Splitting the Blogs

Since I have a lot to say these days about Squidoo, and wanted to refocus this blog on Lake Erie Artists Gallery, I have decided to split the blog into 2 blogs. For those of you following me for Squidoo tips, and discussion of Squidoo lenses, and ideas, that discussion will continue on the Laughing Squid Review. For Lake Erie Artists, continue to follow this blog.

Anthony Joseph Salvatore--Self Taught Folk Artist

I am looking forward to a new show that will be starting at Lake Erie Artists Gallery in February, a showing of folk artist Anthony Joseph Salvatore. More information on this exhibition will be coming soon, but if you like folk art, I advise you to stop in the gallery. We already have some of his works in, and only one is on exhibit so far, but they are priced very fairly and they are really unique. Lots of emotion, faith, and bright colors in most of the works. Some are framed and some are unframed. Feel free to stop by to see more pieces before we hang them.

Unfortunately, I do not have any images to put up yet, but very soon.

Putting a Tip Jar on Squidoo Lenses or Other Free Forums

Lately there has been quite a bit of discussion in various forums about adding a tip jar to a Squidoo lens, a blog, or other places where people are posting information for free use. I have heard both sides of the argument, and have thought it over quite a bit. I thought it was time for me to add my 2 cents to the argument.

I think that there is a time that is appropriate for collecting tips for a service provided. However, I do not think that tips are appropriate on a Squidoo lens or other places that you can post for free. Here is why:

1. You are posting for free, so you do not need to defray your expense.
2. People can get similar free advice from other sources that do not make them feel guilty.
3. If your information is good enough, you will earn money from the post either through directing traffic to something that you are selling, or in the case of a Squidoo lens--through shared earnings if you have enough traffic.
4. Some people will be offended by your tip jar, and will not come back. The continued traffic is more important than the small amount of money you would raise with a tip jar.

I am not in any way opposed to a person having items for sale on their Squidoo lens. But in that case, if the reader is not interested, they just won't buy. They still have contributed to your lens via reading, commenting, and possibly rating it.

What is your opinion?

Getting Your Squidoo Lenses to Get Indexed on Google

Getting your Squidoo lenses and blog posts to index on Google quickly is always a dilemma, because we don't always know what Google uses for criteria when they send out their search engine spiders to crawl our posts.

I have noticed lately that now that I am doing more careful research of my keywords for titles and focus in my lenses, my google lenses show up within about 24 hours of being published. And that is pretty darn good, since they can't get Google traffic until the lenses are indexed on Google. My blog posts also get indexed within a day but I have been consistently posting on this blog for well over a year now.

So my advice to you as writers and Squidoo lensmasters would be to carefully research your keywords for your lens. Use the keywords in your title and in your introduction sprinkle them throughout the lens. If your keywords are able to fill a hole in Google's search engine, then your lens will get indexed more quickly.

Researching your keywords is something that you should be doing before you publish any lens, anyway. Find a grouping of words that is being searched and not being written about on your topic, then use it in your lens. That way, you will be writing to a targeted audience who is looking for information on your topic.

This is a Sports Week in Cleveland

This week the U.S. Figure Skating Championships are being held here in Cleveland, Ohio just a block from where I work. Lake Erie Artists Gallery is in downtown Cleveland, in between the Quicken Loans arena where the Cleveland Cavaliers play and where the Skating Championships are being held, and a few blocks from the Cleveland Indians stadium and also from the Cleveland Browns stadium. You can park here and walk to any of the three.

That is one of the exciting things about working here downtown. I am not a sports fanatic, but I sure love to see the excitement of all the people coming through here. I also like to watch both basketball and baseball, although I would rather watch football on TV in a nice warm room.

Figure skating is one of my favorites, though. I met a customer in my gallery this week who came here from Washington, D.C. just as a fan to watch the trials. Pretty exciting for everyone involved.

Twttrstrm--a New Kind of Squidoo Lens

Okay, how do you combine Squidoo and Twitter? Well with Twttrstrm, of course! Twttrstrm is a new kind of Squidoo lens that can be fun or serious just like any other lens except that it is made to be tweeted throughout Twitter. I have already had fun making a few of these lenses, and here is one for you to try out. You don't have to be on Twitter to look at the lens, and you can respond if you are not on Twitter also.

