Making Great Holiday Lenses

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Content and connections lead to sales.

While I thought September 18th (the date on this photo) was a little early to be setting up Christmas trees in Kmart, there's no denying that the holidays are fast approaching. Even if you're not one to get in the holiday spirit so soon, millions of your potential visitors are, so now is the time to perfect those holiday lenses!

Be sure to use tags on ALL your holiday lenses!

Holiday Lens Idea #1 

Pick a big-ticket item and promote the heck out of it.

Pick a big-ticket item and promote the heck out of it.

If you had a popular, interactive lens on the hottest selling $50, $100, or $300 toy of the season, what kind of sales would that add up to for you?

By promote the heck out of it, we don't mean just one lens, either. Any big ticket item can be promoted by using a variety of lenses.

For example, on HOT item this season is the Kindle, the popularity of which was brought to the forefront by Oprah. It retails for $369, which is a lot for something that is still small enough to lose in your purse. But there are tons of great products to go with it. Cases and extra parts could fill a dozen lenses. Download recommendations could fill a thousand lenses. And each one should point to your main lens.

Of course, there may already be dozens of great Kindle lenses, so feel free to pick another awesome big-ticket item to promote!

This HUGE gift could generate a mega commission! Photo used under Creative Commons from nttrbx.

What's selling for big bucks on Amazon? 

Of course, you don't have to get this extreme, but people DO buy products like these every day, and Christmas time is no different.
Swarovski SLC Binocular 8x30

Swarovski SLC Binocular 8x30

Who needs $1200 binoculars? Ask any hunter: they're simply the best.

Amazon Price: $899.00 (as of 11/28/2009) Buy Now

Detroit Red Wings Recliner - Dreamseat Home Theater

Detroit Red Wings Recliner - Dreamseat Home Theater

What a perfect chair for the perfect home theater. Ready to spend $1000 a pop?

Amazon Price: (as of 11/28/2009) Buy Now

Razor Dune Buggy

Razor Dune Buggy

This $400 go kart isn't out of reach for an 8-year-old's Christmas list.

Amazon Price: $319.00 (as of 11/28/2009) Buy Now

Holiday Lens Idea #2 

Create a gift list for a niche niche individual.

Create a gift list for a niche niche individual.

That's right, I said niche niche. Why? Because when you're talking gifts, two is better than one.

Instead of:

          Gifts for boys

Try:

          What your 3-year-old boy REALLY wants for Christmas!

Which one is more enticing? Which one screams "I have the answer for you!" in the title? The second title uses two niches to narrow down your gift lens focus. It's about gifts for boys who are three years old.

Who's looking specifically for gifts for boys who are three? Oh, you'd be surprised!

This three-year-old was one happy boy on Christmas! Photo used under Creative Commons from danielcraig.

More niche niche examples 

Still unsure how to make your niche niche gift lens? Try these on for size:
  1. Stationery your guy will really use.
  2. The best digital cameras for tweens.
  3. Make a nut-free gift basket. (Or egg-free, wheat-free, etc.)
  4. Under $5 gifts for cubicle co-workers.
  5. Large print books for seniors.

Lensroll your gift-giving lenses together, and use the Featured Lens module!

Holiday Lens Idea #3 

Put a spin on current events.

Put a spin on current events.

If you've heard about recent lead-paint scares, there's no guessing why this lens is so hot right now.

But your lens doesn't have to be born out of fear, either. What about our recent presidential election? The go-green movement? Homesteading and stocking-up techniques?

Holiday Lens Idea #4 

For non-gift lenses, think THREE niches and a holiday.

For non-gift lenses, think THREE niches and a holiday.

People can get really specific when they search for things online, because they've been through the drill of digging through stuff that really wasn't helpful. So when the readers get picky, the lensmasters get nichy!

* Free, Printer-Friendly, Gift Tags for Christmas
* Favorite Christmas Frosted Cutout Cookies
* Elegant Thanksgiving Centerpieces with Candles

Not only does the "three niche and a holiday" system help you create focused lenses, you can create a variety of focused lenses just by changing the niches:

* Kid-Friendly Thanksgiving Centerpieces with Pumpkins
* Elegant Christmas Wreathes with Snowflakes
* Casual Christmas Table Settings with Candles

How many hundreds of combinations of awesome holiday lenses can you create with just this one idea??

(This is almost like being back in grammar school and picking out sentence parts, isn't it?)

These three trees are courtesy of a photo used through Creative Commons from infomatique.

Use your lenses with free info to direct readers to related holiday sales lenses.

Holiday Lens Idea #5 

Monetize your tip lenses.

Monetize your tip lenses.

If your lens is all about free information or how to do something great for the holidays, there's no reason why you can't monetize it while keeping the focus on the freebies.

* On your "how-to display teeny tiny ornaments" lens, monetize with mini trees and display cases.
* On a "how to safely hang Christmas lights" lens, monetize with hooks and clips. (The 3M removable hooks are hot!)
* On your tip lens about "keeping the peace between your family members," monetize with serious and humorous books on negotiating and dealing with difficult people.

The idea here is to be ready when your reader decides they want to make a purchase. When they're ready to say, "this is too hard, give me the easy stuff!" you can easily ship them from your "handmade Hanukkah cards" to purchased ones that you'll get the sales credit for.

A few holiday lenses we luuuuuv! 

There are a ton of great ones. Here are a special few.
featured lens How to Write Family Christmas Letters

Love 'em or hate 'em, family Christmas letters have become a part of our culture. Here are some tips on how to write Christmas letters your readers will enjoy, as well as some links for Christmas letter paper you can order online and Christma...

featured lens Crazy Cute Christmas Cupcakes

An abundance of crazy cute Christmas cupcake ideas and Christmas cupcake recipe links is waiting for you right here, along with make-it-yourself cupcake decoration ideas, cute Christmas shaped cupcake pans, candy christmas cu...

featured lens Christmas Crafts - Decorations, Gifts, Giftwrap and More

This Christmas crafts lens is filled with free holiday crafts projects, decorating tips and crafty freebies. You'll enjoy the resources we've found for you to make Christmas gifts, ornaments, decorations, greeting cards, stickers an...

featured lens Gothic, Black Christmas Trees, Ornaments & Decorations

If you found your way here you are probably looking for something out of the ordinary for your Christmas decor. You've come to the right place! You'll find a huge variety of black, dark, Gothic, odd, spooky, macabre and dramatic ornaments, t...

featured lens Christmas Fruitcake -- A Delicious Recipe for a Holiday Tradition

Growing up in Northeastern Ohio, we generally received a fruitcake each Christmas.  Personally, I don't mind a little bit of fruitcake during the holidays despite the fact that the fruitcake fell out of favor within the past few decades. I...

When in doubt, go with what you know. Everyone knows SOMETHING about the holidays!

Ho ho ho...tell Santa what YOU want this Christmas! 

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by KimberlyDawnWells

I AM: Kimberly Dawn Wells

I'm Squidoo's Community Organizer, which means my focus is on building the community: bringing in new lensmasters, developing...

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