How I Became a Giant Squid in 60 Days

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 38 people | Log in to rate

Ranked #16,393 in How-To, #170,861 overall

The 60 Day Journey to Giant Squid - How YOU Can Do It Too

Day 59...All Is Well! Over 50 quality lenses ready for inspection by the Giant Squid Angels. Time to put them under a microscope and make some last minute touch ups. This lens is an outline of what I did to meet the qualifications in 60 days and how you can do the same thing and get the same results.

Will You Be Ready for The October Qualifications?

Seth Godin Has The Best Marketing Plan Ever 

Must Have Publication!
Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers

Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers

by: Seth Godin

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You Are The Expert - Share What You Know About 

When you create a lens that you are interested in, that you know about the topic, and you would are even passionate about, you will find it very easy to create a lens with quality content.

Whatever your topic, it is most important that the topic sparks YOUR interest. That will translate into the lens and will be your greatest advantage.



Speak with authority...Your experience is unique in all the world, and WE want to hear about it. Tell us about your interests, your family ties, your experiences in life or at the market. What do you like to cook? What is your favorite movie? What is your favorite book? What is the worst place/product/movie/book you have ever experienced and what is the best place/product/movie/book you have ever experienced?

Do you travel, take photos, craft, scrapbook, homeschool your children, excercise, work in an unusual place or in a common place from your unique and facinating perspective?



We want to know what you think, how you feel, what you want to share with us. How have you overcome challenges? What decisions have you made in life and what were the choices? How did you make the choice?

The possibilities are endless and YOU are the ONLY person who can share your unique and facinating perspective.

You may wonder...
Sure, I have great topics waiting to be written about, but, how does that translate into a great lens?

The answer is simple...
There are literally dozens of modules you can use to convey your story and make your lens profitable as well as an incredible addition to the Squidoo.com database.



I will direct you to a great resource about modules at the end of this guide, that will help you choose how to incorporate great lensbuilding skills into the topics you have ready for exploration.

We All Have Our Own Unique Story... Whats yours?

Ryan Celestain http://www.RyanCelestain.com 206-202-0155 We each have our own unique story. We all have had amazing successes and on the other hand unbelievable failures But that's the beauty of life no matter what happens to us good or bad we need to get up everyday ready to conquer the world. There is an unbelievable amount of power in each of us and when we tap into that power using the correct tools we are unstoppable Im a firm believer that everything in life happens for a reason. Every decision that you and I have ever made our entire lives has brought us to this moment right here right now. That to me is exciting! That means that no matter how good or bad your past has been tomorrow is a new day and we have the ability to create brand new possibilities for our life. Im not sure where you are in life right now But I want to encourage you to not give up Don't quit Don't give in Never settle for anything less that what you truly desire and most importantly deserve. I have been fortunate to work and train with some of the best leaders in this industry. Internet marketing experts Business Consultants Millionaires as well as a Billionaire People such as Dennis Karginilla Jeff Olsen Jack Zufelt Al Thomas Darnell Self Brian Carruthers Dwayne Johnson Ruel Morton Lee Lemons John Jones Shawn Herrick Carlos Rey Danny Bea Tim Herr If you are looking for a home based business MLM or Network marketing business I know a lot of the top leaders in the industry and would love to help you find a right fit. Whether its Quixtar Xango Pre-Paid Legal Vemma ACN SGR Costal fthm Road to Riches Vm Direct Herbal life Isagenix zrii goji I will personally teach you how to use the law of attraction as well as leverage web 2.0 technology to generate highly responsive laser targeted leads and traffic for whatever business you decide to work with Again today is the beginning of the rest of your life Contact me so we can design the future you desire and deserve! Ryan Celestain http://www.RyanCelestain.com 206-202-0155

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When You Want To Be A Giant... 

You need to do what the giants do.

Then ... Follow Directions... 

bdkz said "My "Squidoo Tips From A Giant Squid" Lens gotten up to Lens Rank #4!"



"I'm Lensmaster bdkz and I have been creating lenses on Squidoo Since Feb. 2007.

I'm a Giant Squid Organizer and a Squid Angel. I have created over 300 lenses, been "Lens of the Day" twice and have had 9 of my lens in the Top 100."

featured lens What We Are Looking for When We Choose New Giant Lensmasters

The Giant Squid Lensmasters are my superheroes because of all the hard work they put into their lenses. You see, having 50 Squidoo lenses made is NOT the only requirement for becoming a Giant Squid Lensmaster. We've raised the bar and we're only ac...