Toothpaste: Squeeze It or Roll It From the Bottom? Join this conversation! Are you a squeezer or a roller?

More on Earning Money with Affiliates on Squidoo

This post is in response to a comment I received when I last posted regarding affiliate earnings on Squidoo. Now first of all, I would love to get more feedback on this. But in response to Tiddlewinks, I would like to say that I do know that many lensmasters are earning money every month from Squidoo directly and much more money from affiliate programs.

Most of the people that I have heard are selling on Squidoo are people that are consistently updating their lenses, making sure their lenses are attracting the right kind of traffic, and are online just about daily to keep track of their work.

I know that my own lenses started out earning very little but have started to increase month by month. Now I have only been on Squidoo since June 2008, but I have already earned over $100 in one month from my Squidoo lenses and have had more and more sales and traffic build over time. Can anyone contribute their experience? I think it is just getting better at your niche, and continuing to write and improve your lenses, and keywords. It is not going to happen overnight, but it will happen. Can anyone else comment on this? My theory is if you want to make a fulltime income, you have to put in a lot of hours to build up the income.

Do Know Anyone Who Suffers From Depression?

Do you know of anyone who suffers from chronic depression? This is a serious condition, but is successfully treated quite often. I have just finished an article about my own experience with dysthymia or low grade depression. For more information, follow this link.

Save Money in These Tough Economic Times

Are you looking for ways to save money in these tough economic times? Most of us are looking for ways to save money and make more money.

In the winter, when temperatures are cold and the wind blows snow around, one of the biggest costs we have is our electric or gas heating bill.

What's really interesting is that we can save money and save energy at the same time with some easy energy saving tips. For more information on energy saving tips, read this article on Squidoo.com about how to save money on your energy bill.

How Long Have You Been a Fan of James Taylor

Do you know that I just realized the other day that I have been a fan of James Taylor since 1978 which is 30 years. It is hard to believe in this day and age that any entertainer or musician can remain successful and popular for so many years, but James Taylor has been singing and songwriting for 40 years and is still going strong. He just released another studio album in 2008, Covers. For those of you like me, who love his sound, I have just written a James Taylor's Greatest Hits lens that goes through all of his greatest hit songs, and all of his albums. There were songs I didn't know about, so there are probably some that you have missed too. Check it out--> James Taylor's Greatest Hits

Don't Forget That Valentine's Day is Around the Corner

Birds of Ohio by Joe Gombarcik by lakeerieartists
Create personalized shirts Using www.Zazzle.com
See other Painting T-Shirts

Believe it or not, Valentine's Day is around the corner. February 14 is only 4 weeks away, and it is on a Saturday this year, so it is a good day to do something special. If you are not sure what to do for your lover this Valentine's Day, I have written two lenses to give you some ideas:
Roses are Red, Valentine!
My Funny Valentine
Don't wait until the last minute! Plan ahead.

Squidoo Giant Squid 100 Club

After a lot of hard work, sweat, and time, I have been admitted to the elite Giant Squid 100 Club.

In honor of this momentous occasion, I have finally written my Lensography, Finding My Way. The Lensography is a list of all of my lenses, sort of a reference sheet of what I have written on Squidoo.

So check it out, and see if you can find something that catches your eye. You really can't read it at once. It is better to bookmark it, then come back and read it bit by bit.

How Do You Market Your Business?

Are you taking advantage of all of the free ways to market your business online? This book Facebook Marketing talks all about marketing your business on Facebook, one of the internet's most successful Web 2.0 social networks.

Another great place to market your business for free and make money doing it is Squidoo. It is so easy to use, and you can let a lot of people know about your company for free.

What are you waiting for?

Have You Tried Twttrstrm?

