Reader Feedback

I have compiled a list of making money online references which I would love some feedback on. The best feedback would be reader book reviews on the following books or any other books that you think I should add to the list.

Here is a link to the current list:
Making Money Online References

Who would like to volunteer to review one or more of them?

You can follow the Howling Squid Review directly from Twitter.

Choosing Your Tags

I wrote recently on the Needs to be Edited link on your Squidoo dashboard. This post is what I have been doing recently when I update the lenses that need to be edited.

I am choosing to edit or update 2 to 5 lenses a day to spread them out a little more. In the past, I updated a large number at a time, but didn't do it as thoroughly as I should so things got missed. So this time around, I am creating a system to update my lenses.

First, I am taking the advice of lensmaster Spirituality and changing my tags. Spirituality writes all about this in her Squidtop post, so I won't repeat what she says, I will just tell you what I am doing.

My goal is to change the tags in the sidebar of each lens so that the lenses show up on the first tag page for that tag when someone searches on Squidoo. Using the SquidUtils color system as a guide, I am looking for tags that have about 10 other lenses. That is a very pale green or almost white color on the SquidUtils system. If you don't know what I mean by SquidUtils, here is a link to the information on the addon.

The Squidoo search pages for each tag are now accessible to Google and other search engines so if your lens is on the front page of that particular tag, chances are good that you will get more traffic from the tag alone.


Secondly, I am checking the lens body for invalid links. I have noticed that a lot of my Cafe Press items are gone because of the recent Cafe Press changes. So those are replaced or deleted.

Thirdly, if I haven't done so recently, I am checking the keyword research for my introduction module and my headings. If I can, I am increasing the density or improving the keywords. In a few cases, I needed to rewrite the introduction module because the lens was one of my first.

Fourth, I am replacing Feed My Search modules with Google Blog modules or adding the Google Blog module to each lens. The Google Blog Search module is evergreen which is explained in Captain Squid's blog post here.

My last step is to make sure that I have an About Me module on the bottom of the lens to give people one more chance to click on my featured lenses.

You can follow the Howling Squid Review directly from Twitter.

Updates and Upgrades

Today was the first time that I got to see the upgraded workshop on Squidoo. It will take a little getting used to, but it is definitely easier to see and seems to work faster for me. The obsession with brighter colors is not my preference, but I am sure that there is some scientific data behind the choices.

If you use the lens workshop addon from SquidUtils, you will have to update that as well.

The introduction module is the first peek of a "What You See is What You Get" or WYSISYG style editing program. It works differently than the rest of the modules right now. Other than getting used to the changes, what do you all think of it?

You can follow the Howling Squid Review directly from Twitter.

Need to Be Edited

 

I thought I would write a post about the "need to be edited" button on our Squidoo dashboards. Why? Well, because it took me about a year to realize what it was, so I assume other people will miss it too.

There is so much advice for Squidoo lensmasters when they are new, and even not so new. It is often hard to take it all in, and even harder to remember it. Sometimes things slip through the cracks. If you are someone like me, who doesn't like to read the directions, but likes to just jump in and do things, it is easy to miss some of the finer nuances.

So in case you don't know, every one of us has a "Need to be edited" link on the left side of our dashboard. If you click this link, you will see a list of all your lenses that have not been edited for 60 days. This list updates daily, so after you have been on Squidoo for 60 days, you will start to have a growing list unless you update the lens. There is no rule to say that you have to update your lenses at any certain time, however, updating a lens and publishing it gives your lens a lensrank boost. And what do you know, when I go back and check my list, I find things on almost every lens that I missed the first time around, or the second, or third, etc. Not only that, but I can apply new things that I have learned in the last 60 days that will enhance my lens's performance, appearance, or information.

So check out your list of lenses that need to be edited. You might be surprised (like I was!)My most recently update lens is The Squidoo Zazzle Gallery.

You can follow the Howling Squid Review directly from Twitter.