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featured lens Giant Squid Organizer: Bonnie

Do you aspire for greatness? Are you a stellar lensmaster? Do you want to be a part of the coolest group on Squidoo? If you answered yes to any of these questions then we've got a group for you! Learn what it takes to join the ranks of the Giant Squ...

featured lens Expanding Your Lens Publishing Power -- How-to Squidoo

Hello Lensmasters! I have prepared this special Squidoo how-to lens just for you! This lens gives you step-by-step directions from a squidoo addict who has experienced over three years on Squidoo to become a GIANT Squid 100 Club Member having authore...

featured lens THE GIANT SQUIDS (and how you can become one)

No, it's not a rock group (but it might as well be). It's the core group of movers and shakers at Squidoo. It's a gathering of influentials, the most dedicated lensmakers on Squidoo. Here's how this whole thing started. One day at Sq...

Remember...

Team Work & Persistence

HOPE means...
Helping
Other
People
Excell

Team Work is a great way to help other people excell!

Team Work Works 

The more you focus on Squidoo as a Team Effort, the easier it will be to see the value of the following guidelines.

We all have the same dot com address! That gives us incredible leverage in the search engines.



When links from your lens are balanced out so that there are at least as many links to Squidoo.com as there are to outside domains...you have a tactical advantage when the search engine is scanning your lens. Think about it...Search Engines are working for the client, and the best representitive of any topic is going to get the traffic. Having multiple links into the primary domain (squidoo.com), that are pertinent to the topic of your lens, will bring the highest rate of first page search results!

How To Bring Traffic to Your Lens Using the TEAM Model

*Lensroll: Find and lensroll all of the Team's Lenses that are focused on the topic of your lens. This will be very effective in bringing your lens more traffic and will boost the overall Squidoo Team Lens Rank.

I have one lens "Why I Love Squidoo" , that I use to lensroll things I find if I have not yet published the lens that I really want to lensroll to. Then I can find it again on my "Why I Love Squidoo" lens and add it to the new lens when it is published.



*Featured Lens Module: When a simple lensroll isn't enough (and it isn't when you find an extraordinary lens), use the Featured Lens module to highlight the Team Squidoo Lens.
*Groups: Submit each of your lenses to all of the Groups that fit into your lens focus. For best results, be sure to visit your groups and support all of the members of your group by lensrolling and rating their lenses.

*TAGS: Your lens will be a traffic magnet if you have included all pertinent tags (they should accurately reflect the content of your lens). Don't forget to check in your STATS page under the TRAFFIC tab to find out what tags have been suggested there. You can add new and updated tags anytime when you are in edit mode or from the STATS TRAFFIC screen of your dashboard.



*FAN CLUBS: Very powerful tool that will bring you more traffic as well. Be sure to join your Squidoo Team Members Fan Clubs and visit the lenses they have created. This works exceptionally well if you have also lensrolled similar lenses to your lenses. Additionally, you can check the FAVORITES tab in your dashboard to find out what is new with all the Team Members you have joined Fan Clubs of.

*FAVORITE: When you favorite a lens, you will receive update information in your FAVORITES TAB of your dashboard as well. This is a great way to review lenses that you have lensrolled when they are updated.

Share Your Passions

We...

are a team!

Swim With The Giants.

Everything You Need To Know Has Been Created For You 

To Learn The Basics
Back To The Basics by bdkz
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The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity [10th Anniversary Edition]

The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity [10th Anniversary Edition]

by: Julia Cameron

Amazon Price: $11.02 (as of 11/27/2009) Buy Now

How It Works & Why I Love Squidoo! 

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In this lens, I tell you my top 25 reasons, why I love squidoo. Please tell me ... Why do you love squidoo?

featured lens How I Became A Giant Squid in 40 Days

I joined Squidoo on May 10, 2008 and got my Giant Squid Badge in the June 30th round. How did I do it? Am I completely nuts? Did I take a break to eat during that time? Let me tell you all about it....

Do You Want To Be A Giant Squid? 

Are You Going To Do What It Takes To Get There?

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Yes! I AM - I CAN!

GypsyOwl says:

Thank you and congrats to all Squidooers! All Lensmasters ROCK! Here is another Lensmaster's story about becoming a Giant Squid. Only she did it in 40 days. So you see how to become a Giant in 60 days or 40 days or how ever many days you decide is ALL GOOD!!
OH.. The Link To 'How I became a Giant Squid in 40 days' is (above) in the 'How it works and Why I love Squidoo" section. Enjoy!

