Affiliate Marketing Tools for Social Networking on Squidoo

After realizing we were both being hounded by people wanting us to create lenses for them based on our own success, Lewis Smile and I decided to team up and launch http://www.BuildMyLens.com.

That's right! A lens built for you while you sleep in. Let us do all the hard work.

We're having a blast building up some lenses as we test out our system in co-building, and we're going to put all of our test lenses up for auction after we perfect them, lensroll them, bookmark them, flesh them out with content, and "purty them up" with images!

Our first creation can be seen at Multiple Streams of Income, so go check it out, see how well we work together, and if you want it - bid on it! Oh, and be sure to rate the lens so we know how well we did.

Aside from the fact that it's good readin' - this product is personally endorsed by John Reese and I've been interviewed by a number of highly respectable marketers about Squidoo, including:

1.) Yanik Silver
2.) Kelly McCausey of Mom Masterminds
3.) Howie Schwartz for a promo with Dr. Mike

...And I have many more interviews scheduled in the future about Squidoo! It's a hot topic, and all gurus are attacking Squidoo vigorously.

Button ads are affiliate tools that come in handy when you don't have a lot of space. They can be placed on your website or blog, in an ezine, and even used in Pay Per Click advertising. Here's the button ad you can download on my Social Networking on Squidoo Affiliate Marketing Tools Page

If you're not using Squidoo as part of your marketing plan, you're missing out on a very easy way to make money. A Squidoo page is a somewhat blended idea. Not exactly a blog, but not quite a website either. Each page you create is called a lens, and you can make unlimited numbers of lenses, on any topic you desire. It's extremely user-friendly and you can realistically set up a lens in a matter of minutes.

While a Squidoo lens could benefit nearly any online business, it's becoming increasingly popular among online marketers. They're flocking to Squidoo for several reasons. Besides the simplistic use and rapid set-up, they love the fact Squidoo offers the opportunity for unlimited lens making at no cost. They also realize the value of being able to place an opt-in box and contact information on their lens, making it easy to build a list of subscribers.

A Squidoo lens is an excellent place to display your products and affiliate products. Each product can have its own individual lens. Pictures can be uploaded with a click of the mouse, a perfect way to display the cover graphics alongside a synopsis of the eBook. Add your Squidoo lens address to your email or forum signature. Anyone who sees it can click on the link and be transported directly to your domain.

Using the easy to insert modules, each lens can be monetized in several different ways in addition to advertising your own product or service. Related products can be offered, affiliate links added, even popular items from eBay and Amazon can contribute to your income. With so many module choices and the broad freedom of arrangement allowed, the possibilities seem virtually endless.

Once your Squidoo lens is published, you're able to join any number of Squidoo groups. They even have some just for marketers! We all know the best advertising is word of mouth, and the power of social networking can't be stressed enough. Being a part of the Squidoo Groups offers both benefits to help springboard your online career.

With so many ways Squidoo can help establish yourself or your product as a brand in the marketplace, it's a no-brainer that you should be taking advantage of all the benefits that being a lensmaster offers. Then the next time anyone asks, "Do you Squidoo?", your enthusiastic response will be "Do I Squidoo? You bet I do! And you should too!"

I had Ryan of Design Guru Ryan create two banners for my affiliate marketing tools page.

One is animated and the other is static. You can choose which one you want to use and apply it to your affiliate marketing campaign. Download either one - or both (and test conversion rates) at the Social Networking on Squidoo Affiliate Marketing Tools Page.

You can grab the images of both my video bonus cover and the eBook cover right from the main sales page and use them as your own affiliate marketing tools.

The eBook cover is located at the top of this lens. Sometimes, as an affiliate, it's good to have an image accompany the product you're touting. Even if it's a digital download, consumers like to "see" what it is they're going to get before they invest their money.

Here's a tiny banner button for you to use to promote Social Networking on Squidoo. Stick it in a blog or squeeze it into your website somewhere :)

Hi [Name]

I'm exhausted today. I stayed up late last night doing something I'm embarrassed to even say - Squidooing. Couldn't they have named it something a little more professional? I'd feel much better being on the computer working if it didn't sound so funny - like something that crawled out of the depths of the ocean.

If you don't know what Squidooing is, let me first warn you - it's addictive. It doesn't take any time at all to get set up on this social networking site, but once you do one page (aka: lens), you want more - and more! I Squidooed until my fingers hurt. Squidoo is Seth Godin's brainchild. If you know Seth, you know he's kind of a quirky marketer, but a pure genius because Squidoo is skyrocketing to the top of the social network stratosphere.

