Look Familiar?

Got my shirt.  Look familiar?

Check the right sidebar.  See it?

You can get one, too. Right here.

Poke the Box for a Buck!

The other day I wrote about Seth Godin's new book, Poke the Box, coming out on March 1st. 

Well, HEADS UP!  The price of the Kindle version of the book is now $1 (that's one dollar - one buck) if you preorder before March 1st when the price goes back up.

If you didn't order your copy yet, do it today before you forget!  If you don't have Kindle, no problem!  Just get one of the free Kindle reading apps here.  I'm sure you have one of the platforms for which they're available, including the one you're reading this on right now.

Go, do it!  Poke The Box.

How to Start a Blog

I think most readers of this blog already have a blog of their own, but in case you don't, here's a page I just found that gives a good overview of how to start a blog on blogger.

The "How to create a blog with blogger" video that you'll find linked on that page is 2 minutes long and, while ever so slightly out of date, is a very good overview.

If you don't have a blog yet, I'd highly recommend you get one started.  A blog is a good place to post your new Squidoo lenses in order to provide a backlink.  I don't necessarily recommend a blog just to post your lenses.  Instead, start a personal blog or a business blog and add posts occasionally (once or twice a week is good) to share interesting, related information about what you like personally or what you do professionally, including your new lens links.  Consider the purpose of your blog before you give it a name and consider a name that reflects your "brand."  In fact, if you're going to use your name online, might as well grab the URL for your name and use that for your blog.

Not sure what else to write about?  Holidays like today (President's Day in the U.S.) are a great excuse for a blog post.  For example,  here's my post for today on my personal blog.

Checking out other people's blog is a really good way to get ideas for your own.  Do you have a blog?  Feel free to leave the link on a comment below so we can take a look.  If you don't, click here to learn how to start a blog today!

Will You Poke the Box?

Most of you probably know that Seth Godin is the founder of Squidoo. He also is the author of a dozen bestselling books. His new one, Poke The Box, will be out March 1st.

Last night I saw the book's complete cover for the first time. It's different, but so is Seth.

What I love is the description on the flap of the book cover, starting with, "When is the last time you did something for the first time?"

Well, do you remember when you did?

The description just gets better from there. I would encourage you to read it. Read how Seth defines our position in the world. Maybe it's just me, but I find those words intriguing and very inspiring. In fact, I've read that whole section several times and keep going back to it, wondering about my position in the world and what uniqueness I have yet to contribute.

If you like what you read on the cover, consider ordering the book. You can find it here.  (The Kindle edition is currently the best price and remember, you don't have to have a Kindle to read Kindle books. You can download one of the free reading apps for PC, Mac, or most smart phones and read it in any (or all) of those places. The free reading apps are here.)

And if you do buy the book, come back in early March after you read it and let me know what you've decided to instigate or provoke. There's going to be a lot of that going on, so you'd might as well be part of it!

Speaking of Squidoo Video Tutorials

Yesterday I posted a video tutorial that I made about lensrolling on Squidoo. Today, I'd like to point you to The Official Squidoo Channel on YouTube.

Topics covered by the Squid Staff so far include how to send a Squidcast, how to sign up for Squidoo, how to use the Zazzle module, an explanation and demonstration of Squidoo sidebar widgets, and more.  

If you're among those who like to learn by watching video demonstrations, then you might want to subscribe to Squidoo's YouTube channel.  Consider subscribing to my channel, too, so you don't miss my "learn to Squidoo" video tutorials as they're added.  Even if you don't want to subscribe, I strongly recommend that you open an account on YouTube to claim your online brand name - before somebody else does (it happens).  Then let me know when you make your first video to use on a lens on Squidoo!

How and Why to Lensroll Lenses on Squidoo

This video shows you, step by step, how to lensroll a lens on Squidoo.



For more information, check out this lens.

Which way do you prefer learning, from a video or from reading an explanation on a lens?  Please let me know in a comment below!

New Themes on Squidoo!

I'm tickled pink about the latest new themes on Squidoo.

There are four of them, announced here with samples linked here.

My Think Pink lens has been waiting for years for the bubblegum pink theme and I'm very happy with the way it looks.  

Next task will be to go through my list of lenses and see if any others might be candidates for an easy face lift.  I like the timing - pink in time for Valentine's Day and all the rest just ahead of spring cleaning and spruce-up time!

What do you think?  Like the new themes?  Which is your favorite?  Leave a comment to let us know.

How to Sell Expensive Items on Squidoo

Someone asked me yesterday how to write a lens about an item that is higher priced but still affordable so they could increase their income from Squidoo.  Thought I'd share my answer here.

