Archive for October, 2008

So a FLOOD of the same question came in today after I promoted Info Product Killer on my Tiffany Dow blog. The question on everyone’s mind was, “Does Info Product Killer work on Squidoo?”

I understand them wanting to know - who wants to buy domains and use code to build a website? Well first of all, I got a template with my purchase of Info Product Killer - so that took care of the tech dummy issue. I got domains from godaddy that were 99 cents - the dot info domains. The way he teaches this, I don’t think a dot com is a necessity.

So now comes my challenge: I decided I’m going to expose my products and my success but NOT the formula I’m using to achieve success because then that’s not fair to the product owner who created this wonderful system.

I own the following domains for the project:

Christmas Top Toys

Elmo Live Sesame - This is the one I started with before I READ through his course and WATCHED the videos - I got ahead of myself. So this is the only one partially complete so far and it didn’t use his template but I DO have another niche running with a domain I’ll not mention here because it doesn’t have anything to do with this Christmas connection.

WowWee Dragonfly

Furreal Biscuit

Bakugan Battle Brawlers 6 Pack

Just now, I registered the following Squidoo lens URLs:

Christmas Top Toys

Elmo Live Sesame

WowWee Dragonfly

Furreal Friends Biscuit: Okay this sucks - they were all identical in creation to the domain names except for the Furreal Biscuit domain. Someone had already taken that lens URL so I added the word Friends in the middle. Oh well, it’s close. The rest are identical to my dot info domains.

Bakugan Battle Brawlers 6 Pack

Right now I have one page on my Elmo site - that’s it. But I have content I’m ready to add to it - just going to hand it over to my husband so I can work on other stuff while he uploads and hyperlinks.

Now I’m going to work on them at the same time - I have an Elmo page so I’ll create my elmo lens. Since my domain can have pages linking to it, I won’t have that - I could - I could do a lens for each keyword, but I won’t. I’ll add a module instead because that’s how I roll - the lazy girl’s way

Stay tuned!
Tiff

I have some people arguing with me that a good lens can’t take 30 minutes. Oh yes it can. But a STELLAR lens - the kind that gets Lens of the Day and makes people swoon in amazement over your vast powers as a lensmaster - will take longer, yes.

The difference is content.

I can whip up a good introduction of 250 words that covers the basics of my topic, plus two more 250-word text modules that cover two more fine details (about a page 1/2 total of writing) in less than 15 minutes. Faster if I use my Dragon Naturally Speaking software (like 4 minutes).

But with a stellar lens, I cover everything I know. I become the authority on the matter. With good lenses, I’m showing value and expertise but funneling that traffic through Squidoo and on to my other domains (or affiliate links) so that THEY can represent me as the authority figure.

For example:

A Good lens might be “How to Squidoo” and I would give an introduction about what Squidoo is and why it’s good to use. I would then add a text module that talked about how easy it was to use, then another text module showcasing my Squidoo eBook. I would link out in each text module to my eBook site.

The writing would be good, I would tag it properly, and it would have relevant images. But MY domain would be the authority on the topic.

A Stellar lens on “How to Squidoo” would have the exact same elements as above but it would have these additional text modules:

How to register for your free Squidoo account
How to claim your first lens URL
How to tag a lens within your content
How to choose which modules would go in it, etc.

However, giving away this much information would clamp down on the sales of my eBook that teaches How to Squidoo - because I’ve parlayed my expertise on the lens itself. Of course, I could always give some information but not all.

Here’s an example of a good lens:http://www.squidoo.com/christmastoy - it has a good amount of content - an intro and two additional text modules with images.

Here’s an example of a stellar lens: http://www.squidoo.com/toptoddlertoys - it’s stellar because it goes into far more detail. Instead of just a broad description of toys I got into detail and wrote about educational toys, LeapFrog toys, etc.

So make good lenses for your marketing efforts. If you want them to perform extra well, shoot for stellar. Start with a topic that you’re passionate about and make it your first stellar lens. It will spur you on to make more

Tiff

Okay, I admire Squidoo for what they’re trying to do – they’re trying to help a lensmaster out! And I agree, many people need the insight.

But please don’t let the tool rule when you’re making decisions or worrying about how well your lens is. I’ll show you why but first let me direct you to where the Squidoo Health Check is located:

Log into your dashboard and go to the My Lenses tab. When you hover over one of your lenses, you see the links listed directly below – and at the end it’ll say Health. Click that.

I’m going to walk you through the new Squidoo Health check for one of my lenses. This lens is currently #25 on all of Squidoo and #5 in the Shopping Category. I even misspelling the stupid URL when I was creating it but it does so well I didn’t have the heart to fix it once I’d noticed:

http://www.squidoo.com/infanstbabysnailhalloweencostume

Now before we go through the health check let me assure you this lens performs fantastically. I have over 1,200 hits a week, I’ve sold TONS of costumes and other stuff through it using both modules and direct Amazon Associates links, and it has 25 five star ratings!

