Monday, May 30, 2011

Squidoo is a waste of time...

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Today I ran into an article about Squidoo being a waste of time. That's exactly how I felt after my first couple months on Squidoo. $0.25 for hours of work seemed unfair and seeing little to no lens traffic was simply depressing. I can totally see how some people can feel that Squidoo is a waste of time. But I also know of several lensmasters that have 15-30 Tier 1 lenses, along with 25-50 Tier 2 lenses, and hundreds of Tier 3 Squidoo lenses. They get $500-$1000+ from Squidoo per month along with affiliate commissions from Ebay, Amazon, Zazzle, LinkShare, ShareASale, Commission Junction, and Clickbank. Squidoo can certainly be a waste of time, but for the lensmasters who have figured  out the "magic formula", Squidoo is a nice source of income.

As of today, I have three lenses in Tier 1, two lenses in Tier 2, two lenses that keep on jumping between Tiers 2 and 3, and ten Tier 3 lenses. If I was to get a paycheck from Squidoo today, I could probably count on around $100 plus a couple dollars in affiliate commissions for my Amazon and Ebay Sales. $100 per month in Squidoo Earnings is certainly better than 25 cents. Would I say it's a good compensation for the time I spend on Squidoo? It will be, if I manage to keep the traffic to my top lenses steady for several months while also building new lenses. Squidoo lenses are also a valuable tool in promoting my Etsy store, so I always remember about the money I save on blog advertising by publishing my own articles.

How do you feel about Squidoo? Are you wasting your time? or do you think that your hard work will pay off in the future? As always, comments are welcome!

12 comments:

  1. ....I have indeed spent many hours, on Squidoo, and in the beginning time far outweighed my earnings, but I pushed on, and thankful I did, and now I earn a decent hourly rate for my input, but now I have expanded my online work. I think many expect to make money online easily, they then come and go in search of the net big thing and quickest way to make money, we know its not! But it can be done. And there are many who will agree Squidoo is Not a waste of time

    ReplyDelete
  2. I had signed up with Squidoo a couple of years ago, wrote a few lenses, and forgot about them and poof, nothing happened. Now, I'm back at it, promoting those lenses, updating them, writing new ones, and I'm seeing income trickle in. Funny how that works, isn't it? I'm glad there is such a great supportive network of writers to ask for help and who are so generous with their expertise. I love reading blogs like yours. It's very inspiring!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, I'm just a beginner. Let's see if I can make a back link... Here it goes... Best Business Cards Online

    Thanks for all the motivation & tips.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Just like Peg, I've been with Squidoo for years with nothing more than 2 or 3 lenses in my account. So, naturally, I get nothing out of it in terms of income. But now that I'm back here making and promoting more lenses, I'm starting to see its money-making potentials. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have only been on Squidoo since the end of January, so far my total pay is around $10 but in however many months I have to wait from when a lens was published etc, I have one that ranked in tier one and has maintained it's position for over a month now and five in tier two (also held for a month!) not to mention 30 or so in tier 3 plus my first ever sale so I am super excited to see how much $ that will be!

    I think if I stick to it then it will be worth it as far as money goes eventually, but really I came to help families who are frustrated by autism and need tips etc! Also, as a stay at home mom, I could be scrubbing the toilet right now so.... I LOVE Squidoo!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Squidoo is a waste of time, I have written articles and quoted the exact source of a few lines of quotes and even one with a 300 year old poem and even quoted the source and they still removed the article!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am sorry you feel that way :( I have a lot of respect for Squidoo and people who run the website. Have you tried contacting them about it? They are very good about responding in a timely manner.

      Delete
  7. I am a believer in Squidoo even though I am just a few days old newbie. My first and only lens right now ranks at #349 in business after published a week ago. Glad to find your lens and your blog. I will come back to learn more. Thanks for your work.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well, I sure hope it isn't a waste of time because I am building 1 lens a day for 30 days as a jumpstart. I have enjoyed reading your blog, you have lots of golden nuggets here. Thanks for your help, and here is my latest lens:

    http://www.squidoo.com/toddler-cowboy-boots

    ReplyDelete
  9. Total waste of time for most people. Squidoo keeps changing rules and locking lens constantly. Your better off starting your own blog.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I can agree that it's a very uncertain time on Squidoo. It may be wise to invest your time into a blog of your own while continuing your efforts on Squidoo. Or if you feel that Squidoo is not for you, that's understandable.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I started on Squidoo several years ago. At the time it was a nice way to consolidate my notes from college classes so I could review and look up the information later. Then I kinda forgot about it and all of a sudden several months later I had some money in paypal from squidoo it was just over a dollar but still it got me back on the site. I haven't made it big like some people but I do find it to be a nice way to organize information I learn so that I can look it up later. I seem to have a terrible memory and using lenses as a part of the missing puzzle has helped me to retain some of the information I would have otherwise lost. So in that way it doesn't feel like wasted effort. Nowadays I make somewhere between $8-$40 a month with 39 active lenses and several more that are projects for later.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...