Posted September 25, 2008

CleanerLife says:

I'll get there, but it'll take me more than 60 days! :)

Posted September 22, 2008

inkserotica says:

Definitely! I have some way to go but its my goal and I will succeed! ;)

Posted September 14, 2008

Jewelsofawe says:

I believe I can be a giant squid.

Posted July 26, 2008

Webcodes says:

Absolutely, I am getting close 40 and counting. It takes a long time to make one, however, since I really focus on making the content interesting as much as possible.

Posted July 26, 2008

The_Homeopath says:

I joined Squidoo in May, so I guess I did make Giant in 60 days!! Congrats to you and to all of the new and not-so-new Giants!

Posted July 03, 2008

ArtSiren says:

Yes, but doing it in 60 days will be a bit of a push I think. Must try harder! :) Let's say by the end of this year.

Posted July 02, 2008

Not Sure Yet...I'll Think About It.

PaulHassing says:

It's hard to take time out from my day job to make this happen. Perhaps if I approach Squidoo as a hobby, rather than work, I may achieve a balance. I certainly 'want to believe'! I'll keep you posted! P. :)

Posted January 25, 2009

Treasures-By-Brenda says:

I'm not actively planning to be a Giant Squid...yet! Watch for me in the future!

Brenda

Posted October 20, 2008

 

Congratulations to All The NEW Giant Squids! 

The Giant Squid Class of
JUNE 2008!






Click on the Giant Squid badge (above) and you will be taken to the official introduction of the NEW Giant Squids



To Learn The Squdoo Basics
Back To The Basics by bdkz

Giant Squid in 60 Days Guestbook 

Are you a Giant Squid and Have you made a lens about HOW YOU did it? Please share your lens addy here!



Was this lens helpful, informational, inspiring?

Say Hello and come back to let us know how you are doing on your quest to swim with the Giants.

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How To Build Exceptional Lenses! 

These lenses helped me to learn and they can help you as well.



To Learn The Basics
Back To The Basics by bdkz
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* 

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Time Management Balance Model

Time Management 

I have developed a system that balances all of the activities involved in building great lenses and promoting them. It isn't very complicated, and has helped me a lot. So I decided to share it with you here.

First:

Look at the big picture.

No matter how few or how many hours you have each week to devote to your Squidoo work, you will find this system can adapt to your needs.

Each part of the process gets 25% of the time you have to devote to the work



If you have 1 hour a week or 60, this system will work. I have created a detailed check list for each of the categories of activities. So all I have to do each time I sit down to work is look at my list and pick up where I left off.

This Time-Management model can be adapted for just about any project (outside of the Squidoo realm), so if you have a particular challenge you are faced with, send me a note and I will be happy to help you modify this concept to fit your situation.

To Learn The Basics
Back To The Basics by bdkz

Research Your Topics 

You can research at the library, in your own book collection, on the world wide web, through television, or numerous other resources. When you are writing 'How To' topics, it is always a good idea to try out your directions step by step so that you can add little tips and suggestions along the way.

You already know a lot about your topic, yet, it can be more convincing when you support your conclusions with references..



I remember when I first started college and I would write my papers before I looked up the references. Face it, we just 'know' a lot of things. And that is great. But, sometimes we forget who else knows what we know. What we find (usually), is that about a dozen or so people know bits and pieces of what we know, so by using each of their perspectives we round out our own.

I discovered that I learned a lot from researching my topics even when I had done some of the writing before I started...



When I get an idea for a topic to write a lens about, I start by putting all of my thoughts into the mindmap. The mindmapping process is facinating and I will have a lens about how I use it ready for you very soon.

After I have brainstormed on the mindmap, I will then look at all of the previous lens topics I have written (which are on the same page), and move some of the thoughts to previous lenses (when they 'fit'), this gives me focused topics and provides content ideas to update older lenses.

Some of my 'new' ideas end up being additional content for lens topics that were not completely developed. Remember that saying I mentioned in the Giant Squid Interview ? "Build Fast and Perfect Over Time" (not sure who this is quoting, I believe it was a blog or email I remember reading sometime in May.

Writing and Editing 

Dedicate time to both writing and editing your content. I try to remember to do this before I open the workshop modules. In the cases where I have created content right in a module, I go back later and find typos and grammar errors. So, it is a time saver to create your content before you begin to create the modules in your lens.

Another exceptional reason to save all of your content in a document before you begin is in case you havn't backed up your work, if the web hiccups you will not lose as much of your work.



