Creating posts for your blog and Squidoo lenses

I don't know about you but I often have trouble thinking
up ideas for blog posts in the middle of my everday
business and home life.

The one exception is when I get a creative urge at 4 am
in the morning (I'm a morning person!). Most other times
I need the stimulus of something else to get my brain
churning.

On one of my morning walks it suddenly hit me that I
had hundreds of resources on my computer that could
act as a catalyst for blog posts or posts for Squidoo modules.
I realised I could use the ideas in Squidoo text modules, link
modules or in comments on other Squidoo lenses.

Now I use the following as a stimulus for my ideas for
posts (and add them to my business journal):

• e-Books
• videos
• podcasts (I listen to these on my iPod during morning walks)
• emails from other marketers
• email enquiries from subscribers
• articles in article directories
• webinars
• sales pages of major product launches
• membership sites (free and paid)
• PLR content
• blog posts by other bloggers
• ...and the list goes on.

The reality is that you receive heaps of stimulus for
ideas every day and have an endless store of information
on your own computer to use for blog posts or posts to
Squidoo modules.

Don't just copy what others have written or spoken
- add your own value. Some hints on how to add value to
the ideas that you encounter:

• relate the idea to the focus of your blog/Squidoo lens
• add personal experiences
• illustrate with examples
• concentrate on one key idea and tease it out
• link to other ideas that you are aware of
• expand on, or clarify, a key point/resource
  
• link your post to other things you have written or created

You can link to articles you have written or videos you have
created (as I did above with the hotlink to "morning walk").
You can also add in links to relevant affiliate products - a
much more natural way to promote.

Reading, listening and viewing create new connections in
your brain and enable you to link to other ideas/experiences
in your brain store. As you write your posts you are building
your knowledge base, creating a directory of information
for yourself and others and moving yourself along the path
to creating your own profitable product(s).

You can make the most of your time by listening to material
on your walks or creating advertising credits as you
read articles (as you can with the Affsphere Article Directory).

I can assure you that you will build Squidoo lensrank when
you add unique content to your lens and you will also build
the Google positioning/ranking of your blog if you continue
to add new material.

[Personal note: This blog held No 1 position in Google for its
targeted keyword for a number of years (created in 2005).
It is now at No.2 - displaced by my Squidoo lens:
Affiliate Marketing Coach (created on 23 March 2007).
Around 2007, the blog had a PR5 ranking but gradually
lost this when I started to post irregularly (once a month).
I am starting to rebuild PR again.]

********************************************
Ron Passfield is a Top 100 Squidoo Lensmaster and
Giant Squid. He provides free resources
for Squidoo affiliate marketing on his Squidoo lens:

http://www.squidoo.com/squidoomarketingstrategies

To learn more about Squidoo Affiliate Marketing

check out:

http://www.squidooaffiliatemarketing.com

Subscribe to Ron's free Squidoo Marketing e-course:

http://www.smsecourse.squidoomarketingstrategies.com/

Ron is the author of the e-book:

Squidoo Marketing Strategies

********************************************

Squidoo Affiliate Marketing - Article Writing (2)

The Bum Marketing strategy suggests that you use
articles to target specific keywords that have
high monthly searches but low competition.

I have been using MicroNicheFinder daily to
identify such keywords for my articles, lens tags
and the URLs for my new lenses. This tool
is absolutely invaluable:
MicroNicheFinder for Article Writing and Lens Creation

I have previously reviewed MicroNicheFinder here.

Enough of this rave...but I so rarely come across a
tool that is so useful and opens up so many new avenues.

Through MicroNicheFinder I established that Squidoo
Affiliate Marketing was a keyword that had a good
number of searches but low competition, so I decided
to target it in my articles.

I already had multiple listings on the first page of Google
for the keywords squidoo marketing strategies
and squidoo marketing.

One of the secrets of article writing is to ensure
that your targeted keyword appears as the first term
in your article title (you also want it in your article
summary and spread throughout your article).

The title is critical - it's what Google looks at first!
The keyword does, however, need to be repeated as
indicated above to convince Google that the article is
really about the title topic.

It may take a bit of mental gymnastics to get your
keyword in the title but believe me it's worth it.

Here's proof - these two articles were written to target
the keyword Squidoo Affiliate Marketing
and submitted on 4 October to Ezinearticles.com:

Squidoo Affiliate Marketing - Use Squidoo to Leverage
Your Writing

Squidoo Affiliate Marketing - Get Multiple Listings
on the First Page of Google Results

Today (20 October) these articles hold nos. 3 & 4 positions
on Google search results for the term Squidoo Affiliate
Marketing.

In my next post on this topic I will talk about how
to use the resource box to reinforce your keyword rich
title.

************************************************

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************************************************
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


Technorati Tags: Squidoo affiliate marketing, Squidoo, Squidoo marketing strategies, article writing, Squidoo Marketing Strategies e-Book, affiliate marketing, Squidoo tips, MicroNicheFinder, traffic

Squidoo Marketing Strategies: The Squidoo-Google Dance

How do you get multiple listings on Google's first page?

You do what I did and create the Squidoo-Google Dance.

This strategy builds on a previous post:
Use Squidoo to Leverage Your Writing

Here are the basic steps for the Squidoo-Google Dance:

1. Create a Squidoo lens on "Your Keyword"

2. Start a blog on "Your Keyword" (or re-focus an existing blog)

3. Write an article on "Your Keyword" with the resource box
linking to your blog AND your lens.

4. Submit your article to article directories.

5. Create links from your Squidoo lens and blog to your article(s).

6. Set up an RSS feed from your blog to your Squidoo lens.

7. Start posting to your blog with "Your Keyword" in your post title.

8. Ping the blog directories for your blog and lens with each post.

So what is happening?

You have created a dynamic interaction (dance)
between your blog, your Squidoo lens and your articles.

• Your blog and Squidoo lens are being updated simultaneously.
• Your articles are creating backlinks to your lens and blog.
• Your blog and Squidoo lens are creating backlinks to your articles.

By PINGING you are inviting Google to join the dance!


P.S. Make sure you have submitted your Squidoo lens and your blog
to the blog directories and search engines.

**********************************************
P.S. Get the whole picture with the Squidoo
Marketing Strategies eBook (includes regular
updates):

http://www.squidoomarketingstrategies.com

**********************************************

Technorati Tags: tagging, Squidoo, Squidoo marketing strategies, pinging, free targeted traffic , affiliate marketing, first page of Google, Google rank, traffic