorite team to your favorite hobby. Put the two together and you get an easy subject for a SquidVids lens. Better yet, choose your favorite Squidoo lens topic, find related video and you have yet one more way of seducing the search engines.
Once you've made your SquidVids lens, make sure you lensroll it to your related lens, and vice versa like I did with my eBay lens and my eBay Video Showcase. Let the Squidoo-Google dance begin!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
The Many Faces of Squidoo - SquidWho?
Just when I thought Squidoo couldn't get any better, along came SquidWho. Then along came SquidBid, SquidBoo, and SquidVid. Each of these is a site within the Squidoo site, all part of Squidoo. The same, but different. Got it?
You could call them "skins," I think. They're all basically different Squidoo templates, each for a different purpose which you can probably guess from their catchy names. SquidWho is for lenses about people (famous as well as just regular folks), SquidBid for eBay lenses, SquidBoo for Halloween-related lenses, and the new SquidVid, all about videos. When you set up a lens on any of these sub-sites, Squidoo automatically includes modules that make it super easy for anyone to build a lens.
My favorite of the sub-squids is SquidWho. Choose your person, choose the domain name, claim your lens and add an introduction and you have a pretty darn good beginner's lens, which is probably why there are so many SquidWho lenses; it's that quick and easy. Thing is, too many of the resulting lenses remain beginner lenses, with canned creativity and not enough personal input. What I like is the challenge of doing some research, adding some meaty modules, and making an outstanding SquidWho lens that rises above the rest.
It's a good idea to enhance your basic SquidWho lens, too, as when someone searches SquidWho for a name, only the highest-ranking SquidWho lens about that person shows up. That's why on each SquidWho lens there's a challenge: Think you can do better? If you think you can do better, click on that challenge and make your own lens about that person, improve it and take over the top spot. That's what I did with my latest, new and improved SquidWho lens and I'm pretty pleased with it.
Are you up to the challenge? Pick your favorite person and give it a shot. Then leave us a comment so we can take a look and leave you some stars.
You could call them "skins," I think. They're all basically different Squidoo templates, each for a different purpose which you can probably guess from their catchy names. SquidWho is for lenses about people (famous as well as just regular folks), SquidBid for eBay lenses, SquidBoo for Halloween-related lenses, and the new SquidVid, all about videos. When you set up a lens on any of these sub-sites, Squidoo automatically includes modules that make it super easy for anyone to build a lens.
My favorite of the sub-squids is SquidWho. Choose your person, choose the domain name, claim your lens and add an introduction and you have a pretty darn good beginner's lens, which is probably why there are so many SquidWho lenses; it's that quick and easy. Thing is, too many of the resulting lenses remain beginner lenses, with canned creativity and not enough personal input. What I like is the challenge of doing some research, adding some meaty modules, and making an outstanding SquidWho lens that rises above the rest.
It's a good idea to enhance your basic SquidWho lens, too, as when someone searches SquidWho for a name, only the highest-ranking SquidWho lens about that person shows up. That's why on each SquidWho lens there's a challenge: Think you can do better? If you think you can do better, click on that challenge and make your own lens about that person, improve it and take over the top spot. That's what I did with my latest, new and improved SquidWho lens and I'm pretty pleased with it.
Are you up to the challenge? Pick your favorite person and give it a shot. Then leave us a comment so we can take a look and leave you some stars.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
I'd Rather do Squidoo than . . .
. . . almost anything, really. I love Squidoo! Unfortunately, my Squidoo time is more limited than I would like it to be, but I don't let little things, like cleaning my house, get in the way when I find a few free minutes. Squidoo trumps dusting and cleaning every time!
One of my favorite lensmasters, rms (a.k.a. Robin), seems to agree and says it so well in one of my all-time favorite lenses. If you choose Squidoo over the broom, too, you'll love this lens.
One of my favorite lensmasters, rms (a.k.a. Robin), seems to agree and says it so well in one of my all-time favorite lenses. If you choose Squidoo over the broom, too, you'll love this lens.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
How to Link to a Squidoo Module
Here's another Squidoo tip. Do you have a blog or a website where you might want to include a link to one of your Squidoo lenses? Instead of sending your readers to the lens page, making them have to look for the information you want them to find on the lens, try this. Refer them to the exact module you want them to see.
