Squidoo Lens Reorganization Project for the New Year

If you've been thinking that you need to get more organized in the new year, you're in luck when it comes to organizing your Squidoo lenses.

This SquidBlog post is a heads up on the new, three-level categorizing system coming soon to a Squidoo near you.  I think everyone will be thrilled to know that we will soon be able to categorize, sub-categorize, and sub-subcategorize each of our lenses.  (Well, not everyone.  Sometimes change doesn't come easily to Squidoo lensmasters, but I digress.)  Clearly, having a new, more specific way to assign topics to our lenses should be a good change.

Once the system is live, lenses will be re-ranked within the new topic areas.  Seems to me this should allow more lenses to rank higher on more top 100 lists, but we shall see.  Before the new topic ranking is published, Squidoo will allow a week or two for lensmasters to go through our lenses and find a proper topical home for each one using a bulk topic recategorizer tool.

I love the timing of this release in that it coincides with the natural inclination many of us seem to have this time of year to tidy up and organize our belongings, including our pages on Squidoo.  Begin thinking of how you'd like to group your lenses and watch for further announcements of the new topics.  This is one change I'm really looking forward to.

How about you?  Does re-categorization of your lenses sound like a positive move?  I'd love to read your thoughts in a comment below.

Merry Christmas 2010

It's late in the day, Christmas day 2010.  I hope you had a wonderful holiday with family and friends.  As for me, I'm just happy to be around again this year to celebrate the coming of our Lord.  Life is fragile and I cherish every day.

I talked a little about goals in a previous post and that subject has continued in the front of my mind.  I'm developing a plan to help mentor new lensmasters in the coming year and I'll talk more about that here in a few days.  If you're new on Squidoo or know someone who is, someone who might appreciate a little extra help getting started, be sure and check back soon to see how you or they can get involved.  Better yet, subscribe to our updates using one of the links to the right.

In the meantime, have another slice of pumpkin pie then snuggle in front of the fireplace with your sweetie and enjoy one more holiday movie.  Make the moment last a little bit longer before getting back to business.

I hope Santa brought you everything you asked for!  See you soon back on Squidoo.

Two Thousand Squidoo Goals for 2011

Someone earned $2000 this payout on Squidoo.  Now, that's a noteworthy accomplishment.  In her topic of the day on the SquidU forum, Kimberly asked how earning $2000 a month would change your life, and she asked what you're going to do to make it happen.  That got me to thinking about goals for 2011.

I've already decided that I need to do more to give back to the Squidoo community.  There's a rule of life, called the law of reciprocity, that the more you (unselfishly) give, the more you get in return.  In terms of income, it's tempting for me to make lots of lenses to promote affiliate products, but there's really very little sharing in that.  Logically, it seems that the more I use my own affiliate links, the more money I should make.  And it's true that I've made a lot more this year than last with personal affiliate earnings.  But I have to wonder what I'm missing as I more frequently bypass the modules that are designed for sharing revenue with Squidoo.

I've always told new lensmasters that Squidoo provides their fabulous platform to us for free and that it's my opinion that we should honor that by donating a portion of our lenses' earnings to charity, through Squidoo.  I also believe that we should use at least an occasional revenue sharing module on each lens even when we use our own associate links (Amazon being the prime example).    I was really happy when the right-margin module option was added to our lenses; that's such a quick and easy way to spotlight an Amazon item or two (or three) and, frankly, it's an easy way to honor the revenue sharing relationship.  While I'm doing all these things, though, I still feel that there's something I'm missing.

Could I give more?  Could you?  We each have to answer that question for ourselves, but I know I'm going to be thinking hard about it that law of reciprocity and acting accordingly.  Whether I'll get to the $2000 mark or not, time will tell.  But I know I'm going to feel better about myself for trying.

How about you?  Any thoughts about your 2011 goals that you'd like to share?

P.S.  The law of reciprocity applies to more than money.  Giving of your time and talents pays off in great rewards, too.  Just something else to think about.

Free Shipping on Custom Ornaments Today

Have you seen the new custom ornaments at Zazzle?  I love 'em!

Good news, but you have to act fast.  Through November 11, 2010, at midnight Pacific time, order an ornament from Zazzle and get free shipping!  Use the code ORNAMENTSHIP at checkout.

I made this simple ornament which is customizable with your lensmaster name and the name of the recipient on the back.  Or, of course, you can design your own.  Click here to get started.

Hurry!

Learn Internet Marketing in Person

So you have an online business. Now what? If you found out the hard way that the "build it and they will come" philosophy doesn't necessarily work online - even on Squidoo - then you might want to invest some time learning internet marketing principles that you can apply to your business. Internet marketing training is probably exactly what you need, and I know someone who can help - in person.

My friend Phaedra Stockstill has scheduled an internet marketing training seminar November 22, 2010, live and in person in Patterson, Louisiana. Phaedra has worked online for over 10 years in e-commerce. From merchant to consultant to social media representative, Phaedra knows what she's doing and she's ready to share her knowledge and experience with you, knowledge to empower you with tools and information to help your business grow.

