SquidU

Hey lensmasters and locals!

Some people have a knack for creating amazing results using the tools they have. Our very own KimGiancaterino has done just that using SquidZippers to promote services she offers IRL (in real life) in her local area. Read on to learn how you can use the same virtual tricks for your brick-and-mortar products and services.

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Squidoo: Kim, you have great lenses that are geared towards getting offline traffic to real live places, rather than just virtual eyeballs on your lens. How do you choose which brick-and-mortar stores and services you want to promote?

Kim: I’ve been a notary public for 5 years, but never advertised online until recently. I decided to create a series of SquidZipper lenses using zip codes in my coverage area. Presently there are 23 lenses, and a few have made it to Google page #1 for the search terms “notary” plus the name of the city.

Squidoo: Are these all your own shops/services, or do you promote other locations?

Kim: I’ve been making SquidZippers for a few of my notary clients too. For example, BrauHaus Salon in Pasadena, California. It helps if the client has a great website for me to extract information and images. There isn’t time to build them for everyone, but the owner of BrauHaus was so nice to me. I wanted to do something in return.

I try to help anyone who has a local business. If one of my clients has a website, I’ll add it to the links plexo on the appropriate notary SquidZipper lens. I’ll also send them a link to one of the ‘how-to’ lenses I created, so they can learn how to build their own SquidZippers. Ideally they should create and host their own SquidZipper lenses. A few of my notary clients are celebrities, so I may promote them in an oblique manner, but won’t mention the notary connection.

Squidoo: It’s easy to look spammy when you’re promoting a location. Some people see “Real Estate in 48082″ and run. How can you make the location prominent without scaring off readers?

Kim: People usually find me by searching for their city, but they are often looking for specific information about their document situation. Many of my clients are interested in living trusts, health care directives, etc. I’m in the process of writing lenses about the most common documents I see as a notary. I’m striving to make my series educational and beneficial to people who live outside my coverage area. I can also provide tools and resources that allow them to save money on attorney fees.

Squidoo: Which modules (like Google Maps, Yelp, etc.) do you use to help generate content for local areas?

Kim: I use as many as possible, including Google Maps, Weather, Hometown Stats, Zagat, Yelp, Google Blog Search, and Twitter Search.

Squidoo: When you’re promoting similar services in multiple areas, how do you generate unique content for each lens? (So it’s not copied and pasted?)

Kim: While the top half of each lens is heavy on boiler plate text, the introduction always includes a few links to modules located further down in the lens. The second half of the lens is devoted entirely to the city, with many opportunities for people to interact and promote their own business links.

Squidoo: It sounds super successful…has it been?

Kim: I’ve been very pleased with the targeted leads generated by SquidZipper lenses. I make changes to my lenses all the time, based on input from clients and other notaries. Since this is a sideline business for me, I’ve also learned that I need to set limits with regard to my availability. I’ve had calls late at night and also requests for signings NOW! I’m at a point where I’m referring business to other notaries, and concentrating on my regular clients.

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Not only is KimGiancaterino a master at promoting her work using Squidoo, she’s a SquidAngel, member of the Giant Squid 100 Club, and has achieved purple star lenses! It’s no secret that prolific, involved lensmasters become our biggest success stories.

Thanks to Kim for taking the time to share this info with us. What will YOU do with SquidZippers?

~Kimberly Dawn Wells
YOUR Community & Charity Organizer