To do that, look on the left margin of the Squidoo lens you want to link to. Look where it says "What's here" and click on "more" in that list so you can see every module within that particular lens. Click on the name of the module where you want the person to end up. Use the address that is now in your browser as your link.
For instance, my find-stuff-for-ebay lens is rather long so if I wanted someone to find the section about the book for stay-at-home moms, I would have them link to http://www.squidoo.com/find-stuff-for-ebay/#module3863032. I figured out how to do this from somebody else's lens one time and love the shortcut!
Sometimes I even link within the same lens to a different module on that lens. Ron Passfield does that on his big Squidoo Marketing Strategies lens, linking from the table of contents that he has added near the top of his lens. Another of his great ideas!
To do that, look on the left margin of the Squidoo lens you want to link to. Look where it says "What's here" and click on "more" in that list so you can see every module within that particular lens. Click on the name of the module where you want the person to end up. Use the address that is now in your browser as your link.
For instance, my find-stuff-for-ebay lens is rather long so if I wanted someone to find the section about the book for stay-at-home moms, I would have them link to http://www.squidoo.com/find-stuff-for-ebay/#module3863032. I figured out how to do this from somebody else's lens one time and love the shortcut!
Sometimes I even link within the same lens to a different module on that lens. Ron Passfield does that on his big Squidoo Marketing Strategies lens, linking from the table of contents that he has added near the top of his lens. Another of his great ideas!
Squidoo Tip of the Day
Want more visitors to your lens? More comments on your lenses? More stars? My tip of the day today is this: Visit the Squidoo Lens of the Day, leave a comment and rate the lens. Then go visit several lenses that are lensrolled on that lens and do the same thing there. Next, visit lenses of a few of the other people who have commented on the lens of the day. Leave more comments and stars. There's a good to excellent chance you will receive visits, stars, and comments in return.
Make your comments sincere; don't just bombard everyone with links to your own lenses. I have received personal emails from a few of the top lensmasters on Squidoo thanking me for my interesting comments on their lenses. I'll admit that I was flattered (I confess to being a bit of a Squidoo groupie), but mostly I was happy that those people will recognize me when they see me in the future - and recognition means a lot on Squidoo.
You can find the lens of the day in the right margin of your Squidoo dashboard so when you see it next time, use it as a reminder to go and do some socializing Squidoo style with your original, creative, and sincere comments.
Make your comments sincere; don't just bombard everyone with links to your own lenses. I have received personal emails from a few of the top lensmasters on Squidoo thanking me for my interesting comments on their lenses. I'll admit that I was flattered (I confess to being a bit of a Squidoo groupie), but mostly I was happy that those people will recognize me when they see me in the future - and recognition means a lot on Squidoo.
You can find the lens of the day in the right margin of your Squidoo dashboard so when you see it next time, use it as a reminder to go and do some socializing Squidoo style with your original, creative, and sincere comments.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Keep Your Squidoo Visitors Coming Back
Have an interesting lens full of great information? Are you getting visitors? How about return visitors?
To keep your visitors coming back, consider a nifty little tool called Add This. With just a couple of clicks, you can create bookmark and RSS feed widgets for your lenses then add the code to a "write" module on your lens, giving your visitors an easy opportunity to bookmark your lens.
Add This supports most bookmarking and feed reader services, including social bookmarking sites like Del.iciou.us, Facebook, and Stumbleupon which, in turn, will bring your lens even more traffic. Of course you can use the same widget on your blog. I did (left margin, near the top).
Check out how I used the Add This widget to my find-stuff-for-ebay lens.
To keep your visitors coming back, consider a nifty little tool called Add This. With just a couple of clicks, you can create bookmark and RSS feed widgets for your lenses then add the code to a "write" module on your lens, giving your visitors an easy opportunity to bookmark your lens.
Add This supports most bookmarking and feed reader services, including social bookmarking sites like Del.iciou.us, Facebook, and Stumbleupon which, in turn, will bring your lens even more traffic. Of course you can use the same widget on your blog. I did (left margin, near the top).
