Participating in Squidoo- Leaving Comments

Recently someone asked: "Why should I leave a comment? What's in it for me?"

The first step in participating in Squidoo is leaving comments on every lens you see, and you get a LOT out of it.

The first thing you get is an external link to your own work. The web itself is called the interNET, with the foundational implication that we are all NETworking. Web 2.0. Presumably, this is why you joined Squidoo in the first place, to NETwork. Leaving your link wherever possible makes you part of the network, both in Squidoo and on the internet, and makes it much, much easier to find you.

The second thing you get is NOTICED. The lensmaster who wrote the lens you commented on notices the comment. They will most likely look you up and see who you are. They may leave a comment for you, and in that case, extend your own NETwork. You have just gotten a very nice reciprocal link without even trying!

The third thing you get is KNOWN. There are some very interested and influential people browsing lens after lens in Squidoo. There are contests, reviews, talent scouts, lots of things are going on. Those people could do you a lot of good. They look and see who is participating, who is leaving comments. If a lens you have commented on becomes a winner in a contest that is driving lots of traffic to that lens, your comment remains there for people to see. If you've left an interesting comment, some interested people may look you up!

Leaving comments on people's lenses inspires confidence in you, for those who see your avatar or picture in many places. It tells them you care about your lens, your business, you website. It tells them you care about your position, your prominence, your reputation. It is like a 'mini-sales call' or leaving behind a business card for people you haven't yet met.

As I go through and cull the Mall membership, I won't be culling lensmasters who I know are participants. I know this by seeing your comments on other's lenses, in the contests, on the blogs, in the forum.

You get far more out of commentary than you put into it. You're a business person, right?

We're all in this new dance together- or we're not!