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making-money

This Lens Makes Sales: How Can I Make Others Like It?

Jan 1st, 2011
by Greekgeek.
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When it comes to sales lenses, I'm  a newbie. I've been writing on whatever the heck I feel competent and compelled to write about, going with content first and the odd Amazon Spotlight as a complement to my lens.

It should be possible to modify that approach to include reviews of things I genuinely use, know, and recommend. I've done it on a few lenses. I've got one that has made sales almost every month for years. Not in huge volume compared to our more seasoned affiliate marketers, but consistently enough to call a success.

So why does this lens work, and how can I apply its lessons to other lenses?

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On Moneyearning with Squidoo: NotPop's Right!

Dec 19th, 2010
by Greekgeek.
1 comment

Most of us know this, but it's such a succinct answer to such a common question ("why isn't my page getting traffic/ratings/sales?") that I want to preserve it here so I can remember it later.

Quoth Notpop in SquidU:

If your lens doesn't do anything they couldn't have accomplished themselves with the same number of clicks then why would they "pay" you for the help?  Find them something worth bidding for and they'll click through.  But if you're not earning the commission then don't be surprised when you don't get it.

Or, as I think Seth Godin put it (not on sales, but on visitors):  "You don't deserve traffic." He wasn't trying to be mean; he was just pointing out that our webpages aren't entitled to a single visit: the web is infinite, and we need to give people a reason to spend time on our piece of it.

Here's an interview where he talks about "deserving traffic."

Earning money with Squidoo lenses follows the same wisdom: you have to earn those sales.

Of course, the people who don't understand this are probably not the people reading this blog post.

On Squidoo Success Stories

Dec 17th, 2010
by Greekgeek.
7 comments

With the biggest payout yet for many people -- including me! -- and the end of the year, Squidoo members are pondering Squidoo success stories...and failures.

MikeEssex created a Squidoo Success Stories lens reporting on the real-life successes of several members, plus links to stats and earnings lenses by many members who maintain lenses or blogs to track their Squidoo progress. (Here's mine.)

In response, three-year Squidoo member SisterCaren wrote a tongue-in-cheek lens which I think is just as important: her Squidoo Failure Story. She shares tips and insights on what doesn't work.

We need to know about both Squidoo successes and Squidoo failures. I included both when I created my "Is Squidoo a Scam?" lens several years ago. I also demonstrated (I hope) that success on Squidoo can be defined in many different ways: traffic, successful promotion of a blog, business, or cause, moneymaking, gaining an online following.

However, there is one way that most Squidoo members and the rest of the world define success: earnings.  And Kimberly's announcement on 12/16 that ONE member earned $2000K for the month through Squidoo earnings alone is a story of  both success and failure at the same time.

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Squidoo, Zazzle, and Creative Commons

Nov 16th, 2010
by Greekgeek.
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Zazzle Referrals = Creative Commons that Earn Cash?

Last week I had a brain wave. Zazzle designs work a little like e Creative Commons: as a Zazzle Associate, you may feature them on your page or blog by providing credit and a link (in this case, a referral link) back!  You're promoting an artist's products (that's the whole point). But as a side benefit, you have access to a huge body of gorgeous graphics.

Which of course meant I had to make a lens about it:

Want Graphics? Use Zazzle Designs Like Creative Commons

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Lens Review: EditorDave's Lens on Guam

Apr 25th, 2009
by Greekgeek.
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I wasn't planning to do lens reviews on this blog, but spouting about my own stuff all the time could get dreary. So why not use someone else’s lens as an example of a good use of Squidoo?

When you find a lens you like, ask yourself: WHY do you like it? You can get insights about building good lenses, articles, and blog posts by jotting down what on that lens worked for you, what didn't. Don’t copy their content (please!), but learn approaches to presenting your own content in more effective ways.

Here is EditorDave's Guam: Where America's Day Begins lens.

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Benefits of Non-Commission-Earning Modules

Apr 7th, 2009
by Greekgeek.
5 comments

Some Squidoo modules are built-in affiliate marketing, supplementing Squidoo ad payouts with sales commissions.

For example, Amazon modules send us “royalties” if a visitor makes a purchase through them. We get a commission for any purchase the visitor makes after clicking on that link! (Tip: if you regularly make 7 or more Amazon sales a month, it’s time to get your own Amazon Associates ID. Captain Loyalis explains why.)

Other Squidoo modules, like Zazzle, don’t earn a commission, but members of those online e-commerce sites can can use the appropriate module to show off their products and stores.

What’s in it for the rest of us? Should we, as one member in SquidU said he was doing, rip out non-commercial-earning modules?

There’s four or five reasons why the answer is “Not necessarily!”

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