I broke down and set up a Squidoo Lens today.

First, I have to ask: where did the name Squidoo come from and why is it called a Lens? Lens into the world of my mind?

Branding my business on line is a full time job. Between Linked In and Facebook, keeping my website fresh and my blog and now creating Squidoos, it can be hard to keep up.

Once your Squidoo lens page is up you are sent instructions on how to get people to your Lens, tips which are good for driving traffic to any other place you might be located on the web.

The Squidoo is cool and it was simple to set up. I decided to focus on one piece of information, namely my Retail Sales Event workbook that helps retailers plan and execute a one-day sale. Squidoo makes the set up simple and at each step encourages you with slang terms like "ooopsey" when you make a mistake and "diggit" when you do something well.

The cost? FREE.

It's even easier than setting up a blog because you don't have to mess with HTML or selecting widgets to add to your Lens - just answer a few questions and it does the set up for you. Simple.

How to drive traffic?

HOT doggy! Nice work!

Okay, so you made a lens. And you probably hope someone other than your hamster will see it. What to do?

1. Email it. To your friends, your mom, your boss. Don't be shy about bragging, you deserve a little limelight!

2. Blog it. Post your lens to your blog. Send a note to someone you admire who runs a blog on your topic, and ask them to check out your lens. Sincere flattery gets you everywhere.

3. Link it. Link to the lens on your Facebook page, LinkedIn profile, Flickr profile, eBay auctions, email signature. Create your own little traffic network and get discovered in more places. Wouldn't you like to get found more online?

4. Group it! Find a Group that's busy talking about your topic and request to join. Get friendly, get relevant, get feedback, get found.

5. Compete. Stop by the Lens of the Day Group for inspiration from winning lenses. And if your lens is up to snuff, enter it in the contest.

Visit my Squidoo: Successful Retail Sales Event

Deborah Chaddock Brown
Squidoo Writer