Learn how to market your business online using current relationship marketing techniques, social media, branding, building trust with your customers and much more.  Though the class isn't designed for Squidoo lensmasters specifically, the marketing principles are still ones you can apply to promote your Squidoo business.   

You'll enjoy Phaedra's dynamic personality, and the small class size will allow for plenty of personal attention.  Sign up today for one of the just ten seats in this seminar for relevant information that you can apply to your business immediately, and watch your business grow in 2011.

Happy 5 Year Anniversary, Squidoo!

Squidoo turns five today.  To celebrate, they're giving away money.

Happy anniversary, Squidoo!  And many, many more!

How to Use Wikipedia to Get Traffic To Squidoo

You've no doubt heard of Wikipedia, the online, collaborative encyclopedia of almost everything. When people want to know more about something or someone new and interesting, they often search "wikipedia" first. Here's how you can use the popularity of Wikipedia to get traffic to your Squidoo lenses.

The first and most obvious is to include information from Wikipedia about the subject of your lens, making sure you attribute that information back to Wikipedia as its source. While that's easily done with Squidoo's Wikipedia module, I often pull pertinent facts from the article and present them in a text module with the attribution in a link at the bottom, like this. If the Wikipedia article is well written, sometimes I'll use the Wikipedia module or use a text module and quote a portion and then link back to the source with a "read the rest of the Wikipedia article" link.

But what if you're writing about a topic that isn't on Wikipedia yet? (If you are, good for you - you may have hit on a nice niche of your own.) In that case, find a related Wikipedia topic to include in your lens. Use either of the above methods to include the information in your lens, but make sure to attribute and link back to Wikipedia. Then, chances are that when someone else wants to learn about your subject and they search the name of the subject plus "wikipedia," they'll find your lens.

What do I mean by a related topic? In my Voca People lens, I used Wikipedia to explain the meaning of the term a cappella. Now, the word "Wikipedia" is associated with "Voca People" and my lens has become the authority site for that singing group. Try the search, or see how I did it here.

The accuracy of information published on Wikipedia is a subject for another place, but if you're comfortable that the facts presented about your topic are, indeed, factual, by all means use this popular location - and search term - to help get traffic to your lenses. If you try it, do leave a comment and let me know how it works for you.

Join the SquidBoo October 2010 Challenge

Quickly!

Between October 4th and October 28th, publish five new lenses on Squidoo using the SquidBoo template and you could become King of SquidBoo!

Halloween is really, really hot this year, so you'd might as well take advantage of the fact to get more visitors to your lenses. Choose a Halloween topic - scary, creepy, or cute - proceed immediately to SquidBoo HQ and start a lens. You have over three weeks to complete five lenses, so take your time and make them great, awesome, noteworthy lenses. That'll pay off later when Squidoo HQ chooses a cauldron of their favorite qualifying lenses to be in the running for one of 13 special, limited edition "King of SquidBoo" trophies. (Not sure how many lenses a cauldron holds, so don't hold back a thing when it comes to quality.)

You'll find all the rules on Megan's SquidBoo October 2010 Challenge lens. Remember to make your lenses using the official SquidBoo HQ front door or they won't qualify.

Remember five new SquidBoo lenses published October 4 to October 28 will earn you an entry into the contest and (I almost forgot) 500 points and a special trophy. Oh, and a hug from Frankenstein. Will you be one of the first-ever SquidBoo Kings? Ready, set, boo! Get started here!

Social Squidoo: More than Just a Fan Club

Lensmaster ideadesigns became my 900th fan on Squidoo the other day and left a comment to let me know.  I was honored and truly appreciated the kind comment. 

Do you join fan clubs on Squidoo?  I hope you do.  And I hope you leave comments on lots of lenses, too.  Sincere comments.  Did you know that now you can leave comments on profile pages?  I love that new feature, great for a general comment to the lensmaster as opposed to a lens-specific comment.  Comments are wonderful tools for building social relationships on Squidoo.

Have you looked at your profile page lately?  If you haven't, take a look at the new design.  It includes your bio and lens list on the left with a comment area below and a "trophy cabinet" on the upper right followed by a few profile stats  - including the number of lenses you've rated and how many you've favorited. Do you look at those numbers on other people's profiles?  I do.  It's a great way to gauge how active that lensmaster is within the Squidoo community.

The importance of the social element of Squidoo is something that some lensmasters overlook.  In fact, the profile page provides a great opportunity to make a good impression, so its contents (specifically the bio) should be well thought out and written in a way that complements and promotes your online brand and reputation. Try to give your readers a glimpse of the real you, the person behind the lenses.  Don't lose out on the opportunity to start a great relationship with each visitor who takes the time to read your profile page.

Relationships are important in social networking, so open up to others, leave a few comments and join a few new fan clubs every day on Squidoo.  The investment in time could be a great investment in the future of your online business, even well beyond Squidoo.

The Secret to Making Sales on Squidoo

It doesn't take high traffic to get sales on Squidoo (or anywhere else online), it takes the right kind of traffic. My best lenses don't get a lot of traffic, but the people who do find them are there because they're looking for something specific.

