How Long Until My Lens Makes Money?
Why The H#LL Isn’t My Squidoo Lens Making Sales?!?!?
Sorry, had to add that sub-title to this post. C’mon, be honest… You know you’ve thought it, too! You make this beautiful lens. You put so much effort into and you are promoting the bestest product EVER on your lens. You social bookmark it, Digg it, Stumble it and all that good stuff until your fingers hurt. You even see traffic to your lens! So, why the HELL isn’t your lens making you any money? Is this Squidoo thing a joke?
One Lens = How Much Money?
Seems many people want to know, “How much is a lens worth to me on average?” That is such a tough question to answer because there isn’t a flat across-the-board answer. How much IS your Squidoo lens worth to YOU on average? What if I said that each lens will be worth about $1 a week to you? Feeling good about that ONE Squidoo lens now? Or, perhaps you now feel the need to go create as many lenses as you can…. or just give up.
For me, I felt the need to get out there and make as many lenses as I could. If ONE lens would bring about $5 a month, then TWENTY lenses would bring $100 a month, right? And ONE HUNDRED lenses would bring $500 a month. Ok, now we’re talking…lol!
So, How LONG Until A Lens Makes Any Money?
Ok… now don’t shoot the messenger, but here is the flat out truth.
Your ONE lens may NEVER make money.
Sure, it may bring a few cents each month in Squidoo earnings, but as for the big commissions…. maybe nothing. Ever.
note to unhappy readers: The “back” button is up there to the left =)
Ok, now that we have THAT harsh piece of reality out of the way, let’s talk about what we can do about it.
Affiliate Marketing On A Budget
When people come to the point that they seriously look at their computer as a way to supplement, or replace, income, they usually fall into one of two financial categories:
- 1. Does Have Money To Invest
- 2. Does NOT Have Money To Invest
When you DO have money to invest into your new online business, you have the ability to outsource things you don’t know how to do and the ability to pay for traffic via PPC and other forms of paid advertising. You also have the means to pay for tools that make your life easier.
I can’t speak from that point of view because that is so not my story. I didn’t have money to invest. I had to learn how to do things myself. I had learn how to generate organic traffic because PPC was totally out of the question. And the only “tool” I could afford to pay for was my little pea brain. haha!
Like many of you reading, the only resource I had was time….and it never felt like I had enough of that. There was SO much to learn. So many hurdles to tackle…and so many times I felt like I ran slap into a brick wall.
However there is one thing I learned very quickly.
One Web Page Is NOT Enough
For a free marketer, the only potential income streams you have are the free web pages you create and get online. I realized that if it’s just a great idea in my head, but not a page on the internet, it was worthless to me. I needed to figure out a systematic approach to getting all my ideas and plans out onto the web. I am a one-woman show…and each of those web pages became a member of my sales force.
You see, that is how I looked at it. I am a business owner. I have no resources other than my time and my slowly accumulating knowledge. Once I learned how to quickly and effectively get a web page “trained” I could then send it out into it’s territory to work FOR ME. It’s job was to gather targeted traffic and send them to a place where the visitor could buy something that would solve their problem.
If that member of my sales force made sales, I would spend more time “training” it AND send additional “trained” pages to work with it.
My job was to “train” (ie, optimize) web pages and get them out there…then let it go and work on another “territory” (ie, niche market). I kept repeating that until a) I had a whole LOT of “territories” covered, and b) I found successful territories that I could expand my sales force in.
Ok, folks.. scared now? Welcome to MY mind! hahahaha!
However, maybe now you can see how my One Week Marketing Action Plan came to be. It was developed slowly by me based on a pure need to use my time as wisely as I could…and to never feel that “NOW what do I do?” feeling that plagued me so often when I was starting out. I spent MUCH less time “reading in circles” because I always knew what to do next…and when that task was done for the day, I could read forums and other blogs and expand my knowledge even further.
You know what? Some of my first Squidoo lenses….aw heck… MANY of my first lenses are really, really awful. Seriously, they are B-A-D. Guess what? They are still out there. I like going back and looking at how much I’ve learned…and I also like having that little sales force still out there in case I ever decide to expand in that territory.
My little “sales force” plan started off rough, that’s for sure…but it also helped me get over one very important road block.
I Stopped Obsessing Over Any ONE Web Page
That’s right… I just sent the web page out there to work for ME instead of ME trying so hard to work IT. I stopped trying to be ‘perfect’ and trying to do it ‘right’ and just DID it. Sure, I’d check in on that lens or blog post or article from time to time, but I no longer STOPPED moving forward in order to fret over my stats from yesterday.
