Posts filed under 'Hobby'
It’s ten days into the Squidoo Challenge and as from here on in it’s about more tinkering. The lens I entered into the Challenge Hair Loss Remedies has risen from a lensrank (rating) of about 109,000 at the outset to 486 as of today. It’s also rated 13th in the Health Category of lenses. So I thought it would be an opportune time to post some thoughts and reflections.
Why Use Squidoo?
The most obvious question to start with and perhaps a way of explaining a little about why I like it so much! Let’s just recap on what Squidoo actually is! It’s a community of people who are building web pages, which they call lenses, in a diverse range of subjects. In fact the range of topics is incredibly diverse! The other great thing about Squidoo lens building is that it is easy! You have a series of modules that you can pull together and develop. It’s almost like one of those “drag and drop” type website builders and you have the opportunity to tweak them as you become more adept with using their system.
To quote the people at Squidoo when asked why you should use them:
It’s free.
It’s amazingly easy to set up.
People with lenses get more traffic to their blogs and other sites.
People with lenses earn money.
In fact I use that last one to donate some money to Charity so you even get to feel good using them!
From a Marketer’s perspective this is ideal! It gives you a great opportunity to create a series of lenses around what are termed the “long tail” phrases within the niches in which you operate. You can drive visitors to your other sites in the niches in which you operate and to your blogs and of course to your affiliate links! For those of you who like me use Firefox they have also added a rather nifty Firefox extension!
So let me give you an example of a lens like that so you understand what I mean. I created How To Stop Your Dog Digging yesterday and by the time of the update today it had already risen from about 109,000 to 6,360 and had been viewed by a fair few people. Now that lens was developed from a PLR article I had sat on my computer doing nothing. Imagine if you are one of those who subscribes to a PLR Membership site where you get packs of articles around particular niches each month. A fantastic opportunity there to develop as many lenses as you want!
So what’s the advantage in building lenses? Well as I mentioned a little while ago there are benefits in terms of being part of a growing community, driving traffic to your other sites and making sales. In addition there is an opportunity to create content in a niche that you want to explore but have not yet had the chance to. So let’s think about the lens that I created for The Squidoo Challenge around Hair Loss and Hair Loss Remedies. I have been able to make some affiliate sales from it and I might therefore decide that it is an area that I want to pursue. Or I might think, well I will just keep it ticking over and see how things go. In fact that is probably what I will do in this instance. However, with some others that I am exploring at the moment I will certainly be developing them much further because I am interested in them and they are profitable.
The other thing to mention is that Google really seem to like Squidoo. There is a bit of a glitch going on at the moment because they have added something like 600 characters worth of javascript at the start of each lens – but from the fuss that is being kicked up at their forum Squidu I suspect that will soon be sorted. I am sure someone more technical will be able to explain that one!
Okay Paul, I hear you say, you have got me interested! What do I need to do to make my first lens?
Building Your Lens
The tips that follow are based on what I have discovered from what I have done on the site. I am sure others will be able to add more and as I continue to learn I will be adding more tips. In fact what I have done is started a new lens today at How To Succeed at Squidoo so that those who are interested can follow along over the coming days and weeks.
So you need to start by creating an account at Squidoo and setting your personal preferences. I think it weighs in your favour if you set your income earning to be split with the charities – no hard evidence but just a gut feel about that one.
Then you will want to take the big leap and start creating your first lens. Don’t worry if you get it wrong at first – you can always delete it! What I would suggest is that you find yourself a niche and then look at something like Good Keywords and find some of the lower rated keyword phrases to build your lens around. Notice how each of the lenses that I have quoted in this post has dashes between the words – as I am sure you have picked up from other threads here that seems to be something that Google like. So go with it!
Okay you have created your lens, chosen your category and you have added the first set of keywords as they request, you are half way there! Then a page appears saying “Edit Your Lens.” Don’t panic! I have this vision of Sergeant Jones from Dad’s Army at the moment – which may mean nothing to non-UKer’s! However, really do not panic! Have a play, try adding some modules and even get really adventurous and try deleting some. You can always add them back. In fact I would strongly recommend that you do add and delete some and fill them with content and see how they look. Until you push the big button labelled “Publish” no-one will see your creation.
Once you have started to get a little more familiar with the way it works it’ time to get serious about building your lens. Here’s what I did with my The Squidoo Challenge Lens and what I will be replicating at How To Succeed With Squidoo so that you can follow along.