If my lens has what they're looking for, they will click through. When they click through, they will buy. That's the secret, targeting buyers.  

The narrower the niche, the more likely all of that is going to happen.

If you want to make sales on Squidoo, remember that secret when planning your lenses. 

Monstrous Changes on Squidoo

Squidoo has been taken over by monsters!  Well, not yet, but very soon lensmasters will start seeing adorable little monsters peeping out from the dark corners of the Squidoo site.  Don't worry, they come in peace, bearing gifts.

Kimberly hinted about it this morning, then this evening Megan released official word about the SquidooPlus system, due to begin implementation tomorrow.  So lensmasters won't be caught totally by surprise by the changes if they've paid attention to the banner on their dashboard.  Check out Megan's SquidooPlus lens and then read the SquidMonsters FAQ lens for more information about the new system and where the monsters fit in.

My prediction?  You're going to love these little guys and all the goodies they bring with them.  So get back to Squidoo, do what you usually do, and watch what happens.  Starting sometime tomorrow.

What I Learned From My Purple Star Lenses

Today I completed an exercise of going back through all of my purple star lenses, adding each of them to a new lens, a purple star lensography of sorts. After I was finished, I realized that I had learned something very important about myself and about crafting lenses.

What I learned isn't anything new. In fact, it's something that many of us offer as good advice to new lensmasters on a regular basis. That advice? Make lenses from your heart.

Another way of stating it is to write lenses on topics you're passionate about, things that mean something to you. The reason that is good advice is that the end result is meaningful and, almost always, of a higher quality than when you write about something to which you have no personal connection.

Of my 14 purple star lenses, almost all of them are what I would judge as very good to excellent lenses. There are a couple that, frankly, I'd place in the "good" category; I'm not so sure they quite measure up to "very good." And it turns out that the best of the best are on topics that I felt passionate about or had a strong personal connection to at the time they were written. The just "good" lenses, not so much.

Of course I know that I'm not able to judge my own lenses totally objectively, but after three-plus years on Squidoo I know an excellent lens when I see one, even if it is my own. I know how to recognize a "good" lens, too.

My point, which I'm not sure I'm stating very clearly, is that if quality matters to you, if you want to make a truly great lens, then put the money motive on the back burner and choose a subject that is really, truly close to your heart. If just "good" is good enough (and sometimes it is good enough), then settle for a subject that will meet some other goal or objective, such as increasing your earnings.

As for me, from now on I'm going to weigh more carefully my passions and my motives when I choose a topic for a lens and do my best to make each lens purple star-worthy by injecting into it a little piece of my heart.

September Squidoo Goals

Have you set monthly Squidoo goals yet for September?   If you're not in the habit of setting goals each month, September is the perfect time to start.  With school back in session and the holiday season approaching ever so quickly, motivation for making more lenses and increasing opportunities for income is at its peak.

If you need even more motivation, check out Kimberly's Morning Coffee post for today.  Add your September Squidoo goals to the forum and, at the end of the month if you're able to show that you met them, you could win a prize. 

Make your goals specific and measurable.  Posting them publicly will add the element of accountability that many of us need to help us work a little harder to accomplish what we might otherwise give up on when we hit the inevitable rough spot.

To demonstrate that I practice what I preach, here are my September Squidoo goals:

1. Three new lenses this month, which will make 200 total! Still need to decide on something significant for #200.
2. Update all of my seasonal lenses, which is much easier said than done. I will ashamedly admit that some are horribly out of date.
3. Approach a new charity I learned about this week to let them know about Squidoo and, if they're interested (and of course they will be) do what I can to help them get started.

So, who's next?  Don't forget to post your goals on the SquidU forum, then feel free to share them here as well. 

Now let's get busy!

What's Your Best Tip for a Newbie on Squidoo?

I'm very happy that two of my local friends are now lensmasters on Squidoo.  It's fun to know other "squids" in real life!

Today, both are coming to the house and we're going to be talking about building a business online with an emphasis on how to Squidoo.  (Gotta love "Squidoo" as a verb.)  There are some things that I want to make sure they know as they start out, but I want to know what other lensmasters think is important for a new lensmaster to know.

I'd love if you'd leave a comment here giving your one best piece of advice for a new lensmaster on Squidoo.  I'll make sure to pass your Squidoo tips along to my friends and I'll report back later to let you know how they're doing.

Thanks!

Joint Ventures on Squidoo

They say birds of a feather flock together, but what about Squidoo lensmasters? Since RocketMom's inception and success, many other groups have been created where lensmasters are sharing ideas, projects, and even lensmaking challenges. From Squidoo specialty groups to community blogging forums to weekly podcasts, small groups of like-minded lensmasters are popping up everywhere!

Have you collaborated with other lensmasters for a project on or off of Squidoo? Read on this lens about our small group of six and the "mini empire" we've been building, vote in our poll, then leave a comment (here or there) describing your successes (or failures) in joint ventures with others from Squidoo. I'd love to read your input!

