Writing lenses for fun and profit.
Ranked #675 in Squidoo Community, #89,069 overall | Donates to The Morning Center
My first year on Squidoo, with tips and encouragements for writing quality content lenses for fun and profit.
One of the prominent things that stands out is how my goals have not only been accomplished but also become more refined.
Who I am as an author and the incredible online presence I've acquired in less than a year on Squidoo has changed me, my goals and taught me a great deal about online publishing.
I hope it is an encouragement to you as well.
Squidoo is my place for publishing articles about topics of interest. I love turning around and passing the wand by encouraging others.
"Well, how much money can I
make writing on Squidoo?"
Really? Why is this always the first question people ask when I tell them about Squidoo?
This lens covers 3 general topics.
Why Squidoo, tools and progress.
Three general topics:
ONE: Why I chose Squidoo.
TWO: Tools that just make sense.
THREE: Some fun progress reports on my first month's earnings.
I'm not a Squidoo expert. I have acquired the honorable titles of Squid Angel and Squid Giant. I also have tried reading as much information as possible written by the folks at Squidoo Headquarters, like this article by Megan Casey that teaches all about levels.
I know that when I first started on Squidoo, I participated in polls, quizzes, commented on lenses and liked the ones that interested me to "level up." And I still do all that somewhat, but I find myself refining the content of each of my lenses, adding unique features and keeping them current. I do a lot less of the purposeful "leveling up," that I did in the beginning. Now my level is very similar to the number of lenses I have and when I level up I can look back and see that it's because I've established an online presence through good content.
It's nice to know.
This is it , I'm coming up on one year, which means I have my 10th earnings month in April 2012. I'll continue to review on occasions, and make sure my 1st 12 months earnings are documented. Please feel free to comment or contact me with any questions about this journey.
I know there's an author inside - hitting the keys to emerge!!
American Authors...
Buy This at Allposters.com
A little review of my journey writing lenses for Squidoo.
IN THE BEGINNINGTHE JOURNEY 1st 30 days
I got on Squidoo.com and posted something every day, 30 days in a row. There were little pop-up reminders. It wasn't easy because we were traveling and there were days that I had to figure something out at a hotel or campground office. I got a trophy for the 30 days in a row and got lots of points to help me level up.
Remember it's not that I'm doing this for the money (well not totally), but most importantly, I actually made money my first 30 days.
OK, OK, so it's $.36, but it is proof that getting the word out draws people to your lenses and sells "stuff." For no other reason than to donate to a good cause, and finally write down those issues you're passionate about, this is an awesome launching pad.
I have so enjoyed the journey. I've written 28 lenses - my goal was to write one a day, but I deleted one that just didn't make sense - even to me!!
I'm going to step you through some of the goals I set for myself and the snags, and events that tripped me up along the way.
Squidoo levels in 30 days. Writing for fun and profit on Squidoo.
When I first started Squidoo I couldn't imagine getting feedback.
This writing journey began with looking into writing an ebook. I looked at the process: I began by inquiring on-line and asking my son, Jim Cockrum, author of Silent Sales Machine, and the process landed on me discovering Seth Godin, his books and Squidoo.I'll start right out by telling you a few of my early errors.
BIG MISTAKE!
I neglected to add a Guestbook Module to some of my lenses, because I couldn't imagine people finding me, let alone reading or being interested in what I've written. (Yes, I suffer from a severe fear of failure.) Thinking "Guestbook Modules" were cute on other people's lenses, and comments looked pretty sincere, I can remember thinking I'd go back and add the module when it seems my lenses were attracting some attention.
WRONG ATTITUDE!
Second mistake,when I added the guestbook module, I didn't change the generic name "New Guestbook" to a personalized invitation for comments. Not good. People who look at and rate our lenses really like to see the "Title" of the module changed to a topic that is pertinent to our lenses. Besides whatever you put in the Title of the Module should be a keyword for search engines to find your lens, so use this to your advantage.
But today, 10 months after joining Squidoo, I'm reviewing my "most commented" lenses, and cutting back on displaying more than 5 or 10 comments. I have received so many on some of my lenses that the page is too long to muddle through. I just hate cutting out the earlier comments because I value each one. Thankfully there is a load more comments button in case my readers want to browse longer.