Barack Obama: Change Photographic Print
12 in. x 16 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Framed Mounted

Have you tried the new Squidoo lens Twittrstrm? It just came out today, and it is really great! You can start a debate on Twitter and it will take you to the lens. This is meant to be a quick, easy, fun way of communicating and starting discussions online. With all of the Twitterers out there, think how fast these can get around. Need to get news out quickly, what a great way! Give it a try. Twittrstrm

Sitting Here Drinking Coffee on a Cold Winter Day

Cuisinart DCC-1200 12-Cup Brew Central Coffeemaker, Black and Stainless Steel

Product Features
Color: Black/Stainless

* Retro-style, brushed stainless-steel coffeemaker brews 12 5-ounce cups
* 24-hour clock/timer for wake-up coffee; brew-pause; programmable shut-off
* 1-to-4- or 5-to-12-cup brewing options provide maximum flavor; GoldTone filter
* Charcoal water filter; decalcification indicator; heat-adjustable warming plate
* Measures 14-1/4 by 8 by 10-3/4 inches; 3-year warranty against defects

I am sitting here in my very quiet gallery drinking my second hazelnut latte for the day. It is snowing like mad outside here in downtown Cleveland Ohio, and all around this area. The snow is gorgeous as long as I don't have to go out and drive in it, but I will have to go home eventually.
There is just something about drinking a hazelnut latte that comforts me. It is my favorite coffee drink. Since it is so quiet, I am working mostly on the computer today. I have been updating our Zazzle gallery. Zazzle is a print-on-demand service that lets us offer items without buying quantities. It is really a cool place. Here is the link: Lake Erie Artists Zazzle Gallery

Earning Money With Squidoo

Euclid Beach Park, Cleveland, Ohio Art Print
18 in. x 12.5 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Framed Mounted
I am finally started to earn regular payouts from the Squidoo articles that I have been writing. On Squidoo, they call them lenses because they are short webpages focused on one subject. We just had another payout for November, and I earned $43.61 directly from Squidoo. My Squidoo income keeps going up and now my affiliate links are started to pay off.
I think it took me until November to really start to understand how to make lenses that would actually pay me in more than one way. I started on Squidoo in June of 2008, and by September I had over 50 lenses. But just having a lens, doesn't mean that people will shop from it.
Each day has been part of the journey, and Squidoo has a great community of experienced lensmasters that can help. It is just that it sometimes takes a while for the concepts to sink in. Especially if you are not experienced online. Just in December, my affiliates started to pay off, and so now are my lenses earning extra money from sales through the Squidoo modules. I am slowly rewriting my earlier lenses with more focus and the targeted audience in mind.
It is amazing to me that I can write an article about something I love, and pass on that enthusiasm to other lovers of that item. They are already primed to like what I am talking about, so it is natural for some of them to buy from my lenses.
As the days go on, I am learning how to better promote my lenses as well, so if the content is well written, and they are promoted well, the search engines will find them. if you would like to know more about making money on Squidoo, you can read the following lens: Exponentially Compound Your Squidoo Earnings With Affiliate Marketing

I am a Coffee Lover, Are You?

Are you like me? A person who loves to be warm all the time in a bitter cold and snowy climate? Well, I am sure that is what makes me such a huge coffee lover.

My personal favorite is a hazelnut latte, but if that is not available just keep bringing the coffee, but only the good stuff. Click here to read an article I wrote on Squidoo all about my love affair with coffee.

Lake Erie Artists Gallery Now Has an Ebay Store

Skate or Die Poster

Buy at AllPosters.com

Lake Erie Artists Gallery now has an ebay store selling art prints, vintage art and sports prints. These are not just limited to Cleveland and Ohio art, but work from all over the globe. If you like to get bargains, and just shop and browse on ebay, come and visit us. We will be adding many images to the site over the next few weeks, so keep checking back.

Make Some Money on the Side

Revilo 2009 Calendar
Buy at AllPosters.com
In this economy, we are all thinking of how we can make some money on the side without adding to the normal stress of our daily lives. After all the economy is uncertain, and we see companies struggling around us. Maybe we have even lost our own jobs.
There are ways to earn money online, although the get rich quick schemes are just that--schemes and scams. Companies are looking for help all around the globe, and online what that means is affiliate marketing.
How can a company hire a sales force without paying out millions of dollars of hourly wages? How can they run pr without spending outrageous amounts of money on advertising?
Many companies are turning to affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is free for publishers. A publisher is the person who has a blog, website, or writes articles online. You can sign up to be an affiliate seller for free, and it only costs you your time to earn a royalty. You save the company thousands, maybe millions of dollars on pr and advertising, and you earn some extra income.
In order for you to feel good about this kind of marketing, you need to advertise companies that you feel confident in. And it is not just small time companies that are choosing to go this route. Many large companies use affiliate marketing as well. For more information on affiliate marketing on Squidoo or any other site, follow this link.

