Fresh Wonders Cooking Contest

You know the saying that it's all about timing? Well this is the time; the perfect time to get involved in The Official Squidoo Thanksgiving Cook-Off for Charity!

Raising money for Charity is the driving force behind Squidoo, and you'll find that Charity Central offers a complete listing of supported charities for you to choose from.

Face it, when you do a search for a recipe there are specific things you're expecting to see. Let's break it down:

Ingredient List - Include how much of a particular ingredient is needed. Also make sure to include an explanation of any unusual ingredients.

Preparation Instructions - Directions for how to prepare the recipe should be simply put and to the point. If the recipe requires a special pan or gadget to prepare it, make sure you include that information as well.

Serving Suggestions - What do you serve with your recipe to compliment it? This is a great place to use the featured lens module!

Photos - Do you have pictures taken during the preparation process? As it's cooking? What about as it's ready to be served? Show them!

Optional - Relevant videos and any special tools/gadgets your recipe requires.

This was originally posted as a "guest post" during the last RocketMoms session (Learn more about the Rocket Moms).

In the post, Robin (rms) explains how to make your recipe lenses more profitable. I've found the information to be invaluable, and have it saved so I can refer to it when making my own recipe lenses.

I've heard this myth time and again: Recipe pages are too saturated online. Recipe lenses don't make money. I beg to differ. Some of my most profitable lenses are recipe lenses. To date, my Best Panini Sandwich Recipes has earned more than $390.00 in royalties on its own. That's a single lens.

So I figured I'd share my 'secret' to making a profitable recipe lens.

For starters, realize that when people land on your recipe lens, they really aren't interested in buying anything. When they arrive, all your reader wants is a great tasting, easy-to-follow recipe and maybe a few photos. But, in order for you to earn lots of money from your recipe, you need to sell them something.

How do you do that? If they aren't shopping, how do you convince them that they need to buy something?

This is where the Amazon Spotlight module becomes your best friend.

Use the Amazon Spotlight module to show your reader that ONE product that will help them prepare, serve or eat your recipe, quicker ... easier ... or better! It works best if the item is something you actually own and use yourself. Or, at least, if the product is something you would love to have.

Write the Amazon Spotlight description in the form of a cooking tip, not a sales pitch. Give your personal reason for choosing that particular cooking product above any others. Don't list hundreds of the same type of product for your readers to choose from. They don't have the time to sort through: they probably want to be wowed by your single best recommendation.

Last but not least, try a Featured Lenses module at the bottom, or punctuated between your recipe tips, to point your readers to more of your recipe lenses. Once you've got someone drooling over your panini recipes, once they've read your first lens and trust you to deliver, chances are good they'll be hungry for more lenses from you.

-Robin (rms)

Fresh Wonders is a group of Wonder Squids and Fresh Squids and is all about helping and supporting each other. We share our newest lenses, learn about lensbuilding stuff and support each other in every way!

Not a Fresh Wonder? If you are interested in joining, then get in touch with, a_willow, our group leader.

It never fails, every year we find ourselves with more leftover ham than we know what to do with after our Christmas dinner. Because of this, I'm always scrambling for ideas on ways to use it up in our meals.

Here are just two ideas I've come up with that I've shared here on Squidoo. And I'm helping a couple of my favorite charities in the process!