Day One of Your Lens you should
Add an Introduction – conveniently they have a module called Introduction already there for you. Put a few words about the Lens and what you will be covering. Make sure you use your primary keywords (the name of your lens) in the Introduction and “bold” them. Add an appropriate picture so that your lens is already starting to look different than others and draws the reader in.
Add Some Content. This is done through the Text/Write Module. Content is vital if your lens is to be taken seriously and rated by visitors. It’s something that an increasing number of marketers seem to be forgetting that actually we do need to have content which real people can read when we are trying to get their attention! You can use some basic html in the Text/Write Module so you can have links in there if you wish. You can also “bold” your keyword phrase which again helps.
Add some Interactivity. Web 2.0 sites are about interacting with your visitor and giving them the opportunity to make comments or take a poll. So we have the Guestbook and the Poll Module which you can add. Here’s a good place to talk about adding Affiliate Products. The Links Plexo Module allows you to add your links and give the visitor the opportunity to vote on them. This is the module through which I would ordinarily add some affiliate links.
Now take a break! I am very conscious that this post has become very long! I will add more tips through the lens I have already mentioned over at How To Succeed With Squidoo during the next few weeks. Have a look around that lens and see what you notice I have already done that will hopefully help it move from it’s first day ranking of 110,406
For now take action!
March 25th, 2007
It’s amazing to think that just eighteen months ago I was running several MSN Groups which were keeping me very occupied! But you know they were not making me any money at all! Today I have reached the position where I am generating sufficient income from online activity each and every month to be able to give up the day job if I wanted to! It’s a great position to be in and gives me such a sense of freedom!
I have learnt an immense amount in the last twelve months and through Internet Marketing Outlined I will give you access to that learning in a clear and structured way. It’s very true that we all learn from our mistakes as well as our successes. For me the mistakes I have made have been absolutely critical because by learning from them I have been able to achieve so much more.
As a Professional Coach and Trainer I have a wide range of skills that have consistently enabled me to work with others at all levels……to enable them to succeed.
Through Internet Marketing Outlined I will reveal how I have been able to put myself in the position of being able to give up the day job. I will not be revealing the “inside secrets” of some get rich quick scheme. What you will discover are the building blocks of an Internet Business and how you can plan and build your own Internet Business.
My success has been achieved through a passionate desire to empower people through information. This desire to enable people to achieve real change in their lives in both the big and the small ways is what has enabled me to be in the position to be able to give up the day job if I wanted to.
If you are looking to make a regular income online take a look at Internet Marketing Outlined
February 14th, 2007
Hope you have had a great weekend so far and are looking forward to the week ahead?
Those of you in the Uk will be aware that today (5th November) is Bonfire Night and therefore will understand why as I write this the sky is filled with colour! There is also a lot of noise with the fireworks going off on the Village Green as I write.
Our Genealogy MySpace Alternative GenMates is continuing to grow at a tremendous rate which is great to see. It’s also great to see members taking advantage of the facilities on offer. Our British Genealogy Group is also growing having just passed 500 members which is tremedous!
This week has been another busy one with a number of exciting new developments. This afternoon (UK Time) one of my articles was featured as the lead article on the Gather Home Page. If you are not aware of Gather it’s well worth taking a look at. Gather is what some have termed a MySpace for intelligent Adults and is packed with fascinating articles. If you want to take a look at and connect directly to me then click on Join Paul. When when you get there click on the “Connect” button under my picture and you will be invited to join Gather!
We have also been working on the development of the Internet Marketing Coaching Blog which I will be launching soon. Those of you who have signed up for Internet Business Creators will already be aware of the detail. It looks like it is going to be something really special and those who are subscribed to Internet Business Creators when we launch will get something in the region of a 50% discount on the monthly subscription fee.
We have also been working with some excellent people in the development of a number of Health Websites which you can take a look at by visiting Living Healthily - that is an area which we will be developing over the coming months.
Finally in this brief update this week we have been working on a number of customised Google Search Engines which are a really exciting development. You can take a look at them by clicking on the following links:
Free Genealogy Search Engine
The Internet Marketing Search Engine
duxcoo - The Family, Health, Hobbies and Home Search Engine
November 5th, 2006
Hope that you are having a great weekend? If you are in the UK I hope that you also remembered to put your clocks back an hour! Although I know there are other countries for whom the clocks change as well I must admit I get confused as to which ones and didn’t want to confuse you and make you early for work!