I discovered it by accident. A friend sent me a link to Tiffany Dow's Social Networking on Squidoo eBook - it's a quick start guide to being a Lensmaster but it does it from an entrepreneurial point of view so before you even get started, you know the right way to
set up your lenses for maximum profitability.

Now I'm Squidooing all over the place. I have links coming in and going out, I'm scooping up prime keywords for my lens URLs faster than you can say "greedy" and I'm climbing the Google SERPs quickly and easily thanks to the love they give to Squidoo and other social networks.

I know you might be sick of all the Web 2.0 hype surrounding these places, but Squidoo isn't another MySpace - it's not exactly a blog and you don't need a friends list to be popular. I love Squidoo because you can set up a lens in 4 easy steps in under 5 minutes. You can blatantly promote your business - they don't care! You get an instant boost in
the ranking dept with Google for your keywords and phrases. And you can have unlimited lenses and an account for each niche you want to target!

You have to see it for yourself. Stop by the site tonight when everyone's asleep and you won't have to tell them you're Squidooing. Grab a copy of Tiffany Dow's Social Networking on Squidoo and do it right from the start (John Reese endorsed this eBook and Seth himself blogged about Tiff's success). Then email me and let me know where your lenses are if you want me to check them out.

And hey - maybe we can gang up on Seth and convince him to change the name...but then again...it's starting to grow on me. I guess if Google can be a household name, so can Squidoo.

Here's to your Lensmaster success,
[Name]

Hi [Name],

I discovered something exciting last
night as I was Squidooing myself to
the top of the SERPs - only ONE of the
keywords I was after for my niche was
snapped up by another LensMaster.

Granted it was the one I really wanted, but I
emailed that guy to see if he's willing to transfer
it to me since he hasn't updated it in over two
weeks.

Still, after going to Overture and conducting
some thorough research of how my target audience
is searching the web, I was able to stake claim to
every other word and phrase I wanted at Squidoo
to complete my URLs.

Since I read Tiffany Dow's step-by-step
guide on marketing at Squidoo, I've been
following her formula for carving out my place
as the go-to person in my niche within this
community, setting up multiple lenses that link
together and funnel traffic through numerous
selling points.

What you may want to do is go to Squidoo's
home page and look at the tag cloud to see
which topics are popular. When you click on
a word or phrase, it'll show you the lenses that
are ranked highest for that keyword.

Spy on the competition and see what they're
selling on their lens and think of how you can do
it better and rise above them on the list and in the
SERPs.

If you want to rank high for the phrase "bigger
biceps," then look at the list of lenses (47 in all)
with that tag. ONE guy owns the top 24 lenses
for that phrase. He's doing it the right way.

Squidoo's still in its infancy as far as the millions
of keywords being snapped up, so if you want in
on this free ground-floor traffic generating opportunity,
I suggest you follow the blueprint in Social Networking
on Squidoo and stake claim to the niche you want to
dominate.

Be sure to send me links to your lenses!
[Name]

Hi [Name]

Guess what? In just under 25 days
a lens that was created on Squidoo
got the #1 position on Google SERPs
for a key phrase that generates 833,000
competing pages in the Google SERPs.
(To see what it is go to Google and
search for Squidoo Success).

That's pretty amazing. I've been honing
in on my own keywords and phrases, too
and am tracking my own keyword success
in the search engine results pages.

If you want success on Squidoo, you have
to create lenses that caters to your niche - and
to the search engines, that means good content
and relevant keywords.

Tiffany Dow's lens called The Art of Becoming an
Information Entrepreneur at
http://www.squidoo.com/informationentrepreneur
ranks #6 on Google for "information entrepreneur,"
which has over 35 million results! I followed her
lead and applied what I learned in her eBook called
Social Networking on Squidoo to get my own lenses
climbing the SERP scene.

On Squidoo, and in other social networks on
the 'net, keywords and phrases are known as "tags."
On the home page of Squidoo, you can see the
various tag "clouds" that will show you which
tags are prominent on the site. Bigger tags mean
more lenses carry those words or phrases, while
smaller tags mean they've received less attention.

When you click on a particular tag, you can see
the lenses that have been created on Squidoo for
those terms. They'll be ranked according to their
overall LensRank, so the #1 lens for the tag
"affiliate marketing" might actually be #36 in
overall Squidoo LensRank.

