Squidoo It All:: Why Should YOU Squidoo?

There has been mountains of stuff written about Squidoo on the internet. Some of it great, some of it bad. Some of it hyped, some of it genuine lies. Is there spam on Squidoo? There has been. Our community is so terrific that spam is policed by lots of folks, all of whom have some important work, or even not so important work, on Squidoo.

Great stuff is welcomed and loved at Squidoo. On the other hand...

Good and truth will always out, and that means that YOU, your experience and your knowledge will always overcome the mediocre.

The successes of Squidoo are so terrific, Squidoo pages are so helpful for so many thing, Squidooing your own passions so rewarding, that it is important for you to take a serious, hard-headed and grown up look at whether you should really Squidoo.

Squidoo is definitely imbued with an upbeat and encouraging overall look and feel.

That doesn't mean, not for a minute, that Squidoo and its format isn't up to the deepest and most intense of adult concerns, interests, studies and information.

We have incredible pages on everything from surviving disasters to French cooking, from memoires of war survivors to ancient histories.

Anything and everything can be Squidoo'd. See for yourself!

More than at any time in history, business needs a new approach to customer development. Accessible expertise, good information just for sharing and to improve the life and experience of your potential audience, and resource invitation is a more palatable approach to an economically stressed-out community.

Extend a hand with your authority, your expertise, your friendship and your availability with an interesting, colorful and interactive Squidoo page. You may not make a sale the first time out, but if its a good approach people will be back, again and again, and they'll send their friends, too.

Our customers and economy are both changing, and judging by this past Christmas season, even the seasons where economic activity will occur is very hard to judge.

Good Squidoo pages can help you test products, markets, localities, and even seasons, all for free and without expensive investments in graphic designers, internet specialists, or even local print media.

You may really really need to know if the people you are reaching understand what you are offering!

A series of specially focused Squidoo lenses can help you learn a great deal of practical and USEFUL information about building your business, assisting your customers, and meeting the economic challenges we are all facing.

For free.

Yes, you really do shine, for those who know you, love you, interact with you. There is no reason you can't shine out on the internet,and DEFINE THE SHINE YOURSELF!

Create an 'about you' page that is an online resume or vitae.
Create an 'about your business' page that is a stationary, interactive page that sets the tone and trajectory for your business.
Create an 'about your cause page' that shares with an audience all the heart-felt reasons that your cause, your charity, your activities are so compelling for you.

This is just one more place on the internet that has something special to say about you and what is important to you. It can and does support all your other internet activities as you select.

Anonymity is surely a death-knell for business or for causes on the internet, a flexible and interesting Squidoo page can be a fresh spot for those with common interests or needs to land and interact.

One of the best aspects of Squidoo is CHANGE. The lensmasters make change for the better by contributing to charities. By expounding on issues. By getting involved in politics. By educating on problems, solutions, trends and unintended consequences.

The field for YOUR voice is vast at Squidoo. As Google searches, your page, no matter where it is on Squidoo's private lensrank, shows up as a stand alone page, readily available to anyone who is interested in the same causes you are.

Make your best case here- it will remain fresh, vibrant and relevant for a long time to come. And, if things change, it is easy to change your Squidoo page along with the times.

Don't be ignored any longer- put your best foot forward on Squidoo.

As the problems, solutions and causes increase throughout society and on the internet, it can be tough to get a hearing!

Great pages about various causes:

Successful causes get put in front of new interested people.

They persuade others of the value and importance of the cause.

They show genuine success and effectiveness.

They keep audiences up to date and personal.

Squidoo has terrific tools and modules for helping you promote, establish and build your cause. All for free. All long term. All OUT FRONT.

Wikis are great for so many reasons. They are also not-so-great for lots of reasons. Wikis are a LOT of work! Every time someone adds new information on a wiki, that info must be checked and rechecked for accuracy. Every time it gets edited by someone else, your own personality DISAPPEARS, and soon your wiki looks like a technical manual.

Wikis are great, and Google loves them for authority.

On the other hand, Squidoo pages accomplish a lot more, especially for the money!

They are more personal- your wit, charm and expertise shine through beautifully.

