Create a Blog to Support the Squidoo Christmas Cash Blueprint
Sep 28
In the Squidoo Christmas Cash Blueprint I talk about setting up a blog to support your lenses. This can be a blogger blog, it can be a sel hosted wordpress blog, it can be a tumblr blog ~ it can really be pretty much anywhere. The one place it can NOT be is at wordpress.com. The terms of service at wordpress.com expressly prohibit sites that are for monetary gain or linking to other sites to support search engine ranking. (I’d personally read the TOS of any site you are planning to build a blog on to make sure what you’re doing is within the rules).
With that said, I think blogger is a great place to do this because it is an authority site so you will be able to quickly get this site up and running as well as ranking if you choose good keywords. (I do recommend that you start your OWN sites as quickly as you can so you own your own content and can’t have your site taken down at the whims of others ~ so YES, if you have an understanding of how to start a wordpress (self hosted) blog I recommend you do BOTH. 
How to start your support blog:
Since you are targeting Christmas with your lenses I suggest you create a Christmas blog. This starts by going to the keyword tool and doing a little research on Christmas keywords. You will be astonished at what is available and not very competitive. (just use the same process you use for finding lens keywords).
Set up your blog wherever you’ve decided to do it at.
What Kind of Content Do I Put In My Blog?
Once you have your blog set up you want to start filling it with content.
You can create a post for each of the lenses you create. Write a short blurb about the product, talk about a specific feature, talk about a specific use, tell a story how it came in handy in your life ~ any of these will be fine blog posts.
Once you’ve written your post make sure you link back to your lens (using your keywords as the link text) Go ahead and add an image to the post. If you have your visual call to action that’s a great image to add. Make sure you make it a clickable image.
You can link to different products you are promoting by creating a new blog post for each lens. You want this to probably be more than just things you are promoting, depending on the focus of your blog. If you have a “great Christmas gifts” blog you can just do tons and tons of products. Even if you haven’t done a lens on the product no reason you can’t write a blog post about the item and then link it directly to the product at Amazon.
These posts don’t need to be incredibly long (150-300 words is good) ~ what’s more important is to regularly update your blog so that you will be indexed and spidered by the search engines. You will find if you do some kw research the way it is taught in the Blueprint, even if you don’t do a lens, but just link to the product you will end up getting some long tail traffic related to the product.
If your blog is more generally related to Christmas or holidays you might want to add articles on anything else related to Christmas ~ tips for finding good deals, managing holiday stress, whatever seems appropriate, just make sure you use it as a place to link back to your lenses as well.
Other Ways to Link to Your Lenses
You can also link to your lenses from the sidebar of your blog. This is a great way to create links to your lenses. Here’s a quick video showing how to create a link list in the sidebar of a blogger blog.
For those of you who hate video:
1. Login to blogger
2. go to your blog
3. Click customize in right hand top
4. click add a gadget
5. choose link list gadget
6. Fill in box that appears
7. Save
You can add as many links to the link list as you want.
Other cool stuff to add to your blog
You might also want to grab a widget from Amazon to put in the sidebar (or even at the bottom of posts) ~ they have some really cool auto updating ones now, like deal of the day. You could create a carousel widget with products you recommend. You could add an amazon banner about getting free shipping ~ Amazon has a lot of great stuff to help you get people to their website. You have to have an amazon associates account to do this. If you don’t have an account yet go ahead and get one. If you’re waiting because you don’t have a website to fill in, put some content on this blog you are creating and then use it as your website when you apply to Amazon ~ blogger blogs count as a website. 
Don’t forget to use your RSS feed!
Once you have put some content on your blog don’t forget to add the rss feed to your Christmas Cash lenses. Add it at the bottom of your lens. That way if they haven’t clicked on any of the links in the content they might at least click on something else interesting in your RSS feed and click out to something else you own. (where of course there is always another opportunity to buy)
I think that about covers what to write on your blog and how to link to your lenses and products from your new blogs. If you have any creating a blog related questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below.
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I think I messed up my support blog because I used my same keywords as titles of my articles, so I don’t know if I can use the same words in my sidebar links.
Should I go back into my blog and change the titles?
the same titles where? as your blog post titles?
