A Review of Squidoo

Updated on: by Amy Kennedy

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Squidoo is a writing site loosely comparable to Yahoo Contributor Network and HubPages. It is different from a content mill in that you can write whatever your little heart desires, within reason. Any topic, any stance, any length, you can create a Squidoo lens for it. (Lens is Squidoo speak for article.) The site pays by revenue share, so there is no upfront pay for articles, and it also offers the option to earmark your portion of the earnings to charity. It is a platform through which writers can publish their work and monetize it.

How Can I Earn Money On Squidoo?

When you create a lens, Squidoo’s Google AdSense account will place ads on it. These ads earn money just as they would if they were on your personal blog. Also, you can monetize each of your lenses with affiliate links such as those to specific Amazon products or other types.

All of this money ends up in Squidoo’s hands though. They earmark 50% of every penny that comes in to distribute to writers, or “lens masters” as they call them. The terms make it clear this could change at any time, but currently the split is 50%. The revenues received from ads place by Google AdSense for Squidoo goes into one pool and is distributed in a way that the most successful lenses get the biggest share. Those funds traced to a specific lens, such as affiliate links, are distributed to the respective lens masters at a rate of a straight 50%. An example of this would be an affiliate link within a lens to a specific product on Amazon. The profit would be spit 50% between Squidoo and the lens master. Currently all revenue share funds are distributed through PayPal.

So Why Not Just Publish a Blog?

I am sure many of you are at the point I was after soaking in this information for a bit. Why not just write your own blog? You can still write whatever you want, and you can monetize the same way and retain 100%. Why write for Squidoo?

Well, there are a couple of reasons. For one, a blog is generally related to a single topic, meaning if you have a blog related to parenting and you want to write a piece about modern trends in small business and social media, it might not fit well. Over time random topics can detour readers and slow traffic, which does not result in high earnings. Squidoo offer a platform for publishing pieces on a wide variety of topics. Also, a blog needs to be kept up and maintained consistently with fresh content. In general, each lens on Squidoo stands alone, and the topics do not have to conform to each other.

The other draw Squidoo has over a personal blog is built in traffic, and less maintenance. There is no blog to maintain and keep up to date, and people are already coming to Squidoo every day. All you have to do is get them to your lens. It may also be easier to market one article rather than a whole blog.

What Others Are Saying

Squidoo is pretty much like any other revenue sharing site. You can make a good deal of money over time and with lots of promotion work. As a result, you have a mixed bag of comments on it ranging from how great it is and easy to use to make money, to how it is not worth the time and not a good source of revenue. It all depends on how much traffic you can get to your page, and that depends on what you write about and how much time you are willing to put into marketing your content. Another interesting idea floating around however, is that this is an awesome way to build backlinks to another site. So consider this benefit if you already have a website and are working on increasing traffic.

Alternatives to Squidoo

HubPages

HubPages is a popular platform for creating articles and sharing knowledge. It allows users to write articles, known as “Hubs,” on various topics and monetize them through advertising and affiliate programs. HubPages provides a supportive community and offers tools for formatting, organizing, and promoting your content.

Medium

Medium is a widely-used online publishing platform that allows individuals to share their stories, opinions, and expertise. It provides a clean and user-friendly interface, making it easy to write and format articles. Medium also offers features such as clapping (similar to “liking” an article) and the ability to follow and engage with other writers and publications.

Quora

Quora is a popular question-and-answer platform, but it also allows users to write and share their knowledge in the form of articles or blog posts. Users can create content on specific topics and engage with a community of readers and fellow contributors. Quora’s voting and commenting system enables interaction and discussion around the published content.

Wizzley

Wizzley is a user-generated content platform that lets users create articles on various topics and earn revenue through affiliate marketing. It provides a simple and intuitive interface for writing and formatting content. Wizzley also offers monetization options through Google AdSense and Amazon Associates.

InfoBarrel

InfoBarrel is a community-driven platform where users can publish articles, earn revenue, and engage with a supportive community of writers. It allows users to write articles on diverse topics and monetize their content through various advertising programs. InfoBarrel also provides social features for connecting with other authors and sharing knowledge.

