New Giant Squid Challege Supports Baby Squids

'Way back when I was working to become a member of the second-ever class of giant Squids, the only support we had was an occasional "You can do it!" on the SquidU forum. We supported each other, of course, but there were no small groups and no organization. Wow, has time changed things!

Now, with the help of the Giant Squid Organizers and an ever-growing team of Giant Squid Challenge Group Leaders, baby Squids have so much support! There's a Ning group, countless challenges and competitions, and group chats. Now you can also subscribe to Giant Squid Tips on Twitter to get daily quick tips and assignments that will help you swim your way to Giant Squiddom in no time!

The new Giant Squid Challenge will be starting soon. Learn all about it on this lens and don't be shy about getting involved no matter how many, or how few, lenses you have. I promise, you'll be glad you did.

Have Your Morning Coffee With Squidoo

To paraphrase a song, making your way on Squidoo today takes everything you've got. Well, maybe not everything, but it's important to take a few minutes on a regular basis to keep updated with what's happening with Squidoo and in the Squidoo community.

The place to visit if you want everyone on Squidoo to know your name is the SquidU.com forum, and the place to start is Kimberly's Morning Coffee. It's the newest section of the forum from which Squidoo's Community & Charity Organizer SquidooKimberly (aka Kimberly Dawn Wells) plans to update the community on a daily-ish basis with the latest goings-on. The best part is that, unlike with the Squidoo blog, you can join in on the conversation and interact there with Kimberly and other members of the community.

If you have specific requests for lens reviews or you want to introduce yourself or if you need help with a problem you're having with a module, or anything else of a specific nature, make sure to post in the proper area on SquidU, but make it a habit to join Kimberly sometime during the day to share her morning coffee.

Bring your own croissant.

Cheers!

Awesome eBay Module Sale

It isn't mine, but a visitor to one lucky lensmaster's lens clicked through an eBay module link, signed up as a buyer on eBay, bid and bought . . .

Should I tell you or make you look? I think I'll make you look. It's worth the visit to the forum.

Here.

My Trip to the Circus

I had a great time on AuctionWally and Phaedra's Selling Circus podcast last nght!

Here's some of what AuctionWally had to say about the visit:

"Do you Squidoo? Well if you do, or you want to, or want to find out what exactly Squidoo is and why all the buzz, then this episode is one you’ll need to listen to, because we were lucky enough to interview Susan the Giant Squid!

"Susan share her expertise on the Squidoo blogging platform and was a fantastic wealth of knowledge on the subject. Thanks Susan!"

Read more here.

Or listen to the episode right here:


Thank you, Walt and Phaedra, for your hospitality!

Giant Squid Joins the Circus

Contrary to popular rumor, giant squid Susan52 is not being auctioned off tonight by Auction Wally. But she will be talking about Squidoo and answering questions from Wally and his co-host, Phaedra, during The Selling Circus podcast at TalkShoe Radio.

She also promises not to talk about herself in the third person, if you promise to tune in. That's tonight, Monday, September 14th, 8:00 eastern, 7:00 central, 6:00 mountain, and 5:00 Pacific.

If you like what you hear or want to learn more, join Susan52 as she teaches about Squidoo in a live, one-hour class coming up Thursday night, September 24th. Reserve your seat today to Learn Squidoo from the Giant Squid.

What Makes a Great Lens?

The question comes up often: What makes a great Squidoo lens?

Today it came up again in the SquidU forum, asked by lensmaster TheMedievalNun. She received some great responses. Here's mine:

Reading the lenses that Robin (rms) suggested is a great place to start. I would also suggest visiting and rating lots of lenses; it doesn't take long to recognize bad lenses, good lenses, and really good lenses. Then do what the really good lensmasters do!

As for what I think is a "great" lens, I like to see original content and interesting, useful information that is laid out in a way that flows and makes sense. I don't like extra modules that have nothing to do with the topic, and I don't like an over-the-top amount of graphics (though I know that "over the top" is in the eye of the beholder). And, of course, default module headers are a definite no-no.