Tagging your lenses in Squidoo is super easy, too.
When you first set up your lens, it'll ask you for
your primary tag as well as the other tags. Make sure
you include your primary tag in your other tags, too -
otherwise your lens won't show up in the tag listing
for that phrase (I don't know why).

After your lens is created, when you're editing it to
add content, it will show you on the right side
of your lens what your current tags are, and it'll also
suggest more tags. You can beef it up and add variations
of your tags, such as phrases with no spaces.

Okay, back to tagging and Squidooing - have
you launched your lens yet? If not, go grab your
copy of Social Networking on Squidoo and start
rising in the SERPs this week!

Here's to your LensMaster success!
[Name]

Hi [Name],

When I first discovered social networking, I
thought it sounded like a great idea. Launch
some pages on the 'net with a more personal
tone and watch the traffic come flooding in.

What I didn't know then, but would soon learn from
reading Tiffany Dow's Social Networking on
Squidoo eBook, was that these social sites help
you when you activate the socialization part
of the equation. Static pages won't cut it.

Before I started building lenses on Squidoo, I
had planned to buy some PLR articles and just
cut and paste them into my page, publish it, and
watch my rank in the Google SERPs rise. What
I soon learned was that you have to become an
active part of the community if you want the traffic
and SERP stats to work in your favor.

Before you balk and say, "I don't have TIME to
participate in yet ANOTHER online community,"
let me put your fears to rest. The kind of socialization
you have to do on Squidoo to rise to the top isn't time
consuming or difficult. I spend no more than 15 minutes
a day with the socialization aspect and I still reap the
rewards.

Here's how I do it:

First I log into Squidoo each day to view my stats.
I look at the dates to see when I updated each lens,
because I always want to keep them fresh. Those
that need attention are the ones I focus on for the
day.

The second step in my socialization strategy is to
stop by www.SquidU.com and post about my lens.
This gets the rest of the logged in community clicking
on my URL and the traffic increases my LensRank.

Third, I look at other LensMaster's lenses and
make sure I sign the guest books, instantly giving
myself a backlink to my own lenses in the process.

And last, I add my links to some Plexo modules
in other LensMaster's lenses, like their Plexo Links
List. I also go back and vote my own links up in the
list, giving me points and helping my own lens get
more traffic and followers.

Are you ready to delve into the social scene on Squidoo?
It's well worth it to help the Google spiders
gravitate to your lens and help you get a higher position
for the keywords you're targeting.

If you haven't read Tiffany's Social Networking on Squidoo
eBook yet, it's the best starting point from a marketer's
perspective. Stop by my lens and grab an instant back link
so I can then visit your lens and we can both benefit from
our social efforts.

Now go have fun building lenses!
[Name]

Hi [Name]

How has your Squidooing been going?
I've become more than your average
LensMaster - I'm flexing my Plexo and
seeing even better results from my social
networking efforts.

Until I got one of Tiffay Dow's lifetime free
updates for her Squidoo eBook (Social Networking
on Squidoo), I didn't know they had added such
a beast to our module arsenal.

Squidoo is a social network, and Plexo is a
unique element of social bookmarking.
They call it a combination of bookmarking
meets Digg meets the long tail.

If you have a links list, then you might want
to turn it into a Plexo module - because then
your visitors get to participate - and that's what
socialization on the 'net is all about, right?

This is what I love about Squidoo. A simple blog
doesn't let your audience have a say - but Squidoo's
Plexo modules let them add to your list and then vote
items up or down.

You can have a Plexo list about anything regarding
your niche - and it gives people a reason to return
to your lens. Plus, you can choose to share your Plexo
with others, which means they can take your module and
put it on their lens - giving you more traffic to your
lenses in the process.

And you still have total control over what goes into
your Plexo module because you get final approval.
Of course, you don't HAVE to Plex any of your lenses,
but like I learned from Tiff's Squidoo eBook - the more
socialization you put into your lenses, the higher you rank.

If you haven't yet looked into her guide to Squidoo,
I can tell you that it'll make your lensmastering a smooth
ride. Check it out here: [Insert Affiliate Link]

And hey - when you add your Plexo module, send
me a link to it so I can see if it's something I want to
grab and share on my own lenses!

[Name]

Hi [Name]

If you're already addicted to Squidoo like I am,
then I'm willing to bet you're checking your stats
to see if you've broken into the Top 100 list yet.