So let’s see how my lens stacks up and I’ll explain why you shouldn’t worry about their Health check:

Lens Title: “Infant Baby Snail Halloween Costume - Perfect Outfit for a Boy or Girl!”
Needs Work: Whoops. Looks like your title’s got the sniffles. The best title is short and friendly and relevant to your topic. Think of it like a headline on a newspaper. Try a title that is 2-6 words long, and make sure it matches the content of your page.

Tiff’s comments: I beg to disagree. I get searches for baby boy costume and baby girl costume as well as the snail and infant costumes. I got all my keywords in there and it’s a relevant, interesting title that obviously pulls people in!

Lens Intro Title: “Baby Snail Costumes - A New Spin on an Old Trend” Good: Good stuff, Boss.

Tiff’s comments: Why thank you, Squidoo – I knew it was good

Lens intro: 91 words Good: The first impression is important. So your lens introduction is key. Nice work.

Tiff’s comments: To be honest, I was short on content here – how much can you say about an infant baby snail costume? So I normally use 250 words.

Intro photo: “pumpkinspaint” Good: The first good thing is that you have an intro photo uploaded. The next good thing is that the photo file successfully matches your lens title or one of your tags. Nicely done.

Tiff’s comments: I first assumed that the system read the file name to determine if it was relevant, but it must not, because many of my lenses have random file names for the image and it still says good job for relevancy. Anyway, make sure you have an intro image.

Primary Tag: “Baby Halloweeen Costume” Needs Work: Your Primary Tag doesn’t appear to be related to your lens. Either your Primary Tag does not match the content of your lens, or you need to add some more secondary tags to it. This helps people find your lens outside of Squidoo, as well as within Squidoo search. It also helps us find more relevant ads to run on your lens.

Tiff’s comments: Look what I did there: I misspelled Halloween! I used 3 Es – oops! This was a good catch Squidoo. HOWEVER – even AFTER I fixed it, Squidoo still said the same thing! So tell me the infant snail baby Halloween costume is not relevant to Baby Halloween Costume and I’ll eat a worm.

Last Published: 2008-09-16 17:12:31 Needs Work: Your lens hasn’t been updated in over a month. Remember: An fresh lens is a healthy lens. People (search engines too) like to know that they content they find is up to date.

Tiff’s comments: Yeah I know but I’m doing just dandy without it being freshened up.

Star Rating: by 25 people A-OK: Your lens has lots of very good star ratings. Rock-star.

Tiff’s comments: I agree.

Number of Tags: 27 Warning: Your tags need some work. Here’s the tricky part: Too MANY tags, and irrelevant tags, is no good. But only having 1 tag is also no good. Try this: Think of the 5 or 6 best keywords or keyphrases for this lens, and add them to your tag list. Delete the rest. We’re betting that will help.

Tiff’s comments: Talk about confusing! Poor lensmasters see 40 available spots and don’t know what to do. I did about half. Don’t sweat it. Forget tags altogether. I did mine way early on – this was not after I discovered tag pages were nofollow since January 2008.

Traffic (from the last 7 days): LOTS - WOOT! Your lens is on fire. Lots of traffic. Nice work.

Tiff’s comments: Yep!

Backlinks: Okay: - A few other sites (but less than 10) are linking to your lens.

Tiff’s comments: I could probably use this to build more backlinks but I don’t have any off-Squidoo Halloween pages. I could do some article marketing or something.

Module Titles: SquidHealth can’t check your modules automatically right now, but here’s an important tip: Do a quick scan of all your module titles, and make sure you don’t have any with the default text in them, like “New Amazon” or “New Guestbook.” The more you personalize your modules, the better.

Tiff’s comments: I agree with this! I HATE to see a module with the default text in the title. It bugs me. Lol

Point is – I have a nice, thriving lens that’s doing SANfranTASTIC and I got several shoddy health reviews as you can see. So don’t freak out if yours doesn’t show a green light for all of the Squidoo Health elements.

Tiff

The temptation to get some “help” with your Squidoo lens can be overwhelming. After all, you’re working on the lens, or lenses, not to mention your other online entrepreneurial projects.

You only have so much time and creativity after all! Some people have used Squidoo software automation tools to help them build lenses and some say that this is a good way to build lenses quickly and easily.

But there’s a problem with doing this – lenses that are being built this way on Squidoo are being banned! That’s not your goal, right?

Squidoo software tools aren’t provided to you by Squidoo - that’s important to know. You have to pay for them and what they do is this: they look at your keyword and they search the Internet and scrape content from other sites to put onto your lens!

This is really unethical not to mention you wind up with a hot mess on your hands. One customer I know used a keyword “pumpkin” thinking she’d get great Halloween or fall décor items, but she wound up with Pumpkin colored shoes!

Other tools help you find tags for your lens, but as I’ve said before, ever since January 2008, you can forget about using tag pages to rank well in Google – they don’t index the tag pages anymore.

Squidoo software automation tools are most likely not a good investment. You won’t get your money’s worth and you could get your lenses banned, risking your entire Squidoo account – I know I’d be highly irritated if I put in the effort to build a bunch of lenses (Squidoo software of not) and woke up one morning and found them all gone.