I agree totally with what Paul (pkmcr) said above. It's always encouraging when people ask and genuinely want to know what they might need to do to improve their lenses. It's so easy to get stuck in a lensmaking rut, digging yourself into a hole of mediocrity. Interesting that so often it's the people who ask for help that are already making high-quality lenses. By glancing at a few of your lenses, Nun, I'd say you fall into that latter category. Congratulations!

Somebody On Squidoo

I love people who ask questions, and I especially love when they apply the answers and advice they're given. And when they pour their hearts and souls into what they do, too, by golly what's not to love?

I know a new lensmaster like that. She's curious, she's teachable, she's a great writer, and now (I think she'll agree) she's hooked on Squidoo!

She's lensmaster strayspay, aka Carol, and she's our current featured "Squidoo Somebody." I hope you'll take a few minutes to read more about Carol, then visit her lenses and say hello.

P.S. If you'd like to learn more about how to Squidoo and what Squidoo can do for you and your business, consider signing up for our LIVE online "Learn to Squidoo" class, scheduled for September 24, 2009. Learn more HERE or reserve your seat now!

Nancy Hellams Queen of Squidoo Day

If there's one person on all of Squidoo who loves her hometown, it's Nancy Hellams, aka lensmaster Ohme, and local friends and folks have definitely noticed.

Nancy has created over 30 Squidoo lenses about her hometown of Pendleton, South Carolina, labeling herself a SAPP, or self-appointed Pendleton promoter. She writes about local history and landmarks as well as provides a directory on Squidoo of Pendleton's local businesses and goings-on. If there's something you want to know about Pendleton, just visit one of Ohme's many lenses.

To show their appreciation for her dedication, the mayor and town council of Pendleton recently honored Nancy, proclaiming September 8, 2009, "Nancy Hellams, Queen of Squidoo Day," surprising her with roses, a crown, a banner and a scepter as well as the official proclamation.

Nancy's sister, lensmaster Joan4, documented the event in her lens about "Queen OhMe." Congratulations to her majesty, Queen Nancy!

Squidoo Plus All Things Zazzle Equals a Great Podcast

This past Monday I had the pleasure, along with fellow lensmaster stargazer00 (Dianne), to be a guest on the Giant Squid Open Mike podcast at Blog Talk Radio to discuss "All Things Zazzle." Co-host Joan Adams had read my blog post about How to Make Money With Zazzle Links on Your Lenses and invited the two of us to discuss that topic.

What a blast and what a positive response we've had to the show! Zazzle has been very popular on Squidoo for some time, but it seems that this interview has resulted in more activity from active "SquiZazzlers" and, I am happy to say, has encouraged more Squidoo-ers to open their own Zazzle stores. Giant Squid Open Mike co-host Kate Loving Shenk is among those new Zazzlers and I think I can safely say that she is hooked. (Here's her new Zazzle gallery lens.)

If you'd like to learn more about Zazzle and how to use it on Squidoo, listen to the replay of the podcast from August 31, 2009. I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed presenting it. (You can see Dandy's eyes in my Zazzle gallery, here.)

Listen to Giant Squid Openmike on Blog Talk Radio

Get More Traffic from the New Squidoo GreetBox

Greetings! If you've been around Squidoo awhile you might have noticed a recent drop in referral traffic to your lenses from within Squidoo. Some of that traffic used to come from links on other, related lenses. With the lens layout changes from a couple of months ago, those Squidoo-generated links ceased to exist.

Where did they come from in the first place? They were a result of a lensmaster's opting in to the Discovery Tool, which is found on a tab in every lens's intro module. The tab is still there and, I'm happy to report, the Discovery Tool is now working again, although in a different way.

Click on the Discovery Tool tab for any lens and you'll see space for three different lens URL's. It's up to you to provide links there (if you want to) to lenses related to your own. Naturally you're going to want to include your own lenses, or you can choose somebody else's lens.