What the Lens of the Day is Lacking

If you're a Squidoo lensmaster, you're probably familiar with the Lens of the Day (LOTD) award. Each weekday (or so) an outstanding lens is chosen to receive the LOTD honor. The lens is featured on the official Squidoo Lens of the Day blog as well as on the left sidebar of each lensmaster's dashboard.

So, what is the Lens of the Day program lacking? For one thing, nominations! Did you know that lenses chosen for the honor are nominated by lensmasters? In fact, it's okay to nominate your own lens although, in the spirit of Squidoo, supporting other lensmasters by nominating their great lenses is looked upon very favorably (and doing so makes you feel good, too). So why does Kimberly sometimes have a difficult time finding lenses deserving of the honor? Two reasons. First, she receives only a few nominations a day. And second, many of the nominated lenses are rejected for either important ommissions or commissions of a serious Squidoo no-no.

You might be surprised to learn what many lensmasters leave off of an otherwise excellent lens. No, it isn't a guesbook. That's not required, although it's certainly missed when it isn't on a lens. Want to guess again? Never mind, I'll tell you. It's a lensmaster picture (or avatar) and bio. Quite surprising, eh? It was to me. As explained in my Squidoo Somebody lens, it's easy to upload an avatar and write a default biography that will appear on all of your Squidoo lenses. Surprising how many lensmasters apparently don't bother. Going one step further by customizing the bio to complement the lens's topic may carry a bit of weight in the selection process, too.

To learn more about what constitutes a LOTD-worthy lens, read and heed Megan's lens, The Secret Life of Lens of the Day. Upload your avatar and bio, create lenses with useful, unique, and updated content, delete unusued lens modules, rename default module titles, write from the heart, and you may be the next proud lensmaster to receive a Lens of the Day honor. While you're at it, don't hesitate to nominate great lenses that meet LOTD criteria. Go ahead. Make someone's day.

Chatting With Squidoo

Did you know that Squidoo only has six full-time employees? Considering the size and scope of the Squidoo.com site, that's pretty amazing, don't you think? What's more, most of the six post on the SquidU forum on at least a semi-regular basis, so it's clear to anyone who's been around Squidoo for even a short time that the head squids really care about the lensmasters who keep the community growing and want to know what's on our minds.

One of the ways the Squidoo staff keeps us "in the loop" is by hosting occasional live online chats. In fact, two chats are scheduled for this week, on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, each with a different topic. If either of the topics interests you at all and you can fit it into your day, I'd encourage you to sign up to participate. Look for more information on Squidoo's official chat schedule lens. Not only will the chats be informative, participating gives you an opportunity to actively participate in a small forum and get to know other leaders on Squidoo. Besides, chats are fun!

By the way, one way I learned about this week's chats was by reading today's post on the Squidoo blog, another important vehicle Squidoo uses to keep in touch. If you haven't, I'd suggest you visit and subscribe to the Squidoo blog right now. Don't risk missing important news and announcements (such as the fact that there will be a bit of down time on the site tomorrow). Use the subscribe button at the top of the blog page.

Gratitude and squidhugs to Steve and Squidgraphics for the fabulous artwork.

Ads on Squidoo Lenses: Who Gets the Money?

A friend asked me this question today regarding her new lens, which is on a personal topic: "Does Squidoo make money when you do not monetize a lens? If so, I would rather set it to charity ..."

I thought someone else might have a similar question about ads on Squidoo lenses, so I decided to share my answer here:

"Short answer is yes, Squidoo makes money on the ads. You share in that income based on lensrank. But if you set the lens to 100% for a charity, any lensrank money you might earn from that lens will go to the charity. That sounds like what you would want to do.

"Longer answer, if you want to, you can opt out of certain ads on your lens. You'll find that option in the lens settings area on the lens workshop. You can opt out of everything but the google ads. Just opt out for that lens only, not for all your lenses. That will keep the number of ads on the lens to a minimum but will also reduce the money that might go to the charity you've chosen, so there's a trade-off."

Hope that helps!

Do You Read Beyond the Guestbook?

The guestbook module is a fundamental part of most Squidoo lenses. Offering your visitors a place to leave their thoughts and even ask questions is important and that particular module is the simplest way to allow readers an opportunity to do those things.

Most lensmasters place their guestbook towards the bottom of the page, which is a sensible approach since usually the question asked in the module is along the lines of, "What did you think of my lens?" While that isn't necessarily a clever title, it's pretty clear (at least to other lensmasters) and gets results.

But what comes after the guestbook? When you make a lens, do you follow the guestbook with more content? A sales module of some sort? Or maybe your bio with a link to your other lenses? For the most part I add an "About Me" module and then a link back to the top of the page after the guestbook on my lenses. Some lensmasters add a lot more.

It used to be that after submitting a comment, the lens page would "jump" to below the guestbook which served as a reminder (at least to me) to keep scrolling. But the guestbook works differently now and that "jump" doesn't happen anymore, so now it's up to me to remember to scroll on down to see what's there. I'm sorry to say that sometimes I simply forget and, instead, do a quick Ctrl+home to get back to the top of the page to leave a thumbs up or bookmark the page. (Never mind that you can do those things now at the bottom of the lens; old habits die hard and I've been a lensmaster for a long time in squid years.) So, sometimes I simply forget to look below the guestbook and I'm sure that sometimes I miss some good content.