They are flexible- you can add all different types of interactive modules so your visitors can participate.

They are gorgeous- there are so many ways to add photographs, artwork, graphics that your different pages stand out in a way that a wiki never will.

You can earn money- sell related products, offer your ebooks, add your amazon favorites.

Squidoo is great- Google loves squidoo, too, for relevance and authority. Lots of us appreciate VERY MUCH the google juice that Squidoo gives us.

Some blogs, like Wordpress.com, do not allow you to offer anything for sale.

Some blogs, no matter how beautiful, may make certain MOST IMPORTANT posts difficult to find.

Making a hard-blog Squidoo page means that you can have a STAND ALONE page, one that gives your audience foundational information, one that stands alone in internet searches and on Google, one that you can keep evergreen and send people to again and again.

Squidoo pages increase the reach of your blog to a new audience. The lensmasters at Squidoo subscribe to blogs, read them, leave comments and support them. They vote them up at Digg, stumble them, rate them at technorati.

I subscribe to mountains of blogs, many of which I found here at Squidoo. I'm not the only one, not by a long shot.

If you are an artist, chances are just as good as not that you could use some additional promotion of your work.

It might surprise you to know that a jewelry artist who made Squidoo pages actually got a commission for the royal jewel collection from his Squidoo page, and made an extraordinary cameo to Queen Elizabeth?

I have never seen an artist that couldn't make a fabulous presentation of their work on Squidoo. We have amazing modules and a flexible arrangement that are perfect for the creative types.

Make it a virtual showroom, a virtual gallery, one that follows you around or explains the dynamics and significance of your work.

Get your own link-love in one convenient spot, and create a page that connects everything you're doing, everywhere on the web. Then join related groups, submit your page to digg, put it on facebook, twitter your new achievement.

Squidoo pages automatically update your blog posts, easily put things on twitter, facebook, digg and other social networking sites, helping you promote yourself very easily.

From there it is much easier to make friends, build and join fan clubs, and in general participate in activities that will increase your visibility on the internet and among your social groups.

People have done very well increasing their income on Squidoo by promoting products and resources that interest them very much.

Are you an expert in wood turning? Create a page and offer the tools and instruction manuals.

Are you a fabulous gardener? Same thing!

In fact, more and more people who have either given up commuting, or have been pink slipped altogether are joining Squidoo and creating pages about their passions, their hobbies, their advice, their expertise, and without spending a nickel, creating for themselves a little side income to help them through the difficult days.

Our new economy requires everyone show a new and higher level of initiative, but where do you start?

If you have a service business, contracting, masonry, auto repair, or almost any type of independent business, you NEED to Squidoo.

You can easily target your audience, your geographical location, your community, your particular customers, all without major investments in your internet presence.

You can improve your community standing by Squidooing about your town, events, politics, economic issues, and your small business.

Squidoo is easy and free. Make the most of the opportunities of this recession to work FOR you. Before someone else does...

No person, no business and no cause can get by these days without diversifying income opportunities and getting a little extra cash flow.

Squidoo enables you to use eBay for your own goods, or offer related goods for sale, things that enhance, support or point to your own business.

Enhance the 'resource' section of your business, your cause, your interests or your hobbies by adding the revenue streams that Squidoo can provide.

Its not only eBay, however. It is also Amazon, Zazzle, Cafe Press, and so many others.

Offer your best book list. Offer your favorite tools for your best project. Offer the best reference manuals on your topic.

You never know who's interest you'll pique!

How do you get a buddy and not just a mentor? Take a look at the lensmaster pages, and see who looks at lenses, favorites lenses, who has a sizeable fan club. Think those people got there because of special favors?

No, no, at Squidoo its a true work ethic. The best lenses, the best members, the best buddies give their time and really get respect.

Good Squidoo buddies will help you critique your lens, will help you promote your lens, will help you get the best possible start.

The list of what could be done on Squidoo can be overwhelming, and the tips and techniques available are equally daunting.

But you can get a great beginning, right from the beginning, without special knowledge and with just a little help from your friends.

Contact me too, up there on the right. I'll be happy to help, and so will many other folks here!