How to deal with Image Copy right issue on your lenses/Articles!

Images

Don't save and post images that are not yours [we all do it]. So when you decide to post them, make sure they are free and have commercial license. When you use some one else`s picture on your website, you must give the owner an image credit by having a link underneath the picture to their website. 

How do you give image credits?

Well this is how I do it: An example using this image below. 

This image is from Allposters [free] and I would give credit to this image by using the html technique below.

Image Credit: <a href="website address or Image link">Name of the website or the owner</a>

So in this case, it will be: Image Credit: Beautiful Scenery by Allposters

I apply the same rule every time I use an image on my lens [article]. Most of my images are from Flickr, Allposters, other affiliate programs and my own print screen shots. If I use my own images then I would still mention that they`re mine on my lenses [articles].

How about on Coloring page articles or lenses[articles]?

It is quite simple. Just avoid posting links to large images alone without their original url/website address on them. Avoid using image links that end in jpg, gif and pdf.

This post by Tom [Squidteam] explains exactly what is allowed on coloring page lenses and what is not. So reading it will be a big help for those who already have or are planning on creating coloring page lenses [articles].

Copying Texts?

NO! You simply don't copy some one else`s writing and display it as your own. You are allowed to use quoted phrases with appropriate explanations though. 

Backlinks for Traffic Boost!

On my previous post, I had talked about the importance of Keyword Research for your articles and now the topic is back links for your websites. 

What does it mean to have a back link for your article/website? 

You write for one place and then you promote it on another by creating similar topics related pages else where on the net. For e.g. Some lens masters on Squidoo use HubPages to back up their content on Squidoo. And they do this by creating Hubpages related to their squidoo lenses [articles] and they would have links to their lenses in appropriate places of the Hubpages article. 

What back link site do I use?

I use the brand new Wizzley! It is awesome, it does not only help back link my squidoo lenses but also helps me to earn another source of income. Wizzley shares 50% of the ad revenues with the authors. 

Another cool thing about Wizzley is that Google loves Wizzley! Articles are indexed within hours of being published. If I publish an article now, I would find it on Google after a few hours. I just love the Wizzley traffic. 

I now divide some of my Squidoo time for Wizzley because both will benefit me income wise. 


Wizzley Traffic stats of my article that was published 3 days ago

The image above shows the traffic statistics of an article that I published on Wizzley just three days go. I had over 85 visitors within few hours of the article being published and the traffic was coming from sites I've never even heard of. 
Wizzley v incredibly awesome! Don't take my words for it, feel free to check it out yourselves here : Wizzley


You can visit my page to read some of my Wizzley articles.

Never rely on just one site for income!
I've heard the above warning statement from many online writers and I think it is true. If you rely on one site for your whole online income, the chances are that if you fail in succeeding or the company fails, you will face more disadvantages and might not even want to bother with online income again. But if you choose more than one reliable sites for earning money online, then you always have another choice in an emergency!


Always back up your content somewhere else on your computer!
Just in case some bad virus attacks your website articles or your computer or some one hacks into it, you must always have the contents saved somewhere else safe so you can grab on to it when the need comes! I trust my emails safer than my USB because I always tend to lose the USB sticks but if i email the contents to myself then it just stays there forever! 


If you have any questions, please feel free to ask below.

If you want Google or any other Search engines to find what you write, Please do your keywords study!

When I first began my online writing business few months ago, I had no clue what a keyword was and I use to get so annoyed when ever I read about it somewhere in the forums. But now I am so thankful to all those who informed me about keyword research and how it plays such a major role traffic for my articles. I am still in the learning process though, I still have a lot to learn about keywords and how to use them appropriately. But now my articles are picking up much faster on the traffic level than they used to when I first started and all credit goes to the keyword research. I do not know any sort of special formulas and strategies of making money online yet but I will share with you what helps me succeed as I progress.

Everyday, I would spend at least 30 minutes to do keyword study and keyword researches for new/old articles. Before I never used to care about the competition but now it matters more than the topic I choose to write about.

Exactly how do you do a keyword research?
Reading PotPiegirl`s Keyword Research Article will help to understand the main facts you need to know about keyword research and how to do it.

Am I willing to pay to learn how to succeed?
Noway! That`s one of the tricks all online writers should keep in mind. Your aim is to earn money without investing a penny. Hence I definitely will not bother with paid keywords tool, e books and so on. However If I ever come across an extremely useful book or DVDs about the topic, I will investigate it quite a lot of times before I decide to buy it or recommend it for others.

Is it better to write about something you enjoy or something others are searching for?
Some people say you have to write about your passions but I would say it`s a mixture of both. If I was to write about all the things of my interest, I can sit and write all day but it`s highly unlikely that I would have a quick and great success. But If I choose to write about something that others are searching for which is also something that I would enjoy writing about, then I will have more traffic and more success. This is why you need to do Keyword research. 


Third party Affiliate Programs, Good or Bad?
They`re amazing if you just know the right ways to apply them. You also have to choose reliable Affiliate Programs like Shareasale and Commission Junction. I have joined both of these Affiliate Programs recently but have not yet started applying them on my articles because I need some more time to study about Affiliate programs and how to use them etc. Other online writer`s earning testimonies persuaded me to join these two programs and I will later update about how well they`re working for me after I start using them. Some of my fellow lens masters [Squidoo Authors] make thousands from these Affiliate programs. There is nothing too complicated about them but I still want to make sure I am doing it the right way.


I get sick of seeing some people misusing the affiliate programs by applying it on random places on their articles and in between random words. It will definitely put off your readers if they look at your article being loaded with unnecessary affiliate advertisements. So if you`re planning on using them, learn about them before.