Conclusion

Squidoo is a legitimate way to make money online, but it is neither fast nor easy, at least not in the beginning. To make any significant amount of money it would take considerable effort (not a big deal) and time (a big deal to some.) Do not quit your job and immediately rely on Squidoo to pay the bills. However, if you are a writer desiring a platform from which to publish your own work, and you do not want the hassle of a blog, Squidoo is a great way to do just that and maybe even make a little money in the process.

http://www.squidoo.com

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Comments

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Anna

August 29, 2012 at 8:13 am

I’ve used Squidoo some in the past and I really like the way it’s set up. It’s similar to Hubpages, which makes it kind of fun to create content there because there’s so much you can add to what you write.

Angie Nelson

August 29, 2012 at 8:36 am

I have published on Squidoo over the years. There is definitely potential there, but I think many give up before they fully invest in figuring out the type of content that performs best there. It seems to be a different best.

You can get around splitting the Amazon commission by creating your own links and images. It may take a little more work than using the modules, but it can certainly increase your earnings.

Angie Nelson

August 29, 2012 at 8:40 am

should say *different beast* oops!

Tiffany Dow used to have a course called “52 on Squidoo” or something similar that went through creating one Lens each week for a year. I don’t know that she stills maintains it, but it was huge at the time.

Leisa Good

August 29, 2012 at 10:28 am

Great review, Faith. I haven’t used Squidoo in about two years. I was using it for a client and did like the set up and easy navigation. I guess maybe I should go back and give it a try on my own. Hmmmm.

Angie, I’ll also have to check out that “52 on Squidoo”. Maybe I can Google it or something.

John J Mannion

August 30, 2012 at 12:18 am

I think your point about backlinks is an important one. That is what I’ve heard most people using squidoo for, since it’s an authority site. Good article here.

Faith Stewart

August 30, 2012 at 8:37 am

Thanks for the information about “52 on Squidoo” Angie! I’ll have to look it up too. John, yes! I really think that the links are a major bonus when it comes to Squidoo… and thank you all for the compliments. I see this site as one of those that CAN be very profitable if the time and effort is put in to finding a profitable niche and using the site to its fullest potential within that niche. There are so many options that can be used here, you just have to be financially able for the money to start rolling in:)

Sara

March 16, 2013 at 5:53 pm

(I apologize for being so long but I’m kind of a squidoo addict and wanted to explain why someone would choose them over a blog)

I’ve been on Squidoo since 2007 and did not start because of the revenue share. I didn’t start earning over there until I started writing about crochet. Squidoo has a tier payout and I believe (last I checked) only about 2,000 – 3,000 of the lenses get the top payouts (which can be from $60 – $100+ per top lens). So, if you have 10 lenses in the top 2000 you’ll be getting 600 – 1000/ month.

The second tier gets about $30 or less and then the 3rd tier gets pennies (not even .50) After the third tier there is nothing.

They pay based on traffic and lensrank – a formula not disclosed.

My top lenses range in age from 1 year to 3 years in age.

I started there because I didn’t want to blog or deal with amazon or google ads via my own blog.

It is a great starter for those online if you know about keywords and traffic generation.

I also stick with Squidoo because I can donate my earnings to Kiva or any other charity.

Brad Ball

July 4, 2013 at 12:02 am

Squidoo is a wonderful platform and you really can write about anything on it. I do find the revenue shares a bit difficult to understand, however, and I believe Google hammered them with their recent Panda and Penguin updates, so that the backlinks are no longer as valuable as they used to be. The big challenge for making money on it is to really enjoy what you write about. If you find the writing a chore you won’t last at it. Believe me, I know!!

laurie

October 6, 2013 at 7:17 pm

Hate squidoo! They deleted all my lens, said I was in violation of not sure what as they would not explain, only said self promoting. I did have 1-2 backlinks per lens. That’s it. I see others linking to amazon, totally selling their products which I was not doing.

Courtney

January 28, 2014 at 12:28 am

Run, run far away! They have locked a bunch of my lenses, and now have locked my very best selling lens without giving me a reason. Just that it doesn’t meet their TOS standards.

I sent them a request asking them to unlock it, they send me a automatic reply saying that most lenses won’t be unlocked, and that my pending earnings will be sent to charity!!! I spend years working on this site, and thousands of hours!!!

My pay has gone down dramatically in the past year on the site although my lenses have been ranking higher. I have several tier 1 lenses which now only pay approximately $10 each per month when a year ago, they would have paid around $50 each. Waste of time!!!