Marketing Ideas

I constantly hear from small business owners, and non-profits that are looking for free and inexpensive ways to promote their organizations online.

One of my biggest recommendations at this time is Squidoo. I learned about Squidoo about a year ago at the EcomXpo, when I attended a presentation given by its creator, Seth Godin. I was so impressed that I immediately signed up for the closed beta, and began creating lenses as soon as I had access.

I have been impressed with my results, and I have also met some great people, and learned some new tricks.

Anyone can quickly and easily create a lens (basically a one-page website) on the topic of their choice. You don't need knowledge of HTML or Web design, and best of all, it's free.

Squidoo is rapidly growing in popularity and a nice community is forming. Right now there are about 40,000 lenses, and the number grows every day. I think everyone should go out and create a lens, if they haven't already. It's an opportunity that everyone should take advantage of.

A few interesting details are that lenses have the potential to earn money, in addition to bringing traffic to your website or helping to promote your interests. They have Google ads, and there are a number of other money making modules available to enhance your lenses. You can choose to receive those earnings as cash, or donate them to your favorite charity.

Since I work with a local charity, the proceeds of all my lenses go to them. This is a really easy way for me to help my favorite charities, while promoting my projects at the same time.

Squidoo has also just launched a new Groups feature, where clubs, organizations, and individuals can create groups on any topic and invite other lensmasters to join. The marketing potential here is endless.

For example, here are a few of the groups I have created:
The Mommy Mall Group
The I Squidoo Group
The Pets Group

The Ferret Shelter where I volunteer also has a charity headquarters at Squidoo, where people may create lenses to benefit the shelter.
Ferrets Unlimited Headquarters

Have you created a lens yet? I'd love to hear about it!