So what happens to those links? With today's introduction of the GreetBox on Squidoo, when someone finds your lens by way of a search engine and clicks through, they will see your lens but with a GreetBox at the top. The new, non-logged-in-to-Squidoo visitor will be greeted and provided with links to three lenses that, in case your page doesn't actually provide what they were looking for, they can visit instead. While this may sound like an invitation to exit your lens, well, in a way it is. Squidoo wants to provide what the searcher was looking for and if your lens doesn't fit the bill, the visitor can either hit the "back" button - or he can choose one of those three lenses instead of yours. I vote for the latter choice, wouldn't you? Let's keep our visitors on Squidoo!

If you'd like for one or more of those three alternate lens choices to be your lenses, then make sure you opt in to the discovery tool and provide related links. That's the good news. The better news is that if you do opt in (and all of your lenses should already default to the opt in), your lens just might appear as a related link on somebody else's lens. However if you opt out, don't expect traffic from anyone else's GreetBox because your lens won't be eligible to appear there.

The GreetBox is in an experimental stage on Squidoo right now. Read more about this exciting new traffic tool on the Squidoo blog.

Expose Yourself On Amazon.com

If you're an e-business owner then you're probably looking for traffic. Have you considered exposing yourself and your business on Amazon.com?

If you're an Amazon seller or shopper you've probably noticed customer reviews on many of the items for sale there. Have you written any reviews? If you've purchased an item from Amazon you've probably received an email from the company asking you to leave a review and rate the product. Actually, you don't have to have even purchased an item from Amazon to leave a review. Many people who buy items elsewhere and either love or hate them add their product reviews on the Amazon website. Have you?

If you haven't, you're missing out on some great exposure. But before you head to your favorite products, look for the "Your Account" link at the top right of any Amazon.com page. From there, scroll down to "Personalization" where you'll find a "Your Public Profile" link. On that page you can add your nickname, upload a picture, talk a little bit about yourself, and even leave a link to your website. It's that last part you should get excited about. Include the link you want people to see first, your home page link, blog link, or even your Squidoo profile page link.

Once you've completed and saved your profile, start writing product reviews, maybe a couple a day. Be honest by reviewing based on first-hand knowledge of books or appliances or shoes or computers or golf clubs or gadgets you've actually used and, preferably, own. Be specific in your reviews in order to make them useful for shoppers evaluating items for purchase; those same people will rate your review as useful or not and the most useful reviews rise to the top and are more likely to be read.

There's no guarantee that someone will click through on your name in the review to look at your profile, but as a shopper I know that I've done so and I would expect someone, sometime, to click through on my name as well.

By contributing to the Amazon shopping community with product reviews, you may end up exposing yourself and your business to your next biggest customer.

Good idea? I think so. What do you think?

P.S. Use good keywords in your reviews. You do know that product reviews show up in search engines, right?

Lens of the Day is Back

Did you know it was missing?

If you're new to Squidoo, you might have never noticed a lens of the day (LOTD). In the busyness of all the changes and activities going on at Squidoo recently, the task of choosing and writing about a LOTD, every day, sort of fell by the wayside. No problem. Everyone needs a vacation.

But now it's back and I hope you're paying attention.

I believe in learning something new every day and LOTD makes that task easy-peasy. Make it a habit to look on your dashboard page, at the bottom of the left-hand column, every single day for a new lens of the day. Click and take a look at the lens and think about why it might have been given the LOTD honor. Then read the corresponding entry on the Lens of the Day blog for Megan or Kimberly's write-up about the lens. Does that assessment match yours? Do you agree or disagree? Did you see a module you've never used before? Was there something else about the way the lens was crafted that you could apply to your lensmaking? Did you meet a lensmaster you hadn't yet met? Did you learn something new?

Whether you agree or disagree with the LOTD choice or subject matter, always take something away from the lens or the blog, something you can apply in your life as a lensmaster. It's those little daily lessons that will, in the end, make your lenses better and, perhaps someday, worthy of a lens of the day honor.

How to Make Money with Zazzle Links on Your Lenses

Are you familiar with Zazzle? They're a print-on-demand place (like Cafepress) where it's easy (and f-ree) to sign up and make your own items or you can join as an affiliate and sell other people's items. There is also a Zazzle module that you can use on your Squidoo lenses. Before you do that, though, read on.