A couple of Free Programmes that are worth checking out!
I downloaded a programme called Picasa the other day which is excellent. I have trouble organising all of the photos I have so I decided to check it. It’s definitely the best photo organiser I have come across and it’s 100% free for life!
I am now using Picasa to organize my photos! Take a look at it by going to this article I have added about Google’s Photo Software.
The other free programme that I love is Google Earth with which you can zoom in on both your ancestors towns and villages as well as current locations. You can read about that at Google Earth and download it.
An Unusual Week
This week has been a little different than normal as we have had to adjust to my partner recovering from last week’s knee operation - however we are getting there! We have also been kept busy with the continuing development of sites that we have identified as meeting the needs of our visitors. There has been a tremendous reaction to the launch of our Hobbies and Home eBook Store and if you want to take a look then just click on the link.
Alongside that we have also launched The Hobbies Blog again which you can take a look at by clicking on the link. You will find it packed with information on a whole range of Home and Hobby subjects and I am sure you will enjoy it!
Time For The Ancestors
GenMates continues to grow and grow and we are continuing to get tremendous publicity for it. if you haven’t visited recently then you can do so just by clicking on GenMates! If you haven’t joined yet then click on GenMates and sign up today!
We are also currently investigating establishing another Genealogy Membership site which will have some additional resources and information available. More news on that as it becomes available.
Watch Out On Ebay!
A couple of subscribers emailed me recently having purchased Adsense/Amazon or TurnKey Membership Sites from sellers on eBay. Despite bing promised instructions on how to operate the sites they had not been forthcoming and the people were struggling to see how they could make the sites work. They asked me to take a look at them and see if I could offer any advice.
As soon as I took a look at them it became obvious what the problems were. On the Adsense/Amazon sites the seller had left their own account details deeply embedded within the sites so that all the efforts at promoting them were lining the pockets of the sellers! In terms of the Turnkey Membership site the MySQL database had not been set up and all the members that were joining were in effect joining the seller’s lists!
I would strongly caution against anyone buying any website through eBay unless they are 100% confident that the seller is above board. You will want to be absolutely certain that they will provide the details of how to change publisher and affiliate information or set up the MySQL Database for you.
It really disgusts me that there are sellers out there who will treat their customers like this. On top of all of that many of them also tie you into expensive hosting packages and apply heavy if not to say extortionate fees if you want to move your hosting.
My VIP Site
Turning now to happier things! The development of the Internet Marketing Coaching site that those of you who are subscribed through Internet Business Creators will be aware of is going ahead at great speed.
Essentially I will be running a subscriber site/Blog where I will share exactly what I do to earn a very comfortable living which gives me freedom of choice. Price point set at something like $19.97 per month (reduced by 50% for subscribers).
The aim is to launch by 1st December 2006 - so November is going to be a busy month!
Finally….
Later in the month Santa will be making a welcome reappearance at his Advice Blog so make sure you stop by now and add him to your Favourites: Santa’s Advice Blog.
Oh by the way did I mention the great deal that is available if you like to watch Movies On Your iPod? Just click on that link!
Have a great week!
October 29th, 2006
I am pleased to be able to announce that we have relaunched PK eBooks - Your eBook Store during the last 10 days with a completely new look and a fresh stock of reasonably priced Information Products.
Our aim at Pk eBooks is to provide you with information which will help you at home and with your family and hobbies. We provide quality information on a range of subjects but always at affordable prices.
One of the reasons I first started to look at providing information over the internet was because I found it so frustrating trying to find the information I needed. Since then we have developed a wide range of sites and PK eBooks is one the latest to be updated. I hope that you will find information there to help you at home and with your family and hobby or indeed hobbies. Here’s a few samples of what you can find:
How to become a Scrapbooker
The Beginner’s Guide to Stamp Collecting!
Help Your Child Reach their Maximum Potential
The Beginner’s Guide to Coin Collecting!
The Beginner’s Guide to Woodworking!
The Dog Owner’s Handbook
The Ultimate How to Photography Guide!
Home Improvement Tips & Money Savers!
Interior Design on a Budget – How to Tips and Tricks
How to Learn Magic and Become a Successful Magician for Fun or Profit!
Hope you enjoy them! Oh and don’t forget to collect a copy of Identity Theft Prevention for Free - just scroll down to the bottom of the first page of Pk eBooks
October 28th, 2006
Hope that your week has gone well and that you have had a great weekend?