A much better alternative is to do your lenses yourself, be creative, use all of the tips and support available to you through Squidoo guides and gain traffic and rank the right way.

If you really need automation – why not try this: Order a lens from myself and Lewis at BuildMyLens.com and then once you take ownership of it, you can mimic what we’ve done as you expand your Squidoo lens empire!

Just say no to Squidoo software!

Tiff

Have you looked at the Squidoo Top 100? If you haven’t yet, you should. The reason is this – the Squidoo Top 100 reveals that top lenses have very little to do with what topic they’re about, and lots to do with how well-created they are.

What does this mean? It means that you need to spend some time, thought and energy in creating a really eye-catching lens that holds the viewer’s interest once their eye is caught!

With the Squidoo Top 100, diversity rules. You won’t find that most of the lenses are about the same general subject matter, so if you have an idea for a lens, but you’re hesitant because you think it’s a little offbeat, don’t worry.

You can create that offbeat lens and make it into the type of lens that gets to the top 100 list, and of course, that’s where everyone wants to be. I’m on there right now with my infant baby snail costume lens – who knew?

Here are some quick tips for making a top 100 lens: use graphics and images, add in polls and discussion modules, and invite comments (encourage viewer participation), review your favorite books, etc. related to your topic (add links for sales), and always keep it fresh – freshen your lens regularly!

Browse the Squidoo Top 100 List here: http://www.squidoo.com/browse/top_lenses and you’ll see topics like Halloween Songs, Stuffed Cabbage (!), Dog Medicine Side Effects, Foot Tattoos, How to Donate Your Hair and much, much more!

Keep on top of your lens, and your lens will end up in the Squidoo Top 100.

As social networking sites go, Squidoo is one of the coolest and best for getting yourself out there and finding lots of others who are interested in the same things as you, and who like to share stories, information, tips and support.

Besides building your own solitary lenses on Squidoo, which is a good thing to do, you can become a member of a Squidoo group or two. Or better yet, you can start your own group on Squidoo!

Here’s how to start your own group on Squidoo: First, click the Groups drop down menu and click on My Groups. Next, you’ll click the Start a Group button. You’ll then be directed through choosing your group URL, title, description, category, etc.

Now you can set up your group lens. First you’ll make a group header – one that fits the style and theme of your group. You can add modules such as featured lens modules and group your modules.

For example, if your group is for gardeners, then you might group them into sub groups like organic gardening, vegetable gardeners, garden designers, etc. Add additional modules that will add to the groups lens like polls and a group discussion area. Don’t forget to invite other lensmasters to join your group!

Once you’ve learned how to start your own group on Squidoo, you might be tempted to start more. They’re fun and create a great place for lensmasters of similar interests to get together and share.

Oh, and here’s another perk: Groups have replaced tag pages as the best way to garner the power of PageRank. All of those lenses that join your group will be pointing to your group page, which you control. Your group page has the ability to gain massive PageRank. You can link out to your own domain from there.

Web 2.0 media mindset still escapes many marketers. You’re trying to tout your products and services on social networking sites, but you haven’t yet realized that it’s not the place for a hard hitting sales pitch.

Peer influence is far more apt to get your consumer to take action than sales copy is. I can read ads all day long about a new restaurant opening up down the street, but I may or may not go unless a trusted friend raves about it.

Here’s how to master peer to peer influence in web 2.0 atmospheres:

1.) On every social networking site, have a profile that conveys you’re a real person. Tell more about yourself than what domains you own. Tell about your home life, your passions, your quirky silly aspects that make you likable.

2.) Don’t be stuffy when you write. I try to hammer this into the brains of all of my eBook guide customers - write with contractions (this means instead of “you are here,” you would write, “you’re here”). It’s just easier to read.

3.) Write to solve problems, not to sell. If you don’t know the difference, then pretend you’ve been hired to write an informational piece for a news magazine. Pretend you don’t have anything to sell. After you’ve completed your writing, THEN go back in and create hyperlinks in your anchor text to the sites where you sell from.

For example - let’s say you want to write a Squidoo lens or Hub Page about dog training because you either have an eBook about it yourself or you’re an affiliate for one. Instead of writing about your PRODUCT, write about dog training problems your prospective buyers will have such as, “How Do I Stop My Puppy from Peeing on the Carpet?” When you finish, hyperlink the words, “puppy potty training” that should be in your text to your website.

4.) Socialize with like-minded people. If parenting is your niche, befriend other parents on the web 2.0 site. Get to know them. Doesn’t take long to post a quick friendly hello - and you should do this kind of growth slowly.

5.) Let your content stew before you include links. I’m gonna throw this out there even though I disagree with it. Some of my customers will tell me they create their web 2.0 pages without one single backlink to that it gets shared more and indexed better. Then they go back in a few weeks later to include backlinks. I would feel like I’d lost potential sales, but it’s important for you to hear all recommendations, not just my personal preferences.

Expand your peer influence in the world of web 2.0 today by following the above tips. You’ll be developing your branding as the go-to person for your niche topic!
Tiff