A friend of mine confessed to me lately that he has a love/hate relationship with Squidoo. He likes the idea of Squidoo – it's easy to build lots of lenses – but hates that the line is blurry between what he should post on his blog and what his lenses should be about. The challenge he highlighted was that he didn't want to create lenses about anything, but rather about something relevant to his business.
At the time, I was already thinking about a lens I wanted to create but hadn't refined it yet. So I went in search of some lens ideas that would solve his problem and mind at the same time.
Squidoo lenses are best when they are niche-specific: A big dollop of thought on a narrow slice of a topic. Here are a few Squidoo lens idea lists to give you some inspiration:
49 Ideas for Awesome Lenses is a great list and one I've bookmarked to go back to again and again. Some of them are silly or redundant but some of them are really compelling ideas. I particularly like #22 – "What have you researched lately" and #24 – "Make a Twitter lens".
Another great tool (which is also addictive, believe me) is the Squidoodlr, a lens idea generator. I spun it a few times to read its suggestions: "Bowler hats", "Baby's First Haircut", "Strange Sea Creatures".
Since Squidoo is one of the top 500 most-visited websites in the world, why not consider making a couple of lenses as part of your 2010 business plan!
Brought to you by: Contemporary VA - Run your business instead of running in circles.
@ContemporaryVA on Twitter. Follow the team to stay updated on business resources we deliver that cover strategies and tips, social media and more!
Posted in Online Marketing.
Tagged with squidoo ideas, squidoo lens creation, squidoo marketing strategies, squidoo tips.
By admin
– December 26, 2009
When I was in college, my dorm was somewhat notorious for the people who had lived there before. And each year, the group of freshmen (and freshwomen) who lived there were ushered into a hallowed closet and invited to write their names on the wall, joining the hundreds who had gone before. It was an interesting tradition and somewhat meaningful to add your name to the list of people – luminaries and not-so-luminaries – who had lived there, too.
This same idea translates into the business world, too, specifically when it comes to commenting on blogs. When you leave your mark, you are joining with others to indicate your participation in that community – however modest – and you are aligning yourself with other likeminded people. This is the ultimate in positioning!
So, here's what you need to do: Go to Gravatar and sign up. This gives you an easy way to spread your face, logo, or recognizable image around the web. Then, identify your top three favorite blogs and comment in them every day. Also, find one other blog – a blog you might read but don't comment on – and comment in it every day. In this way, you'll help to contribute to a community at your favorite blogs and you'll also add 200 – 365 additional blogs (depending on how diligent you are at daily commenting). Imagine how rich those back links will be!
Also, check out Disqus. Their main system is a plug-in to help you manage comments on your blog but they also offer Disqus Profile so you can manage your comments on other blogs.
Brought to you by: Contemporary VA - Run your business instead of running in circles.
@ContemporaryVA on Twitter. Follow the team to stay updated on business resources we deliver that cover strategies and tips, social media and more!
Posted in Online Marketing.
Tagged with online marketing presence, online marketing strategies, online marketing tips.
By admin
– December 24, 2009