I'm trying to change my habits, but I'm curious what other people do - so I thought I'd ask. After you sign a lens's guestbook, do you scroll on down to look for more content? Do you rate the lens at the bottom or do you go back to the top of the page? When you make a lens, what do you include below the guestbook? If you have a minute, I'd love if you'd leave your answer in a comment below because inquiring minds want to know - do you read below the guestbook?


P.S. If you have no idea what I'm talking about in this post, it's easy to find out by visiting Squidoo, checking out a few lenses - and signing a few guestbooks!

Summer Sunshine - We Have a Winner!

Many thanks to those who nominated my "Summer Reading Fun: Great Books for Boys" lens for a Squidoo Summer Sunshine charity award, which the lens received this week! The charity "First Book" will be receiving an extra-special donation and I'm so pleased I had a small part in that.

It's not too late for you to make and enter a lens in the contest. Maybe you and your charity will win a cash award this summer, too. Jump on down to this post for more information.

P.S. Remember reading Encylopedia Brown books when you were a kid? It's one of our favorite series books for boys.

Big Change at ISDY

I've been wanting to give this blog a facelift for some time. Today I found new templates on blogger and, voilá, you're looking at the result. (The picture shows the old look.)

I think I like the new look.

Hope you do, too.

How to Refer a Lensmaster and Earn a Bonus on Squidoo

My Squidoo dashboard was updated this week with a "You've earned a $5.00 bonus for referring a friend" message. That was nice!

Each of your Squidoo lenses comes equipped with a "Create Your Own Lens" link at the top of the page as well as a big, orange "Create a Lens" link in the right column. Both of those links are referral links that will associate a new lensmaster's account with your account. When the new lensmaster's total Squidoo payout reaches $15, you'll receive a note on your dashboard that you've earned a $5 referral bonus. That money will be added to your next Squidoo payout. And all you did was make a lens!

Another way to refer new lensmasters is by using the "Refer a friend (and earn a bonus!)" link in the left margin of your dashboard. Squidoo will email referral links to your friends or you can add the code provided there to any or all of your lenses. I sometimes place that code near the bottom of a lens since Squidoo provides the links at the top.

To find out if anyone has joined Squidoo through your referral link or one of your lenses, look under the "My stats" tab on your lensmaster dashboard. Scroll down a bit to "Lensmaster Referrals" and click on the arrow to expand that section. Lensmasters that you or your lenses have referred are listed by date, most recent at the top, so you can see not only how many have signed up but who they are as well.

In fact, it isn't a bad idea to check that list from time to time to see how the new lensmasters are doing. You'll find that some haven't made a lens yet, and many never will. But when you find someone who's making an effort, it couldn't hurt to visit their lenses and encourage them along the way. Note that only you are eligible for the $5 bonus. Formerly, the new lensmaster received a bonus as well, but that has been discontinued.

I likely won't get rich from Squidoo referral bonuses, but you won't hear me complaining about those periodic extra $5 payments, either!

Have you received referral bonuses from Squidoo? Tell us about it in a comment.

Squidoo MeetUp Day

The first Worldwide Squidoo Meetup Day is Thursday, June 10, 2010. It's not too late to sign up!

If there isn't a meetup scheduled near you or you can't make it to an in-person event, how about attending a virtual meetup! The Squidoo chat room will be open for an online meetup Thursday evening, U.S. time. Check the Squidoo's Chat Schedule lens for details.

If you do make it to an official, or even unofficial meetup with other Squidoo lensmasters, take pictures! Make a lens! Post the link here in the comments so everyone can see!

But if not, let's make the online meetup the biggest ever. See you there!

First Squidoo Summer Sunshine Charity Winner Announced

Congratulations to Camp Quality of New Jersey and lensmaster hlkljgk for being the first charity and lensmaster to win in Squidoo's Summer Sunshine contest!

If you'd like to enter and maybe even win $99 for your charity and $99 for yourself, make a new lens with all earnings set to your favorite Squidoo charity. Read the rules and see the list of winning lenses here.

Prizes will be awarded each weekday for the rest of June, July, and August, so there's still plenty of time to enter. My advice? Go for it!

Then share your qualifying lenses here in a comment so we can take a look.

Hope you win!

Purple Star Quest

I'm exhausted.

You already know that I've been serving as Purple Star Queen this week. That means I had to find 20 great lenses worthy of the Squidoo purple star award.

It was easy to find good lenses. It was hard to narrow them down to 20 great lenses!

But I did it.

And I wrote about it on this new lens, a fairy tale in real life.

This queen is worn out from having so much fun. She's happy to retire her crown. She'll cherish the memories and all the amazingly wonderful comments she's received.

If you find a lens that is purple star-worthy (here are the rules), be sure and nominate it. It'll make the full-time queen's job much easier.

