The 10 Day Squidoo eBay Challenge 2008

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Review of the 10 Day Squidoo eBay Challenge

UPDATE! THE CONTEST IS OVER!

Congrats to our 2 incredible winners. Yep, count 'em, one and two.

Want to learn what SquidBids is all about? Check this out.

Not to worry - keep watching SquidU for more challenges and contests and keep buildling up your lens count. Make it to 50 - and you could become a Giant Squid like these fine folks!

I'm Katiyana, a Giant Squid with 200 lenses under my belt, and an eBayer since 1999. There is a lot of synergy to be found between the world of eBay and the world of Squidoo. And this is your chance to take advantage of that, leading up to the eBay Live 2008 convention (in Chicago, June 19-21).

So here's the challenge, in a nutshell: Make 1 lens a day, spotlighting just 1 item or theme of items you have for sale, for 10 days.

Winner (ie, the person with the best eBay lens as voted on by our judges) gets a free iPod, and way better: Lens of the Day and a reference in Seth Godin's presentation at eBay Live. Not to mention 10 great pages pointing to the stuff you sell...

The Challenge starts Wednesday June 4th 2008, and ends on Tuesday June 17th at 10PM EST. (Hey, we'll give you weekends off).

Read on for more details!

1 lens a day. 10 days. Winner take all.

Here's how it works 

Are you ready to take the 10 day challenge?

The challenge runs from June 4th through June 17th.

Your task: Create 1 lens a day for each day of the challenge. A lens to highlight each of your bestsellers. Or your newest stuff for sale. Or to organize your themes. Or to plumb the topic of what you're selling. Or just about how eBay impacts your life.

Then, send them to us!

At the end of the challenge you'll have 10 awesome lenses about you and eBay, each pointing to all your best stuff for sale--or your favorite stuff to shop for!

Oh, I should say: eBay sellers AND buyers are both welcome.

Are you an eBay seller? Create a lens about your eBay business, tell us about your eBay store, create a SquidBids lens if you haven't already! Use the RSS Feeds and/or eBay modules to showcase your eBay listings and tell us about what you sell.

Are you an eBay buyer? Create a lens about what you shop for on eBay, tell us about what you are collecting and what great items you've added to your collection from eBay. Everyone has a wacky eBay story, right?

At the end of the 10 days, you'll have 10 lenses highlighting your funkiest, newest, bestselling stuff OR your coolest, rarest, and most interseting purchases.

But a challenge wouldn't be fun if there weren't PRIZES involved - so here's what is at stake!

The Prizes 

First, you gotta nominate yourself!

When you have finished your 10 eBay lenses, email them in to me and Squidoo HQ at ebayaward@squidoo.com.

We and a panel of volunteer lensmasters will select a winner: the person who made the most authentic, most creative, most unique eBay lens for the contest.

Prizes! Winner gets:

--A free ipod
--The lucky winner also gets one of their eBay lenses showcased as the Squidoo Lens of the Day on June 19 (The first day of eBay live)
--And gets featured as a case study in Seth Godin's talk at eBay Live!

In addition, anyone who participated should ping us again in 30 days and let us know how your lenses and eBay sales are doing. Squidoo HQ will feature a roundup of successful case studies on the Squid blog.

Stuck for ideas? 

If you sell Elvis memorabilia, try making a lens about Graceland, and point to all your items for sale along the way.

If you sell beach jewelry, make a page about why you love the beach, or your last beach vacation, and link to your 5 favorite items for sale.

If you sell funky tshirts, why not make 1 lens for every single t-shirt? Talk about what inspired it, how you made it, and of course... where people can buy it.

If you sell a whole bunch of Halloween Costume gear, have a lens for each costume theme. A pirates lens, a witches lens, and so on.

And hey, if you're a buyer rather than a seller, just showcase the coolest stuff you've bought over the years. A rare, signed U2 album for your wife? Tell the story on a lens. A bunch of white legos to make a lego cake for your wedding? You KNOW that story needs a lens...

