Squidoo and the Thirty Day Challenge

Why is Squidoo so great for the Thirty Day Challenge?

First and foremost, Squidoo values what 30DC-ers are trying to do. Squidoo's philosophy supports ethical commercial use of the Web and social media, and Squidoo has no problem with you using a Squidoo lens to direct traffic and boost the Google ranking of your "money page."

This is not the case with some other popular sites including WordPress and Hub Pages. If the Thirty Day Challenge had used Squidoo instead of Tumblr, that annoying "slap" would never have happened.

Squidoo can also be your money page. For some affiliates, like Amazon, you'll share your cut with Squidoo, but because Squidoo's commission is so much higher, you come out about the same.

For many other affiliates, you lose absolutely nothing by using Squidoo for your money page, and there can be some real traffic advantages.

My recommendation is to try both--optimize your Squidoo page for earnings, but also point to a separate, highly focused money page where you do the traditional affiliate funnel thing. You'll get the best of both worlds.

Finally, Squidoo builds tracking right into the product. You don't have to add any code or do anything special to see how much traffic you're getting, exactly where it's coming from (including every Google search term used, so you can add additional tags to your lens and make it more Google-friendly), and what click-through traffic you're seeing.

You may have heard about a "Google Slap" of Squidoo last summer. It's definitely true that Google changed its algorhythms in ways that caused a serious temporary drop in traffic for Squidoo lensmasters. But most lensmasters will tell you that the dust has settled and they're back to seeing excellent Google traffic on their lenses.

If you build a great lens with strong content, Squidoo is one of the most powerful ways out there to create a strong Google presence quickly. Google has forgiven this "gorgeous and intelligent friend."

If you're doing the Thirty Day Challenge, you'd be nuts not to include at least one Squidoo lens for every umbrella phrase you're working on.

Why is it called a lens?
Squidoo lenses focus attention. They take all those millions of searchers out there and compile a useful and relevant collection of resources for them. Because lenses are hand-built by individuals like you and me, they tend to be very personal and very interesting! Each lens is one person's take--yours or mine--on a particular subject.

Start with your text modules
Squidoo lenses are most successful when they have at least 3-5 text modules in addition to a nice collection of additional modules. Since each text module should include a paragraph or two, this might be several of the "articles" you've been writing. That's perfectly fine. (That's also true for ezinearticles, by the way. Their "sweet spot" for content length is about 500-700 words.) Just combine relevant and related mini-articles until you get the perfect length.

Intersperse text modules with other kinds of module
In between your own articles, include Amazon modules, Wikipedia modules, maybe a module that features your blog's RSS feed. This breaks the lens up and keeps it from being too wordy. It also gives you some opportunity to monetize the lens! Don't forget that Amazon sells all kinds of products other than books. You might find find a high-dollar item like a camera or some AV equipment. There's also an eBay module, which again can result in some nice high-dollar-value clicks for you.

Use images!
My favorite image source is istockphoto. They have professional photography and illustrations that anyone can buy cheaply. For Web use, you can use their smallest size with no problem. The images on istockphoto are professional quality and cost a little over a dollar apiece.

Don't just use them on your lens--they can add real polish to your blog, Gather article, and all your other content pages. You might even use one photo as your "brand signature."

Buying a few professionally-shot photographs makes a big difference in the look and feel of your Squidoo lenses and all of your content around the Web.

Get started now!
Just click the green make a lens link in the upper right corner of this page. You can start entering your article content and finding the right modules for your niche.

No one can see your lens until you click "Publish," so you won't have to worry about something showing up before you're ready.

Great marketing communication is my thing, and has been for about a dozen years.

If you want to create something special--a press release, killer article, or tasty piece of linkbait to draw links to your blog--drop me a line!

Or maybe you'd like help developing your own e-newsletter, one of the least expensive and most powerful tools you can use to nuture profitable customer relationships.

I can also help you understand your own Unique Selling Proposition and clean the clutter out of your money page or sales letter.

Here are some resources where you can find out more about me and what I do.

Subscribe to my free email newsletter and receive a 10-part marketing tool kit with lots of useful resources and ideas you can start using right away. I never, ever sell or rent my email list.

www.remarcom.com Find out more about my business, remarkable communication, and how it can help you connect with customers and get dollars flowing to your door.

The remarkable communication blog, with in-depth tips and advice you can start implementing right way.

Fast, cheap, and out of control: fresh ideas for Internet marketers One example of how to use a Squidoo lens to promote a business.

Knit Christmas Presents A classic 30DC lens (using both affiliate and Amazon links to monetize) that's been doing very nicely for me with minimal work to keep it on page one of Google.