Are You a Purple Cow?

There is no such thing as a free lunch, but there is such a thing as free promotion. And believe me, in these trying economic times, free is a word that everyone should be paying attention to.

Ask Yourself This Question -- What Makes You Unique?
Your mother always told you there was nobody in the world like you. She was right, you know. Author and marketer Seth Godin takes that concept one step further in his book, Purple Cow. In Purple Cow, Godin tells business owners to transform their business by being remarkable.

Simply put, if you want to stand out, be the purple cow. One great way to showcase your inner purple cow-ness is the free social media site known as Squidoo (which incidentally, is also the creation of Seth Godin). You can create a fully-featured webpage (called "lenses") which showcases your unique perspective on virtually any topic you can think of.

If you can think it, you can Squidoo it.

Cows and Squids...Are You Kidding Me?
Yes, I suppose on the surface the concept may sound a bit odd. But then again, folks thought that Isaac Newton was a few fries short of a Happy Meal in his day -- and we all know how that turned out.

Squidoo is a hand-built collection of nearly 900,000 web pages built by everyday folks like you and I - on topics that range from how to grow a perfect bonsai, to how to crochet a tea cozy.

Squidoo Showcases the Remarkable
Squidoo offers users the perfect (and did I mention free?) platform to showcase their remarkable talents, business, hobbies, and interests.

Here's some examples to help get you started.

Think about what aspects of your business or craft are unique. Do you make wreaths from vines that grow on your own property? Sharing the process of how you scout out the vines in the forest, pull them down, and shape them into wreaths. Include some photos, or maybe even a YouTube video of the process.

What if you operate a business that has faced a great deal of overseas competition? Capitalize on the fact that you are providing a product or service that is made in the USA, and how your company is keeping jobs here in this country. In these tough economic times, such factors are major selling points.

Perhaps you are a genealogy buff. Start a lens on your family's history. Where did they come from? If they emigrated to the US, what was their motivation? What types of obstacles did they encounter as they began to create a new life in this country?

Maybe you sell holiday ornaments, and your business takes a bit of a dive after the first of the year. Your Squidoo lens can help drive traffic to your main website by offering information on Christmas around the world, little-known customs, share stories of "the worst holiday gift," and more.

Making Money With Squidoo
Squidoo offers you a very real opportunity to drive targeted traffic to your website, blog, eBay listings, or etsy shop. In addition to those direct earning opportunities, you can also integrate third-party affiliate links from programs you may already be involved in. Finally, by incorporating any of the multitude of modules offered by Squidoo, you can earn from products offered within the listings at eBay and Amazon.

A Word of Caution
Not everyone on Squidoo has caught on to the importance of showcasing what makes them remarkable, which is all the better for you. While your first instinct may be to throw up a quick page and wait for the tsunami of traffic, I urge you to resist the urge. First of all, you'll wind up sorely disappointed. Second of all, you'll shoot your credibility as a lensmaster. Instead, consider browsing the site a bit, and get a feel for the type of content you see on other people's lenses. Then, check out their ranking.

I can guarantee you that there is a correlation between the lenses ranking well, and the quality of the content they showcase. Focus your efforts on building content that is useful and interesting, and you'll have yourself a winner.

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