Why I love squidoo

I know, this is just about the least original title for a squidoo blogpost. But while I'm at it, I might as well confess... I AM addicted.

I love that squidoo is a community place where new squids sometimes start out sharing their favorite lenses... like JOAN did.

I love that it's such a successful online place that it's considered normal to create a blog (like this one) for squidoo purposes only. Check out: Squidutils about how tags are important again... and The question of the weeks by growwear. This week: What would make you a better lensmaster? Great question, and all her questions are like that. The added bonus is links to your lenses, website or lensography (depending on Mimi's mood I think) for the best answer.

I also love the challenges - giant squid summer school, rocket moms and now the teams that are helping new squids (and old squids) reach their goals.

Then the culture of helping each other out is great. The squidoo answer deck is only a selection of all the great help lenses out there or course. Would this blog be complete without bragging a bit about my own efforts at helping the squidoo community?

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How To Un-Junk Your Squidoo Lens

People who go to your site have certain expectations. It is up to you to reshape those expectations or reinforce them. Use the Introduction Module of your Squidoo lens to target your market and to set your reader's expectations. Tell them what they will find on your page.

Then follow through – give them what you told them you would. If your lens is on how to bathe a cat, don't include facts about the latest kitchen gadget or wrench.

A Squidoo lens which sells something – and most do – does not necessarily have to appear as a junk site. In fact, I go to certain lenses, especially shopping lenses, because I'm looking for a product and I want to have a variety to choose from. This usually equates to lots of Amazon or CarePress modules.

However, I also want and expect some content - product reviews, care tips, what style goes with what, materials comparisons, etc. There are lots of ways to add value to these lenses and keep them from being junky – facts that make it a valuable resource for deciding which product, if any, to buy.

How to your sites stack up?

For an example of a lens selling products but offering more, click Bear Paw Boots

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7 Things I Ask Myself Before Creating A Lens

Below are the 7 questions I asked myself before/while creating my lens, BEARS: The 8 Wonders of the World.

1. What am I hoping to accomplish?
Raise awareness of the world's 8 bear species and raise money for Wildlife SOS.

2. Am I focusing on a singular sub-topic or giving an overview?
A brief overview / introduction of the 8 species.

3. How can I organize it to make it easy to navigate?
With only 8 bear species, it seemed logical to put the bears in alphabetical order.

4. How can I make it interesting?
Most people don't know the 8 species so I included their aliases (Brown Bear / Grizzly), photos and conservation status. I also added a Flickr slideshow and videos.

5. What do I want to link to?
I had already created more in-depth lenses on each of the 8 bear species so I linked to each of them. I also linked to organizations saving bears.

6. What can I sell?
I added bear Wildlife SOS's CafePress and Amazon books and bear gifts.

7. How much royalty do I want to give to what charity?
100% of the royalties goes to Wildlife SOS so I make sure I added a Donation Module.

Adding a guest book, some featured lenses, and a link to the Save Our Bears (SOB) Group made this a 5 star lens (in my opinion) right from the get-go. I have, of course, continued to update and add new items often.

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Mixing Humor With Sales

Want to ramp up your sales lens? Mix humor with your sales.

Why? Sales lenses are typically SO boring. Most of them just do not work.

But if you add a bit of humor, you will get postive rankings and this will help your lens to obtain high lens rank.

Recently I created a lens about hair removal. Sounds like a dull topic right? I searched through flickr and found a few funny photos which were available under creative commons license. I searched through Youtube and found a few cool videos. Voila! My new lens was born.

Photo By Pure1967

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Groups changes - a lot of debate

Squidoo HQ came with a bit of a bombshell on April 8th: they're going to be closing down low quality groups. This caused a lot of groupmasters to close their groups down immediately. There are a lot less groups out there any more of the 'anyone can join' variety. Some smaller groups disappeared as well - some included that I didn't think were all that bad. So far it's self-censorship.

But some people are panicking a bit. One lensmaster started a rally to make sure that the right lenses would be allowed to stay around - having misread the blogpost. He thought that there are only going to be 100 groups left AT ALL... Which is not what Kimberly said. She said that the best 100 groups were going to get extra features. Which is a very different thing.

Right now we know only two things: 1) no new groups can be created right now and 2) the worst groups are going to be closed for us if the groupmasters don't improve them or close them. Beyond that - this post by squidophile summarizes the consequences pretty clearly.

The bid for quality over quantity is going to mean that all big groups are going to have to offer more to lensmasters to stay in the air. This could mean featuring the most prolific lensmasters, making sure your group page is changed reasonably often (as in once a month I should think) etc.

Aside from groups now having to make sure they have a decent group page, it's unclear whether we can keep using the groups platform as a convenient way to create a lensography and interlink our lenses. It is clear that the technology wasn't created for this purpose, but for giant squids and others with more than 50 or even 100 lenses - they do have to be connected somehow. That's just good SEO.

In the meantime some people are responding by really improving their game. Like Paula Atwell, who has decided to start promoting her group in hopes of getting actual search engine traffic. That's really going to benefit the lenses featured on her group page and her own lenses as well. I doubt it's going to help her group rank though - Even the most focussed group is not going to be niche enough to get much traffic.