Vintage Poster Art

Good Housekeeping Art Print
19.69 in. x 27.56 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Framed Mounted
Vintage poster art is really popular right now, I think because we are always looking to the past for our roots and culture. What I love about vintage poster art is the wide variety of imagery and style that are all so completely different than what we are used to today.

There is a simplicity to the lines and colors that in today's digital world just doesn't exist anymore. This is most likely because the vintage poster art was created with techniques that are no longer used for advertising and printing.

It makes the vintage poster art totally unique and the look and feel of it homey and inviting.

Do You Have the Post Holiday Blahs?

Do you have the post holiday blues? What about the winter blahs? Well, if that is the case, then you need to take a break from your regular routine, and watch an episode or two of Phineas and Ferb. Phineas and Ferb is a wonderful new cartoon by Disney that just came out in the last year. It is so new that they don't have too many books, DVD's or other products yet for purchase.

However, it is a delightful show that is extremely well-written and very complex, especially when you consider that the episodes are only 15 minutes long. It is definitely something that will make you laugh, and in my opinion could turn into a cult classic for kids and adults.

Small Business Owner Endings and Beginnings

Almond Branches in Bloom, San Remy, c.1890 Art Print
van Gogh, Vincent
27.25 in. x 27.25 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Framed Mounted
Tomorrow I am spending my entire day doing paperwork, to finish off fiscal 2008 and start fiscal 2009 for Lake Erie Artists Gallery. This year will be a year of great change for us. We are slowly but surely going to finish converting the gallery from a co-op to a retail business.

Here is what to expect from Lake Erie Artists Gallery this year.

Affiliations with related businesses to help secure our bottom line and help us support local artists with a better financial base. The picture placed in this blog entry is an example of this. You can order this or other prints from Allposters.com through our link, and Lake Erie Artists Gallery will get a royalty from the sale. We will have similar alliances with Amazon.com and other companies, so if you are buying a book online come through one of our links to help support us. The links will be available on our new website after January 15, 2009 and on this blog. You can also find them on my Squidoo.com lenses.

More web presence. Lake Erie Artists Gallery now has an ebay store which will be rapidly expanding this year. We will also be putting up our new website on January 15, as well as continued association with Squidoo.com and other online sites.

We are going to reevaluate our inventory and partnerships with artists. We are going to look for some fresh new artists for the gallery and also will expand our relationships with artists that we have known about but have not had the chance to partner with before.

Start doing more wholesale selling of Paula Atwell Jewelry. You will hear more about that later in the year.

And lastly, we are expanding our wedding business.

This is a very aggressive agenda, but it will make much needed changes in the way we do business, and provide for our customer base.

To 2009!

Doing Taxes?

Are you doing your taxes yet? Well, at least you should be preparing to. By the end of January, you should have recieved just about everything you need to get your taxes in to the government.

This year, don't wait! Get your taxes finished, and get your refund.

As a self employed business person, I can tell you that this is a very frustrating time of year for me. I just abhor doing paperwork and accounting. Thank God that my husband is very meticulous. He does our family tax return every year and that includes my business.

You can do your taxes at home yourself and save yourself a lot of money. Also you can send it in by email and get your refund back much more quickly.

Here is a link to tax software for 2008 taxes.
2008 Tax Software

January 2009

Dear friends,
It is so hard to believe that it is indeed 2009. The year 2008 seemed to run by so swiftly. And with it's ups and downs, it was a good year for Lake Erie Artists Gallery.

We have grown and developed both in our brick and mortar store and online. And 2009 will be another year of growth for us.

As I sit here, on the first Saturday in January, it amazes me what things we already have planned for this upcoming year.

This month, through January 31, everything in our store will be 15% off except for our Trollbeads line. However, for Trollbeads customers, we have a great new gift until they run out. All customers who make a Trollbeads purchase will receive a beautiful brown or teal jewelry carrying case.

Another thing to look forward to is our new website which will be unveiled hopefully on January 15. Keep checking to see when that happens.

It is tax season, so when your tax refund comes back, make sure to put some of it aside as a gift for your loved ones. Valentine's Day is around the corner and we have some lovely gifts.

So keep on checking in. See you soon. And Happy New Year.