Check out how I used the Add This widget to my find-stuff-for-ebay lens.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Use Squidoo to Promote your eBay Business
Have an eBay business? You should have a Squidoo lens.
It’s super simple to set up a Squidoo lens with a special eBay template that sets the lens apart as an eBay lens. You can start with this lens to see what the template looks like. Then, if you want a lens like it, look at the top of the page and click on “Make Your Own.” When you publish the lens, it’ll have the eBay squid template.
If you want to know why you should make a Squidoo lens to promote your eBay business, go back to the top of the same page and click on the link that says “Get the eBook” and Megan will tell you why.
So, what are you waiting for? Squidaddle on over there and get busy.
It’s super simple to set up a Squidoo lens with a special eBay template that sets the lens apart as an eBay lens. You can start with this lens to see what the template looks like. Then, if you want a lens like it, look at the top of the page and click on “Make Your Own.” When you publish the lens, it’ll have the eBay squid template.
If you want to know why you should make a Squidoo lens to promote your eBay business, go back to the top of the same page and click on the link that says “Get the eBook” and Megan will tell you why.
So, what are you waiting for? Squidaddle on over there and get busy.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
When Small is Big and Less is More
Ever hear of getting too much for your money? I just saw an offer for a product that promises to help me find my perfect niche market. The product was inexpensive, less than 20 bucks, but it contained 14 videos and two e-books. That's too much stuff for me, just way too big. Maybe the answer is complicated enough to require all that media, but I really don't have time to go through 14 videos and read two e-books. Sorry, I'll pass.
Seth Godin is the founder of Squidoo. He's also the author of a book called Small Is the New Big. Squidoo is big and getting bigger, yet a Squidoo lens is small, just one page. A good, small lens, though, is better than big because it focuses on exactly what its readers want to know (that's why they call it a lens). That less is more concept is what I like best about Squidoo.
When I write, I tend to get pretty wordy; when Ron Passfield writes, he gets to the point. I've learned more about Squidoo from Ron Passfield than from any other one person. Ron’s e-book, Squidoo Marketing Strategies, is a small 44 pages (and it has a small price of just seven dollars), but Ron thinks big and demonstrates in his book how to use Squidoo to promote and market your business or area of expertise.
If you want to learn to use Squidoo to turn your big idea into something small and profitable, start with Ron’s book and learn how to put less is more to work for you.
Seth Godin is the founder of Squidoo. He's also the author of a book called Small Is the New Big. Squidoo is big and getting bigger, yet a Squidoo lens is small, just one page. A good, small lens, though, is better than big because it focuses on exactly what its readers want to know (that's why they call it a lens). That less is more concept is what I like best about Squidoo.
When I write, I tend to get pretty wordy; when Ron Passfield writes, he gets to the point. I've learned more about Squidoo from Ron Passfield than from any other one person. Ron’s e-book, Squidoo Marketing Strategies, is a small 44 pages (and it has a small price of just seven dollars), but Ron thinks big and demonstrates in his book how to use Squidoo to promote and market your business or area of expertise.
If you want to learn to use Squidoo to turn your big idea into something small and profitable, start with Ron’s book and learn how to put less is more to work for you.
Friday, September 28, 2007
5 Things You Should Know about Squidoo
When I first mention Squidoo to people, I often get a response along the lines of, “Squid-huh?” Squidoo is simple, but sometimes it’s a bit hard to explain. Here are five ways I might answer the question, “What is Squidoo?”
- Squidoo is an opportunity for you to claim your role as “expert.” I know a little more than the average person about the FairTax, so that makes me an expert on the subject. I built my FairTax lens (Squidoo pages are called lenses) as a means of explaining the FairTax to anyone who might like to learn more about it, thus establishing myself as an expert on the topic.
- Squidoo is a platform for permission marketing. Rather than jumping through advertising hoops to lure in potential customers, the customers seek you out and come to you. If you type into Google “find stuff to sell on ebay,” you might find my Squidoo link and click, thus giving me permission to market to you. The click takes you to my eBay product sourcing lens, where I then present you with a whole bunch of great information, just what you’ve been looking for, along with multiple opportunities to purchase a product. With your permission.