You want to use the keywords you researched as your targeted kw in the sidebars, and as the anchor text for the links pointing back to your “money” site. (it would also be ok to put the url of your support blog in the url field of the comment so I could see what you’re talking about)
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Hi,
Geez…looks like I can’t even ask the questions properly. There’s the link to my blog. I used the link gadget.
I’ll go in and change the titles of my articles if you suggest it.
Thanks.
Bea´s last blog ..Lladro Nurse
You’re doing fine. If those are your keywords I would change the title of your blog posts. You don’t want your blog posts to be competing with your lenses for the kw.
Follow me @momtohanna on Twitter!
Okay I’ll change them right away.
And thanks.
‘Cooking with grease’. I love the expression.
Thanks again.
Bea´s last blog ..Lladro Nurse
Jackie,
Do I still need a support blog if I choose to use Unique Article Marketing? I am not sure if I understood you correctly, but do you list your squidoo lens or blogger urls with your products information and affiliate links on the UAW sidebar? If you have over a hundred lenses do you add all to the sidebar?
Thank you.
If you mean you have UAW contributing content to a blogger blog that IS your support blog.
You add the links to your squidoo lenses in the sidebar ~ that creates the links back to them ~ make sure you use your keywords as the anchor text of the links.
You can also write a post on that blog that will link back to your lens. Just because UAW provides content for it, doesn’t mean you can’t as well.
If you have 100 lenses you could link to them all in the sidebar ~ but it’s probably better to write posts.
and pick your favorites, to do sidebar links for.
Follow me @momtohanna on Twitter!
Thanks Jackie. I get it.
Great Post Jackie!
I will work on setting up a Christmas blog on my hosting account today. Thanks for the tip: )
Jay B´s last blog ..Two Way Radio Reviews updated Tue Jul 13 2010 9-05 pm CDT
Great post Jackie, very informative. I will work on setting a Christmas blog up on my hosting today, thanks for the post!
Jay B´s last blog ..Two Way Radio Reviews updated Tue Jul 13 2010 9-05 pm CDT
Jackie, do you have a tutorial on how to set up the rss feed at Squidoo? I don’t understand how to use this feature. Thank you.
do you mean add an rss feed to your lens? If that’s what you need this should help: http://internetmarketingformommies.com/squidoo-lens-tutorial-the-last-few-modules/
Hi Jackie,
Thank you for the info. If I understand correctly, we can use an image of the product we’re promoting on our blog, and you recommend we make it clickable. Clickable to our lens or directly to Amazon?
Re the ‘visual call to action’, do you mean copy and paste what we have on our Squidoo lens?
Thanks.
yes, you could use an image of the product in your blog post. OR you could use the visual call to action (yes, just copy/paste what you have on squidoo). I would link images directly to the product, but make sure you have an anchor text link in your content back to your squidoo lens.
I would do either/or the image or call to action. The chances of this site getting traffic are slim ~ so don’t spend a bunch of time on it, but don’t make it look to salesy with a bunch of images/call to actions either.
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hit the code/source/html button in your blogging platform text editor and insert it just like you do at Squidoo. (not sure what blog platform you’re using and what terminology they use so it will probably be one of those three)
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How would I add my visual call to action to my blog?
Everyone’s working on something a little bit different ~ and each strategy is a little bit different ~ so please let me know what you’re working on when you ask a question so I can keep it straight k?
What are you doing on a worpdress blog?
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Jackie – how do we do this in a WordPress blog? I have recent posts listed with the names of my products as the clickable links to get to the posts. Does this accomplish the same thing or is there a widget to add?
Jane (MoneyMom)
Yes, you can do either.
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So, If I get this correct, I can either create multiple product post (on the one blog that I already created) or just do new blogs for each product?
Yeah if it’s product related I would definitely add it to the link list ~ just another keyword anchor text link for your lens. The more the better.
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Hi Jackie,
I just completed a my first blog post on my Christmas blog for my first squidoo lens. I’m going to add an rss feed to my squidoo lens, but my question is should I add the URL of my squidoo lens to the link list in my blog?
I wasn’t 100% clear on that. I wasn’t sure if you meant that the link list is for other lens created in squidoo related to my Christmas blog theme or should I be adding my first lens to the list anyway?
