February Greetings & Goal Review Time

Happy February everyone! 

I hope Punxsutawney Phil's forecast holds true for all of us and we have a nice, early Spring.  It's a beautiful day here today, nice and sunny with temps that aren't bad for February.  I don't mind winter when it looks this nice!

I just reviewed the list of goals that I wrote at the end of December.  Some are going well, but I'm behind on others and need to make some adjustments this month as well as do some catching up.  How about you?  Have you reviewed your goals for the month and year?  It's a good time to measure progress and re-focus if necessary.  I'd love to hear how others are doing.

If you have lenses that need some love, feel free to post them on my Facebook page. There's a thread started for helping WIP lenses get out of the basement so add yours anytime then visit someone else's to pay the love forward this month.

Time to update Spring lenses, too, and Squidoo has a pretty green theme for Gift Guide lenses categorized for St. Patrick's Day and Easter.

So, what's new with you this fine February?  Care to share?

Image Source

Squidoo Springs Into the Green

Just in time for Easter and St. Patrick's Day (not necessarily in that order - actually in just the opposite order) Squidoo has unwrapped a new cover for Celebrate magazine - and this time it's in the green!

For all of our St. Patrick's Day and Easter gift guide-categorized lenses, you'll now see those with a fresh and pretty green background (the picture here shows just a hint).

If you want your spring holiday-seasoned lenses to appear in Celebrate, just re-categorize them in a Gift Guide category for either of those two holidays and your lens will end up looking a whole lot like this one.  (Unless you opt out, which you can do in your lens workshop.)

Bet I can find a few more of my lenses that would fit into those categories.  How about you?  Feel free to drop a link in our comments section below!

Squidoo is In the Pink!

Welcome to Valentine's Day on Squidoo!  Yep, no time like the first week of January to get started on those Valentine's lenses!  (Here's one of mine.)

Have Valentine pages to update?  When you do, consider adding them to the Gift Guide category and choosing a Valentine's Day topic.  That choice will give you the gorgeous pink and red Celebrate theme, just released for Valentine's Day.  I love seeing Squidoo in the pink!

Unsure about joining Celebrate magazine?  Would 3.7 million pageviews over Christmas sway you?  It's up to you, but there are advantages to including your lenses in the magazine.  When you do, make sure you've updated each Valentine's lens with a great, square intro photo as well as a nice, big picture in the body of the lens to give it a better chance of being featured on Celebrate's front page.

What's your favorite Valentine's Day lens?  Feel free to share it in a comment below or on Susan52 on Squidoo's Facebook page. 

XOXOXO, everyone!

Why It's Okay to Make a Sales Lens

It isn't unusual for new lensmasters to worry about making "sales" lenses.  I know because I was one of those people who just wasn't sure why anyone would want to listen to me telling them what's best to buy. 

But I was looking at the subject the wrong way.  When I turned it around and put myself in the position of the shopper rather than the seller, then I remembered how appreciative I am, when I'm shopping online, to find a legitimately good product review or gift guide. 

When my outlook changed, then I became comfortable recommending products to people.  While I've made my share of awful lenses with product after product (the type of lenses that don't deserve the trust of a shopper) I finally learned to be a product reviewer, a personal shopper, a gift guide author who provides great customer service - instead of a salesperson who really doesn't care.

So if you're worried about making a "sales" lens, make a gift guide lens instead.  Research the products you present, anticipate and answer shoppers' questions, and provide a much-needed service.  This year the number of online shoppers is projected to be even higher than last year's huge number.  No doubt many of those folks will be looking for information so they can make good buying decisions.  Be their personal shopper.  Write your gift guides with real people in mind.  Pretend you're shopping with your best friend, providing advice and expert information to help her choose the best gifts.  Picture her smiling in the checkout line knowing that you, the Gift Guide, helped make her shopping - and buying - experience a good one.

Now, isn't that a great feeling? 

For more information, read 5 Tips for Creating a Niche Gift Guide.