My first earnings chart writing lenses for Squidoo.
60 day review writing lenses for Squidoo.
UPDATE: 60 days into this I'm at level 50 I have 15 trophies
and 34 lenses. And I've made $1.37 on click-outs to Amazon.
Get Follow Me Buttons
Maybe I'll be writing a book next.
Progress
So Honored
I made level 55 with 18 trophies right at 5 months, with only 3 lenses at 100% and one sitting there with 19 LIKES. (9/2011)
9 days later I made level 56, 22 trophies, Super Squid and Squid Angel.
I'm learning about content, online traffic, reaching my niche market, making new friends, being transparent and honest.
When you level up on Squidoo, be sure to check "ITEMS" on your Dashboard.
... wow I forgot how many of these I earned my first year.
Level 1
You've unlocked... your voice!
Level 2
You unlocked our official Squidoo ebook!
Level 3
Easy Street Lens Theme
St. Patrick's Day Theme
New York Theme
Level 4
Amazon Spotlight Module
Winter Holiday Lens Theme
I think my earnings are growing, after 3 months of writing for Squidoo.
I haven't met my minimum for a payout yet, but my 3rd month has seen an increase. I am keeping track of my 100% "published" lenses for the record here.
After 5 months only 3 lenses were published. After 8 months on Squidoo, I have 10, and at 9 months, 13!
(I just got my 10th lens to 100% December 2011. This is my 8th month on Squidoo. I still enjoy writing, adding keywords that attract readers and communication with my readers. Squidoo has taught me about SEO's, Amazon, Google Adsense, etc. Enjoying the journey. )
This was at 5 months:
This is a good news day. I know, some people make goal much faster, but I'm learning. My lenses sit at 91% or 92% for quite awhile before they go to 100%, because getting 100% requires 20 LIKES.
I set some personal goals, wanted to have one of my lenses at 100% by September 11 for a good reason, but today, September 13th (2 days late) it finally went to 100%. Thanks to some faithful readers.
Nope no money earned. The goal really was to get some emotion packed feed back on a hot topic. I believe that really worked. YEAH!!
It had a lot of hits this past week because it was a Current Event.
NOTE: 9 months on Squidoo and I'm finally understanding Tiers I, II and III. I have 13 lenses at 100%, which means they're completely published, but I have 63 lenses and am sitting at level 62. Now I'm studying and working on Rank. Get a better understanding of Tiers here.
New update at one year: I have applied for Giant Squid 50, I've been Giant Squid 25 or several months now, and wanted 50 quality lenses before I applied. I have 17 that are 100% published and several real close. I have 71 lenses and 3 Works in Progress (WIP). I'm at level 64, about to jump to 65. I have 4 purple star lenses and feel like I'm real close to a LOTD, Lens of the Day!
PAY DAY 4th MONTH
$8.32 for real.
Some of this money is a percentage of sales from items featured on my lenses, some is from ads that run on my lenses, "unawares."
OK I've been at this 5 months
but this 4th month chart actually represents
my 3rd month on Squidoo. Get that?
5 Months on Squidoo
Life gets in the way.
May and June are our busiest months in biker ministry. We travel to California, ride motorcycles from California to Washington D.C. stay on the East Coast for several motorcycle events then return to the Midwest for events there. My busiest months and I was able to write and design lenses anyway, but not as faithful as my first 30 days. My 5 month anniversary on Squidoo is 9/11/11.
A day of REFLECTION.
- In less than 5 months I have two lenses that have made 100% LENS PROGRESS.
- This means they've been Squid Liked by a Giant Squid and have over 20 likes.
- My goal is to have 10 at 100% by my 7 month anniversary, that is 11/11/11, Veterans Day.
One of my Lenses made PURPLE STAR (in less than 5 months) hey, I worked hard for this!
THIS IS WHERE YOU SET UP SOME ITEMS FOR PEOPLE TO BUY
The AMAZON Module is a little store on your lens.
NEXT STEP - get organized
on every LENS - and POST PICTURES
As soon as you open the lens, go in and edit your Title, and your first Text box. It has an option for Table of Contents, Turn it ON, and set all the settings by going through the folder tabs.When you start writing:
Be real.
