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.

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.