A few great examples 

Making 10 great eBay lenses is easier than you think! Check out some of these lenses to get inspired!

Challenge FAQ 

Get your answers to commonly asked questions about the challenge here! No charge!
  1. Can you submit already created lenses?

    We know you are pretty busy eBayers, and some of you have already created some fabulous lenses to promote your eBay store. So if you want to submit some of your pre-existing lenses you can (but make them good ones!). Please submit no more than 5 lenses created before 6/4/08 - I'm sure you can get at least 5 new lenses done during the challenge. This will get you a chance to see the new modules and new features Squidoo has to offer!!
  2. Can I submit more than 10 lenses?

    To keep things fair, no more than 10 submissions per lensmaster will be accepted. So make sure the ones you submit are the best ones you can create! Once you hit 10 - you can keep submitting, but they will not be considered for the prizes.
  3. Where can I see the finalists?

    The finalists will be selected by the morning of June 18th. I will post the finalists here in this lens for you to see, and do a SquidCast to let you know they've been posted. They will then be forwarded on to the judges for their vote. The winner will also be posted here, and their eBay business or story showcased for all to see!
  4. Do the lenses need to be 100% ebay auctions or can they be mostly ebay with some other amazon and/or 3rd party affiliate links?

    The lenses primary focus should be on your eBay business, but if you'd like to include Amazong and 3rd party affiliate links as well, that's fine with me!
  5. Is adding my lens to the Plexo in this lens the same as submitting it to the email address ebayaward@squidoo.com?

    No - sorry, only lenses submitted via the email address will be considered for the contest. The Plexo module is just for fun, and to help inspire others by showing off your work.

Are you ready? 

Do you have your 10 new eBay lenses all ready to go? Are they as good as they get? Would you be proud to have the world see them?

Then it's time.

Submit your lenses by emailing them (we need links for all 10, please) to: ebayaward@squidoo.com.

Emails must be received by 10pm EST on June 17th to be eligible for the prizes. The 10 finalists will be submitted to the judges on June 18th with the winner announced on June 19th.

P.S. If you spam, you're out. If you made a bunch of junk, you're out. Make stuff you're proud of, and we'll probably agree...

Have you ever heard Seth Godin speak? 

Wouldn't you love to have one of YOUR lenses used in his eBay Live presentation?

Here's one of his best presentations, from a Google talk he gave.

"All Marketers are Liars" - Seth Godin speaks at Google

Seth Godin is the author of six bestsellers, including Permission Marketing, an Amazon Top 100 bestseller for a year and a Fortune Best Business Book. His newest book, All Marketers are Liars , has already made the Amazon Top 100 and has inspired its own blog. Seth is also a renowned speaker, and was recently chosen as one of "21 Speakers for the Next Century" by Successful Meetings Magazine and is consistently rated among the best speakers by the audiences he addresses. Seth was founder and CEO of Yoyodyne, an interactive direct marketing company, which Yahoo! acquired in late 1998. He holds an MBA from Stanford, is a contributing editor to Fast Company magazine, and was called "the Ultimate...

Runtime: 48:01
69346 views
10 Comments:

curated content from YouTube

Announcing the Finalists! 

OK, I have handed the list of finalists to Megan at Squidoo HQ and they and the panels of judges will go over and them and pick the winner. As promised, I'm posting the finalists here. These are the lenses that caught my attention because they either had amazing content, an interesting angle or approach to their topic, an interesting use of a module, or had caught a hot or unique subject that is sure to draw traffic into their lenses.

To summary - I picked what I liked the best, and forwarded the list to the judges. Keep watching here for the announcement of the winner, and good luck to our contestants!!

Now, below are the finalists:

 

 

Thank you for participating in the Squidoo eBay Challenge!! 

leave a message at the sound of the beep

Thank you for those to participated and supported the Challenge, it was quite the success, and we'll have to do it again sometime soon :)

dannystaple wrote...

I may have missed the contest, but I have not missed this content. This was worth reading if only for the Seth video. Thanks!

