Get answers about your Squidoo-earned money
Are you confused about commissions? Experiencing donation snafus? Here are the most frequently asked questions about money and earnings on Squidoo.
If you were directed here by Tisha, our awesome bug sorter outer, and you still weren't able to find an answer, reply to Tisha's email, and she'll take a further look.
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Wait, I can make money from this?!
You bet. Lots of lensmasters are earning thousands of dollars a year.
Squidoo makes money from ads and affiliate links.
We give 5% of what we earn, right off the top, to charity. We keep 45% to cover our overhead and stuff.
That leaves 50%. That goes to charity or to the people who build the pages. And we leave it up to you to choose one or the other.
It's that simple. You can earn a dollar, a nickel or a dime at a time for your favorite cause or for you.
Did we mention that Squidoo is free? Always has been.
We give 5% of what we earn, right off the top, to charity. We keep 45% to cover our overhead and stuff.
That leaves 50%. That goes to charity or to the people who build the pages. And we leave it up to you to choose one or the other.
It's that simple. You can earn a dollar, a nickel or a dime at a time for your favorite cause or for you.
Did we mention that Squidoo is free? Always has been.
How do I get paid?
A quick overview
Squidoo uses PayPal to send you cash. And if you've selected to send your royalties to charity, we make a donation to them in your name. (Find out more about our growing charity choices below). PayPal serves over 96 million customers in 55 countries and is a trusted eBay company.
At the close of every Squidoo pay period, two things will happen.
1) Squidoo will post a note on your Dashboard with a report of total money earned across your account (for all lenses), and the breakdown of where you're sending it. For example, if you have 2 lenses that pay cash directly to you, but 10 lenses that pay the YMCA, this email report will confirm how much money is going where.
2) If you're to receive cash (and you've reached your Cash Payment Threshold), you'll also get an official email from PayPal with instructions for how to pick up your money. The PayPal email will go to whatever email address you use for Squidoo.
Tip: If you're already using PayPal, you might want to make sure you're using the same email address for both PayPal and Squidoo. It's not a requirement for getting paid, but it could help smooth the way. You can add your existing PayPal email address to our system here. But don't worry. If your royalties are sent to an email address that's different from your already registered PayPal address, you can always go into PayPal, to your Profile settings, and "add" your other email address to that account.
If you don't have a PayPal account yet, the payment email you get from them will include directions for how to claim your Squidoo money. It's fast and simple to sign up. Takes about 30 seconds.
At the close of every Squidoo pay period, two things will happen.
1) Squidoo will post a note on your Dashboard with a report of total money earned across your account (for all lenses), and the breakdown of where you're sending it. For example, if you have 2 lenses that pay cash directly to you, but 10 lenses that pay the YMCA, this email report will confirm how much money is going where.
2) If you're to receive cash (and you've reached your Cash Payment Threshold), you'll also get an official email from PayPal with instructions for how to pick up your money. The PayPal email will go to whatever email address you use for Squidoo.
Tip: If you're already using PayPal, you might want to make sure you're using the same email address for both PayPal and Squidoo. It's not a requirement for getting paid, but it could help smooth the way. You can add your existing PayPal email address to our system here. But don't worry. If your royalties are sent to an email address that's different from your already registered PayPal address, you can always go into PayPal, to your Profile settings, and "add" your other email address to that account.
If you don't have a PayPal account yet, the payment email you get from them will include directions for how to claim your Squidoo money. It's fast and simple to sign up. Takes about 30 seconds.
When do I get paid?
Close to the beginning of every month! If your lenses have generated cash or money for charity, keep an eye on your My Lenses dashboard for a report of your earnings. If you're one of those people who refreshes your screen and keeps an eye on your money like a hawk, consider the 15th the deadline, and anything before that is a bonus!
Why did my money go to charity?
Squidoo helps lensmasters support charities in many ways, and there are three main ways your lens might have been set to send its earnings to charity.
- Your global settings list a charity.
Under the My Profile tab of your dashboard, you can set a charity to be your default location to send payments. By changing this setting, you can reset all your lenses to go to cash or the charity of your choice. - You created a lens through a front door that supports a charity.
Several of our front doors (such as SquidWho) help you create a lens by plugging in modules and information. These lenses are often set to send your money to charity. You can change this at any time by editing the lens and changing your payment options in the right column. - The lens was individually set to a charity.
Most often, individual lenses have been set to a charity, and the lensmaster forgets! Check your lenses first to see if this is the case.
How do I change my payment settings?
If your lens has been set to go to cash and you want to set it to go to a charity OR it's set to go to a charity and you want it to go to cash OR you want to change the charity your money should go to:
1. Log in to your account and edit the lens you wish to change the settings on.
2. Scroll down to the Payment Options section in the right column.
3. Change the settings as per your preferences!
(BTW - if you're trying to change it and you see no drop down menus, file a bug report stating you have a Payment Options glitch, and be sure to include your username and the lens URL. Thanks!)
