SquidStrat - Where Squidoo Strategists Are Born

This Blog Shall Rise Again...

2009-01-12T13:35:00.002-05:00

Well, it might be more accurate to say that this blog will actually rise soon :-P

The past few months have brought about a LOT of new developments, and unfortunately, SquidStrat fell by the wayside for a while. However, with the new year comes new resolutions, scheduling, rearranging, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah. In all of the newness, this blog is getting a once over, too.

Yay!

So, happy new year, and I'll see you soon!

I.C. Jackson

Using the Link List To Promote Your Other Lenses...On EVERY Lens You Create!

2008-09-08T06:24:00.000-04:00

I happened upon this trick by mistake; it made sense to add it to one lens, and then I thought, "Duh, why don't I do this on every lens?"

What is it?

I have a link list module at the bottom of every lens that is titled, "Other Lenses By I.C. Jackson You Might Enjoy". I put it after the guestbook so that it doesn't seem spammy - you just about have to be looking for more to read to even see it. Regardless of where it is on the page, the backlinks count, so in that respect, it's definitely a win-win. The placement is professional, and the value is priceless - it helps to create a web within the web for your content. And one of the keys to consistent traffic is keeping all of your content as connected as possible.

If you aren't already doing this or something like it, be sure to add it - it will increase your exposure, and the updates to your lenses will help increase lensrank, too!

To your continued success,

I.C. Jackson

The Power of the Team: Making Sure People Know You're Alive

2008-09-02T17:20:00.001-04:00

So you're building Squidoo lenses about everything you know and love.

Great.

How will you get traffic to them? How will you get them rated? Who will add your lenses to their favorites?

Your team, that's who!

I'm not talking about getting a group of people together to try and game the system; the kind of team I'm referring to is built through networking. I'm talking about a group of like-minded squids who genuinely enjoy and appreciate each other's advice and support. It's not a rating club or a traffic exchange - it's the band of merry squids whom you bond with along your Squidoo journey.

Some you will team up with very directly and deliberately. Some will stop by your lenses from time to time as you will theirs. Either way, your lenses get regular and repeat traffic from squids who are on your "team".

This is not to say that search engine traffic and social bookmarking won't bring your lenses traffic; in fact, most of your traffic will probably come from sources outside of the Squidoo community. However, your internal support from within the community will help to get your lenses rated, emailed, favorited, and lensrolled. That brings more traffic and exposure, and search engine traffic just doesn't develop that kind of full life for a lens.

Do you have a team of followers and supporters within the Squidoo community yet? If not, get into the game, baby! Things you can do to make more friends and allies on Squidoo include:

Visiting the SquidU forum and becoming a regular participant.

Join The 60 Day Squidoo Challenge and become an active participant in the group for the challenge. We're a great group of folks who support each other. We all work as one big team.

Browse some of the other blogs dedicated to Squidoo. There are other squids who you may hit it off with personally and begin to visit on the site and vice versa.

Just become a squid who networks and visits others' lenses - what goes around truly does come around :-)

To your continued success,

I. C. Jackson

Need Some Exposure? Enter Captain Squid's Lens of the Week Contest!

2008-08-25T05:00:00.000-04:00

Everyone wants to get as much exposure to their lenses as they can, right?

One cool way is to enter Giant Squid Loyalis' Lens of the Week contest! There is a lens devoted to the contest, and you can also learn more about it at his blog devoted to all things Squidoo, Captain Squid.

I actually found out about this new contest that he is hosting through his Squidoo lensmaster profile page, and I was among the first group of winners! Yay!

The contest is open to new lenses every Tuesday, and the winners are announced on Wednesday. A lens can only win once, but you can enter a different lens every week, which is what I plan on doing. He posts the link to your winning lens on his profile (which gets a lot of traffic, by the way) and his blog (which is also very active).

Oh yeah, did I mention he offers expert advice to the winners on how they can improve their lenses? His advice for The 60 Day Squidoo Challenge lens was right on the money! I am implementing it now...

So, guys, take advantage of this opportunity, especially while the contest is still new and you have less competition.

ENTER THE CONTEST!

To your continued success,

I.C. Jackson

Got Some Lenses That Need Some Love? Post Them Here!

2008-08-24T20:45:00.000-04:00

Hey gang,

The end of the month is rolling around, so it's time to make sure that all of your squids are in a row!

If you've got some lenses that need a boost (rating, favorites, comments), please post them in a comment to this post. I will visit all of the lenses that are posted, and I hope that everyone here does the same.

As a matter of fact let's make it official: If you post your lenses for review, please review the other lenses posted. If you can visit them all, visit them all. If not, at the very LEAST visit one from each person who posts here and show it some love.

Teamwork makes the dream work!

I've got two groups of lenses that need love:

Lenses that need to keep as much lensrank as possible (they're already ranked pretty high, but need a little traffic and activity)

Lenses that need to be rated (they're fairly new)

If you visit the lenses in the first group, please lensroll and favorite them if you actually like them (I'm not extorting people, here), and leave a comment if you wish to let me know you did so - you will receive some reciprocity ;-)

If you visit the lenses in the second group, they need to be rated, but the commenting is optional. Some of them are geared toward a specific audience, so if you don't really have a comment, you don't have to feel obligated to leave one (although comments would be greatly appreciated).

