Promo Videos: Anatomy of a Lens

I frequently receive inquiries about how to promote affiliate products

on Squidoo. So I have decided to do a series of blog posts that will

provide the "anatomy of a lens" - that is, give a break-down of the

purpose, strategy, content and structure of each lens being discussed.

This will enable readers to apply the same principles and strategies.

Video Promo Lens

Purpose

The purpose of this lens is to promote two affiliate products -
Kevin Riley's Recipe for Quick and Easy Production of
Hot Promo Videos and the related Animoto video production
program.

Introduction Module

Here I introduce the two products as the focus of the lens
and include hyperlinks. Ideally the hyperlinks should appear
"above the fold".

Review Module

This provides a brief review of both products and
shows how they are related. The review can be expanded
over time. Product reviews are frequently identified as
one of the most successful affiliate marketing strategies.
I have found that this is particularly true for Squidoo
affiliate marketing. Your review will have greater credibility
if you can demonstrate how you have successfully used the
affiliate product(s).

The "Easy-to-Use" Module

Increasingly consumers (including internet marketers)
want products/software that are easy to use, quick and
inexpensive. This module translates the video production
process into 4 easy steps. Here I am trying to show the
reader how easy it is to produce their own promo videos
from their still photos.

Illustration Modules

I have developed a number of YouTube modules -
each one dedicated to a separate video promo
created with the help of the promoted products.
These videos show how the products can be used
to create different, themed video productions; how
to link the products to a lens/website/blog; and also
provide evidence that I have actually used the
affiliate products to achieve video promos that are
uploaded to YouTube (thus adding to the credibility
of the product review). These modules in turn have
hyperlinks to the two affiliate products.

Twitter Module

I have employed the recenly added Twitter module
because many of my "tweets" (mini-blog posts)
are related to the Squidoo lenses and video promos
I create. The Twitter module provides an RSS feed
to the lens, thus giving it a regular update (if I post
to Twitter regularly and publish my lens frequently).
The added advantage of the Twitter module is that
it is very personal in orientation and shows that
there is a real person behind the recommendations.

Google Blog Search Module

This provides another source of information for the
reader, adds more keywords for the search engines
and provides another form of RSS feed that updates
the lens regularly.

Subscribe to My e-Course Module

I usually add this module to each of my lenses to
encourage subscribers to my mailing list.

Guestbook

I highly recommend the use of the guestbook module for
each lens - it creates an opportunity for two-way
communication and builds lensrank. You should tailor
the heading to the content of the lens and invite
relevant comments, discussion or debate (I have been
a bit lazy on this at the time of writing - some Squidoo
lensmasters excel at this aspect and get heaps of
comments as I do on my
Squidoo Marketing Strategies lens.

Overall

The modules are deliberately sequenced in the order in
which I want the reader to read the lens.

***************************************************
Ron Passfield is a Top 100 Squidoo Lensmaster and
provides free resources for Squidoo affiliate marketing
on his Squidoo lens:
http://www.squidoo.com/squidoomarketingstrategies

Ron is the author of the ebook:
Squidoo Marketing Strategies

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