1. Log in to your account and edit the lens you wish to change the settings on.
2. Scroll down to the Payment Options section in the right column.
3. Change the settings as per your preferences!
(BTW - if you're trying to change it and you see no drop down menus, file a bug report stating you have a Payment Options glitch, and be sure to include your username and the lens URL. Thanks!)
My earnings went to the wrong PayPal address.
Ensuring your PayPal address is correct is important! You'll find several reminders about this in your profile and lens workshop. If your payment was sent to your Squidoo account address, instead of an alternate address, you can still collect your payment.To add a new PayPal address to your account, log in to PayPal and follow their directions for adding a new address. You should then be able to collect the funds from that email to your account. You can contact PayPal direction with technical issues regarding their site.
Then, change your PayPal address in your Squidoo account. Click on the My Profile tab in your dashboard and scroll down to the PayPal Address line. Click edit, and enter your email address of choice. All future payments will go to the address you have selected in your account.
I've had a lens for a while but it hasn't earned any money.
Squidoo gives you the opportunity to earn money by selling products through modules and ranking well (LensRank) compared to other lenses. But just having a lens won't guarantee you money.
There is a lot of debate among lensmasters about how best to make money on Squidoo, and the top suggestions are these:
1. Give it time. As your lenses become more popular, their earnings will tend to increase. Our highest earning lensmasters have been working hard for a year or more, and things are always getting better.
2. Make sure your lenses are the best they can be. This will keep visitors coming back and give them incentive to link to you.
3. Promote your lens. Helping others find it will increase the chances that they'll buy from it and share it with others.
Squidoo is not and was never designed to be a get-rich-quick program, but through hard work and smart work, you can earn mega bucks for yourself and charity!
There is a lot of debate among lensmasters about how best to make money on Squidoo, and the top suggestions are these:
1. Give it time. As your lenses become more popular, their earnings will tend to increase. Our highest earning lensmasters have been working hard for a year or more, and things are always getting better.
2. Make sure your lenses are the best they can be. This will keep visitors coming back and give them incentive to link to you.
3. Promote your lens. Helping others find it will increase the chances that they'll buy from it and share it with others.
Squidoo is not and was never designed to be a get-rich-quick program, but through hard work and smart work, you can earn mega bucks for yourself and charity!
The money I made doesn't match my dashboard
Squidoo works with several partners to facilitate the earning process. This also means we work on their time frame for payments, and we pay you once we get paid.For most of our affiliates, there is about 45-day wait. This means that in July you'll get the money you earned in May. For some, there is a 60-day wait, so there's a two month lag.
Your dashboard only includes affiliates, and your stats page only includes eBay, Cafepress, and Amazon. It doesn't include revenue earned by AdSense or Glam ads. This is why your dashboard figures don't always add up to the money you were paid out.
We're working all the time to make our reporting systems better. Thanks for working with us!
Image by shuttermom
I referred a member - why haven't I earned my $5?
Squidoo offers a bounty on new referrals. Once your referred members earn $15 in commissions through their own lenses, you get $5. Neat! You can see how much they have earned by looking in the Stats tab of your dashboard.
Why not drop them a line and encourage them to create another lens?
Why not drop them a line and encourage them to create another lens?
It says I haven't reached my "cash threshold payout".
Each lensmaster starts with a default threshold of $10. That means you won't get paid until your cash earnings reach $10 or more. But you can change this any time in your My Profile tab of your dashboard.
For a more detailed description of the threshold system, read the first point of our payment help section.
For a more detailed description of the threshold system, read the first point of our payment help section.
Why don't my actual earnings match my stats?
At Squidoo we do our best to make sure you get accurate statistics reporting, but on the financial side that isn't always possible. The good news is that you should be receiving more than shows on your dashboard.
Why is that? Sometimes revenue from eBay, Amazon, Cafepress, etc., is underestimated. The biggest reason is that Google AdSense and Glam Ad revenue isn't counted on your stats page.
Since ad revenue is paid out on a prorated basis (the better your lens does in LensRank, the more you make), we don't know what you'll get until the end of the month, so it doesn't show up on your lens. This is good for you!
Why is that? Sometimes revenue from eBay, Amazon, Cafepress, etc., is underestimated. The biggest reason is that Google AdSense and Glam Ad revenue isn't counted on your stats page.
Since ad revenue is paid out on a prorated basis (the better your lens does in LensRank, the more you make), we don't know what you'll get until the end of the month, so it doesn't show up on your lens. This is good for you!
Can I use my own affiliate links and ads on Squidoo?
