So, you ask...What is Squidoo anyway? Squidoo is a website hosting hundreds of thousands of "lenses", or pages. Each lens is one person's look at something online. Your lens is your take or opinion on any subject you like. You are the authority.
Think of it like this. Look closely at the magnifying glass pictured above. When you look through the lens of the magnifying glass, everything you see within the lens is bigger, sharper, and more defined. This is exactly how it is with my Squidoo Lens... it is about very defined topic and that topic is explored in full detail.
The lens is easy to build and it's free...yes, I said FREE! and totally non-techy. You can link back to your website. If you have a blog, Squidoo will even grab your latest postings and display them on your lens.
I first became familiar with Squidoo while visiting Katherine Tyrrell's website, Making a Mark, when I clicked on her Artist Resources link.
In January of '08 I set up my own "Squidoo Lens", Drawing Techniques: using carbon, charcoal, and graphite. My lens is just a baby compared to the information for artists found in Katherine's lens. ..yet the traffic this one lens generates to my blog and website just doesn't stop. I can only imagine what Katheryn's group of lenses does for her.
Many of you have ask so here's what I did...
My thought process as I developed my lens.
- I chose the subject I'm ask about most by my customers.
- I kept it simple,concise and interesting.
- I associated appropriate photos and art.
- I linked back to my website and blog liberally and I put links to my new Squidoo Lens on my website and blog...(at the bottom of every blog post)
- Most importantly...I included the "module" on my lens that contains an RSS feed. This means that every time I update my blog my Squidoo Lens is also updated with a link to my new article. This not only keeps my "lens" fresh in the eyes of search engines but sends people back to my blog to read the article!
This year to date, there's been a total of 5,185 visitors to my lens.
In the past 30 days the "most important" stats are as follows:
- Referrers: Visitors coming directly from: My Website, 68...from The Extraordinary Pencil, blogspot, 218...visitors directly from Squidoo, 53...visitors, as a direct result of blog articles I've written, clicking the provided Squidoo Link at the bottom, 72.
- Clickouts: Squidoo visitors clicking on links back to my website and blog: In the last 30 days alone there have been....356 clickouts to my Website and 125 clickouts to my Blogspot.
So I only have one question this week... Do you Squidoo?
The "Chat Line" is open...I look forward to your comments and please feel free to comment on what others have to say. Remember...when you share, others are blessed.My Squidoo Lens is my "E-Bunny". It just sits there working for me. I'll admit that although easy to do...it took a some thought and some time to set up. I probably spent most of one weekend writing it, but the final statistics can not be ignored. Definitely time well spent.______________________________________
Thank you as always for your support and encouragement.
Sincerely,
Marsha
Links:
Website ...Marsha Robinett Fine Art
My Squidoo ...Drawing Techniques
PS...make a "Point"...leave a comment
4 comments:
Hi Marsha! First let me say I love that you have changed to the comment form that pops up instead of the full screen version - thank you!
I haven't done Squidoo - I've read yours and others and felt I really didn't have that much to contribute especially to some that I have seen - but I felt that way too before I started my blog. I felt like the Squidoo Lens had to be a tutorial, or a keen insight, comentary but MORE than what I do on my blog. Fear of the unknown I guess and not totally understanding the function or determining if I fit the function.
Have you determined if you have sold anything directly related to someone using Squidoo? It kind of seems as it aimed more as a resource for artists than clients - am I wrong?
Karen,
First of all, you're cutting yourself short. There is much that you have to contribute to others.
I look at Squidoo purely as a marketing tool. My Squidoo lens offers many "incoming links" to my website and blog...thus raising both in the eyes of the Search engines, (which we all know are the God's of the internet!).
The visits to my website have increased with each new effort I've made...I plan to look for more venues this winter.
Yes, most likely my Squidoo stats are mainly artists...but artists buy art and so do their friends. Actually, with that in mind, I think most of those visiting my blog are artists also.
Yes, I have had one sale as a result of my Squidoo lens and it was an ORIGINAL. I hope to do a second lens this winter focusing on commissions, keeping it a little more consumer oriented. (I will then link them to each other.)
My marketing strategy is to be as visible as possible with the least amount of effort...leaving time to paint and draw.
"Squidoo has been a real traffic driver" to my site...more than any of my other "incoming links".
The questions and your response a very interesting and informative. Thank you for your post and the detailed response to the questions -- both make Squido a very attractive marketing tool. I do have to get the courage to feel a sense that I have something worthwhile to contribute to either Squido or a blog, before I can do either, however. Thanks again, Marsha. Angela
just wana say your art is beautiful. Im an amateur pencil artist and never formerly learnt how to do it. Im teaching myself.
Think i am adding you to my blogroll :)
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