I just kept working and learning.
Know what happened? One day I realized that I had made $50 a day every day that week… then I made $50 every day that month. Then some time later I realized I had my first $100 day… my first $500 week… my first $1,000 week… my first $1,000 DAY… (pinkie promise that is true…more than once , too =) )
ANYTHING is possible once you start and gather momentum creating your own sales force. Once you commit to following your own action plan and stop holding yourself back by obsessing over stats or whatever the traffic secret of the day is…. wow, there’s no telling what can happen for YOU!
But Learning All This Is Hard!
Ah, the next thing I feel some of you may be thinking, “But Jennifer, this is so EASY for YOU!!!”
Yes, some of it may be “easy” for me NOW, but I can promise you that whenever YOU get stuck on something – whether its trying to make a link, or insert and image, or get a lens indexed, or FIND your lens in the index – I HAVE been stuck there, too.
I learned how to make Google my best friend…and the VERY best member on my “staff”. Any question I had, any road block that had me stumped, I simply typed it into Google and figured it out. Learning all this is exhausting!
But-
I can promise you this…
Once you learn it, you OWN it.
No one can take knowledge away from you.
The knowledge you will accumulate by doing in the coming months will be priceless. It could very well be the roots of a new financial future for you.
When you’re done making your money online PPG, you’ve really got to go and become some kind of motivational guru – because you are so good at it. I get a bit glum about this process every now and then, but you always have a way with words to make me inspired again and enthusiastic. You’re great. π
cheers
–jo
Thanks, Jo!!!!
And I’ll bring YOU along to keep me motivated to keep motivating!!!!
Thanks for reading!!!
Jennifer
~PotPieGirl
Geez Jen! Haven’t had to make anyone pinky promise in years! lol.
Great post!
-Harmony π
I’m amazed . . . oh my gosh. Each lens is worth $1.00 a week . . . Oh I really wish.
My last two monthly payments from Squidoo have been $0.07cents, and $0.08cents . . . and to top it all Squidoo want to know if I want to share.
I can laugh it off . . . because I enjoy messing about with Squidoo . . . but I am truly grateful that noone depends on me to feed them.
Wow Jennifer, what a great post!
I just started on One Week Marketing a couple days ago……..been reading constantly and now have my first campaign going!
Thanks for the honesty (you are spot on!) and the encouragement……..
I know what you mean about Google too……I do the same thing!
Thanks again!! π
Candice
One thing that can help those without much in the way of funds to invest is Instant Commission Affiliate Programs.
Here is a thread listing several such programs at the Warrior Forum:
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/20805-instant-commission-affiliate-programs.html
Hope this is helpful to your readers!
Just wanted to say, for true success go out there and do something!
I have on lens, that’s it just one. It brings in about 100$ to 200$ a week.
I also have 35 articles pointed at it..
Ok so your scared that you don’t know what you are doing and will screw up, psh guess what! I did screw up, I didn’t do any targeting or anything with my lens! Just my articles.
And I still make money! Wow! Ha after reading one week marketing I actually just put out 4 new lens today. We will see if this stuff works π
Note: I put about 5 hours a week into IM, not much but getting 100$ a week sure feels good for that. Just get out there and act, you miss 100% of the shots you never take π
-Slin
Hi Jennifer,
Very nice post – thanks!
Tonya
I’m learning to make money online and Squidoo lenses interesting to me ..thanks for share
diannas last blog post..Do You Respect To Your Child
Yeah one week marketing rocks π and pot pie girl rocks even more π She’s very helpful in any email you send her :)))
Hi jen,i am a newbie online and wish to know more on how to prosper with affiliate marketing and make my first cash,i am stuck and don’t know how to choose proftitable programs and also wish to know on how to choose profitable products from clickbank too.Please help me on this one,
I love your blog.
cheers
You have great info about making money with squidoo, i will bookmark your site, theres so much more info for me to read.
Thanks again Jennifer – another great advice day for me. I will keep going and learning – with your help it makes me realize that I am not the only one that wants to pull my hair out sometimes trying to figure this stuff out lol !!!
You are awesome !!!
Deb
I love your philosophy on this – to stop obsessing over any one page or lens and simply get the next one out there. I get very attached to my pages and want to spend days “grooming” them for possible stardom. Now, I just run the comb through their hair and send them out the door. Time for the fancy hair-do when they can pay for it themselves!
And you always make me laugh out loud. That has to be good!
