How would you like a tool that helps you get the word out about you and your business - and helps you earn money more directly as well?  What if you can even make your sites look really cool without much of your own work.

Yes, there is such a thing, and it's free!  It's Squidoo at http://www.squidoo.com

Squidoo is a web 2.0 community that you can join simply by signing up with your email address.  Once signed up, you're encouraged to get going right away - and start building lenses.

Lenses?  That's what the folks at Squidoo call their unique type of websites - each of them is focused on a narrow topic that is handled in some depth.  And, of course, with that approach, these lenses are practically custom-made for promoting niche products and services.

And here's the coolest thing:  Squidoo is just fine with promoting anything you like (within reason).

The Anatomy of Squidoo Lenses

A Squidoo lens consists of several modules, at least four, but preferably more.  To make things easy for you, each starter lens comes equipped with a basic assortment of modules that you can use right away.

However, there are lots more modules where those came from.  You'll find some of them in the sidebar, along with a link to a whole lot more. I highly recommend you check them out and make a note of those that are best suited to your particular business model.

Here are just some of the modules to get you started:

Text modules

These are the most flexible and you'll want at least a few of those.  They're great for adding text - and as you know, content is king these days.  Google loves fresh content, and text modules make adding and updating content a breeze.

But that's not all.  Text modules allow html code, so you can do just about anything with them, from adding links to adding graphics and more.

Link Lists

Have a few favorite sites that you're trying to promote? Or would you like to provide a handy list of additional resources? Either way, link lists will do the trick.  Just add your link with a title and a short description, and they'll be neatly displayed in their own module.

Amazon Modules

There are several ways to display Amazon products.  You can go with the "generic" Amazon module where you can select up to 5 products.  Or you can go with a Plexo version, where your visitors get to rank your selections.

Finally, you can also pick an Amazon featured module, which essentially allows you to highlight a product and review or pre-sell it.

Interactive Modules

Squidoo encourages a lot of interaction among "lensmasters."  As a result, there are lots of modules that allow for interaction with your visitors. From the Amazon Plexo module to comments modules to a whole range of other modules.  Just visit the "all modules" area and explore.

RSS Feed Modules

If you have a blog, you can feed it right into your lens with a handy RSS feed module!  This gives your blog a valuable link, extra exposure, and it keeps your lens fresh, provided you keep updating your blog.

Shopping Modules

The Amazon module isn't the only module inviting your visitors to shop. You can add modules from eBay, CafePress, and many more.

Image Modules

There's the Polaroid module, which allows you to insert a nice big image, with title, and link.  And then there's a gallery module, which is a better choice if you want to add a whole bunch of images.

Speaking of images...

Squidoo is very fond of images.  They believe, and rightly so, that people love pictures, and so they encourage you to add them to text modules as well. In fact, they even insist that you add an image to the introductory module.  Just make sure you have the rights to use the images, and you give credit where it's due.

Making Money with Squidoo

A lot of people are making money with Squidoo, and you might as well join them.  As I mentioned above, Squidoo is very happy to let you promote your own products and services as well as those of other people - just as long as you stay away from certain topics (more about those later).

And that's not all.  Squidoo offers a number of ways to earn commissions, from Amazon, eBay, and lots of other places.  They believe in profit sharing - and encourage you to grow your earnings. 

Of course, you also have the option of donating your profits to charity - or split them with a charity.  Why would you do that?  Maybe because you're generous.  You still get to earn with the links to your own products, your opt-in pages, or to affiliate products you promote.

Should you opt out of advertising?

Yes, Squidoo runs advertising on your lenses - and if you want to share the profits, it will give you half.

However, depending on your particular lenses, you might be better off with fewer ads on your page, so you do have the ability to opt out of some of the ads.  But that comes with a cost... To opt out of the greatest number of ads, you will have to give up your share of earnings.

So if you find that the competing ads are stealing your traffic, you can simply set your earnings to go to charity and then turn off all the advertising modules that are under your control.  While you can't turn off ALL advertising, it will make a huge difference.

Which way works better? This will depend on your lens.  Some of them work well with lots of advertising since you ARE getting half of the revenue.  Other lenses might be more designed to capture your visitors for yourself, and in those cases you want to minimize the competition.

Working your way up...

As you build more and more lenses, you earn more and more privileges.  First, you get the privilege to build more lenses, and then you'll get all sorts of extra perks, from cool new templates to special promotions.

And finally, after much effort, you may have an opportunity to join "the club."  That's the club of the Giant Squids.  It's a great honor, and surprisingly hard to get into.

Why bother if it's so hard?  You get more freedom with your lenses, plus extra tools and exposure.  And that can be great for business.

What to watch out for

There are a few things you must avoid:  spamming, plagiarism, and Squiddonts.

Spamming is kind of obvious, and so is plagiarism.  The rule is: Just don't do it.  Squidoo wants lenses with original content that provide useful information.  If you focus on providing that, you're unlikely to run into problems.

Unless you publish a lens on a Squiddont topic...

Go check out the Squiddont section to find out what that's all about.  Basically, Squidoo has outlawed lenses on certain topics that tend to attract spammers.  These range from things like x-rated lenses to more seemingly innocuous lenses such as those about toenail fungus remedies and lenses about belly fat.  Just read the Squiddont section for updated lists of prohibited topics.

Most of the time, Squidoo will actually stop you from publishing a lens if it detects that it might be on a Squiddon't topic, but you might as well save yourself the trouble of building such lenses in the first place.

Steering clear of trouble topics isn't hard though, and the benefits of Squidoo can be great.  Why not get started by building a few lenses and see where it can take you.