I know for us it’s been a little mad to put it mildly. As some of you will be aware my partner had a knee operation early in the week and I have been running back and too trying to look after them! Anyway things are slowly getting on the mend. So that is good news!
It’s that period of the year when Internet Marketing products appear to be launched left, right and centre. One of the things that seems to be happening is that the pricing of some of these products appears to be losing touch with reality! They are becoming more and more adept at marketing these products and playing on every concievable emotion - witness the latest email from the people behind the 6M Profit Method - essentially you must buy our $3,000 product aimed at newcomers to Internet Marketing in case you get sick! I am sorry I will not be recommending this over-priced product to anyone.
What worries me about this sort of stuff is that it is drawing people into chasing a dream which is out of touch with their real desires. Ask anyone if they want to be a multi-millionaire and I suspect their initial response will be “Yes Please!” Then sit down with them and talk to them about their real desires (as I do many times when I am coaching people at all levels) and their desires will start to come out. You will hear phrases like “I want to earn a comfortable living” or “I want to be able to look after my loved ones” or even ” I want to have a freedom of choice.”
Notice in there the phrase “comfortable living” and how many of us wouldn’t want that? How many of us would like to be able to make choices and decisions in our lives? The decision to go on holiday? The freedom of choice to decide whether we want to work for ourselves or want to build up a nest egg for the future? Does that sound a little more routed in reality than the day dreaming of being a multi-millionaire which some internet marketers hold out to us with their multi-thousand pound “offers of enlightenment” on a regular basis?
Don’t get me wrong I believe in aspiring to great things, indeed that is what so much of my work in coaching is about, but that is always rooted in reality and in the real and achievable aspirations of the individuals concerned. None of us should beholden to the aspirations of other people especially those that like to post pictures of their houses (with the spotless kitchens with no pans and plates in them!) or their boats which have never touched water.
Now I firmly believe that the Internet Marketing arena can offer many people the opportunity to achiev thir true aspirations without making them broke along the way! It is something I have managed to do over the past 12 months or so with some degree of success.
Those of you who have subscribed to my updates on the Internet Business Creators page will have received my recent email. In it outlined how my original idea of developing a series of eBooks outlining my approach to developing an Internet Business has developed in response to the people the project was aimed at. The feedback was that people want a more intereactive opportunity where they gain the information in a different way. So essentially I will be running a subscriber site/Blog where I will share exactly what I do to earn a very comfortable living which gives me freedom of choice. Price point set at something like $19.97 per month (reduced by 50% for subscribers).
It’s a project that is really exciting me and there will be more details in the next few weeks! If you haven’t signed up and want to then go to Internet Business Creators!
Now turning to other matters GenMates is continuing to grow at an amazing rate. We are seeing so many new members joining and taking advantage of the facilities on offer and it’s great to know that we are providing something that genealogists clearly want. We already have plans for a number of other sites in associated niches (areas of interest) so watch out for the news on those. If you are a member of the Warrior Forum and are looking at getting a Social Networking site launched in your Niche(s) my WSO offer is still available!
The events of the last week have delayed some of our activity but we are rapidly catching up! The Genealogy Audio Articles and The Scrapbooking Audio Articles are getting there and as someone said to me the other day they will be great to listen to on the colder winter nights. Talking of winter nights I don’t know about you but it doesn’t feel like autum yet does it! Well certainly not here in the Uk where the trees are still looking very green and leaf laden! Oh that reminds me the other thing I was asked about the Audio articles was whether the audio files will be available as MP3 downloads so that people can listen to them on the move. I am working on that at the moment and seeing how we can make them available at a nominal charge for the lot - so again watch out for news on that.
During the week I made a special offer available of The Genealogy Guide and literally dozens of people took advantage of the offer. It’s still available if you want to grab a copy for yourself and I will probably leave it available for just a couple more days at The Genealogy Guide.
We also received quit a few emails asking if we could make other offers such as that one and I am pleased to say we are doing at PK eBooks - Your eBook Store! The site specialises in home and hobby quality eBooks and you will find eBooks on Scrapbooking Ideas, Coin Collecting, Stamp Collecting, Amateur Photography and much more besides! Do take a look at the site as you will find a lot of eBooks and there is even a free download which I think you will find interesting!
So there you have it a very busy week!
October 22nd, 2006
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