The simple answer is that you write about expensive items the exact same way you write about lower priced items. You provide the UUU (useful, updated, unique) content but choose a higher priced item that people actually buy.  To find one, go to Amazon.com and look at the bestsellers in the categories that you like writing about. Find a higher priced item that appeals to you, research it, and make a lens about it.

A fact I try to remember is this: Just because I can't afford it doesn't mean nobody can afford it. If it's a bestseller on Amazon, that means people are buying it - so somebody can afford it! I couldn't afford a Kindle when they first came out, but it appealed to me so I researched it, wrote about it, provided what at that time was very unique information about it, and I sold enough of them through my lenses that I could afford to buy one for myself!  No reason you can't choose any other popular item and do the same thing.

Keep your lens very oriented to that one particular item, make the information worthwhile (useful), put your own spin on it (unique) and people will find your lens. The method isn't foolproof, but you have nothing to lose by choosing an expensive item to promote. If it doesn't work, try it again.  If it does work, by all means try it again and watch your income grow! 

Do you sell expensive items on Squidoo?  I'd love to hear about your experience in a comment below. 

Discouraged With Your Progress on Squidoo?

If you get discouraged with your progress on Squidoo (we all do sometimes, don't we?) read this advice which I offered to a new lensmaster today on the SquidU forum.  (It did me good to read it after I wrote it.  I hope it helps you, too.)

Set daily goals as well as long-term goals. Write down what you will do each day and when you finish one thing, draw a line through it. Seeing a list with completed tasks each evening is very encouraging.

Devote a portion of your day to Squidoo education, some to promotion and social networking, and some to updating old or making new lenses.

Pace yourself and focus, focus, focus and I think you'll find yourself feeling encouraged more than discouraged with your progress on Squidoo.

Rainbow Fonts - Just Say No!

Oh, my.  I know it's fun to play with color codes and make our lenses look pretty, but I'd like to offer a piece of advice.  Please don't use multiple colors of text on a lens.  If there's a particular, really important piece of text that warrants highlighting, then it maybe, possibly, might be okay to make that text a different color.  But in most cases, in fact in almost all cases, black text on the normal Squidoo lens background is perfectly sufficient and much easier to read - all the way down the page. 

That's all I'm going to say about that. 

What do you think?  Am I right or just being a cranky baby boomer? 

Squidoo Quick Tip: Celebrity Birthdays

If you have a Squidoo lens about a celebrity or other public figure, or even a historical character, include their age and date of birth on the lens.  People often google, "How old is" so-and-so and if you have a lens about their so-and-so, your lens might just show on the search results.

Consider using a countdown module for the birthday, too, but keep a record on your calendar so you can update the counter each year on the appropriate day.

That's today's Squidoo quick tip.

P.S.  Happy 7th birthday, Kaitlyn Maher!

A Lesson on Lensrank

One of the things you have to learn to understand Squidoo is the language. "Lensrank" (or lens rank) is a term that you'll hear a lot and it's important to understand what it means.

Simply put, lensrank is where your lens ranks compared to all the 1.8 million (and climbing) lenses on Squidoo. The lower the number, the better. In other words, a lensrank of 1 is the very best and the rank that everyone strives for but few achieve.

So, how is lensrank calculated? Good question! The answer is a closely guarded Squidoo secret, but we do know some of the factors that affect lensrank. Traffic, or the number of visits to a lens, is a big factor. Fresh content, or how recently the lens has been updated, is clearly a huge factor. Record the lensrank on one of your lenses then give it a quick update by replacing dead links with good ones, adding a poll or a picture, or even simply rewording a paragraph. Then check lensrank for that lens the next day and see how it has improved. You might be very surprised at the result.

Another important factor in lensrank is the number of clickouts a lens gets. Make sure that when a visitor to your lens is finished reading that they have someplace to go next. Yes, they can click on an ad or on one of the related lenses that Squidoo provides for them on the right sidebar, but wouldn't it be better if they went to, say, one of your own related lenses that you've featured in the body of the lens? Or, better yet, to an Amazon or eBay link that you've provided where they can buy something? The back button doesn't count as a clickout, so make it a practice to provide links for your readers to use to move forward as they read your lens.

If a visitor to your lens does click on one of those product links that you've provided and makes a purchase, that counts as a sale for your lens. Sales, too, are part of the lensrank calculation. So are "likes" or "thumbs up" ratings that the lens receives. When you visit a lens, be courteous and rate it with a thumbs up (assuming you like it). That helps the lensmaster who, in turn, may just visit your lens and help you.

Some of the factors in lensrank must be earned along your Squidoo journey. That includes purple stars (which used to be awarded to Giants only, but now anyone can earn a purple star for an outstanding lens), Squidangel blessings (Squidangels patrol Squidoo looking for great lenses to "bless" with a special boost), and boosts that all Giant Squids automatically receive for their lenses. To earn Giant Squid status, you must make 50 great lenses and then apply for the Giants program. Your lenses will be evaluated and, if they are deemed truly great, you will be awarded Giant Squid status and all of your lenses will benefit from it.