I hope this question makes sense…. great tutorials! They are a great help!
Thanks,
Sandra
Hi Zadie,
Yes I specifically do NOT post prices, I post savings on my sites. I do this because I want them to click through to Amazon. Amazon does a wonderful job of upselling. So if I have the price of an item on my blog post, they decide it’s more than they want to spend I have lost any possible sale.
If they click through to Amazon, they realize the item is more expensive than they want to buy, but then they see something very similar at the bottom of the page that IS in their price range, then I’ve still managed a sale out of the process.
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Hi Jackie,
I’m following your Christmas Cash blueprint and wonder if there is a particular reason why you don’t post the prices of your gift items on your christmas gift blog. As a customer, I’m always interested in the price of the item I’m buying. Do you deliberately not post the price to get people to click to Amazon or your squidoo lens?
Appreciate your response, thanks, and thanks again for the blueprint and the advice.
Thanks for the video and tips.
Jamie, The main difference is when you create a free blog you do not own your blog or your content. The service you are using can close your blog for whatever reason they choose, whenever they choose. It can be a HUGE bummer (yes, I speak from experience).
When you wordpress direct and buy your own domain name (or host your own wordpress blog which is basically what you are doing with wp direct with a little help) you actually OWN your blog, your content and you can do whatever you want on it, you don’t have to worry about TOS, following someone else’s rules, you can do whatever you want.
That’s the big difference. In regards to ranking, and getting traffic, it’s not the platform that matters, but the keywords and the linking you do.
Hope that helps
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I have a question for you.
What is the difference between free blogs and like using WordPress Direct having to get a domain name? This is confusing to me for some reason. I hope my question make sense.
Thanks for your help.
Jamie
A good use of wordpress direct would be for making these Christmas blogs, then you would have other content besides just your posts to your product lenses. If you have space left on wordpress direct you could always do it there.
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Jackie,
I particularly like the strategy with WordPress Direct. I have been using it, but now I can implement your strategy of backlinks to a new Christmas blog. That is ingenius!
Thanks so much!
Kristie
i will definately be using this information, thanks!
Thanks, Jackie! This – and the sample lens – are a huge help. : D
The way I create the story is by reading the reviews. I think about if I was buying this product why I would want it. What’s so great about this particular model. If it’s a Christmas blog talk about why someone would want it as a gift. It’s your blog ~ you can makes stuff up ~ Here’s an example of a blog post ~ I’ve taken out the specific keyword to protect my niche, but hopefully this will help.
“If you’re an outdoor adventurer, or ready to start an outdoor adventure the “my specific keyword” is the perfect way to start.
The “my specific keyword” is a hybrid kayak, with the tracking of a solid shell kayak and the portability of an inflatable kayak. Whether you’re wanting to check out the local rivers or the ocean beach this kayak offers great stability and and is easy to maneuver.
You can’t go wrong with a savings of over $50 when you buy the “specific keyword” at Amazon.com.
This is a great kayak for not only kayak enthusiasts, but also for photographers and videographers. The excellent stability gives you a great shot no matter how big and bulky your camera. You are able to maneuver into areas other kayaks just won’t go. Plus you can deflate it and pack it into a duffel bag the size of a medium suitcase. Throw it in the trunk and you’re ready to head home.
This is a great one person kayak, and well worth the price.”
All this information I gleened from the product description and the reviews, just put it together with some facts and you’re good to go.
HTH
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I guess it’s the story part I’m having trouble with as I don’t have any experience with the items I’ve done lenses on so far.
But if I stuck to higher-priced items I actually own – I wouldn’t have much to write about! lol
Hi Everilie,
From this post:
“You can create a post for each of the lenses you create. Write a short blurb about the product, talk about a specific feature, talk about a specific use, tell a story how it came in handy in your life ~ any of these will be fine blog posts”
That’s what I write in blog posts.
Tomorrow I will do a brief outline of what goes into my lenses so you can see how I put them together.
Don’t over complicate things, you just want to tell a bit of a story, use some of the reviews from Amazon to let people know what others think of it ~ if you’ve got personal experience with the product then tell a story from your life. The blog is really just a way for you to link back to your squidoo lens ~ it’s the backlinks that will help you rank higher in the search engines, so just find a way to get your keywords in the post linking back to your lens. (There’s no right or wrong way to do this.