Who's the Latest Purple Star Queen?

A few days ago, I blogged about the Purple Star contest going on over Memorial Day weekend at Squidoo. I was excited because during the contest non-Giant Squids were eligible to receive purple stars for their lenses. We have so many talented almost-Giants and this would be a great opportunity for them.

I also mentioned that one purple star recipient's name would be drawn from a hat and that person would become Purple Star Queen (or King) for the week. Royal duties would include choosing the week's 20 purple star lenses.

Well, guess whose name was drawn.

It was mine! Can you believe it? I just found out and I can't stop smiling!

For the next week I will wear an imaginary crown (unless there's another perk I don't know about - I'll be watching for a package) and search for 20 of the best lenses in the Squidoo kingdom. Ooh, what fun! Oh, what work! In fact, how will I choose?

It won't be easy narrowing the best down to 20, but I'll manage. I can't wait to get started.

Let the royal festivities begin!

A Purple Star-Studded Opportunity

What are you doing this long Memorial Day weekend? I hope you have something fun planned, but I also hope you can fit making a new Squidoo lens into your schedule. Here's why.

Full details and rules are on the Squidoo blog but, bottom line, if you make a really great new lens between now and midnight Monday, May 31st, 2010, you can also nominate it for a purple star. Then, if the lens is deemed worthy, not only will it receive a purple star, but your name will be entered into a drawing to become Purple Star Queen or King for the week of June 7th and you will get to choose all 20 purple-star lenses for that week. What fun!

The exciting part is that this challenge is open to all lensmasters. It's a rare occasion that non-Giant lenses are considered for purple stars, so if you're not a Giant yet this is a golden, well actually a purple, opportunity for you to get your new lens noticed.

Not familiar with the purple star program on Squidoo? Read all about it here (but remember that you don't have to be a Giant for this event) then put your very best work into a new lens and maybe, just maybe, your lens will receive some of that magic purple stardust.

Giant Squids can play too, of course, but it's particularly exciting that this challenge is open to everyone.

Remember, read the rules first, then get started on your next, or maybe your very first, purple star-worthy lens!

To Do: Get Motivated!

I find that a daily to-do list motivates me to get more done, both on Squidoo and elsewhere.

Be realistic about your time constraints, but make a short list every morning (or better, the night before). Mark things off as you accomplish them. The motivating part is seeing the line marked through the things you've accomplished, but the secret is to keep the list short to start with.

Seeing how much you actually got done at the end of the day will be a motivator for the next day, while helping to avoid the deadly procrastination trap.

Remember: Motivate. Don't procrastinate.

Missing a Squidoo Friend

I wasn't close online friends with Sherry Holder Hunt, but when I found out yesterday that she had died, it hit me hard.

Sherry was one of those people you just loved hearing from. Whenever our paths crossed, usually leaving comments on lenses, her contagious sweet spirit made me smile.

Sherry was an artist, a very talented one, and an encourager. She was also a wife, a mom, a daughter, a friend.

She left a comment on her facebook fan page on April 9th; by the end of the day she was in Heaven. Life is so short and nothing can be taken for granted, especially life itself.

Tributes to Sherry can be left on her facebook page, on this special tribute blog post, or on this thread at SquidU.

Sherry, you touched my life and you will be missed.

Everything You Want to Know About Squidoo Payday

It's Squidoo payday again today. Yee-hah!

Today lensmasters got paid for money earned from ad clicks and commissions on sales made during the month of February, which means that payday is about a month and a half behind earnings. The reason for the delay is to enable Amazon, eBay, and the other sources of our income to pay Squidoo and then to give Squidoo a chance to distribute earnings to the various lensmasters and lenses. That has to be an absolutely huge job no matter how automated it is.

Payday is never promised before the 15th of any given month, although Squidoo almost always beats that by a few days. Anticipation of payday usually rears its head on the SquidU forum by around the 10th of each month with anxious newbie lensmasters hoping to see their first-ever earnings and some veterans waiting for money to pay the rent.

If you're new to Squidoo, or even if you've been around a while, you may have questions about Squidoo payday. If you're wondering just how income is calculated or even where the money comes from, one of the very best sources to find out is Squidoo Payday Questions & Answers, a lens by veteran lensmaster Christene. Christene is always on the job with updates to her lens within minutes (it seems) of payday figures being posted.

If you have questions about tiers, payouts, or how to find the earnings on your own lensmaster dashboard, check out Christene's lens. Then leave her a comment to thank her for her faithful efforts in keeping everyone updated in such a timely manner.

Then go make another lens - for free - in anticipation of a bigger payday next month, and the month after and the month after that.

How to Research Keywords - Learn How Live!

Finding the best keywords is a very hot topic on Squidoo and elsewhere around the web. You've probably read plenty of advice about how to research keywords, but you may still have questions. If so, tune in to Giant Squid Open Mike with Joan, Kate and friends as two of Squidoo's top lensmasters do a keyword research project live on the air. You'll be able to follow along on your own computer and ask questions in real-time.