Be honest.
Use your own photos.
Always use your own content or get permission to do otherwise.
Start immediately making lists of topics that you eventually would like to put into a LENS.
Seriously! My first 30 days on Squidoo!
Try learning two or three new "modules" every day.
Day by Day the first 30 days of SquidooDay 1 I wrote my first Lens, and my second.
Day 2 had 5 written lenses.
Day 3 had 10 lenses (10 in my first 3 days)
After 3 lenses you can start adding side-widgets (on the right side of your margins)
I didn't discover this until I had 26 lenses - why? Because I didn't read all the information that is fed when I "leveled up."
By day 17 I had 21 lenses - made the decision to write 30 in first 30 days.
On my 24th day I published my 25th lens.
Along the way received the Study Hard Trophy and 2 Lens Like Trophies for reading other lenses, liking them and taking quizzes.
All along reading and reading and reading.
About now you're thinking - girlfriend you need to get a life.
Oh, yeah?
Well while I was getting started building lenses:
we traveled 1800 miles,
after spending the day at a church's bike Sunday picnic, we traveled 1200 miles
stopping every 400 miles, went to see my parents and my sister for two days, then another 600 to home,
dismantling and setting up our RV camp in several locations in route,
unloaded 4 months of items from the RV,
grocery shopping for time at home,
prepared 3 meals a day like most every day that on the road or not, visited grandchildren after arriving home, and participated in
repairing parts and pieces of the house that fell apart in our absence, etc.
..... getting the picture?
My life is very busy, but I'm taking some time each day to Squidoo.
My first discovery was, once I moved up another level, I tapped on my level # box beside my bio and looked at everyone else that was in the same level.
Sometimes I was # 39 in a level, like when I was in level 5
then i was 27 in level 22,
I also compared my level to others, noted how many lenses the others had, and how many trophies.
Then I took the time to read several of the people's work, and got some new lens ideas.
I sincerely posted messages to lenses I was interested in or thought were notable, and marked some as favorites so I could follow them in the future.
On day 25 - I haven't sold anything yet, but I have no doubt that if I make this a daily 1 or 2 hour commitment, I'll reap the rewards. Plus I'm doing what I've always wanted to do, writing and getting published, be it on-line, but hey.
Day 25 - Polltaker Pollywog trophy
Day 28 - Oh, my goodness SOMEONE BOUGHT ONE OF MY AMAZON FEATURED ITEMS
That's my first 30 days, what's your excuse again?
You know you're going to surf the net anyway, why not make your time productive. Art by Lensmaster GreekGeek. Get Surfing squid or to see more of her awesome designs go to HER SQUID GRAPHICS LENS.
If you want to attract more attention to your lens and level up, look at the right hand column of your lenses.
There are workshop tools. And Widgets.
Step by Step Down the right hand side of your lens.
WORKSHOP TOOLS (right margin/left tab)
Personalize your lens
Pick a Theme - You only start out with a few choices and gain more as you post more lenses.
Revise your Bio for the new lens if you like.
Add a photo - if you want one different from your bio
Set up your payment preferences
Pick some more modules to add to the lens
And sort all your modules in the order you like,
Then MOST IMPORTANT decide on "tags" that will draw visitors to your LENS
Make sure the Categories match your lens theme.
ONCE IT IS AVAILABLE - MANAGE WIDGETS
Again on the right margin section, and to the right of WORKSHOP TOOLS is a tool called MANAGE WIDGETS, click on this folder tab, and add 3 of the 4 choices, then drop down, way down, and click on the pencil for each and set up the right had sidebar of your lens with items of interest to you.
AGAIN, in addition to READ, READ, READ,
I add, Photos, Photos, Photos
What other people are saying about building Lenses
I mean other successful lensmasters
Add relevant tags. Tags are really keywords. Go to this link on Google, key in a phrase or some "tags" you're thinking about using and be sure to tag your title, and your lens name. Add all relevant tags. Then research and add more. Then go to your lens stats and look at keywords that are attracting attention to your lens and add those words accordingly.