ReplyPosted December 16, 2008

Paul_Rushing wrote...

Wish ebay motors worked well with squidoo. Any suggestions?

ReplyPosted September 28, 2008

emilyava wrote...

Excellent informative lens.

ReplyPosted September 20, 2008

emilyava wrote...

Nice and excellent lens.

ReplyPosted September 18, 2008

markbenson wrote...

Nice effort, your lens is good

ReplyPosted August 20, 2008

beachbum_gabby wrote...

sounds interesting. good luck to all!

ReplyPosted July 29, 2008

wrote...

Congratulations to the participants. I'm not ready for the challenge, maybe next time. :)

ReplyPosted July 07, 2008

wrote...

Hi,
I love your lens. Given you 5 stars.
Check out my 1st lens "Weight Loss and Back Pain".
Thank you.

ReplyPosted June 24, 2008

Teddi14 wrote...

Gees, I could kick myself. I was so into making the lenses...I forgot to submit them!!!!!! I would love to hear what others have to say about them. Please check mine out if you have a minute.

ReplyPosted June 23, 2008

sisterra wrote...

Great lens!

ReplyPosted June 22, 2008

digitalscrap wrote...

Good luck everyone!

ReplyPosted June 21, 2008

Susan52 wrote...

Great contest, great finalists. Glad I didn't have to choose! Congratulations to everyone!

ReplyPosted June 19, 2008

Lakota429 wrote...

Congratulations to everyone! Great lenses. You all put so much work into them. I'm excited to see who takes first...but I think you're all winners!! Annie~

ReplyPosted June 19, 2008

WhitePineLane wrote...

I'm thrilled and honored to be among the finalists! It's a great group of lenses-- congrats to all!

ReplyPosted June 19, 2008

ricarde wrote...

Great idea! I'm planning creating my Ebay lenses soon! Wonderful lens!

ReplyPosted June 18, 2008

chefkeem wrote...

I feel very honored to be in such sophisticated company among all finalists. Congratulations to all of you! Thank you Lady Gotrocks and Kathy for notifying me. You're sweet.

ReplyPosted June 18, 2008

awelldressedbullet wrote...

Congratulations everyone, they are all great lenses! - Kathy

ReplyPosted June 18, 2008

Lady_Gotrocks wrote...

Congrats! to all the Finalist!

ReplyPosted June 18, 2008

Anahid wrote...

Hi: I submitted my lenses in the morning,I am excited,thank you for the opportunity to participate in the challenge. Thanks. Anahid

ReplyPosted June 17, 2008

EverythingMouse wrote...

This was a really good challenge. Just sent mine. It certainly made me focus on creating some different lenses.

ReplyPosted June 17, 2008

WhitePineLane wrote...

Just sent mine in! This was great idea-- it was fun to see what I could come up with! Thanks!

ReplyPosted June 17, 2008

Lady_Gotrocks wrote...

I just sent mine in....WHEW!!! Didn't think I would make it.

Will some one let me know if they got them...please

ReplyPosted June 16, 2008

NancyOram wrote...

Thank you so much! I just finished what I had planned on doing, but never got around to.

ReplyPosted June 16, 2008

ebay-grandma wrote...

It has been fun Katiyanya, turned my lenses in today. I have learned some new things and that has been good. You Rock as a RockStar. Thanks.

ReplyPosted June 15, 2008

janieruth wrote...

Stephanie, you never cease to amaze me! Can't wait for eBay Live! YOU ROCK!

janieruth

ReplyPosted June 14, 2008

chefkeem wrote...

Thanks for the great opportunity to showcase our lenses, Katiyana. I've emailed my list today!

ReplyPosted June 13, 2008

KimGiancaterino wrote...

I understand how the contest works... I just noticed that some of the lenses I voted for had 0 votes today. Good luck everyone!

ReplyPosted June 12, 2008

katiyana wrote...

