As regular readers will know I am a great fan of Squidoo which for those who don’t know of it is a site where you can build pages (called lenses) about specific areas or topics for free. When Seth Godin first launched the site back in 2005 he provided something which has continued to provide great benefit to those who use it. Seth is a great marketer and someone I have an immense amount of respect for. He openly welcomes those who want to market on the internet whether it be promoting their own products (both physical and digital) as well as those who are affiliate marketers.
However, increasingly I have become aware that there are many people who have all their eggs in the one basket called Squidoo! They generate a good income from their work on there through their regular payments from Squidoo and also from their affiliate incomes. The problem is though that they have no control over the site. Yes they can make suggestions as to how Squidoo should develop in the future but ultimately they are building someone else’s empire and generating much more income for Squidoo than they will probably ever generate for themselves.
It’s a bit odd in many ways isn’t it? The same people that say that they want to work for themselves and not be tied to some employer are in effect tied to an “employer” in the form of Squidoo! Squidoo sets the terms and conditions under which they can operate, Squidoo determines the pay rate and just like any employer Squidoo could go out of business and they would have no say in the matter! The big difference is that unlike a traditional employer there would be no severance pay!
Don’t get me wrong I derive enormous benefit from Squidoo, it’s perfect for promoting my sites, generating a contribution to my regular monthly income, establishing relationships with like minded people and positioning myself in some of the niches that I chose to operate in. But it’s only a part of my online and offline business activity – if Squidoo disappeared tomorrow (and I am not for a moment suggesting that it is about to!) then there are other areas of my online and offline activity that would compensate for the dip in income. I would be able to generate additional income from other activities because of the time that would be freed up by not attending to my Squidoo lenses.
Do keep using or start using Squidoo – it’s a great resource. But do ensure that it’s only a part of your activity and that your core activity is on building your own business which you can control.
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