You should know that because Zazzle is unable to track by lens where links from Squidoo come from, if you use the Zazzle module you will NOT make any money from it unless your module displays your own Zazzle products. It's great to promote other people's items, but why not do it in such a way that you earn some money, too? Here's how.

Join Zazzle as an affiliate then when you need a great bumper sticker or t-shirt or apron or button or mouse pad or tote bag (for example) for a lens, log in to Zazzle and find one there. To display it on your lens, use a text module. Look below the Zazzle product description for "Link" and click there. Highlight the code under option 2 to display the picture as you see it on that page. The size is perfect for use in a text module. Paste that code into the text module. Now, Squidoo doesn't like the <> part of the code, so the easiest thing to do is save the module and let Squidoo strip that code out, or just remove it yourself if you're comfortable doing so. Then, if you want to center the picture, open the module again and put a "center" tag on it. Now save it and the picture and text below it will be centered. The link will also contain your affiliate ID so when someone clicks through and makes a purchase, you will get the commission.

You can read more details on Zazzle.com about how the affiliate program works. Note that if you have a Zazzle store and you display and sell your own item on your lens using the method described above, you will receive both the affiliate and the personal mark-up on that item, which adds up to a good chunk of change!

Try Zazzle for your lenses. I recommend it!

P.S. Whenever you post your Zazzle link, make sure you put the * at the end so you'll earn the affiliate commission, like this: http://www.Zazzle.com/susan52z*

How To Become Somebody on Squidoo

There's so much for a newbie Squidoo lensmaster to learn. I advise sticking with the basics when making your first several lenses, becoming familiar with the modules, how to work with them, and what they do. As you're getting to know your way around Squidoo, though, remember that other lensmasters will want to get to know you.

One of the best ways to help others get to know you is by writing a great biography for your lensmaster profile page and for your lenses. Then add a picture. Use a real-life picture or an avatar that you're going to want people to connect with you, your lenses, and your online presence in the future. Brains recognize and associate pictures to people at a glance, even when they have to think before they recall your name.

When you set up your Squidoo profile, make sure to enable the "contact" button. You may be surprised that seasoned lensmasters will want to contact you to offer advice or to give you a heads up on, say, a dead link or other issue with a lens. Don't worry; Squidoo won't share your email address.

Next step is to begin interacting with the Squidoo community by leaving comments on lenses and by frequenting the SquidU forum. Once you've introduced yourself there, feel free to ask for a critique of your first lens.

Follow these easy steps and before you know it, other lensmasters will begin recognizing you and calling you by name. To learn more, read and apply the advice on Are you a Squidoo Nobody? How to Become a Squidoo Somebody in 6 Easy Lessons.

It's about time you became Somebody on Squidoo!

The Importance of Categories on Squidoo

If you're already a lensmaster on Squidoo, you may not visit the Squidoo.com page very often. If you haven't seen it lately, go take a look. Currently gracing the gateway to Squidoo is a collection of lists of the top five lenses in each of 27 categories. Each of those lists also has a "more" button which, when clicked, leads the visitor to the list of the top 100 lenses in that category.

Why is this important to you? Simply because thousands of visitors each day enter Squidoo through that Squidoo.com page and most of them choose to click either a lens name that catches their eye or they choose to further explore a category of interest to them. If you have a lens that ranks high in any of those 27 categories, there is a much greater chance that a visitor to Squidoo.com is going to find your lens.

Note that there are actually 32 categories in which to place your lenses. If you have a lens in a category that isn't listed, the odds of someone finding that lens through Squidoo's front door is drastically reduced.

Before you make a change to your category choices, though, consider other factors. If a lens's traffic is already good, recategorizing it might prove to be a mistake. Also, some categories contain a lot more lenses than others, thus making it more difficult to land a spot in the top 100, let alone the top five. Of course if you do change the category on a lens and placement when lensrank updates next time proves to be poor, you can always change it back.

Switching categories on Squidoo is just one way to fine tune a lens, but it's a good option to consider. Just keep in mind the old idiom: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.