Hubpages Report - October 2009

I have steadily been publishing hubs since mid June of this year. Before that, I only had a few. Now that I am more comfortable with the site, I have found that I really like using it. It is very straight forward and easy to write articles on because it is so streamlined. The only thing I have to focus on is what my topic is, and how best to use the keywords that will attract people to it. I have been publishing a few hubs per week for several weeks now. I now have 74 hubs and I have deleted a couple of my very early efforts. One because it was not really a very good article, and really couldn't be fixed. Another because it relied on Youtube videos that are now not available. I have about 100 hits a day, and make something on Adsense about 14 out of 15 days. My average Adsense income as of today is about $20 per month, but it is steadily increasing.

For those of you looking for an alternative to Squidoo for writing, or just want to spread out your writing, I highly recommend Hubpages. Before Hubpages, my Adsense income was dripping along, $1 or so per month. Now I understand it much better, and am earning more on all my Adsense sites, although Hubpages is by far the best. Hubpages also is adding to my Amazon and eBay income.

If you have any Hubpages questions as related to Squidoo, feel free to contact me to ask them. I will answer what I can and refer you to someone better if I can't. If you would like to take a tour of Hubpages to get a better sense of the site, click here.

You can follow the Howling Squid Review directly from Twitter.

The Value of a Comment

Have you ever thought about the value of a guestbook on your lens? I mean, besides answering questions, what good does a comment section do on your lens?

First of all, it is important to know how to use the Guestbook or Comments module. For that, I will refer you to a lens by Kimberly, called Guestbooks and You. In this lens, you will find all the answers to how to use a Guestbook module, and control the comments that you receive.

Now that we have that down pat, why bother with a comment section at all? You may notice from time to time that some lenses do not have a comment section, and some of those lenses are by well established lensmasters.

So let's start with some Squidoosophy about Guestbooks. The majority of active Squidoo lensmasters including most of the Squid Angels prefer that you have a Guestbook or Comment section on your lens. It is the easiest way to contact you. If you don't have a Comment section on your lens, at minimum it is a good idea to turn on your Contact Me button on your profile page, otherwise there is no way for one of us to contact you.

Now, if you turned off your contact button and you don't have Guestbooks on your lenses, don't be upset if no one contacts you. So, first of all, having Guestbooks on your lenses makes you seem friendlier. You may find, however, that some of your lenses get a lot of spam comments due to subject matter. You have the ability to screen your comments before they are public, but the only way to turn that off completely is to delete the Guestbook module. You can also set it for signed in lensmasters only. But this is one big reason why people sometimes do not have guestbooks.

However, if you want to be an active member of the Squidoo community, it is a good idea to have your Guestbooks active on at least the majority of your lenses.

Another issue about guestbooks is whether to leave a link in your comment. And I would have to say, that unless the link is absolutely going to add to the value of the lens, do not. Most links left in comments are essentially self-promotion which many lensmasters delete. It is considered a kind of spam in many cases, and I can tell you that I have the html turned off on all my guestbooks, and will delete most comments that include a link in them. The only exception is to a link that will add to the value of the lens.

Beyond philosophy, Guestbooks can give you some "Google juice" if your commenters make valuable comments. And here is where we as lensmasters can help each other. When I first started on Squidoo, I thought it was enough to just leave a "great lens" comment. But really, that does nothing for the lensmaster except to make them feel good. A true benefit to the lens is if you leave a comment that is relevant to the topic being discussed. Even better if you include some keywords related to the topic. Why? Because Google scans the entire lens, and sometimes the comments are part of that scan. If a comment is valuable, it may add to the worth of the lens itself in the "eyes" of the search engines.

So do your friends a favor. When you comment on their lenses, say something about the topic you just read about. You can help raise the value of what you are reading.

And a personal plug, my newest lens, just published today is Pink October: The New Color of Fall. I would love to get your views on it. :)

You can follow the Howling Squid Review directly from Twitter.

Earning Money from Backlinks

This pendant can be purchased on the  Lake Erie Artists Gallery website.

I don't think that I need to tell you that it is important for your content to have backlinks leading to it to help drive traffic to your content. But choosing where to build those backlinks can also add to your earnings potential.

I have already mentioned Redgage in this blog before. Redgage pays you for page views on links, blog posts, and pictures, and you can also earn money in their daily, weekly, and monthly contests. Mulberry is the latest lensmaster to win the monthly award of $200.

