Hey everyone, and welcome to my Free Internet Marketing Training.
Today, i will be talking about Free Traffic, but more mainly Squidoo.
Man, I could not say enough great things about this site. If you’ve never used it, then you should definitely head over there right now and sign up….
If you do use it, then you know how powerful Squidoo really is, and that it can yield some marvelous results…
But let’s not waste a whole bunch of time, because today I’m going to tell you how to get started with it!
What it Is: Squidoo is a website where people can make pages about really any topic in the world that they want. The pages, which are called “Lenses”, contain modules of the creator’s choice, in order to display tons of different things about whatever topic the creator wants to display…
There are a variety of reasons to The Squid to any Free Traffic Marketer’s (also known as ”Bum Marketing”) arsenal:
- Absolutely Free to Join: No costs whatsoever. Period. No trials, no products to buy. It’s that easy.
- Lenses rank Well: Need a page to get into the top spot of Google? Well Squidoo Lenses jump into the ranks quickly and easily. They also have a tendency to stay there…
- Ton of Free Viewers: Thousands of people use (and visit) Squidoo every day. That also means thousands of possible visitors….
- Extremely Flexible: You can create as many lenses as you want, and you can have as many or few modules on each lens that you choose…
There really is no downside to Squidoo whatsoever…
How to get started: First, head over to Squidoo.com, and create an account. (it takes like a minute)
Then click “create a New Lens”. You should come to a screen like this:
Squidoo Screen 1
SImply enter a name for your new lens. You’ll definitely want to include the main keyword in the title at least once….
If your writing about a specific product, then create a lens about that product, and put that product’s name in the title. If it’s a specific niche keyword, then use that instead. The go to step 2.
NOTE: If your doing a product review (for maybe an affilaite product) be sure to put something like “Product Name Review - Buy Product Name”. If you notice, I used the product name twice. This seems to help in getting the lenses ranked.
Now, you should be on a screen like this:
Squidoo Screen 2
The option you choose on this page isn’t SUPER important, but it does determine what modules your new lens will start with. You can choose any one you want, because they all start with different sets of modules, but you can add or delete any modules you want later.
I recommend either using “Make a List of things”, which gives you tons of list modules or using “just do my own thing” so you can add whatever you want.
Once you have one in mind, move onto step 3.
Now, we come to a screen that has a few options about the page itself, and it looks like this:
Squidoo Screen 3
The title is the title of the lens from earlier. You can change this now, or leave it as is. (you can always change it later).
You also need to decide on the URL or the actual address of your new page. you can use lowercase letters, numbers, underscores and dashes.
So say i was doing a lens on a product named “Google Vacuum”. I could use the following urls:
- googlevacuum
- google-vacuum
- google_vacuum
- google-vacuum-review
And so on. If the one your trying to use is taken, just keep changing it around until you have a URL that contains the main keyword.
Then, you need to choose a category that your topic fits into. I can decide for you, so use your head. But if it’s an internet marketing product, then go with “Marketing and SEO.”
Choose an audience then move on.
You will then come to the last page of the lens creation process - choosing relevant keywords:
Squidoo Screen 4
Just enter keywords that contain your main keyword or key phrase with and without spaces. You can add more later…
Then click Done, and you’re ready to roll.
You’ve just created your first lens. But there is more to it!
Because now you need to add, remove and edit your modules…
Let’s get rollin’…
This is your Lens edit Area:
Squidoo Lens Edit Area
You can edit any part of your lens by clicking the corresponding “Edit” button. Now, we’re not going to worry about changing anything right now, we’re just going to worry about adding modules, and editing them.
NOTE: The above screen shot is of the “Do My own Thing Option.” You start out with no modules.
Now, before we add any modules, let’s first edit the “Intro Module.”
When you hit the edit button for the Intro Mod, you can do 5 things:
- Upload a relevant picture
- Add a title to the module
- Place text into the text area
- Add a Table of contents by hitting the “Table of Contents” tab
- Lens Discovery, allows it to be found on other lenses
Here is a picture to help:
Intro Module
Be sure to Add a Catchy Title (a hook) to grab attention. Also, be sure to upload a relevant picture, like a product box or niche picture.
You can also add a brief (or lengthy) intro paragraph or two, to tell the reader what your lens is about.
About the other 2 tabs -
Table of Contents: This creates a small table of contents under the intro module on the final look of the lens; when the lens is published. Personal preference - I usually include one.
Lens Discovery: This puts a small link to your lens on other relevant lenses. It also puts links on your lens to other people’s lenses. It’s really a double edged sword - You get more traffic this way, but it can also drive traffic away. Sometimes I use it, sometimes I don’t; just depends.
Writing in HTML
Now, I don’t know if you have any experience in writing through HTML, but when you write in the text area of a module, if you want to do anything special to your wording, you need to insert the right text.
Here are few of the key ones you’ll probably use:
Creating a Link: Use the following HTML code:
<a href=”www.linkURL.com”>Anchor Text (the words that are the link)</a>
Inserting an Image: Use the following code:
<img src=”www.imageurl.com” />
Creating Bold Text: Use this:
<b>Text you want bolded here</b>
Aligning Paragraphs: Use this:
<p align=”center” or “right” or “left”>Text, image or link you want aligned</p>
And finally if you want to place a link in an image:
<a href=http://yourlinkhere.com”><img src=”http://imgsource.com” /></a>
Once you have the module the way you like it, hit save.
Now that your Intro Module is done, you’ll want to add some new modules.
Just click the “add Modules” link at the top of the page.
Adding the Right Modules
This part is up to you. I can’t tell you which modules to add, because that is the whole point of Squidoo, to create your own unique lenses.
What i can do is tell you which ones I use, and why they are helpful:
- Text/Write Modules: I use them for long paragraphs, and becuase you can add html like Links and Pictures.
- Text List: So you can easily add long lists of features or benefits or whatever you want.
- Youtube video: A great one. Easily add a Youtube video that is relevant to your lens (doesn’t even have to be your own video!)
- RSS: Add Your Own Feed: Perfect if you have your own blog that pertains to the lens you are creating. It also keeps your blog nice and fresh if you update your blog often!
- Link List: Perfect place to add relevant links.
- Twitter: I like people to know what I’m doing, so I use this one.
- Text with Big Picture: Text module with a big picture (of your choice).
There are TONS to choose from, and you can find them by using the “Search (A-z)” tab on the right.
NOTE: Be sure to Preview Lens Layout before continuing, so that you can put them into whatever you want before you edit them. (This can be done later, but it is more of a hassle.)
Finishing UP
Once you have added all the modules you can think of, put them into an order that pleases you and you have edited them to your liking, now you can hit “PUBLISH” so that your new lens will be on the web. Until you push that, it will not be available to the world.
Now that your lens is done, you can go back and keep editing and publishing it until it’s perfect, OR you can start driving traffic to it.
Now, I’ll get into traffic later on, but for now, just enjoy the lens making!
- Coty Schwabe
PS. If you REALLY want to unlock Affiliate Profits from Squidoo, check out Squidoo Cash Machine or even Squidoo Killer. (both are great)