So, for those of you in that last camp, trying to make your groups better so they can stay up, do read up on what Barkely (giant, squidangel and Citizen) has to say about getting your group from good to great.

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How To Earn a Few Extra Dollars On Squidoo

Want a quick way to earn a little more money from Squidoo? Improve your lensrank. Lenses which rank above 2,000 will usually earn over $10 per month. Lenses with rank above 10,000 will usually earn +/- $2.

There are many factors which determine lensrank, including sales, clickouts, ratings, etc. Most of these are difficult to influence. But the factor that seems to have the most impact on lensrank is also the one that is easiest to control: Lens Freshness.

Lenses with high traffic and lenses which are recently updated have the best chances of having a higher lensrank. I have over 100 lenses and it is difficult to keep them all up to date. So, I focus on keeping my lenses with the best traffic up to date. The easiest way to do this is:

Go to your dashboard

Click on "My Lenses"

On the column “Visits” click the arrow until all of the lenses are listed starting from the lenses with the highest traffic to the lowest.

Now look at the category “Edited”. Your top ten lenses should all be updated within the past 2-3 months.

If they are not, take a few minutes to refresh. Add a new module, such as a poll or a debate; make sure that your Amazon lenses are featuring the products you want them to feature. See if there is a good Youtube video to add to your lens.

Once you have updated, go back in 1-2 days and you will most likely see that your lens has improved in lens rank.

Keeping your lenses with the highest traffic up to date is your best chances of getting some of your lens ranked in the top tiers and the easiest way to earn a few extra dollars every month.

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How To Celebrate Your Squidoo Anniversary

I was contacted by Lensmaster, MyChildCreatesowner reminding me that I had a Squidoo birthday coming up. He has created a lens, Your Squidoo Birthday, Lets Celebrate. What a great idea.

Today, March 12, is my 2nd anniversary as a Squidoo Lensmaster. I'm proud of many of my lenses but my top lens, Are You Polar Bear Aware? was my 1st and still my favorite. It has won top awards for the last 2 years, ranked #1 overall and has been consistently in the top 100 for going on 2 years.

Some of my other lenses could use a little TLC. So, I'm going to use this birthday as a reminder to re-evaluate my lenses and step up my quality. I'll be looking at each and every lens and asking myself:

1. What are the real keepers?
2. Should any be revamped, modified, streamlined? (I'll also make sure that my Lensographies -- I have 2 -- reflect all of my efforts on Squidoo and off Squidoo.)
3. Should any be sold, traded or given away?

I'll also check to see if the lens is bear or cat related; if so, link it to Polar Bear News or Cat Care, Breeds and Resources Blog.

I want to really focus my efforts this coming year making every lens so good that when people visit one, they say, "Whoa. I love this. What other lenses does she have?"

To me, the goal for a great lens is to get people to come back, tell others about it, donate to my charity or purchase something that supports my charity or my family (could be both).

How are you celebrating your Squidoo Anniversary?

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The Pause That Refreshes

Have you been busy making lenses? Maybe you're trying to qualify for Giant Squid or the Giant Squid 100 Club. Having 50 or 100 or more lenses is an awesome accomplishment, but what about the ones you already have?

Do you have lenses that are old or out of date? I know that I do, and I know that in the rush to build more lenses some of my older lenses remain rather neglected. While some topics can ride along with little attention, some with more timely topics need frequent updates. Plus, lens freshness does affect lensrank, so it's important to keep your lenses fresh to give them a better chance of rising into the upper tiers, thus increasing your Squidoo payday every month. That, of course, is a good thing!

While some older lenses may need a good facelift, most will suffice with a little tweaking. What can you do to quickly update a stale lens? Here are a few ideas:

• Add or update products in your Amazon or CafePress modules.
• Change your older YouTube modules to the new video module. The result is a bigger, more attractive video.
• Depending on the topic, consider adding one of the newer modules, including the two new modules featuring the Giant Squid organizers' blogs, introduced this week.
• Update the opening module picture. If it's been awhile since you've uploaded it, your lens may still show a small version. If you like the picture, just reload the same one and watch the larger, more eye-catching result.

Those are just a few suggestions. You can find more in this lens. So, pause for an hour or so. Take a break from adding to your lens real estate and, instead, renew some of those aging lenses, then watch what happens when lensrank refreshes the next day. I think you'll like the improved results.

(Photo credit rjones0856)

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Happy Squid Half-Anniversary to Me

Image by coreyweb via Flickr

February 7 marked six months since I skidded through the doors of Squidoo. It wasn't my destination. I hadn't planned on staying long. But as most of you may remember, once the toe of your shoe hits the Squidoo welcome mat, it's hard to pull back. That very day, I sat down and built my first lens.

One lens looked pretty silly sitting there alone, so of course I had to make a second and a third and a...Well,
I'm sure your story is similar.

So, what have I learned in these six months?