I love that just run a comb thru ’em. I Love your Emails and blog too Jennifer. I just built my 1st lense the other day and was having fits over trying to figure out how to do a clickable link and it was like ya knew I needed the help I got a email with a video of how to do it. Thanks π
” I stopped trying to be βperfectβ and trying to do it βrightβ and just DID it. Sure, Iβd check in on that lens or blog post or article from time to time, but I no longer STOPPED moving forward in order to fret over my stats from yesterday.”
I think this is key and something I struggle and even obsess over. I need to follow your advice adn just let go and move on.
Noteworthy Tipss last blog post..This Sniper Site Ordeal Could Actually Work For Me
This post has made more sense to me than any other one thing I’ve ever read during my journey down this IM path. Thank you!
It is interesting, I’ve read and still don’t comprehend how to put into practice most of what is in much of your material. I purchased OWM two days ago; have read all of it including Nick’s journey. Will continue “slowly accumulating knowledge”! π
* I really appreciate your observation about “slowly accumulating knowledge”. That was a HUGE help!
* Your analogy of sales force i.e. squidoo lenses was immensely enlightening and eliminated MUCH stress. – DON’T OBSESS –
* My first goal is to be of assistance and of benefit to my fellow human being
* My 2nd goal is to have my first $25.00 week.
Have been a carpenter since the early 70βs; trying to move from that field to this is closely akin to trying to learn a whole new profession all at once. Kinda like trying to drink from a fire hydrant!! ? Really appreciate your willingness to be transparent, your candor, integrity, and honesty are sterling and refreshing.
Thank you
just a “scruffy old carpenter”
Reeder
Great info! I have to go build more lenses, thanks for the inspiration…
taking REAL action is the hardest part for me, especially continuously everyday, still trying to keep on my track…
There is a lot to learn. Probably takes at least a year to get it.
I’m into niche blogging & want to use Squidoo for links back to my blogs.
I found ur blog from a blog which I found from another blog , which I …..
Surprisingly, that blog worked to detract your assertion that squidoo makes money. I’m new to all these, but I’ve come to realise that there’re many ways to make money online, and yours is as legitimate as any.
Keep up the good work, and do keep sharing your tips!!!
Thats a very valuable article Jennifer.
Thanks for shooting up and bringing me back down to earth.
Hi Jennifer
Just want to thank you so much for your inspiring books and posts. It really made a big difference giving me direction and putting action to my ideas. You should sell books as a motivational speaker because your pretty dam good at it. I enjoy every bit of your postings in the WA Forum and it has helped me a lot.
Thanks your a star.
Carl
Hey Jen,
I love the post and your one week marketing course is truly amazing.
I was wondering though in your course you talk about testing certain niches on your personal account and I was wondering if you submit articles to those squidoo lenses your testing?
I agree with Jo! This was such an inspirational post. And I really needed inspiration… I’ve been very tired and glum. Not helped by the fact that I’m having an incredibly hard time getting onto Squidoo… the site is just not loading for me most of the time lately. It’s causing me to really lose my momentum, and that’s my weak area anyway, keeping my momentum up to push me through to the point where I do finally have success.
I can’t access Squidoo today, so it was good to read this instead at least. I love how you keep hammering home that point about not obsessing… I really need that. Bit of a perfectionist here and I need to be constantly reminded to just do it and let it go… don’t obsess.
Thank you so much Jennifer! You’re one of the good people who truly deserves all the success you achieve.
Donna Miller | WordPress Freelance Developers last blog post..How to See What Your Site Looks Like In Different Versions of Internet Explorer
I am grateful for your being candid about the reality of “Internet Marketing”. Too many of us, including myself, fall for the “thousands of dollars in one day hype”.
As I come from a sales background, I can comprehend and am delighted with the perspective of your story.
Hi , Jennifer,
I am currently working on the Taking The House
Egde Car Dealer program.
I would like to add an opt-in page to my site,
however I have no idea of where to get any kind
of free car reports or something of that nature.
Do you have any ideas?
William Foster.
This is very helpful, and beacause i can read an article like this, i too want to be successful at this!!,..nice post!
Hi,
It’s so nice to hear from real people about their real stories. We need to stop day dreaming and start doing things one little step at a time until you realized that those small things you thought was nothing has become something! (
I like the way you look at things. Hardwork, patience and a sense of direction brought you to where you are right now. God Bless!
Hi Jennifer
Thanks for the post – very inspiring – I have your book
OWM and I have read it from a-z and I’m following all your advice.
It is good to read your post because you sounds like a real human being that one can relate to.
Very enjoyable post.
I made some money from clickbank by the lenses I have in squidoo. But Today, they blocked all my lenses. What should I do? All my hard work wasted. I find my lenses traffic improved a lot. Now they blocked.