Group One - Needs Some Traffic/Activity

The Best Baby Bags | Infant and Toddler Bags for the Unique and Stylish Mom (and Baby!)

The Secret to Becoming a Stay-At-Home Mom Without Going Broke

The Truth About CFL Bulbs - Not Such a Bright Idea

10 Things Moms Can Do To Reduce Environmental Impact AND Have Healthier Kids

Group Two - Needs To Be Rated

10 Things Kids Can Do To Go Green and Reduce Environmental Impact

The Official Certified CRAZY Test: Are You Cuckoo? Find Out!

Polishing the Diamond in the Rough (SquidLit)

Everything Raggs: Raggs Kids Club Band | "Raggs" Show On PBS

I LOVE My Xyron 510 | Your Xyron Idea Headquarters | Where To Get Refill Sticker, Laminator, and Magnet Cartridges

Raggs Kids Club Band Birthday Party Theme

Raggs - Leader of the Raggs Kids Club Band

I showed you mine - now show me yours!

To your continued success,

I.C. Jackson

Make More Memorable Lenses With Basic HTML and CSS (It's Easy!)

2008-08-24T19:44:00.000-04:00

Although Squidoo is designed to give anyone an opportunity to create great web pages without knowing a lick of programming code, there are advantages to knowing at least a little bit. I'm sure you've seen some lenses (including a few of fine) with features like tables and modules with different colored text or backgrounds and wondered, "How'd they do that?"

HTNL and CSS is how ;-)

You don't have to go to ITT Tech for a Computer Science degree to do that kind of stuff, though - HTML and CSS tags can be copied and pasted into Text/Write modules. So, you can look like a computer whiz without really knowing how to do much more than cut and paste.

It is a good thing to learn basic HTML and CSS for real, though...you know, when you have some time :-)

Until you do have time, however, here are some lenses that I use to spice up my lenses - you should use them, too!

Simple HTML tricks to use with Squidoo
My Favourite CSS Tricks on Squidoo
Squidoo CSS - my favorite code to spice up a lens

And don't forget to use < a > tags in the comments on this blog to make your links active!

To your continued success,

I.C. Jackson

SquidCall: Post Your Squidoo Lenses Here

2008-08-23T04:52:00.000-04:00

While you are always welcome to link to up to three lenses in your signature on this blog (hint, hint), there are only certain occasions in which you can post as many links as you want.

This is one of those times!

Show off your favorite lenses, and tell us why we should visit them. Give a good enough reason, and you may get some visitors ;-)

We're proud of you as a lensmaster, especially if you are on The 60 Day Squidoo Challenge. So, come on and show us what you've got!

To your continued success,

I.C. Jackson

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My Favorite Lenses (Which is all of them!)

The 60 Day Squidoo Challenge: Make a Supplemental Income On Squidoo In 60 Days Or Less!

The Best Baby Bags Infant and Toddler Bags for the Unique and Stylish Mom (and Baby!)

The Truth About CFL Bulbs - Not Such a Bright Idea

The Secret to Becoming a Stay-At-Home Mom Without Going Broke

10 Things Moms Can Do To Reduce Environmental Impact AND Have Healthier Kids

Where To Buy Michael Phelps Pictures Photos Posters Wallpapers

How To Find Enough Content To Write AT LEAST One Squidoo Lens a Day, Every Day!

Facebook Marketing

How To Study the Holy Bible Effectively and With Confidence

Business Networking on Facebook

Unique and Creative Sorority Paraphernalia and Gifts: Delta Sigma Theta

Challenge Diary: My 60 Day Squidoo Challenge

How To Create a Real Facebook Presence Without Actually Being There!

Our Deepest Fear - Inspirational Poem by Marianne Williamson

How To Properly Dispose of Grease and Oils From Food Preparation

10 Things Kids Can Do To Go Green and Reduce Environmental Impact

The Color Purple

Environmental News: Headlines On Pollution, Climate Change, Global Warming, Going Green, and More

The Worst Jobs EVER - And How To Kiss Them Goodbye!

Pizza Hut's Pizza Mia: The Worst Pizza Ever

The Official Certified CRAZY Test: Are You Cuckoo? Find Out!

Polishing the Diamond in the Rough

I LOVE My Xyron 510 Your Xyron Idea Headquarters Where To Get Refill Sticker, Laminator, and Magnet Cartridges

Welcome to SquidStrat! Read This First...

2008-08-20T01:23:00.000-04:00

This blog is a supplemental resource for contenders in The 60 Day Squidoo Challenge and all Squidoo users who need a place to go and talk shop.

That is, if you are serious about Squidoo.

While it would be nice for us to take our sweet time strolling through the meadows and creating lenses on whatever and manage to experience overwhelming success by accident, the truth is that such a scenario is rarely (if ever) a reality. Most of us will have to work hard and smart to make a supplemental income on Squidoo.

And I'm one for working smarter instead of harder!

So, this blog is here to give young squids a place to vent, ask questions, find answers, and theorize. No one thing works for everyone, but there are definite Squidoo DO'S and DON'TS if you are creating lenses for profit. I'm gaining insight and experience, and I'm sure you are, too.

So, let's share, learn, and grow together!

PLUS, there will be link building opportunities for everyone :-)

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I.C. Jackson