Promote Your Business On Squidoo

The best name, user name or handle to use is your real name if you can get it. Second best is to use your first name or your last name or first initial and last name. See mine? Back when I didn't know any better. If you are safety conscious, don't feel intimidated to do it. Just use your first name in a way such as this example: BillWrites.

The worst thing you can do is name yourself as in this example: SmithsRoofingandCoatingSuppliesandSvc. The Internet has progressed to relationships. Now, it's less about promoting your business and more about promoting yourself. People want to know the person behind the business. Readers are not interested in your business name. Or your business link, for that matter. People want to know what you know and what you feel about what you know before they give their time to what you're selling. Give them yourself, and you give them the opportunity, and the right, to decide to follow you, tell others about you, and buy from you.

If you have already set yourself up with one of those unfortunate user names, and if you have just a few lenses built, my advice is to create a new account with a new user name, then transfer your work from the old to the new account (sign in for link to work--all links open in a new tab or window).

A photograph of yourself is best. If you are not comfortable with that, anything is better than leaving Squidoo's default avatar to represent you. The default represents "transcience," not stability, and not you as an individual.

If you are already a member and are logged in, go here to change the default avatar to your own image or caricature. Even a flower image you own is better than the Squid and Squidette--at best, the default denotes "newbie," and at worst, it denotes laziness.

Telling the world that you can edit your bio later just might not be something you really want to frustrate your readers with. They want to know about you. Now. Not later. Even if it's just a sentence or two, create your own bio words. Do it before anyone gets the chance to ever lay eyes on that default text.

If you are already a member and are logged in, go here to write and save your lensmaster bio.

Do you have a Facebook page? A Twitter page? A blog? Ecommerce store? Let folks know about any links you'd like them to find you at. If you're now logged in, go to the profile page and set your links in the "External Links" section.

And give due consideration to the importance of allowing your readers to contact you via Squidoo. No one will get your email address just from contacting you. If a reader or a lensmaster writes to you, it's your prerogative to write back and thereby give them your email address. Until you write back, no one but Squidoo will know your personal email; it's a connection with the contactee that you, yourself decide to make or not.

Having no contact button is seen as being anti-social, and that's not what sharing knowledge and recommending products is about, as I hope you've learned here. Having contact disabled is also seen as, "I'm just here to sell to the masses."

Under "Account Settings," add your email address, and below that a few lines, turn "Allow Contact?" on.

No matter how important it is to you, your reader will not want to be reading about your business or company's history. Write for the reader. What information can the reader use to help them in their daily life. Make your lens a conversation about them and their needs. Let them know what you can do to help them meet those needs. Write as if you are helping your best customer or your best friend.

Topics don't have to be strictly about your company, although sharing your expertise is a great way to build lenses. Squidoo can be used to give folks all sorts of information on all sorts of your passions. Don't be lured into "this is my website; please visit" types of lenses. There is so much more value you can add just by being the unique individual that you are.

Even if selling information that you write is what your business does, give your readers as much free information as you possibly can. Totally free. No prerequisites. Be a part of Generation G (G for Give), another great trend in online business.

Use the poll module, the guest book module, and similar modules to create a lens that not only shares information but that allows your readers to interact with what you've shared.

Proofread to the best of your ability. Most writers online are proofreading and editing their own work. That's not the best situation because it's not as easy to see one's own mistakes, so cutting one another some slack is the call of the day when it comes to typos and grammar. However, careless writing can easily be differentiated from writing that shows care.

In all of your work, give it its proper due. A well-done article speaks volumes about the respect you have for your readers.