Multiple Squidoo Accounts: Yes, it’s Legal

One of the discouraging things about Squidoo is that at the moment, there’s no way to organize your lenses in one place. This isn’t a big deal if you only have a few lenses, but when you have 40, 50, 100 of them… well, it gets to be hassle.

The good news is that Squidoo allows you to create multiple user names. Although keeping up with different identities can be a hassle in itself (especially since you need a separate email account for each one), there are advantages to doing this.

A separate account helps brand you as an expert in a particular niche. People who see that you have lenses about everything from baked beans to web design might be a tiny bit doubtful about your expertise. (Not that this automatically prevents lensmasters from being successful!)

It also helps protect your assets. If somebody decides he wants to copy you, having all your lenses in one place makes it easier for him to do it.

I have a few extra accounts now for very specific topics, and it makes me feel a whole lot more organized. When I log into a specific account, I don’t feel overwhelmed. I can get into the right mindset right away. When I look at my main account of over 40 lenses, I get a little lost. I have to hunt around for the lenses I want and figure out which ones I want to mess with.

Not everyone will prefer this strategy, but I’m sure liking it right now.

Tags: multiple accounts

Posted in Squidoo features | 3 Comments »

Keeping your Squidoo Lenses Clear and Focused

If you’ve spent much time glancing at this blog, you know it’s all about Squidoo. So how would you react if you suddenly saw a post here about how to apply lipstick? Maybe you’d read on in the hopes that I’d tie it into Squidoo somehow. But if I didn’t once mention Squidoo, you’d probably be confused. What the heck does lipstick have to do with Squidoo?

Unfortunately, it’s common to see Squidoo lenses that do pretty much the same thing. Say you have a lens about growing roses, but then it shows you a video of a cat playing a piano. Sometimes the problem is more subtle: The lens is titled Southern Fried Chicken Recipes, but it’s really all about Colonel Sanders and the history of KFC.

When people do any kind of research online, they want answers. They’re focused on getting what they want. They don’t want irrelevant junk getting in the way. When you put unrelated content on your lens, you are creating an information obstacle course that will annoy or at least confuse people.

The best lenses usually zero in on a given topic like a laser beam. Think of it this way: Why are Squidoo sites called lenses? The lenses in your glasses give you clear vision. Examine a tiny gemstone under a loupe, and suddenly you see every facet and flaw in perfect detail.

When you create Squidoo lenses, stay on target. Make sure every module and product you promote ties in with your topic. Don’t add misleading or irrelevant content, because that’s like greasy finger prints on your glasses: They just get in the way.

Tags: content

Posted in Lens development | 3 Comments »

Warning about Using Wis.dm to Promote Squidoo Lenses

Wis.dm is a site where you ask questions and wait for people to answer “yes” or “no.” You could ask something as deep as “Do you think God really exists?,” or something as simple as “Do you like socks?”

One of the bonuses for people with Squidoo lenses is that you can include a URL relating to your question. Your site gets a quality backlink, and you possibly get more people checking your site out. Captain Squid suggests using Wis.dm to promote your Squidoo lenses in his Squidoo publishing checklist. (The checklist is very useful, by the way: You can get it by signing up for his newsletter.)

However, not everyone on Wis.dm appreciates seeing Squidoo links. Some of them are convinced that all Squidoo URLs are just spam and ought to be banned. I also received a cutting response to my first question, which of course had a link to a related Squidoo lens.

If you decide to use Wis.dm to promote your Squidoo lenses, tread carefully. Communities get hostile if they think you’re just using their environment to earn money or get quick traffic. You’ll probably do better if you participate without submitting Squidoo lenses all the time.

Tags: wis.dm

Posted in Lens promotion | 3 Comments »

Qassia: Another Way to Promote Your Squidoo Lenses

You want your Squidoo lenses to get traffic, and that generally means you want Google to smile on your creations. One way to get Google to pay extra attention to your Squidoo lenses is by getting links to them. The quickest way to get inbound links is to make ‘em yourself.

