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Squidoo – I get it now!

Squidoo is a Seth Godin project.

I’ll be the first to admit that I just didn’t understand it when it first launched.  Well, I get it now, and it’s pretty cool. It’s also an important word of mouth marketing tool.

Short version: 1. Build a page on a topic.  2. Add a bunch of links to your site. 3. Get traffic.

If you make an interesting page then more people see it. So you get more visitors to your site.  A big idea here: the more you contribute, the more you get.  If you add tons of cool links and content, then you are rewarded with visitors.  Boring or selfish page = no traffic.

It’s really easy to build a page.  Actually, Squidoo has a truly impressive set of tools for collecting information, links and ideas.  They do things like let you suck links right out of your blog or delicious page so you don’t have to re-type them.  This is breakthrough web 2.0 technology.

Here’s my page on Squidoo about word of mouth marketing
.  (still needs work)


Squidoo at eBay Live!

I figured this all out at eBay Live! when I interviewed Megan Casey, Squidoo editor-in-chief.  They put together an amazing trade show promotion (more).  Everyone at the event was spreading word of mouth about them.  Watch the video to learn how.

Encouraging word of mouth

Lesson:  The single most effective way to get word of mouth is to just ask nicely for it.

Squidoo does a great job.  As soon as you finish creating your first page, it tells you this:

Okay, so you made a lens. And you probably hope someone other than your hamster will see it. What to do?

  1. Email it. To your friends, your mom, your boss. Don’t be shy about bragging, you deserve a little limelight!
  2. Blog it. Post your lens to your blog. Send a note
    to someone you admire who runs a blog on your topic, and ask them to
    check out your lens. Sincere flattery gets you everywhere.
  3. Link it. Link to the lens on your Facebook page,
    LinkedIn profile, Flickr profile, eBay auctions, email signature.
    Create your own little traffic network and get discovered in more
    places. Wouldn’t you like to get found more online?
  4. Group it! Find a Group that’s busy talking about your topic and request to join. Get friendly, get relevant, get feedback, get found.
  5. Compete. Stop by the Lens of the Day Group for inspiration from winning lenses. And if your lens is up to snuff, enter it in the contest.

Check it out!

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