Monday, March 11, 2013

Squids! Ewwww - Day Eleven WABC

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, we discuss Squidoo. A site a know a little about, but haven't really poked around until today. Still rolling with the Winter Author Blog Challenge (four days left), here's the prompt:

Do you have a Squidoo lens? Founded by Seth Godin, Squidoo is a popular free site that enables users to create single webpages (known as lenses) about their interests and recommendations. Users can even earn money for charity or themselves. The credibility-building potential rivals Quora, but unlike question-answering sites, Squidoo users are free to create content of their choosing. The SEO rankings are quite high – but it remains incumbent upon the site’s users to double-check the veracity of information provided. Challenge questions: What are the benefits to using sites like Quora and Squidoo for building credibility? What can they offer that your website or blog doesn’t already do? How could this help you sell more books? If you are on Squidoo, remember share the link to your favorite lens.


I now have a profile there. I created a lens there this morning. You can find it here: Formatting Your Book for Print.

Okay, how did I just use Squidoo? I created a lens with an excerpt from my book on self-publishing. This gives folks a look inside, some information, and a buy link. I also included URLs from my two sites: Jo Michaels ~ Author Blog and Indie Books Gone Wild.

By creating that lens, I gave folks a peek into what my book can do for them. If I wanted to create a lens to drive people to buy Yassa, my book on Genghis Khan's coming-of-age, I would talk about the man himself and what kind of things he went through to get to where he was when he died.

I can see the usefulness of Squidoo and I've been meaning to do what I did this morning for a while. Thank you, Laura, for pushing me to get it done. I think, unlike Quora, Squidoo can be a bigger help because you don't have to start with a question from someone else to get the ball rolling. You can answer a question you know lingers in the world wide web with your expertise and go from there. No prompting needed beyond your own drive.

I have a ton of work calling my name today. I hope you all enjoy the lens and take your own steps to creating one today! I look forward to seeing what others can do with Squidoo.

That's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

10 comments:

  1. This is a new one, I've heard of Squidoo but didn't know actually what it involved. Thanks for the info!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're quite welcome, Heather :) You should go check it out for sure. Thanks for stopping by, hon :)

      Delete
  2. I heard about Squidoo awhile ago. Great idea to use it as a sneek peek for your book! Maybe I should try that as I get ready to launch my book:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Toni! Though mine got locked because I posted an excerpt, I'm sure I can work through the ton of red tape to get it undone :)

      Delete
  3. Thanks for the info - must admit this challenge is opening my eyes to the world of social media!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I tried to view your lens but it had been taken down! I agree about not needing a question to get started :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it got locked because I had the audacity to post an excerpt from my very helpful book. HAHA! Oh well, their loss. Thanks for the comment, Melissa!!

      Delete
  5. I plan to go and create a lens sometime this week... it really is an interesting concept. I'll be checking yours out as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Tia! I look forward to seeing what you come up with :)

      Delete

Comments for this blog have been turned off. The SPAM is out of control. Sorry.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.