Qassia is a brand new network that offers free, unlimited backlinks to your websites. You get backlinks by adding Intel. Wait, wait, what the heck is Intel? It’s Qassia-speak for mini articles. They can be long and academic, or they can be short tidbits of information you’d like to share.

By writing Intels and rating other people’s Intel submissions, you receive credit. The more Qassia credit you earn, the better your websites rank. Your credit, or “Qassia dollars,” gets distributed amongst all the websites you add to your profile. The more credit you earn, the better.

Qassia is completely free, though it’s currently in the beta stage. You’ll have to sign up through an affiliate link. During the month of January, you can earn $100 worth of Qassia credit if you invite someone else to join through your Qassia page.

If you’re looking for another way to give your lenses a little extra boost, why not give Qassia a try?

Tags: backlinks, qassia

Posted in Lens promotion | No Comments »

Squidcasting: A Cool New Tool on Squidoo

I like seeing a good Squidoo lens, but sometimes I like keeping an eye on lensmasters who churn out consistently good or interesting content. I’m curious to know what they’re up to, and it’s been bothering me that I couldn’t “favorite” lensmasters as well as individual lenses.

Well, that’s changed now! Squidoo has made it possible for lensmasters to have their own fan clubs.  Whenever you build a lens or update one, you can send announcements to everyone who decided to join your fan club. This feature is called “Squidcasting.” You could also use Squidcasting to announce contest winners, ask for assistance on a project, and anything else you can think of.

Another great feature is that you can now view and approve pending comments straight from your dashboard. So, if different people comment on your duels and guestbooks, you won’t have to visit each lens to approve them.

I predict that Squidcasting will become a valuable networking tool on Squidoo. You can read more about it on the official SquidBlog.

Tags: squidcasting

Posted in Squidoo features | No Comments »

January 2nd Lens Status

Total Lenses: 27

Highest Ranking Lens: How to Prevent Lost Luggage (42)

Total Earnings: .20 cents (December payout for October’s performance)

Happy new year, everyone!

Posted in My progress | No Comments »

Developed Squidoo Lenses Go WIP?

A few days ago, something on my Squidoo dashboard caught my eye: A few of my lenses no longer had a green check mark next to them. That meant they were considered WIP by Squidoo, or “Works In Progress.”

Officially, lenses with less than 3 modules are considered “unimproved” or WIP.   When a lens is WIP, it doesn’t show up in Squidoo searches or categories. It’s hidden behind a virtual curtain, so search engines aren’t going to be able to find and index it. (Unless you have other websites and blogs linking to it.)

WIP was implemented to help cut down on spam lenses. You know, the junky sites that lack original content and were just tossed up in hopes of snagging some quick traffic or AdSense revenue.
The thing is, my lenses were developed! They should have been OK according on Squidoo’s rules. So what’s going on here?

Well, it turns out that traffic also has a big role in lens rank. The lenses of mine that went WIP weren’t getting any hits, so Squidoo decided not to feature them any more.

Ah, but it’s not even as simple as that. Lensmaster “MnM” claimed to  have lenses that are 300 visitors a week from Yahoo, but none from Google. Yet these thriving lenses were thrown into WIP status. Even after adding more modules and sprucing them up, they sunk lower and lower in rank.

It’s starting to sound like Google traffic plays a huge role in how well a lens does. Then it becomes a Catch-22: You need Google traffic to avoid WIP status, but if you don’t get indexed by Google fast enough, the WIP curtain falls and Google won’t be able to find you through Squidoo.

Tags: google, wip

Posted in Lens development | 3 Comments »

One of My Lenses Was Chosen as Lens of the Day!

Oh my. One of my lenses, How to Prevent Lost Luggage, was selected as a Squidoo Lens of the Day!

No, see, I can prove it: It’s all here on the LoTD blog for the 20th of December.

Wow.

Oh, yeah, visit Lens of the Day! on Squidoo by MrLewisSmile to learn more about what this Lens of the Day stuff is, and get a few tips on how to get one of your Squidoo lenses chosen for this distinction.

Tags: Lens of the Day

Posted in Lens of the Day | No Comments »