You are a photographer and you have heard that social media sites can help you increase your business, but how, and which ones? Many of you are probably already using Twitter but have you heard of Squidoo, and how it can be beneficial to you and your business?

What is Squidoo and how can it help your Photography Business?

Megan Casey, Editor in Chief and one of the Founding Members of Squidoo states:

“Squidoo is the popular publishing platform and community that makes it easy for you to create “lenses” online. Lenses are pages, kind of like flyers or signposts or overview articles, that gather everything you know about your topic of interest–and snap it all into focus.”

Marketing your Photography Business with Squidoo

Since you've mastered your photography niche you know it was work. It took time and work to learn the artistic and technical aspects of photography, as well as how to market yourself and your skills.

Squidoo is the same thing, it will take work, but it is a great way to market yourself and your photography skills. You can get an idea of some of the Lenses written about photography here. How you use this great platform is up to you, but many people actually make money from the lenses they build.

How Squidoo can help you Market your Photography?

1. First you have to sign up

2. Write about what you have experience in and what your target market is interested in.

3. You can write specifically for your zip code –Google will find you, and so will your customers.

4. People go to Squidoo and use the Search Button to find lenses on the subject they are interested in; why not let them find you?

5. You can search for topics similar to yours, and by including that lens (article) you are giving your readers a variety of information which is good for business, and helps you get known in the community.

6. If you use Flickr to showcase your photos, then you can easily move sets, or individual photos onto your Squidoo Lens. (tag the pictures first for Google). Here is a good Squidoo Lens that explains Flickr, and an idea of how to use your knowledge to make a Lens.

7. Just as in blogging, original content works best. Write about what you know or are passionate about, from your perspective. Give people a reason to read your content and call you. You are building relationships which again can translate into business.

8. Use your Squidoo Lenses to link to your other sites, or photos – better Google Juice for you.

9. There are different Modules, like Amazon or Ebay, that allow you to monetize your lens. You can sell your own work, or others.

10. And last but not least is people do business with people that are like them, and that they trust. Participating in the Squidoo community helps you let people know more about you, and vice versa.

Here again is the link to sign up for Squidoo. Go ahead, what do you have to lose?

This post was guest authored by Kathy McGraw. Visit her blog. Follow her on Twitter. She is an awesome resource on all thing Squidoo.

What do you make of this advertisement? Like anything I know there are two sides to this story. What have you heard? I want to know. Yes, the natural environment must be protected. Yes, the nation's progress depends on manufacturing, jobs, infrastructure etc. But who has done a cost-benefit analysis here? Is there an environmental report somehwer that is free of jargon and easy to understand by the lay person? Do we give a shit one way or another?

Here is your chance to speak up. Tell me. Tell us. Keep the language clean and the discussion civil. And, when you do comment, please use your REAL name, a real email address and if you have a website, a real URL. If you are going to want to remain anonymous, I am afraid your comment will be deleted. Sorry!

Now, speak!

This is a must-see clip from TED [Technology, Entertainment, Design]:

“Business art is the step that comes after Art. I started as a commercial artist, and I want to finish as a business artist. Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. During the hippie era people put down the idea of business – they'd say ‘Money is bad,' and ‘Working is bad,' but making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.”

That quote above was by Andy Warhol. Think about it. [Found via LaCour Photo]

Someone said photographers make poor businessmen (or women). I tend to agree because we spend such a great amount of time looking at the world with our left brain – creating images and presenting them – that we loose sight of how to sustain ourselves to continue doing what we love to do. Take it from me, that does not have to be the case.

Laura Novak to the rescue. A terrific wedding photographer based in Wilmington, Delaware, Laura is also making a name for herself as a resource for all things business oriented. Some time ago she launched Strategy Avenue, a website that offers seminars on such important topics like how to define your target market and pricing for profit, that you can download for a fee. I'll post a review of the courses here in a couple of weeks, but I wanted to you all to check her offerings for yourself.

Now Laura has a blog that you can also follow. Do yourself a favor, if you are serious about making it in this business, bookmark the sites I have mentioned.