Even though Squidoo lenses took a hit in terms of Google search rankings, I still see some use for them by legitimate marketers. And once the spammers get booted, Squidoo lenses could once again be dominant in Google. (Hopefully…)

But for now, you’ve got to find some other ways to get traffic to your lenses.

And there is at least one way to do that free of charge: LensRoll.com

LensRoll.com is the Digg of Squidoo lenses. You can submit your lenses and get them ranked, and if you’re lucky, your lens will hit the LensRoll homepage.

The domain was just registered two months ago, but the site is sitting at an Alexa ranking of about 205k, and it looks like there are plenty of users.

So I say go for it!

(And take a look here if you need more tips on LensRoll.com)

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Last month I came across a new script called My Contact Station (MCS.) It’s a regular contact form script, but it’s supposed to be great at stopping spam, and it uses Ajax for that coveted Web 2.0 look!

I’ve been messing with contact scripts, and this looked neat, so I did a little more research… only to find that this one cost a mere $7. So I couldn’t resist for that price and picked up a copy. Even better, you can resell the script and keep 100% of it!

Unfortunately, it wasn’t until after my purchase that I realized how you can get the 100% commission for yourself, even if you haven’t purchased your own copy yet!

Yep, if you’re reading this, just follow the simple steps below to claim a totally free copy of this script!

First, you need to find the affiliate page. Or just click here and go to it.

Once you read that page and find the reseller link format, it’s pretty simple to get the script for free. All you have to do is plug-in your PayPal address into the linking code. Then copy and paste that link into your browser.

What happens is that you are sending $7 to yourself! No one else is involved.

Now go try it out and get your free contact script!

Wondering how Joel Comm makes money?

It’s all about the upsell. After you purchase the $7 basic version, you are presented with the one-time opportunity to upgrade to the “Pro” edition for $27. If you get suckered into that, the $27 is going to the guru. So the $7 product really doesn’t matter to them. It’s basically a “loss leader” to get you started.

Once they get you in the buying mood, you’re more likely to fork out the $27 than if you were presented with the $27 (or $34 total) price tag in the first place.

It’s not shady practice, it’s smart business. But we’re smarter. We’ll take the $7 product for free and skip the upsell.

One more thing - do you think I shouldn’t be revealing this?

I see no reason not to. First of all, the original creator of the program gave out that affiliate info URL before the product was even for sale, so anyone with access to Google can find it. Second, if I wasn’t telling people how to get it for free, I’d be using my affiliate URL. So either way, the guru loses the $7 (but can still throw in the upsell, which is all that matters to him.)

So this is a win-win situation

Edit: It looks like the reseller links listed on that page are outdated. But it looks like you can get around that by deleting the taf=1& from your URL.

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There’s a never-ending debate about how website design (as far as aesthetics) affects your site and its ability to pull in wads of cash. A lot of people say you need a professional, fancy, and clean design to earn customers’ trust. Others say that “content is king” and don’t worry what the site looks like, as long as it works.

I agree with both sides

I think that a well-designed site is great for some new Web 2.0 site looking to be purchased by Google. And a professional/corporate style site is great for a company like Delta Airlines.

But ugly, home-made sites can work well, too. Especially if you’re in a market catering to older people or industries that aren’t tech-savvy. It almost makes you more trustworthy if your site is plain (or even crappy looking.)

The best example I can give you is PokerChance.net, a site I heard about sometime last year. I have to laugh every time I see the site, but then I shut up real quick when I think about how much money this guy (Claud Dorton) earns.

“On a bad month I make $60,000”

At least that was the story at MarketingSherpa. I guess this retired guy just started writing some articles based on years of poker experience and then went to the public library to add them to his personal website. (He didn’t even have an internet connection at home…)

And now this dude supposedly pulls in at least $60,000 a month from poker affiliate programs. I do know that gambling affiliates get huge payouts, but his site looks like shit and the Alexa rank is well over 1 million.

I’m not sure if I believe it ($60,000 per year would be stretching it…), but if it’s true, you might as well not waste your time making your affiliate sites look too fancy!

But I have to wonder… if this guy knows so much about winning at poker, why couldn’t he afford a dial-up internet connection??

[This post originally appeared at InternetMarketingSucks.com]

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