If you have an Adsense account or want to start one, you can also create backlinks and earn Adsense money from two other sites.

SheToldMe will pay you Adsense revenue for your pages, and on anyone who you refer to SheToldMe.

AddBlogUrl will pay you Adsense revenue on your own pages.

Any of these three sites will send traffic to your content, and at the same time allow you to earn money on the same content, just by creating a backlink on their site. Why not create more revenue for your already existing content on Squidoo, your blog, or any other site?

You can follow the Howling Squid Review directly from Twitter.

Making the Most Out of Your Zazzle Gallery

Ohio Birds Organic Grocery Bag by lakeerieartists
Create a custom bags using Zazzle

Another way to earn money online is by either creating a Zazzle gallery or by becoming a Zazzle affiliate and promoting other people's galleries. Zazzle fits well with Squidoo, and the two sites can be synergistic.

Zazzle allows you to set up a gallery for free to sell your own designs which they print on several types of products including t-shirts, cards, and photo sculptures as well as many other products. It is an easy site to navigate and build. You can also sign up as an affiliate through Zazzle to sell other people's designs which earns you 15% of whatever sells from your links.

So how do you promote sales on the Zazzle site?

Just like anything else online, Zazzle is not an immediate windfall, however if you build traffic, you will also build sales. Building traffic works just like sending traffic to lenses, hubs, or any other webpage you have online.

Here are some ideas of how to send traffic to your Zazzle gallery.

1. Make your Zazzle gallery a niche gallery.  Tightly focus the type of products sold.
2. Bookmark the gallery and individual items in the gallery on social bookmarking sites.
3. Create a blog to talk about your designs and Zazzle items.
4. Make an RSS feed to feed to Twitter and other places of your new products.
5. Make flyers and business cards to hand out to people about your Zazzle business.
6. Link to your Zazzle business from other online ventures.
7. Make a Squidoo lens about your Zazzle gallery, designs or products or topics related to them.
8. Write an article online that talks about your Zazzle gallery and put your link in the signature.
9. Research keywords on your topics and use them for the titles and descriptions of your products.
   

This is a great start to how to promote your gallery.  I am sure that you can think of more ideas.  You can also choose other galleries to promote in the same ways, and earn money from their sales.

You can follow the Howling Squid Review directly from Twitter.

Amazon Tips for Squidoo Lenses

As we all know, Amazon is one of the best companies to buy just about anything online, and one of the biggest vendors online. Amazon is not just a book store anymore but carries just about anything and everything that you can possibly think of. Squidoo offer us several different types of modules to sell Amazon products on our lenses, and my favorite is the Amazon Spotlight module, but lensmaster Cleanerlife shows us how we can take advantage of all of the different types of Amazon modules on our lenses without ever becoming an Amazon affiliate, and earn royalties from our lenses. Since the economy is tough and people are buying less these days, it makes sense to make the most of every selling opportunity that we have. So I recommend reading the lens Amazon Tips for Squidoo to see if you have forgotten or missed any nuances of the modules that we have.

You can follow the Howling Squid Review directly from Twitter.

The Month of Halloween is Here

Here in Haunted Ohio where I live, I can tell you that the month of Halloween has arrived. Americans have come to really enjoy Halloween, so much so that we have created a Halloween month. From today until October 31, every day our newspapers, radio ads, stores, and magazines will be talking about Halloween.

Here are some statistics that were in my newspaper this morning, The Cleveland Plain Dealer.

In 2008, Americans spent an average of $66.54 on Halloween.
Total Halloween spending in 2008 was $5.77 billion.
An average of $24.17 is spent per person on Halloween costumes (including adults, children, and pets).
An average $20.39 is spent on candy per household.
Some $18.25 is spent per person on decorations every year.
Young adults ages 18-24 spend the most on Halloween, about $86.59 each.
Statistics provided by the National Retail Federation, 2008 report.

What does that mean for us as Squidoo lensmasters? It means that you should be updating, and promoting your SquidBoo lenses this month. Take your lenses to a new place each day and add them to create some interest and a backlink. Blog about them, talk about them in the forums, and just have some good old Halloween fun.

My favorite Halloween recipe is Chopped Fingers. What is yours?


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