There are other factors involved in calculating lensrank, including the social activity on Squidoo that we talked about yesterday. Since part of your earning potential on Squidoo is based on the rank of your lenses, keep all of these things in mind when planning and writing your lenses. Make time to update lenses on a regular basis, and reevaluate your lenses periodically with improving lensrank in mind to see what you might add, delete, or change that could help move your pages on Squidoo up the lensrank ladder.

For more information on lensrank, check out this lens, and this one. To see the top 100 lenses on Squidoo by lensrank, look here.

How about you?  What do you do to help improve your lensrank?  Tips are always appreciated!

Getting Social on Squidoo and What It Can Do For You

There are a lot of reasons to be social on Squidoo. By being social, I mean doing such things as visiting other people's lenses, joining fan clubs, leaving comments on lenses and on lensmaster pages, and participating on the SquidU forum. If you aren't doing those things, here's why you should.

Participation on Squidoo unlocks privileges. Leaving comments or voting in polls on lenses will help you earn points. The more points you earn, the higher your level will climb and the more privileges you will unlock. For instance, when you first open an account on Squidoo you do not have access to certain templates and even certain modules within Squidoo. As you earn points from making lenses, leaving comments,"liking" lenses, participating in polls on other people's lenses, etc., those templates, modules, and a number of other privileges become available.

Participation on the SquidU forum leads to more traffic for your lenses, which leads to higher lensrank and more visibility for your lenses. As you become active in conversations on the forum and people get to know you, they're going to want to check out your lenses. The more noticeable your presence, the more likely it becomes that people will find your lenses, join your fan club, leave comments, participate in your polls and leave comments in your guestbooks, and rate your lenses. That extra traffic and subsequent interaction with your lenses results in better lensrank.

As your lensrank improves as a result of more traffic from people ON Squidoo, search engines begin to notice the attention to your lenses. This ultimately results in greater respect for your lenses by the search engines, leading to higher visibility of your lenses in search results and, thus, more traffic from people OFF Squidoo. Getting traffic from the search engines, of course, is your ultimate goal.

Oh, and did I mention that social interaction is tracked on Squidoo and is part of lensrank calculation? That's a fact.

Can you see how spending even 10 minutes a day interacting with other lensmasters and their lenses is a good investment of your time? Your lenses benefit in so many ways. Besides, you'll meet some of the smartest and friendliest people in the world on Squidoo. It's true!

How about you. Are you social on Squidoo?

Traffic on Squidoo: It's All About UUU

Probably the most-asked question on Squidoo is, "How can I get people to look at my lenses?"

There's a very short e-book with the answer. It's known as the UUU book, "Unique, Useful, and Updated: Three Secrets to Web Traffic." Its author is none other than bestselling author and famous internet marketing expert Seth Godin, who happens to be the inventor of Squidoo.

Before you do another thing on Squidoo (or your first thing on Squidoo if you're new) I suggest that you download and read the UUU book. It only has 13 pages and some of them have pictures, so it won't take long to read. Read it through once, then go back and read it again and click on its links to see the examples that Seth uses to demonstrate his points.

Memorize UUU. Not the book, the letters and what they mean. (Or the book if you really want to.) Write it down and tape it to your wall or computer screen so that when you make a lens - no, before you make a lens - you'll see it and apply Seth's advice.

Trust me on this one. It'll be worth your time.

Click here for the book.

Squidoo Policy Changes and How They Might Affect You

There are a couple of recent Squidoo policy changes that pertain to everyone but are especially important for those of us with existing lenses.

First, the Intro module MUST contain at least 200 characters, so be sure your intro text is long enough! The intro must also contain a picture. IF YOU EDIT AN OLD LENS and the intro is too short when you hit "publish," the lens will revert to unpublished.  You'll get a message that your intro module is too short and you'll have to fix it. However, when you fix it and publish again, lensrank will start all over, which means your first lensrank will likely be in the millions. Since Squidoo ad pay is based on average lensrank for the month, even if the lens previously ranked in the top payout tier (from 1 to 2000), your average likely will be shot and you probably won't get that top tier payout. So be careful when you edit your lenses and check the length of that intro module!

The second policy change is that lenses may contain no more than 10 Amazon modules and five eBay modules. If you have existing lenses with more, don't worry because those old lenses are grandfathered into this policy; however, when you edit one of those lenses you won't be able to add any more of those modules, so just keep that in mind.  For new lenses, though, no one is exempt from this policy so plan accordingly.

To keep updated on important changes within Squidoo and how they might affect you, subscribe to the SquidBlog and visit the SquidU forum regularly.