TAGS - TAGS - TAGS
- The Official Squidoo Blog
- Subscribe
Blog Newsletter
Charity Network Newsletter
Go
Squidblog
May 3
Interview with AJGodinho Posted by Kimberly Dawn Wells in SuccessfulSquids
We asked who you think is a successful Squid and you gave us dozens of names of lensmasters you look up to. It’s no surprise that o - SquidUtils Directory – Showcasing YOUR Lenses | Squidoo Tools and Lensmaster Tips
- Nestled at the back of SquidUtils.com is a lens directory, which features lenses in a hierarchy of categories and tags. What makes this directory different from
- How We Engineered Squidoo
- Founded in mid 2005, Squidoo launched in early 2006 and quickly gained traction as a platform for sharing ideas online. On Squidoo, everyday experts (yes, that means you) can handcraft individual web pages (just to be difficult, we call them lenses) about hobbies and interests and stuff for sale and
- All About Squidoo - Officially
- An Introduction to Squidoo from Squidoo about Squidoo topic: Squidoo!
- Press Release by Ribbun
- Press Release by Ribbun about uses for Squidoo.
Burn this into your brain...
you must remember this feature.
Here is a link that you can use to add some utilities to your browser toolbar.In other words, if you click on THIS it will take you to a very helpful Lens. Then follow instructions. The tool your looking for is "Add to my Lens"
I put it on my tool bar early into my Squidoo Journey and promptly forgot it was there.
While you are online browsing, doing your thing, boom, you find something that relates to one of your lenses. Right now, click on the "Add to my Lens" button and you are stepped through the process of adding that link directly to your choice of your lenses.
LIKE MAGIC you look so techy!!
HUGE MISTAKES
I've made a few of them getting started.
1. I kept forgetting to turn on the Table of Contents in the Sub Title Module.
2. I forgot to rename my Guestbook - or forgot to put one on there altogether.
3. When I posted a photo album (slide show), I had no idea you shouldn't rotate the photos if they are all different sizes (pixel size that is) because they cause the Lens to jump all over the place when viewers are reading. (Ouch!)
4. Putting my Guestbook in the middle of the Lens is harder to find when people want to comment.
5. It is very wise to put your own About Me module somewhere in each lens.
More to come ... I'm sure.
If you learned anything here I appreciate a thumbs up.
ENJOY
This module only appears with actual data when viewed on a live lens. The favorite and lensroll options will appear on a live lens if the viewer is a member of Squidoo and logged in.
Lenses for Tier One, is a personal goal of each lensmaster.
THE TOP 40 SPIRIT LIST
Whoa - I just got an award for being ...
Check out the top 40 - changes every hour. (click on the picture)
MUST SEE
Look at the graph.
First 30 days hits here and there.
Last 24 hours!!
See me smiling?
5th Month Earnings
I've started my 7th month with Squidoo
Today's payday reflects my 5th month, August 2011. I had no earnings from my Amazon listings or my eBay listings on my lenses. All earnings here are from ads Squidoo lists on my lenses.
In fact I didn't realize how many ads were listed because my Firefox Adblocker was blocking them (doing it's job) but now I'm in a quandary about the topic. Will be watching some of my lenses real close because I don't want the wrong impression given.
Check this out.
POINTS (Note: I have some lenses that are sitting at 18 - wish they could all have 20 likes.)
Today I rolled over to 40,000 points
October 2011, nearly 7 months into this and I noticed I have an even 40,000 points. What does that mean? I don't know, I notice my mileage on my motorcycle all the time, it's about to roll over 50,000 miles. And I usually take a picture at milestones. I had 80,000 on my Harley when I traded it in. That was my first bike, now nearly 50,000 on my second bike. That's 130,000 miles in the last 12 years. Not to mention the same, if not more, amount of miles towing it in a trailer.
Back to Squidoo points system, I do follow how many points I have left to move up to the next level, but I honestly have never noticed this number until today. What say you?
If you've been on Squidoo a few months ...
you need to get acquainted with SquidUtil
Squid Utilities will help boost your lenses to new levels.Set aside a day to add some RSS feeds and some Amazon banners or links to your lenses through SquidUtil.
Go to www.squidutil.com and get started.