- Squidoo is an extension of your business. It allows you to direct people to any site on the web, including the website for your online or even your offline, brick and mortar business, or to your blog or your affiliate website. While this bulldog breeder uses her website to advertise her puppies for sale, she uses this Squidoo lens to expand upon other topics about bulldogs and offer advice and recommend products. This provides a great resource for people who buy her puppies. It also provides a great service to anyone who loves bulldogs or has questions about their care.
- Squidoo is a great place to make money. If you’ve been paying attention, you know that each of the points above includes a method of making money with Squidoo, but there’s more. Each Squidoo lens contains ads placed there by advertisers who pay for that privilege. You have no direct control over what ads appear (though they are generated by your tags and your lens content), but you do get a share in the advertising revenue that Squidoo earns when your visitors click through on those links. You make the lens, you get a share of that advertising revenue. Additionally, when a visitor to your lens purchases a product that you’ve added to your lens using the Squidoo affiliate modules (such as Amazon.com and CafePress), Squidoo shares that commission with you.
- Squidoo is a great way to give to charity and, indeed, to publicize your own charity or nonprofit business if that is the topic of your lens. A tiny portion of the earnings of every Squidoo lens is distributed to multiple charities, and any percentage up to 100 percent of the affiliate earnings that your Squidoo lens generates may be earmarked as a donation to a charity of your choice, chosen by you from an ever-growing list provided by Squidoo.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
My name is Susan52 and I'm a Squidoholic
I don't remember how it happened. It must have been fate. But one day back in May, I met Squidoo.
It was love at first lens and the relationship blossomed into pure and total squidiction. Or squiddiction. Spell it with one 'd' or two, it doesn't matter. I'm still hooked.
Sleep? Not much. Eat? Well, of course, but mostly here, at the keyboard, with Squidoo within sight. Work? Sure, in one window while Squidoo is open in another. When will another few affiliate commission cents be posted on my Squidoo dashboard? I don't know, but I don't want to miss it. And what if an idea for yet another lens pops into my head and fills my thoughts? Yea, I cannot ignore it but must act and claim yet another lens, another tenticle attached to the big, orange, one-eyed squid that that is - Squidoo.
Okay, okay. Enough of the mushy stuff, but never enough of Squidoo. I do love Squidoo, love making lenses, and really enjoy sharing Squidoo with others. I do it all the time, cluttering up mailing lists, answering questions with long posts and explanations. So, I decided, it's time to dedicate a space, a blog, just to Squidoo. I don't promise never to go off-topic, but here is where I will post my squid-explanations as well as random squid-thoughts. Squidoo is big and getting bigger and there's a whole lot to share, so I hope you will begin - or continue - your own squidventure with me here. Subscribe to our feed, bookmark us, and come back soon.
Come along. Squidoo with me.
It was love at first lens and the relationship blossomed into pure and total squidiction. Or squiddiction. Spell it with one 'd' or two, it doesn't matter. I'm still hooked.
Sleep? Not much. Eat? Well, of course, but mostly here, at the keyboard, with Squidoo within sight. Work? Sure, in one window while Squidoo is open in another. When will another few affiliate commission cents be posted on my Squidoo dashboard? I don't know, but I don't want to miss it. And what if an idea for yet another lens pops into my head and fills my thoughts? Yea, I cannot ignore it but must act and claim yet another lens, another tenticle attached to the big, orange, one-eyed squid that that is - Squidoo.
Okay, okay. Enough of the mushy stuff, but never enough of Squidoo. I do love Squidoo, love making lenses, and really enjoy sharing Squidoo with others. I do it all the time, cluttering up mailing lists, answering questions with long posts and explanations. So, I decided, it's time to dedicate a space, a blog, just to Squidoo. I don't promise never to go off-topic, but here is where I will post my squid-explanations as well as random squid-thoughts. Squidoo is big and getting bigger and there's a whole lot to share, so I hope you will begin - or continue - your own squidventure with me here. Subscribe to our feed, bookmark us, and come back soon.
Come along. Squidoo with me.
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