The Plexo module isn't the contest - so if you submitted your lenses just to the Plexo you have NOT submitted them officially! You need to email a list of your lenses to ebayaward@squidoo.com to be in consideration. Winning the Plexo module gets you nada.

ReplyPosted June 12, 2008

KimGiancaterino wrote...

All done! Hey, who's voting people down? This is supposed to be fun.

ReplyPosted June 12, 2008

Loyalis wrote...

All Done! whew..

C'mon guys you can do it! Punch those lenses out!

ReplyPosted June 12, 2008

hearthealth wrote...

Wish I found this earlier.. grr. Hehe, 5 flamin stars and favin' looking forward to you visiting my home theater lens!

ReplyPosted June 11, 2008

hearthealth wrote...

Wish I found this earlier.. grr. Hehe, 5 flamin stars and favin' looking forward to you visiting my home theater lens!

ReplyPosted June 11, 2008

Lady_Gotrocks wrote...

I have not made a lens in many months, today I made two!

ReplyPosted June 07, 2008

KimGiancaterino wrote...

Well, I've got one entry under my belt! Only 9 more to go... I'm also featuring this lens on my Squid Angel Diary this week to help spread the word.

ReplyPosted June 07, 2008

larose wrote...

Great Stuff.

ReplyPosted June 07, 2008

2Eklectik wrote...

Very cool contest. Everyone wins by having 10 new lenses. Good luck everyone!

ReplyPosted June 06, 2008

ecovicki wrote...

I saw you on the Stores board. This is a great idea.

ReplyPosted June 06, 2008

kiwisoutback wrote...

Nice job! This sounds like a fun contest that should create some cool product lenses.

ReplyPosted June 06, 2008

awelldressedbullet wrote...

* madly waves to Kat * What a great idea, wishes everyone good luck! I'm honored you included mine as an example * blush * - Kathy

ReplyPosted June 06, 2008

EverythingMouse wrote...

Great idea. I can never resist a challenge. Count me in!

ReplyPosted June 06, 2008

CliveAnderson wrote...

Personally I think this is a really cool idea Katiyana and had I been a eBay'er I would most certainly have taken the challenge. I also think the concept a good one too. I wish you the very best of luck with it.
Kind Regards
Clive Anderson

ReplyPosted June 05, 2008

digitalscrap wrote...

Good Luck everyone!!

ReplyPosted June 05, 2008

Teddi14 wrote...

I will try to do it. Thanks for the information.

ReplyPosted June 04, 2008

britney-smith wrote...

Great Challenge !

ReplyPosted June 04, 2008

Udderlygoodstuff wrote...

I can never turn down a challenge!
Ok turn on brain turn on what to write about!

ReplyPosted June 04, 2008

Treasures-By-Brenda wrote...

Oh My Gosh...Now I have to get busy! Imagine, in ten days I could have ten new lenses! Good luck to us all!

ReplyPosted June 04, 2008

The_Book_Garden wrote...

Woot! A great concept, count me in!

ReplyPosted June 04, 2008

JustBon-Crochet-Designs wrote...

What a neat and exciting challenge! Thanks for the motivation I need right now, and for putting together such a wonderful lens. Good luck to everyone :)

ReplyPosted June 04, 2008

GypsyOwl wrote...

This sounds awesome! Best of Luck to everyone participating. Thank you Katiyana for all your work putting this contest lens together. I'm getting a late start, just found you. But, I'm in! Sounds like a lot of fun.

ReplyPosted June 04, 2008

WebWendy wrote...

The 10 Day Squidoo eBay Challenge, eh? Guess I'll have to type outside the box....

http://www.the-auction-specialist.com

ReplyPosted June 04, 2008

view all 64 comments

This lens was Lens of the Day on June 4, 2008 

To kick off the challenge!

AND THE WINNERS ARE... 

Yes, I said WINNERS, Plural - there were so many good lenses, Squidoo HQ and the judges decided to pick an eBay seller and an eBay marketer to show off what they've done to build synergy between Squidoo and eBay. Check them out below and tell them CONGRATS for their good work!

by katiyana


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