Squidoo has several Top 100 lists - for overall LensRank
(the mother load), by Topic, Profitability, and Most
Emailed. The higher you climb, the more traffic you
get - and it spills over into the Google search engine
results pages, too.

When I wanted to get my lens to the Top 100 list, I
looked to see what Tiffany Dow had to say about it -
since her Social Networking on Squidoo eBook
explains how her lens has been in the overall Top
100 LensRank list for 154 days, peaking at #3.

So what are her secrets? Well I can't reveal all of
them, but I'll give you a sneak peak at a few:

1.) Freshness counts - try to tweak something, no matter
how small, every day

2.) Reach out to the Squidoo community - sign
other people's guestbooks, add your lens to their
Plexo list, and get more internal site traffic flowing
your way.

3.) Fill your lens with content. Tiffany's main tip
is about creating a relevant lens. Squidoo isn't the
only one looking for relevancy and content-filled
pages - Google eats it up, too. She primarily uses
Write modules, but you don't even have to be a writer to
Maximize those modules (she shows you alternatives).

Tiff stretched a course out over 5 lenses, and the sub-lenses
acted as "feeders" delivering a boost to her main lens.
I'm in the process of creating a course of my own for my
niche, and I suggest you do the same.

I'm not the expert Tiff is, so do what I did and follow her
Lead. You can see all of her secrets when you grab a
Copy of Social Networking on Squidoo here: [insert link].

[Name]

PS - Another tip I wanted to share is that you should
work on getting in the Top 100 list of your topic first
and then you'll naturally rise in the overall LensRank

Hi [Name]

Okay, I may have caused some confusion in
my last email when I mentioned using feeder lenses
to help you rank higher in Squidoo, so let me explain.

A feeder lens is another lens you create on Squidoo to
funnel traffic to your primary lens. So let's say I have a
main lens on Parenting Tips where I'm selling eBooks
on parenting that I've produced or for which I'm an affiliate.

My main lens will discuss how parents need tips to make life
easier. I might even mention Super Nanny and how even the
families that seem to have it all often face obstacles with
raising their rugrats.

Now here's my feeder lens strategy:

I create five more lenses that are all more targeted in
nature, such as this:

1.) A lens on potty training
2.) A lens on preventing toddlers from biting
3.) A lens on curing temper tantrums.
4.) A lens on childhood obesity
5.) A lens on curing bedwetting

All of those lenses will be built around specific
keywords and phrases, but each one will be highly
valuable and filled with free information. Inside each
lens will be a few links to my main lens, as well as
direction to the other parenting lenses.

I can promote a potty training eBook on the feeder
lens AND on the main lens. And with this niche, you
know parents have multiple obstacles, so they're probably
in the market for more than one product.

Feeder lenses don't require quite as much upkeep as
your main lens. Of course, if you have time to invest, then
by all means it'd be great if you got each one ranked at
the top of the heap.

By now you have a good general insight into what Squidoo
is about, but if you start building lenses, I highly suggest you
use Tiffany Dow's Social Networking on Squidoo eBook
as your guide because it gives far more detail than
I can do in these short email messages.

Good luck with your Squidooing and be sure to stop by my
lenses when log in!

[Name]

Sometimes, you don't want to go to the effort of creating or even hiring someone to create an information product for you.

Another way to go about it is to find products you can market for a commission. A good way to find these is to go to Clickbank.com and browse through the marketplace.

Next to each product, you'll see a link if the product allows affiliate commissions. Clickbank will give you a unique URL to use when you market the product, and every time a buyer purchases, you get up to 70% commission.

If you go this route, understand that there are some drawbacks. Although all of your efforts will spent on marketing, you still have to make sure the product you're promoting is a valuable one. There may also be a lot of competition if the program is a bestseller and has numerous affiliates.

You may also stumble upon a product not on Clickbank that doesn't have an affiliate link on their site. If this happens, and you're interested in marketing it for a share in the profits, don't be timid about contacting the owner of the site and attempting to strike a deal directly.

My latest eBook, Building an eBook Empire, can be sold through either ClickBank or Pay Dot Com. This gives you flexibility in finding the best option for your promotions.

Stop by Building an eBook Empire and click on the affiliate link at the bottom of the page! Or, find it on ClickBank or PayDotCom. The PDC site contains all of my promotional material for that eBook.