The program will be broadcast live on Tuesday, April 6, 2010, at 5 p.m. Eastern time. In case you miss it, the show will be recorded and available to listen to, free, in the podcast archives.

Before you make your next lens, select a new domain name, or write your next blog post or article, be sure to listen to this very special edition of Giant Squid Open Mike to learn everything you need to know about how to do keyword research. This 45-minute broadcast could change your keyword research method - and your bottom line - forever.

UPDATE: Here's a direct link to the archived program. Don't miss it!

OMG! New Lensranking System for Squidoo!

News flash! Squidoo has announced a new lensranking system.

Effective today.

Details on this lens.

Should You Own Your Own Blog? Join the Debate

I've been following a rather intense discussion the last couple of days having to do with the differences in owning your own blog versus using a free blogging platform or participating in a multi-user blogging community. It's been a very lively debate and quite informative from a technical standpoint. The two main participants have their own definite preferences, but they've remained quite gentlemanly in the discussion.

The bottom line sticking point between the two is retention of total control of the individual blogger's content, layout, promotion, and rules. One prefers to maintain total and complete control; the other is satisfied that each individual blogger in the community that he established and oversees does have complete control over his or her own blog (within certain guidelines). Both have conceded, while standing firm in his own beliefs, that each method has its benefits and that it's up to the individual to decide which type of hosting arrangement is right for him/her.

So now I'm wondering: What do you think? Do you have experience, good or bad, with multi-user blogs? Are you happy with simply using a free Blogger blog or have you moved on to hosting your own? What is your preference and why? Click on the comment link and join the debate.

Help Me Bump My Lens?

I guess nobody likes eBay videos or eBay humor anymore (and that is entirely possible).

Or maybe I've just ignored my lowest-ranking lens for too long.

Either way, it's number 169 of my 169 published lenses. I just checked and it appears that every single video link is working. That, frankly, is amazing.

I actually kind of like this lens. So I tweaked a few things, put a poll near the top, and twittered it. It'll be on its way to Facebook as soon as I finish here.

Lensrank is 282,491 today. What will it be tomorrow?

Want to help bump it up? Check it out.

Wordless Wednesday (Why Not?)

Turn a Squidoo How-To Lens Into an EHow Article

Do you have a lens that explains how to do something? If so, it will be simple to use that same information to create an article on the how-to site called eHow.

Since you've already done the research and you've written about what you learned, the time-consuming part of the job is already done. Just take that information and rewrite it with an introduction and step-by-step instructions in the required format of an eHow article.

Writing an eHow article is very simple as the form for the article is presented to you in fill-in-the-blank stages. First you'll choose a name for the article (keep your keywords in mind), choose a picture for the article, then you'll list the items that are needed for the project (if that applies). Next, divide the project into logical steps and write those short steps in the boxes that eHow provides on its form. You can add a picture with each step, too, if you want.

Next, add a bulleted list of tips and warnings; again the form makes it easy. At the end you can add resources to provide more information for the reader. It's fine to include your original lens link as a resource.

That's all there is to it! EHow is free to join and they pay you based on the click-outs to ads that your article generates. Of course, hopefully you will also be paid in visits to your Squidoo lens resulting from clicks on your link.

You can join eHow here. Check out this article that I wrote based on a section included in this lens to see what the how-to format looks like, then take a look at your own lenses. I'm guessing you'll find a few topics that can be translated into a money-making article on eHow. Lather, rinse and repeat to create another residual income stream on a platform that's fun and easy to use.

A Lensography by Any Other Name . . .

One of my newest lenses, Essentials for Survival, is being developed as a lensography for my survival series of lenses, of which I have two so far. I don't mention the word "lensography" at all, but each new lens will be incorporated here to support the topic, as well as to support the blog of the same name.

I've never done it this way before, but it's kind of nice to start the lensography early. It'll be easy to keep up, plus it makes my commitment to the niche more serious. I'm determined to keep it up!

Do you have a new niche? Does it have a lensography? Share it here!

Keyword Research for Squidoo - Is It Really Key?

Whew! I've been spending a good deal of the afternoon doing keyword research for some new Squidoo lenses that I'm planning. It's a lot of work!

I've come to the conclusion, though, that even though it's worth the time to do keyword research, sometimes you just have to stop and make the lens already! I knew little to nothing about keyword research when I made some of my most successful lenses and they're still doing well. Of course there are the others that could use a makeover of the "tags" field . . .

There are plenty of resources on Squidoo that help teach how to do keyword research on Squidoo - check out this search if you don't believe me - but certainly it's far more fun to just put a lens together. I think the 80/20 rule applies here: Spend 80 percent of your time researching and 20 percent of your time actually making the lens. Then spend 80 percent of the rest of your time promoting the lens, but that's a subject for another day.

How do you feel about keyword research for Squidoo? Do you bother with it? How much time do you spend researching keywords? Is it worth it? Leave a comment; I'd love to know what you think.

Facebook Fan Pages - Do You Have One?