The blog posts don’t have to be novels, 150 to 300 words is fine.
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Your book was just terrific! I’ve now completed my second lens and am about to start a blog.
I was wondering if you could point us to a specific gift lens you’ve done and its supporting blog post.
I’m sort of confused at what to do with both since it sounds like you don’t really recommend doing reviews.
@Mark Sierra
I haven’t used either of those particular plugins I do have bayrss plugin that I use on a few of my blogs to monetize with ebay auctions and it works quite well.
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@Mark
Not a dumb questions. The benefit is if you choose your christmas kw well you can also get some traffic from them. It’s all about the buying season ~ however, I have gotten traffic all year to my christmas blog. You will rank for other keywords and it won’t really matter what the site is.
The other option I’ve been testing out is to do a “deal” blog. A place you can talk about the deals you find online. it wouldn’t be specifically geared toward christmas, but you could easily use it all year long.
Review blogs are not my favorite thing. I think they can easily get cheesy and not be very authentic ~ but that’s just me.
The deal blogs I have going work just like christmas blogs but instead of talking about what a great christmas gift something would be I talk about what a great deal you can get and focus on the savings available by buying through amazon.
hth
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This is probably a stupid question……but is there a benefit in gearing your blog specifically to Christmas? What if I want to continue the project beyond Christmas and set up some sort of review type blog? Or is there too much competition? I haven’t looked at keywords yet so I don’t know if that is the issue…..
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Great post Jackie, that helps me get the blog going even further. Already had set the blog up with some posts about different Amazon products, but now will start doing posts related to my lenses so I can link back to them.
I see some people above saying they need to start their blog over, but in all reality the words they chose for their title might end up making some highly searched keywords anyways..I’m always surprised at what sorts of weird searches bring traffic to my blog…just something to think about before they go re-doing it!
Thanks again for your help!
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Oh I just thought of a question for you, Jackie:
I agree with your idea of doing things on your own domains. Using other free solutions is, of course, fine but nothing beats owning your own space.
When it comes to creating my own sites, I use WordPress. Recently I’ve become interested in a couple of plugins designed to promote Amazon products: ReviewAZON and phpZon.
Have you had any experience with these?
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Hi Jackie, I just wanted to say congratulations on the success you’re having with your report. It’s very easy to understand and implement.
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Thanks Jackie,
The blueprint is excellent and right on time for X-mas.
Ivona
Hi Jackie,
This blueprint is fabulous and right on time. Thank you so much for putting together such a stellar report.
Those who are hesitant about following your blueprint because it’s free will definitely regret it during the month of January when commission checks start to roll in.
Cheers!
Got lots of great ideas from your Squidoo Christmas Cash Blueprint so many thanks for providing. And thanks for giving a summary of what is in the video. For people that are on dial-up videos are a real pain. I wish more people would give a summary so that a person either does not need to load the video or can at least guess if it is worth the pain of waiting!
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you need to check the exact keyword you are wanting to rank for with no quotes. You want it to have an average PR of 3 or less. For example, if you find the keyword ~ you turn it into the longtail ~ you still want to check for super christmas gifts ~ not the whole long tail you’ve created. (of course this is just a random example off the top of my head)
But yeah that sounds good though.
Jackie
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OK, maybe I’ll start over with new KW’s, I only have 3 products on so far.
I think I would rather do the extra work now to help with getting more searches and sales.
I found a 4 word KW that has a search volume of 49,500
I made a long tail kw out of it and in quotes I get competition of 1,260
Without quotes, page rank total of 18, no single listing above pr of 4
Is this more in line for what we should be looking for?
You’ll have to start over to get the christmas keywords ~ but it doesn’t mean you blog won’t rank for all the keywords your posts are about or any related long tail keywords.
Jackie
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I have already created my blog, however, didn’t do the KW search for the title of the blog. Just didn’t think about it.
My KW has great search volume, however, when I do the google search without quotes to get the PR, I can’t get below 32 pr, with one site ranking at 8 and a couple more at 5.
If I find another KW, can it be changed on blogger or do I have to start over?
Thanks for your help,