Hey Squidoo’rs – Can We Talk?

So, you’ve got 50, 100, 150, or more lenses on Squidoo…now what? Seriously, have you thought about what to do now? I think it’s time for all us Squidoo lensmasters to sit down and have a talk. While what I say may not make everyone happy, if I can get just ONE lensmaster to really hear what I am trying to say, it will be worth it. So, let’s talk….

If you’re like me, you’ve been busting it on Squidoo for over a year now. You’ve got a dashboard full of lenses… maybe even dashboardS full of lenses. You’re making some regular income straight from Squidoo each month, and you’re also making money from various affiliate programs. You have also learned how to create online content, probably learned some HTML and a few things about graphics, too. More importantly, you have learned how to get traffic to your web page in the form of organic traffic from Google and other search engines and from social traffic. Even more importantly, you have learned how to get TARGETED traffic to your Squidoo web page that converts into sales.

Do you realize the learning curve you have conquered?

Do you realize how much you know?

…and the biggest question of all….

Do You Realize The Goldmine That Sits Within Your Squidoo Dashboard?

Yes, that’s right… a goldmine. Sorry to use such a hypey word, but it really is a treasure chest of information sitting right there in front of you.

Let me give you a real-life example:

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a lensmaster named PotPieGirl. PotPieGirl was cranking out Squidoo lenses as fast as her little hands would allow. Within a short time, she noticed that one lens in particular was doing very, very well. That lens was making consistent affiliate sales. In fact, it was converting at something like 40%, meaning 40 of every 100 visitors bought the offered product. Nice, huh? Thing is, that lens didn’t get a lot of traffic, but the traffic it DID get was highly targeted. Oddly, when looking at keyword research for the appropriate search terms for this lens revealed nothing exciting. Had she known more about keyword research when she made this lens, she never would have messed with it.

However, she DID make the lens and the lens proved to be a brilliant testing ground for the market of that niche. PotPieGirl looked at her stats and suddenly this glowing lightbulb went off over her head.

“If ONE web page is making this many sales, what if I have a niche SITE to use in conjunction with it?”

One web page = good

Many web pages AND an additional site = WAY BETTER

But, what keywords would she use? The keyword research wasn’t any real help.

Oh, wait….. what about the traffic stats for that lens on her Squidoo dashboard? If her lens ranks #6 for those keywords folks were using to get to her Squidoo page, what if a niche site ranked #4 and #5 for the same searches? Or even #9 and #10?

A-HA!

And from that moment on, PotPieGirl started making niche sites using the research her Squidoo lenses gathered for her…and she lived happily ever after.

So, how many of you just had a little lightbulb pop over your head? If only ONE of you raises your hand, I will know that at least ONE person is now on their way to making REAL money online. I will know that at least ONE person is about to make the smart move to OWNING virtual real estate. I will know that at least ONE person thinks like me =)

Some Straight Talk About Squidoo and You

I want to talk straight here… completely blunt and honest… but before I do, I want to make my disclaimer heard perfectly clear.

I love Squidoo. I love the Squidoo community. I love the Squidoo staff. AND I think Seth Godin is a genius. In my opinion, Seth Godin has helped change the internet by reducing the entry requirements needed to be ‘heard’ online. He has helped changed the internet from a place full of online brochures and annoying advertisements, and turned it into a place of creativity, recommendation, and interaction. Best yet, you don’t have to be a high-tech person OR pay a single penny to be a part of it. To me, Squidoo is THE best ‘online marketing school’ there is, period. I don’t care if you are marketing an ebook or talking about your pet ferret – it is all a form of online marketing.

The most brilliant part of the whole thing is that somehow, he has made it so THOUSANDS of individuals spend every waking second BUILDING HIS WEBSITE – and…. BRINGING TRAFFIC TO HIS SITE.

Absolute Genius!

Right up there with YouTube and MySpace, isn’t it? No wonder both those sites sold for sick amounts of money!

Ok – enough of my bragging on Mr Godin… let’s talk about YOU.

Do you know that YOU are busting your bottom to not only build a website that belongs to someone else, but to also drive traffic to it? What if one day you wake up, and Squidoo is gone? What if it gets sold to a new owner who says, “No More Selling ANYTHING on Squidoo?” and it becomes a real fancy article directory? I have no idea if these things will ever happen, but the fact remains – you are building a site you have no control over.

Why aren’t you using even HALF that energy to create YOUR OWN sites? If you have 100 lenses, you have built a 100-page website…. or ten 10-page niche sites.

Why aren’t you building your own network of small, profit making niche sites that you do some work on the front side, and then ‘set it and forget it’ – and it continues to earn you money? Why don’t YOU own some virtual real estate?

Common answers I hear are:

“It costs too much”

“I don’t know how to make niche sites”

“It’s too hard”

“I don’t have time”

You have time to build the Squidoo site, right? So, you have time to build your own online business. Squidoo seemed too hard when you first started, right? You are plenty smart enough to learn how to build niche sites, too – in fact, you already know a LOT of what others don’t know.

You don’t know how to build niche sites? You didn’t know how to ‘do Squidoo’ either at one time, right? I have spent a LOT of time making a complete website where you can learn – for FREE – how to make niche websites at 6StepNicheSites.com.

Building Niche Sites Is Too Expensive

Oh, I LOVE this answer. Did you know that you can have your OWN niche site up and online TODAY for a grand total investment of $5.96. Yes, five dollars and ninety-six cents.

Ok, but how much will it cost to own niche sites every month following the first month?

Let’s do some math for owning 10 niche websites using the 6 Step Niche Sites method.

Buy 10 domain names = $59.50

Hosting account for a year = $109.46

Grand total one year investment = $168.96

Average Cost Per Month to Own Ten Niche Sites = $14.08

Average Cost Per Month PER Website = $1.41

ONE DOLLAR AND FORTY-ONE CENTS!

Is THAT too expensive?

How Much Does A Niche Site Need To Make To Be Profitable?

Think you could make ten small websites that earn even $2 a month each? First off, I have NO DOUBT that you can, and secondly, if they each make only two bucks a MONTH – you have STILL made a profit.

And let’s keep this in mind. If a niche site makes one affiliate sale a month for a commission of $30 – that site has earned an average of one dollar A DAY. If all ten sites make just ONE $30 commission a month….

That is $300 for a net profit of $285.92!

Folks, I could go on and on about the benefits of doing this, but I know I need to hush now. There ARE some folks reading this that really do get it.

It all comes down to this choice:

a) Do You Want To Build Someone ELSES website and Make THEM rich, or

b) Do You Want To Build YOUR OWN Websites and Make YOURSELF rich?

If your answer is ‘b’ – get over to 6StepNicheSites.com and start learning how to make niche websites.

Thank you for letting me get all this off my chest! I feel much better now 🙂