In order to help separate personal and business on Facebook, many Squidoo lensmasters are creating Facebook fan pages. These fan pages are similar to a regular page; you can add photos, links, discussions, and more while keeping everything oriented to your Squidoo business.

To create a fan page for yourself, start here. Add your Squidoo avatar so people will recognize you, then add other pertinent links and information.

Once you've created your Squidoo-related fan page, feel free to post the link in a comment here. You can also post it to a plexo on this lens, kindly provided by lensmaster JenniferAkers.

Here's my link. I hope you'll become a fan!

Share a Tribute to Someone Special on Squidoo

Does a family member or close friend have a special occasion coming up? For a totally unique gift, one you and they can share with the world, make a tribute page on Squidoo!

Lensmaster SadieCope made this lens as a Christmas gift for her parents. The stories and memories that she shares are interesting to read and, I am positive, precious gifts to her lucky family.

Lensmaster tandemonimom made a special tribute lens for her grandmother's 100th birthday, definitely a noteworthy occasion. The outstanding pictures on this lens help tell Grannie's story, as well as that of the entire family tree. Making it even more special was the fact that this was tandemonimom's 100th lens on Squidoo!

One grandmother on Squidoo that most long-time lensmasters know well is lensmaster JaguarJulie's grandmother, Julia Nagy, who namesake Julie features on this special Superhero lens.

If you're not comfortable sharing your family stories with the world, consider starting with a four-legged family member. This very touching lens by lensmaster mukunda22 features some extra-special family pets.

If you're looking for a topic for your next lens, start by looking at home. Valentine's Day is coming up. Perhaps your beloved would appreciate a special tribute on Squidoo, guaranteed less fattening than any box of chocolates!

Squidoo Lensmasters Helping Haiti

If you're a Squidoo lensmaster and you want to do something to help with the Haitian earthquake relief effort, here's a simple solution for you.

Make a new lens or simply change the charity settings on an existing lens so that 100 percent of the proceeds from the lens go to the Squidoo-approved charity, Hope for Haiti. Then, add your Help for Haiti lens to the plexo on the RocketMoms Help for Haiti lens. You don't have to be a RocketMom to participate, but the lens you add must be set to designate all proceeds to this particular charity. Make sure you add a donation module to the lens so people will know its purpose and to provide a way to make direct donations to this fine charity as well.

Charity is at the heart of Squidoo, and helping others in need is in the heart of many of our lensmasters, so this is a perfect match. Pass the word and let's see if we can get the total number of Hope for Haiti lenses above 100. Every little bit helps and the people of Haiti right now need all the help they can get.

Kindle Is Number One!

Cool news My Kindle lens reached the number one spot on Squidoo this week. Hooray! That's a fabulous milestone, one that's getting harder and harder to achieve. The lens has always done well on its own, with decent traffic, clickouts, and sales, but I know that a recent angel blessing helped push it toward the top and to that angel I am very appreciative!

I've gotten a lot of comments on the Kindle lens recently from people who received a Kindle for Christmas, as well as those who really, really want one. It's nice to hear from satisfied Kindle customers, both present and future. I really enjoy my own Kindle and use it every day, reading far more than I did before I got it.

If you have a Kindle, make sure to check the bestsellers list regularly in the Kindle store and look for free books. Yesterday I downloaded a free daily devotional, a perfect addition to my daily Kindle reading. (Here's a link, but it's free for a limited time only so be sure to check the price before making your purchase.)

Here's to a year of good reading in 2010, Kindle style, and here's to more #1 lenses in the future for us all!

Focus and Promote: My 2010 Goals for Squidoo

It seems everyone is writing about goals, which seems to be a less dangerous subject than resolutions, so I figured I'd throw in my52cents' worth.

I'm really looking forward to the potential that lies within Squidoo in the coming year. I'm determined to put quality over quantity when it comes to lensmaking, focusing on profit, a necessity for me this year more than ever. I have a little sign on my computer that says "Focus and Promote," something I got from Paul Duxbury. When I narrow down my goals to something simple, that phrase, which also summarizes my two weak points, is the result.

In 2010, I plan to focus my lenses in profitable subject areas. That means that I will likely divest myself of some of my older lenses, mostly those in which I've lost interest. It'll be tough getting rid of my little offspring, but I believe the time has come to find them new homes with lensmasters who can nurture them better than I. If you're interested, watch for lenses for sale in the coming weeks and months.

In 2010, I must learn to promote. Of course I know the basics, but I must draw up a plan and discipline myself to stick with it. As well as some of my lenses produced during the Christmas sales season with virtually no promotion on my part, it pains me to think of the sales I missed because I hadn't spent time promoting them in the preceding months. There's no reason I can't have a Christmas month (or close to it) every month, and that is the goal. Blog posts, articles, and forum participation must become priorities this year if I'm serious about improving my bottom line.

In all of the focusing and promoting, a huge and very important part will be contributing to the Squidoo community. I hope you will stick with me here on the blog and that I'll be able to provide you with information and tips that will help you reach your 2010 goals as well.

Happy New Year to all, and to all a focused and profitable year with Squidoo and all the possibilities that spring from it!