So my conclusion is that if you want to succeed as a paid online writer, you must learn about keywords and how to use them on your articles. Feel free to leave your comments below.

My Squidoo Earnings and Lens Tiers so far..

In two days time I will be bragging about my Happy 5 months Squidoo Anniversary.

So yes, I have been on Squidoo for 5 months so far but have been completely inactive during July and August 2011 because I had to go on Holidays [a very long Holiday]. I mention it here because being inactive for 2 whole months did play a negative role in my lens ranks.

Also when I look at all the things I`ve achieved in a very short time, it makes me get angry on myself for being completely inactive on Squidoo for two whole months! I could have made at least 10 new lenses during those two months, updated old lenses and learned so much more about making money online.

Ah you keep talking too much about this Squidoo.. What on earth is Squidoo?

Just in case some one who doesn't know anything about Squidoo is reading this post, Squidoo is basically a free and fun writing platform that pays it`s authors [who are called lens-masters] according to what ever tiers their lenses [articles] might be in. So you will be earning from the Google adwords displayed on your lenses, Chitika ads, Adpool Earnings and from Squidoo`s affiliate partners [Amazon, eBay, Zazzle, Cafepress, etc]. You can also join reliable third party affiliate programs and earn commissions from them. 

Wait..I don't get the Lens-ranks part..What`s that?

Squidoo uses lens rank system to pay the lens masters [Authors]. 

1. Tier 1 lenses rank from 1-2000
2. Tier 2 lenses rank from 2000-10,000
3. Tier 3 lenses rank from 10,000-80,000

Your aim should be to work hard and get your lenses in tier 1 and 2 to receive the best payouts on Squidoo. 

How much do each lens ranks get paid? 

I think squidoo is also loving it`s lens masters far more than we all imagined! The lens ranks payments have been constantly increasing every month so far. I cannot invest too much time on this one post to explain every thing step by step so anything you may want to know about Squidoo payday is here:

Squidoo Payday Questions and Answers

What is my total Squidoo earnings so far?

If you did bother reading the Squidoo Payday questions and Answers article above, you would have found out that Squidoo`s first payday starts 3 months after joining Squidoo. The successful lens masters on Squidoo know that it is a total worthwhile waiting time. So even though I`ve been on Squidoo for 5 months so far, I have only got 4 Payouts which also includes the one I`m about to receive in a few days time. 

I have earned approximately $33 so far on Squidoo. This is only for about 8 lenses [articles] and only one of them was in tier 2. My payouts have been gradually increasing every month and from November there will be a huge difference in it. Because I now have two tier 1 lenses and 5 tier 2 lenses overall 30 lenses, so you can work that out yourselves :)


Forgot to mention my sales commission so far, I have sold about 6 products so far with a total commission of about $8 so far.

At first I wanted to test for myself if I could possibly earn a penny from Squidoo, so I had my payout threshold set to $1 but now that I have earned over $30, I do not wish to have it on $1 any more. I have set my payout threshold to $50 now because now I know my payouts will be increasing to $50 and more every month. My next earnings update will most likely be in November or December.

I use to get really annoyed when some experienced lens masters always use to moan about keyword research when I first joined Squidoo, but now I am so thankful to every single one of them for informing me about keyword research. You can write 100 crappy articles without keywords and earn nothing, but if you write even 2 or 3 articles with good keywords, trust me you will be glad you bothered with keywords.

So my next post will be about Keyword research to get your articles found on the search engines. Feel free to leave your comments/questions below.

Do you have to be an all known professional to make money online?

The answer is definitely NO. You do not have to know every internet marketing skills or have years of online business experience to earn money online but you will not be earning a penny if you do not will to learn day by day as you jump in to the online money making field. So what seems better? knowing nothing and earning nothing or learning and earning?


If you choose the second option then Welcome to the online money making journey!
Do not assume by any chance that I am already making thousands online. I am still in the 2 digits. After all I am only 4 months old in the online money making field.

• What source do I use for online money making?

Squidoo

• Why?

Because it is free and reliable.

• How do I know it is reliable?

Other lens-master`s testimonies made me want to join it, but now I am also making money online on Squidoo so I do not need any more testimonies.

• Am I trying to persuade any one to join Squidoo?

Do not read this post and think to yourselves that I'm trying hard to make others want to join Squidoo, I get nothing from that! Well yeah I can get the referral benefits for making others join on Squidoo but that applies only if I post a `Join Squidoo` link here with my user name etc on it. I have not posted such links here, so you know clearly that I do not get any profit by making you join Squidoo! In fact I would only be increasing my competitions if more and more people join it. 

• When did I first Join Squidoo?

Instead of saying `I first joined Squidoo on..`, I prefer to say that I fell in love with Squidoo on late May 2011. Why? because before joining Squidoo, I've never even dreamed of making money on-line. But after joining Squidoo, it gave me hopes with 100% valid evidences that I can earn a decent income online. 

• Did I know anything about making money online before I joined Squidoo?

Every time I heard about people making money online, I use to think it will never be possible for me because I am not an IT professional nor do I know anything about Internet Marketing, etc. But after reading many of my fellow lens-master`s testimonies and receiving useful answers from them in the forums, I figured out that not everybody came into this online money making field knowing everything about the online business. Many successful online money makers did not even know what a keyword was when they first started writing online. So hey that encouraged me and gave me more hopes that if I really want to succeed, I can do so! This is the article that made me want to join Squidoo badly: Are you a Work at Home Mum or Dad?


I will write about my earnings so far on the next post.