I discovered that the export tool in the workshop will only work if you have published the lens. The tool says "Save an XML copy of your live, or last published, lens contents to your computer."

So this is a problem if you have been in draft for awhile and waiting for the right opportunity to publish, or simply not convinced it is ready yet. So having your content saved on your PC (and as flowergardener reminds us) "back up, back up, back up" in case your PC crashes. Then when you have published your lens, use the Export tool to save an XML version of your work as well.

Off Site Blogging 

Blogs: There are 100's of them out there! Find at least three and at least one community of bloggers and you will see results
This part of the quarter week time management schedule is just as important as all of the other three quarter week tasks.

The opportunities are seemingly endless, so I will list a few and then follow up with additional ideas over time. You can find more ideas at my newest blog, Giant Squid Journal. Over time I will be sharing tips, people who have tips, and so much more. You can subscribe to my blog via RSS or Email and you are always welcome to leave comments.

There are dozens of Lens Suggestions on this lens and on the Flip This Link Award lens that describe all of the reasons why to blog about your squidoo lenses or better yet about other lenses you find on Squidoo.

I have the following 'blogging' activities on my list for this part of the quarter week time management activity list.

*Twitter (great to keep track of little tidbits so you can backtrack to see 'what have I been doing today') Also, Twitter can be followed on a lens using the 'Twitter Follow' module. Scroll down to see mine as an example (below). See the suggested reading on the Flip This Link Awards.

For More About How To Optimize Twitter
50 Ways To Use Twitter by bdkz

*Blogspot.com
Google's Blogspot.
*Squidoo Marketing
Squidoo Marketing Community.
*BraveHeart Women
Brave Heart Women (Get A FREE Website from my page).
*Twitter
Follow Me On Twitter - Blurb When You Find or Create Great Lenses.

Lensroll & Favorite 

This part of the quarter week time management process is to visit other lensmaster's lenses. Start your journey with a cup of your favorite beverage and a list of your lenses by your side. You are going on a journey that may be the best and imho the most enjoyable part of the quarter week activities.


The journey is in search of great lenses to *Lensroll,
*Favorite, and to
*Feature on your lenses.
If you have a list of your favorite lenses to visit, or would like to start from the Squidoo Top 100, or even theLens Of The Day (LOTD), you can use these and your intuitive web surfing guides and muses to take you on your way.

As you visit each lens,
*Take your time,
*Rate them according to your evaluation system,
*Favorite them if you want to see updates as the lens develops,
*Leave a message for the lensmaster, and
*Lensroll them to your lenses that are of simular topics.
*Refer toWhen You Visit A Squidoo Lense.

*Feature lenses that are extraordinary, focused on your lens topic, and would be of added interest to your visitors.

A featured lens is a great way to add value to your lens, spread some lens love, and will bring traffic back to your lens.

*Remember:
We all have the same dot com address! That gives us incredible leverage in the search engines.

I believe that the community is most effective when there are 100 lenses on the same topic, rather than just a handful. This is because the search engines will send a visitor to the site that will best serve them.
If you were asked, "Where can I find shoes?", wouldn't you send your seeker to the mall, where they would find hundreds of options?

If you were asked, "Where can I find shoes?", wouldn't you send your seeker to the mall, where they would find hundreds of options? In contrast, if you sent them to the corner store where you saw a single pair of really great shoes, your seeker may get there and find that the shoes don't come in the size that is desired or perhaps they are hiking boots when the seeker is looking for high heels.

So, the more lenses on the same topic is a really powerful concept! Same .com address, same topic, individual recommendations, and a vast collection of perspectives, all add up to more traffic for everyone.

Team Work Works!

The more visitors to Squidoo.com the better it is for all of us. I believe that when we work to help visitors find what they are looking for, it is going to benefit the community as a whole and everyone wins.

Put It All Together...and You Get Giant Squid!

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by GypsyOwl


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Carrie Wilkerson is The Barefoot-Executive The Definitive Resource for Work At Home Women WAHM and President of The Association of Work At Home Women www.awhw.orgWomen have been leaders since the beginning of time. We are going to introduce you to exceptional women who are making a difference and leading the way for us allMy Friends on Etsy is a Directory of Everything HandMade! Enter the URL of your Etsy Shop OR ANY Website that your offer your HandMade or HandCrafted Products. Be sure to post the Lens Address to all of your sites to share with everyoneVisit GypsyOwl's Graphic Design GalleryWho is Veronica De La Cruz and What We Can Do To Help Her

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