Be sure to stop by the thefluffanutta lensmasters web sites and give him a big thank you for these features.
This is the charity I support.
Add the "donations" module to your lenses.
My 6 month payout actually met my minium and money went to my PayPal account.
WooHoo!! I'm figuring this out and still having fun.
I made $17.65 in my 6th month. I know, I know that's not a lot of money, don't quit my day job, ha!! But the wealth of information I've learned is worth it. I also am giving 10% to The Morning Center my choice charity listed on Squidoo. They didn't get much, but they will in the future!
Squidoo earnings 7th month.
My 8th Month Payout!
Well, 8 months on Squidoo was December, so I did earn some Amazon sales!
January 2012 my 9th month on Squidoo.
This was by far my biggest month yet.
My "Designer Handbags Knit and Felt" was featured in January, and was featured in the new So Crafty Magazine, so it really got a lot of traffic.
HERE IT IS! My 10th Month Payout.
Notice the dip!!
2012 Business Plan
My Squidoo business plan for 2012
2012 Squidoo Business Plan for Bikerministry
5 Steps to Financial Benefits:
1. Make enough money to make significant impact on budget by year end
2. Track progress in order to Coach new Squidoo members
3. Write e-books Bus Plan Step-by-Step and the snags
4. Make 100 Giant by end of 2012
5. Discover my personal niche by one year anniversary April 2012
Goals to Building my Squidoo Business in 2012
1. Keep a log of future topics
2. Make each new lens count with great content and purpose
3. Discover a niche and build on it
4. Re-catagorize topics often
5. Expand on topics using tags and stats
6. Always offer Amazon items and/or eBay items if appropriate
7. Set labels on each lens to schedule review
8. Chart lenses that have Countdown
9. Chart stats and income
10.Update About-Me monthly and pictures
I'm willing to answer any question you have.
Not saying I know the answer, just that I'm willing.
Since I'm on the biggest learning curve, my first 30 days, thought I'd try to document all the features that helped me "level up" on Squidoo, and a little about all the great people I've met along the way.
I have received so much feed back on this lens, but felt it necessary to reduce the size of the comments that show on this page. Please click LOAD MORE COMMENTS to see the rest. Just conserving here.
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Jazroockfree
May 30, 2012 @ 1:56 pm | delete
- I admire your persistence. Thanks for the information, really helped me and will understand more and Squidoo. I really hope you have time to visit my lens and will give me tips. Thank you for sharing.
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GrammaLinda
May 27, 2012 @ 8:27 pm | delete
- I made someof the same mistakes when I first started. I enjoyed reading about your Squidoo journey. Blessings!
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FunNaturePhotography Apr 18, 2012 @ 11:33 am | delete
- Wow, what a lens!!! Hugely informative and fascinating reading. I know I'll be coming back to this many times over. Thanks for sharing with us!
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MaryStuart
Apr 16, 2012 @ 6:56 pm | delete
- Thanks for the tips and inspiration! I really learned a lot reading your lens.
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Apr 9, 2012 @ 6:10 pm | delete
- Way to go. My goal is to get up 80 lenses and I plan to try and work it the next couple of months. You've done a great job on yours!
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mamabush
Apr 9, 2012 @ 1:41 pm | delete
- Loved reading about your experience here on Squidoo! :)
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siobhanryan
Apr 5, 2012 @ 3:47 pm | delete
- Great lens-good info
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surpriseitsme
Feb 28, 2012 @ 11:31 am | delete
- I really enjoy your style of writing and your honesty. Thank you for sharing your squid adventure!
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gonzalezdenise
Jan 31, 2012 @ 10:55 am | delete
- Thanks for the very informative information. You are very faithful to what you do. God bless you.
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reflekshins Jan 21, 2012 @ 10:11 pm | delete
- enjoyed
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- Load More
by bikerministry
I'm earning money here!! I just saw my first $$$ on one of my lenses. My goal is to be real, informative, interesting, consistent and -
make money.
Yeah,...
more »
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Well, Jim is my son. I'm so proud of him. Let me know what you think.
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A FEW OF MY INTERESTS
I actually use my love for motorcycling to minister to bikers