We offer several money-making modules through big-name affiliates (Cafepress, eBay, Amazon, etc). The total commission made from each sale is split up. Five percent off the top goes to our charity. Yay! The remainder is split 50-50. Squidoo gets 50% to run the site, and you get 50% to play with.
Several advanced users also become affiliates for websites and products not yet offered through one of our money making modules. This allows them to offer additional products that match their niche topics.
If you choose to do this, here are some tips to keep in mind.
Several advanced users also become affiliates for websites and products not yet offered through one of our money making modules. This allows them to offer additional products that match their niche topics.
If you choose to do this, here are some tips to keep in mind.
- Any third-party affiliates you wish to add are at your own risk.
- We can't offer assistance with link or coding problems that stem from these affiliates.
- Commissions don't show up on your dashboard, nor can we track them for you.
- Many modules allow you to add some HTML codes. We do not support iFrames or JavaScript or Flash.
- The same rules apply. See our Terms of Service for more details.
- Don't fall into the spam trap! See Squid Don't for rules. If you're not sure, don't do it.
- Need help? Ask a fellow lensmaster at the forum. (But check with your affiliate first. We might not have the answer!)
Why did the money disappear off my dashboard?
Each month we process payment sometime between the 1st and the 15th for everything you earned two months prior. (So money earned in January is paid in March.) When this happens your dashboard is cleared of everything paid in that month. (So January's earnings disappear.) If you haven't earned anything in the previous month, (February, for example), your dashboard will appear blank.
But the money isn't gone! Every time we process payment it either goes to you (your PayPal account), the charities you chose, or your reserve hopper.
But the money isn't gone! Every time we process payment it either goes to you (your PayPal account), the charities you chose, or your reserve hopper.
What is the deal with my reserve hopper?
You can choose the minimum limit that is paid out to you each month in cash. If your earnings don't reach that minimum, the money goes into your reserve hopper. It stays here until you change your limit, and/or we process payment again and you reach your limit.
The minimum we'll pay out is $1, so if you've earned less than that, you'll have to wait until you reach a buck to get paid. The default setting is $10, so if you've earned more than a dollar but haven't gotten paid, go to the My Account tab of your dashboard to change your settings.
The minimum we'll pay out is $1, so if you've earned less than that, you'll have to wait until you reach a buck to get paid. The default setting is $10, so if you've earned more than a dollar but haven't gotten paid, go to the My Account tab of your dashboard to change your settings.
Do I ever have to PAY Squidoo?
No!
Let me clarify.
When you earn money through your lenses, 5% off the top goes to charity. That's our mission. The remainder is split 50-50 between Squidoo and you, and that helps us run the site. So that's the only type of payment we take.
But, you never have to pay to use Squidoo or learn to use Squidoo. Some lensmasters have created guides for using Squidoo that cost money, or will build lenses for you for a fee. We don't endorse these services. But some of them are very good! Just keep in mind that if you buy them, you'll need to talk directly to the person you bought it from.
We provide free resources all over Squidoo to keep it free for you. The top two places to start? Our peer driven forum on SquidU and The Answer Deck.
Let me clarify.
When you earn money through your lenses, 5% off the top goes to charity. That's our mission. The remainder is split 50-50 between Squidoo and you, and that helps us run the site. So that's the only type of payment we take.
But, you never have to pay to use Squidoo or learn to use Squidoo. Some lensmasters have created guides for using Squidoo that cost money, or will build lenses for you for a fee. We don't endorse these services. But some of them are very good! Just keep in mind that if you buy them, you'll need to talk directly to the person you bought it from.
We provide free resources all over Squidoo to keep it free for you. The top two places to start? Our peer driven forum on SquidU and The Answer Deck.
Still have questions?
As we add more ways to make money, payment can seem tricky. If you're not finding the solution to your issue here, leave a message for Kimberly, our Community Organizer.
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Frankster
Another excellent lens, Kimberly. Thanks for sharing. I'll pass it on to all of the newbies I help. Bear hugs, Frankie Posted September 27, 2008 |
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Squidoophile
Thak you, I've been a member in squidoo for almost a year and a half right now and I got too many commision from many lenses, but it takes time and effort, and patience, is a real virtue at squidoo, 5* and keep doing lenses like this one. Posted September 26, 2008 |
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mikestaco
Very Helpful. I hope to get some loot!! Posted September 20, 2008 |
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Marks-Outdoors
Thank you. this aswered the question I had and some that I most likely would have had soon. lol Posted September 15, 2008 |
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KimberlyDawnWells
Oh, Duke, but it is. ;) Posted September 13, 2008 |
More questions you've asked.
Do we earn for page impressions?
No. Simply loading a page doesn't earn you money.2 points
Do I need my own eBay, Cafepress, and Amazon accounts?
Nope, Squidoo does that all for you. You'll get p more...0 points
