What is a Squidoo? That’s what I wanted to know when I first stumbled across the description in a blog by innovative thinker extraordinaire Seth Godin. I love this guy and when he recommends something I usually check it out. I’m rarely ever disappointed.
I notice a little line in the bottom left corner of his blog that says something like: Squidoo Lens.

I found that Squidoo is a community people who build lenses (web pages) on topics that they love. They can write about anything that excites them, sharing their knowledge with the world.

I kept reading the same words over and over again: “I’m addicted to Squidoo.” Addicted is a pretty strong word. I wondered what would captivate so many people. The counter on the home page of the website proudly boasts over 150,000 lenses and seems to be growing at a rate of about 1000 per day.

People are sharing their knowledge on everything from business to watercolor painting. The articles are fueled by passion and genuine love for the topic that lens masters write about.

Today, I viewed an outstanding lens on laptop bags. It’s amazing how many cute and stylish laptop bags are out there. Not only does the writer share her thoughts about them, she also provides easy access to the company and website where the bags can be found. Most likely, she is a part of an affiliate program that allows her to benefit from the sale of each bag.

The best part about Squidoo is that it gives the lens masters an opportunity to make money for themselves and/or for a non-profit of their choice. Squidoo shares the income from ads placed on the site with those who write. This gives a wonderful feeling of partnership and commitment from the lens masters.

As a business owner, your squidoo lens can be linked back to the website where you promote your product or service. In addition to sharing the profit from the ads listed on the site each lens can earn money through affiliate programs with sites like eBay and itunes.

This is how it works. The lens master posts an article on Herbal Teas. Then they find items that relate to the topic of tea on the affiliate partner sites. This is all done with the click of a button. No long forms to fill out, no experience necessary.

While the team at Squidoo is still fine-tuning their show, it looks pretty good!

I have provided a link below for you to look around and perhaps make your own lens.

Stay tuned for the upcoming articles:
How to Grow Your Business with a Squidoo Lens
Squidoo Your World