An IPK-Squidoo Student Lens Example
November 7th, 2009 | 
Author: I got an email from Elizabeth yesterday and I wanted to share it with you because sometimes people start thinking, “Well sure, YOU can do this because you’re a squidoo expert, but can I do it?” Here’s proof that you can. Read Elizabeth’s email to me below and then check out her lens, which I’ve hyperlinked. Make sure you give her some rating love too if you have a sec for sharing her hard work.
Hi Tiffany,
Thanks for your Squidoo course – it is excellent. I tried to do a Squidoo site a while back but gave up as I didn’t really “get” it. I bought IPK last year so had already got my Toy sites going. I set up my first holiday Squid yesterday.
http://www.squidoo.com/best_Christmas_toys.
(I know, I could have chosen a better url!)
Thanks
Liz B
Actually, Liz – your domain is great! I prefer hyphens to underscores, but the keywords are in there for you. Now had I not gone to her lens I wouldn’t have realized Squidoo implemented a new Christmas theme – yea! I immediately logged into my account and in the theme section, I changed it and chose the apply to all lenses option, too – since I have a Squidoo account dedicated to Christmas.
Liz uses a lot of keyword phrases to pull in traffic – in her titles and content. She includes interactive modules like the poll and videos people can watch. The only thing missing is the IPK image. Liz, if you’re reading this – watch my YouTube video below on how I make the IPK images for my Squidoo lenses. Everyone will have a different method. This one works for me.
Tiff 
Posted in Internet Marketing
Hi Tiffany
Would it be possible for you to give us a ball-park figure on how much you make each month from Squidoo (and from how many lenses). No exact figures, but it would be good to get a general idea of what earnings are possible. Also, do you use mostly modules or link directly with your own affiliate links from your lenses? A video from you about this would be great.
Hey Geoff!
Well the problem with that is that I don’t track the exact places the income comes from – but it’s a toss between my blogs, lenses, Hub pages, Google Knols, and Twitter. I know back when I was ONLY using Squidoo (cuz I didn’t know how to do a website), I was promoting my ghostwriting services and earned about $10,000 one month from a lens – so I started paying attention to the traffic. I use a combination of modules and text hyperlinks and here’s why:
Amazon modules help support Squidoo, which I believe in – but they also help break up text with nice built in graphics and buying opportunities (a buy now button right there)/
Text hyperlinks, I place in EVERY text module – up to 9 to the same domain is very generous. I sometimes also put them in a poll module or in the description area of things like the guestbook or link list, etc.
I’ll see if I can gather an example of earnings for one lens to showcase and if I can trace it through Amazon alone.
Tiffany, I just stumbled across this blog while working on a Squidoo lens. You are a pro and I am a hobbyist! I am grateful to the pros for taking Squidoo to a whole new level.
Geoff, as a hobbyist — a graduate student who uses Squidoo for publishing lenses on topics that interest me, with the odd Squidoo tutorial thrown in — I earn between $100 and $200 a month with 80 lenses. $100 is when I haven’t updated in 6 months; $177 was my highest payout, last July. I don’t do third-party affiliate marketing. Most of my Squidoo income comes from the adsense ads on my lenses, with a rare commission from the Amazon modules that I use fairly sparingly on only some lenses.
A couple years ago I posted a “Monthly Squidoo Earnings” poll on a lens I created to help newbies get started on Squidoo. I solicited members from Squidoo’s discussion forum to post their average monthly earnings. I still get occasional responses on that poll. Obviously, my poll is not scientific and is probably skewed towards beginners rather than experienced members.
377 responses later, I have the figure of 4.7% of Squidoo members making upwards of $5000 a month. I am sure this is usually through savvy use of affiliate marketing. About half of all Squidoo members don’t make much of anything (47% in the 0-$10 range), but you know how many people get into web marketing or building webpages with little or no clues.
Here is a link to all my findings — such as they are — on how much money people make on Squidoo.
I know a handful of Squidoo members who are making decent money, and at least one who is essentially earning a living. There are no shortcuts — they treat it as a job, and they have learned from experience what works and what doesn’t.
If you were sit and go through all of the lenses that are created, Sooooooo many are just trash. They don’t have good content (or enough), they look crappy – people dabble on there. MOST of the members are NOT marketers, so the 5% might be right
I don’t make most of my money onsite in AdSense or modules, either. A handful of earnings from that. Most of mine comes from direct affiliate links I place in my text modules. I know my lenses on PLR rank on page 1 for many Google phrases for people searching for PLR. As an example – people are searching for “herb garden plr” (without quotes) on Google. Go do it – I’m #1 for my lens on that. So they click through and buy my gardening PLR pack at $57 a pop. That’s one example.
I highlllllly suggest no one try to just earn a living on modules and AdSense alone – you might starve
I also know handbags do really well financially for many top Squids, just as an fyi – I don’t make lenses on this topic myself.
Back when I started I knew one Squid making “enough to cover rent and all utilities” using Squidoo. Sure she’s doing even better now
Tiff