How to use Squidoo's Etsy module

A lot of people with shops on Etsy complain about lack of traffic to their stores. There is the mis-conception that by opening a store one is guaranteed sales. That is not how things happen. Most of the people with an Etsy shop are looking for quick, easy, and cheap answers to this problem.

While many people know about Face Book and Twitter and how they work, few on Etsy seemed to have heard about Squidoo. And Squidoo is the perfect answer. On Squidoo one can make a web page that can be as simple or complex as one wishes. And it is free.

Squidoo itself is a complex entity with many different parts to explore. But, starting at the beginning...

What is Squidoo? Squidoo is a web site, that gives a platform for publishing things. It is set up for sharing information. On it one can build a web page, called a lens, using a variety of different modules. And with these web pages one can gather views and direct traffic.

LET'S START AT THE BEGINNING:

Go to the front page of Squidoo.

Scroll down to the bottom, and you will see "ABOUT US". Take a few minutes to read it. And then read the "TERMS OF SERVICE". This is especially important for those Etsians who do make things that might be considered pornographic, as lenses are rated.

Now, lets start making a lens.

Click the START BUILDING link.

STEP 1: what is your lens about? For the purpose of showcasing a shop, one might say :

Brick House Fabrics on Etsy

click continue, and on the next page you have some descisions to make:

Do you want the purpose of the lens to be the title? The title is changeable.

But, the URL associated with the title is not. So, if you feel the title needs to be edited do so now.

THE CATEGORY: some people search Squidoo by category. So, for the purpose of this, I would put this as shopping.

Now you have to rate your lens.

And on to the next page, where you choose some tags. These can also be edited later.

Fill in the letters that show you are a real person, and click continue. And there is the page where you can start working!

The first thing you see is a page with a title, (again) and a place for an explanation of the lens. This is a nice place to expound a bit about your purpose.

You can add a picture as well. And you can add a link to it, and it is a clickable link. The pictures show on the right side of the module- I used the back of the Brick House in winter.

Below the title is a new text module, a new Amazon module, and a new guest book module. And to the right are workshop tools. Here is where one can finds all sorts of things to change the lense. Click the add modules. Down below it will say "BROWSE ALL MODULES". On the next page click the arrow to learn about modules. There is a lot of good stuff in this

. But, back to building a lens for your Etsy store.

To add the Etsy module go to the right hand menu.

On the left click "ALL MODULES". An alphabet comes up, click the "E"., and click on the Etsy module. It gets added to a list on the right. Click done adding. And it will take you back to your lense. The new Etsy module will be down at the bottom of the page. Click edit, and yes- again, you need a title for the module!

Let us say the title will be Brick House Fabrics. And let us say, in the description that it is going to be about Brick House Fabrics on Etsy. If this seems redundant, don't worry, you can always edit this. The point is to make a start!

Down at the bottom it says "Current items" Click it.

This brings up a page that asks for your Etsy user name and you are given a choice of which items you wish to feature. There are four choices: stuff listed in my shop, featured items, my favorite listings, stuff on the home page, and the latest listings.

BUT- not all of these are functional yet. Just your shop items at this point. If in the future you wish to showcase some of the other things, add another Etsy module, and repeat the proceedure, chosing the other option.

ARE YOU GETTING EXCITED YET?

Now comes some cool stuff!

The text module is the workhorse of many lenses. With it you can do a lot. You can use HTML, add hyper-links, and add pictures.

If you create a lens and it is just a lot of text it is BORING!!! People want eye candy. With the text module you can give it to them!

You can import pictures from flicker or photobucket, or anywhere else you host. They look like this:

With text!

You can also, if you know any HTML add it to float them where you wish them to be. (More about that later.)

You can add links!!

See my Etsy shop! BRICK HOUSE FABRICS

To see how to do this see: Linking Tips

You need your URL from your shop. What you add where it says linking tips can be anything you want!
To get the URL go to your Etsy shop, and click on see your public shop. Up in the browser at the top is the URL. you do need to keep the quote marks for it to work.

So, we have set up the ETsy module, we have added some text with more pictures of what you make and links back to your shop Before adding the shop RSS feed, take a look at the BIG PICTURE MODULE.

The RSS feed from your shop or blog is important. Like all things on the net, new is good. The net works off of new content. That is why it is important to rework things every month or so. On Etsy change your announcement or titles or tags or shop categories. On Squidoo the simplest way to do this is to add a feed.

Unfortunately Etsy has recently removed the RSS feeds from shops, so one can no longer use this great feature.

The photo module is another option for adding pictures to your lens. With this you can add up to 10 different pictures that you upload from your computer. And you can chose to have them rotating or not. And you can choose how often you wish them to change. After they have been loaded you can add a keyword filled sentence or two. And you can also re-arrange them.

There is one thing to be careful of: how the pictures have been cropped before uploading them to Squidoo. The cockatoo was taller than the rest of the pictures, and part of his head has been cut off in the thumbnail, but is totally there in the large picture as he rolls through.

You can see it below.

The next step is to make certain the modules are ordered the way you wish. Do they all have titles? Does it flow well?

If you like the order, now add a TABLE OF CONTENTS module. This helps people see at a glance what is in the lense, without scrolling all the way down. They can also just go to that module to get the information they need. And it gives a more finished look to the whole thing.

So, if you are satisfied for now, take a deep breath, and click PUBLISH....

Then, up at the top click view the lens to see how it looks!

Remember, a lens is a work in progress. To keep it fresh update it monthly, a tweak here and there, add some new pictures, whatever!

So, you now have a lens! You can use the Etsy module, with a text module, to add more traffic to your shop. You have linked the shop to the lens via the RSS feed. And you have linked back to the shop with the link. So, you have added an extension of your Etsy shop to the net.

Lenses are works in process. They can be edited, added to, and changed over time.
Take some time to explore the different modules. Read up on the different features Squidoo offers- yes, you can make money from it.
Visit the SquidU for great tips on being on the net. Read diffferent lenses about things of interest. And look in on the forums!

After you have gotten used to Squidoo, build a new lens. Perhaps make this one about what you make, not about the shop. And if you put it in a different category than shopping, other people might view it. Link it to the store lens, and add a link back to your shop. And then do another lens. If you did soft food sculpture, the first lens might be about the shop, the second about what you make, and the third lens could be recipes, again linking it all together and back to the shop.

Another thing about Squidoo is it is also morphing. It adds new modules and features. So, check back often to view what is new, and to enjoy the different aspects of Squidoo. There are lenses about everything! And there are great people with whom one can interact!

Enjoy!

For more tips about selling on Etsy see:
"10 TIPS for SELLING HANDMADE on ETSY"

DON"T FORGET: Use classifieds to buy, sell or advertise anything!

By using USFree Ads you can add a link back to your shop and your lenses while advertising your items. So check it out as well!

After you make a lens feel free to add a link to them on a new lens I started. The lens is for people who sell on Etsy, a sort of directory of lenses by Etsy sellers about their shops and about what they make or sell.

Click here to add your lens links!

For more about Brick House Fabrics see www.BrickHouseFabrics.com
We sell novelty home decorating fabric.