• A good lens may require vulnerability. When I published A Quilt Story: Voices from the Great Depression, I knew that I wanted this quilt to somehow connect three generations. It was a sad-but-sweet story I'd been wanting to share for two years, and Squidoo offered a way to do that with pictures and modules that helped shape the topic. But...I would need to open myself up to strangers in order to tell the story. I'm glad I did, because of the wonderful friends I made through that lens.
• Let go of ideas that can't be revived. I've begun a few lenses on an enthusiastic high, only to find them in need of CPR the next morning. I've learned to let them simmer for a week and if they don't excite me anymore, I toss them. No use wasting time on something that's destined for failure.
• Appreciate those who know more, as well as those who know less. I've learned so much about Squidoo techniques, by visiting lenses and hanging onto the coattails of lensmasters who have more experience than I. If I don't learn something new every day, I'm disappointed. I love to write, but a good recipe for a lens takes more than just one skill or ingredient. (Try leaving out baking powder and see what happens to your next cake.) I so appreciate how open Squidoo lensmasters are to sharing what they know. I now try to contact a few newbies a week just to encourage them, because that's what kept me going in the beginning.
• Know when enough is enough! Years ago, I used to watch a painting program on tv. One day this guy was demonstrating the final steps of portrait painting. He sat back for a long moment, cocked his head, and said he was finished...except for one thing. He dipped a thin brush into a light-colored paint and added a reflection of light in his subject's eyes. "There," he said, setting down his brush. He had added life to his work--a final gleam. It's the same with lenses. Knowing when to quit is as important as knowing how to begin.
• Laugh! If I want to mope, the early morning news offers plenty to drag me down. Humor lightens the load of lensmaster and reader alike. Maybe that's why some of my favorite lenses--both mine and others--are in the Humor category. Blame it on Squidoo struck a chord with many of my Squidoo friends out there. Help! I've Lost my Hippocampus gave us a chance to laugh at our ever-aging brains. Laugh therapy is good for the soul, especially in these financially-strapped times.

Thanks, everyone, for making my Squidoo experience such a joy!

Seedplanter (Bonnie)

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How To Review Your Own Lens Development Progress

I found a cool tool today and I wonder if other people are aware of it? I was able to organize all my lenses by the creation date, from the very first lens I ever made until the most recent. Why was it cool? It allowed me to review my own Squidoo development progress. It allowed me to take a walk down my own Squidoo Memory Lane.

It will be two years this month since I started with Squidoo and I had forgotten which was the first, the second, tenth, twentieth lens. It was interesting to line them up and click on each and see how my lens making skills had changed. What tool allowed me to do this?

The tool I am talking about is found on Squidutils. Login and click on your Advanced Dashbord. At the top of your screen you will see "Sort" this allows you to sort your lenses by a variety of criteria including "created", or the date you created your lense. See the image below for a screen grab, the arrow indicates what you are supposed to click (if you click on the photo it will enlarge).

In case you don't know Squidutils, it is a very cool website given to us by TheFluffaNutta, a well known Giant Squid from the UK. Thanks very much Fluff. Perhaps everyone already knew about this except me? Are there any other easy ways to do this?

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Put Away the Hammer

Monetizing a lens means different things to different people. When I first joined Squidoo, I didn't want to come across as one of those overbearing types who hammer their readers with one sales item after another. Unless I was specifically creating a shopping lens as I've done with Diaper Bags Central, I didn't want visitors to feel like I was reaching for their wallet. I wanted to connect with them...make them laugh or cry, or encourage conversation.

So I foolishly avoided adding links or modules connected with sales.

Big mistake!

I've since learned from more seasoned lensmasters that it's not only OK to monetize--it's foolish if I don't. So I set out to learn about various ways to monetize, and in the process I ran across an excellent lens: How to Add Amazon Widgets to Your Lens, by Squidster. Now, I've read dozens of Squidoo-related lenses, and have a growing list of helpful notes I've saved in a Word document. But Squidster's advice opened my eyes to a new way of approaching lenscrafting. I learned that I can easily monetize IF I can find a natural way to weave product offers into my lenses. We've all seen lenses that have a gazillion different "buy this!" links. I didn't want that. Squidster's instructional lens introduced me to the Amazon widget (using Clearspring.com as a launchpad into Squidoo) and it has proved to be the perfect solution for me.

I created a Slideshow of novelty egg timers in my lens, Cooking Disasters I Lived to Tell About. Why? Because I had this quirky little habit of forgetting what I'd started in the kitchen--usually when I was sidetracked with a lens project. (Maybe I should sell fire insurance as well?) I also took Squidster's advice and added a "Make a Quilt!" widget to my A Quilt Story: Voices from the Great Depression lens, to offer beautiful fabric squares from quilters on Amazon.

Because I'm offering tie-in products that enhance the subject of my lenses, I don't feel like I'm hammering anyone to buy. I'm simply completing the lens "package" by giving them choices.

How do you feel about monetizing? What have you used successfully, or avoided for fear of overwhelming visitors?

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Spread your news with Twitterfeed!

Get the word out on your latest blog posts - free, easy, automatically!

Sign up with twitterfeed and enter the RSS feeds of your blogs.

You may customize the frequency of updates and even enter a 20-character announcement at the beginning.

This saves time and it might get you new followers on twitter and subscribers to your blog(s).

And, yes - watch for "Valley of the Giants" updates!

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