Wordless Wednesday: LOTD

Looking Ahead: Goal-Setting for the New Year

Oh, my, another year has come and (almost) gone.  It's time to evaluate the goals you set this time last year and try again to come up with a new set of goals for 2012.

Actually, there's more to it than that.  While goal setting is important, reviewing progress and adjusting plans at various points throughout the year is even more important.

To be honest, I'm not very good at long-term goal setting.  "Life" changes things sometimes in the blink of an eye (I know that all too well), so I don't like to set myself up for failure right from the start.  Obviously I, too, need to not only set yearly goals and make plans, I need to concentrate on short-term goals and set aside time to adjust as necessary on a regular basis.

There are many goal-setting tools available and I'm sure I have at least two or three "how to set goals" e-books on my hard drive that I've purchased or downloaded for free with the greatest of intentions.  But I'll admit that I am easily overwhelmed when it comes to tackling the job of reading the books and putting plans behind the goals and action behind the plans.  So, this year what I intend to do (good intentions as usual, but I think this will work for me) is to simply write monthly goals in the front of a stenographer's notebook (the size suits me), record plans for the month, and then write a daily to-do list each night or early morning.  I've been doing the daily lists for the past few weeks and that method is working well for me.

Have you started planning and setting goals for 2012?  How do you do it?  I'd love if you'd share your methods and favorite resources here.  Perhaps the way you plan will ring true with someone who reads your comment, someone like me who struggles in this area.  So please, leave a comment below.  Your suggestions could really help someone have a truly productive new year!

A Delicious Lens Intro

Just had to share the intro on this yummy lens by new lensmaster theSEOmama. 

Go read it then tell me your mouth isn't watering and your stomach isn't frantically transmitting "Bake these NOW!" messages to your brain.  Or is it the other way around?  

Oh, who cares.  Just go read this delicious lens intro and mark it as a great example of how not to lose readers in the first 30 seconds of their visit to your lens.  Then, while the oven is preheating, compose a fabulous intro for your next new lens.

How Not to be Overly Commercial on Your Lenses: My Recommended Read of the Day

When you make lenses promoting a product or your business, you really need a balance of not too little, not too much, but just the right amount of commercial or promotional material.

Tom Maybrier explains this in more detail today in his SquidooHQ lensmaking tip, Creating Great Content for your Business or Product.  It's an excellent post that answers a lot of questions that you might have about how commercial is too commercial when you're making product review or business lenses.

Newbies on Squidoo often make the mistake of including too many bolded business links in their lenses and not enough original content.  Even veterans can fall into that bad practice. My recommended read of the day is a great explanation of how to avoid this and what to do instead to make your commercial lens turn out balanced just right.

After you've read it, I hope you'll leave Tom a comment then come back here and let me know what you learned.

Cyber Monday Shopping Recommendations

Just saw this post from Kimberly on SquidooHQ in which she mentions Cyber Monday.   That triggered an idea.

To help people who happen to land on my profile page find some good holiday shopping lenses, I edited my profile to feature links to a few of my popular product reviews.  These are lenses that don't necessarily show up on page one of the list of all my lenses.  They're pages that feature popular gift items that people might be looking for on  Cyber Monday and, really, from now until Christmas.

While in general I recommend a good, brief, personal bio - and that's all - on the profile page, this might be a time to make an exception.  We'll see how it works out.

What do you think?  Good idea?  Bad?  Let me know in a comment below.

Serve Your Readers Fresh Squidoo Lenses

The ad section of the Sunday paper this week is a whopper!  You probably still have Halloween candy left, but no doubt about it, it's Christmas shopping season.

So, how are your Christmas-related lenses?  Are they fresh? 

More and more, Google is looking for fresh content to feature in search results.  Truly, it doesn't take much time to update a product review lens or a Christmas menu lens or any other holiday lens, and it will be well worth the effort you take to do so when you're rewarded with both better lensrank and more traffic from the search engines.

I've brushed off this oldie, How Do I Keep My Lens Fresh?, to give you some suggestions for freshening up those holiday lenses.  Have other ideas to offer for how to update a holiday lens?  Feel free to talk about them in a comment below. 

Watch Out! Cainiac Loose on Squidoo!

It's no secret to people who know me that I'm a bit of a political junkie with a definite lean to the right. Politics is a topic I really enjoy debating on my Squidoo lenses.  One of those politically-oriented lenses even made Lens of the Day back during the 2008 election cycle.

Lately my political lenses have focused on one candidate, one I don't just write about but one I truly support. Last night, my husband and I were honored to get to hear him speak in person! My pictures didn't turn out worth a hoot, but thankfully I was able to grab this video from one of our local news station websites:



Did you see me in the crowd? Nah, I didn't either. But I know I was there. No apologies.  Just call me a Cainiac.

If you want to learn more about my current favorite candidate and why I've jumped on the Cain Train, you'll find information in my Herman Cain lenses, here.

Is there a political candidate that you support?  Have you made a lens about him or her, or about your pet political issue?   Feel free to drop a lens link in a comment below.

Another Month Bites The Dust

Can't believe that tomorrow is October already. I'm really not sure what happened to September except that it flew by faster than a colorful autumn leaf in a windstorm.

I hope your Halloween lenses are doing well. Have you noticed any difference in visits since the advent of the new Squidoo Happy Halloween magazine? If you have, I'd love to know.

The stores, of course, are full of Halloween things, but I expect to see some red and green crowding out the orange well before the month is over.  Have you started gearing up your lens list with new or updated goodies for Christmas/gift shoppers? Planning anything special to market to holiday shoppers this year?

I'd love if we could collect some marketing ideas here in the comments section. If you have a brilliant or even a basic idea for marketing holiday lenses on Squidoo, would you share it with us in a comment below? I'd appreciate it and I believe others would, too.  I'll be sharing a few of my own ideas in the coming days and weeks.

Thanks, and an early "Ho, ho, ho!" to you, too!

Housework Really Is Fun When It's the Lens of the Day

Housework really is fun, especially when my lens about it is selected Lens of the Day!

What a nice surprise this morning to wake up to lots and lots of comments to approve, a sure sign that something special is going on on Squidoo.  Today, my lens Housework - How to Make it Fast and Keep it Fun, is Lens of the Day.

I've had a couple other LOTD's, but the excitement never lessens and, in fact, today I'm feeling especially blessed by the honor.  What wonderful comments the lens has received already!

Thank you, Squidoo, and thanks lensmasters for visiting my Lens of the Day.  Here's wishing happy housekeeping for all of us!

Why I Appreciate Cows

It continues to amaze me how many people find my How to Make a Cow Costume page this time of year.  You see, this coming Friday is Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A and people really want free food!  To get it, all they have to do is dress up like a cow.  To do that, they need instructions.

Not sure why I'm surprised about the traffic.  After all, the point of the page is to show people how to make or where to buy a cow costume.  And the spike in traffic every end of June/early July is certainly tied to Chick-Fil-A's annual event.  In other words, the lens is working as planned! 

Of course there's a spike in October, too, as people plan Halloween costumes.  But actually this is a fairly popular lens that gets traffic year-round.  I guess people have other, year-round reasons to dress up like a cow.  And I certainly appreciate that!

Do you have a lens that gets traffic spikes that surprise you?  Leave a link in your comment!

How to Generate a Spike in Your Squidoo Lens Traffic

Kimberly wrote at SquidooHQ today about Lens Ideas for July.  Good suggestions there to get you thinking outside the box a bit, but more importantly to get you thinking about niche topics/holidays that not everyone is writing about. 

There WILL be people searching for those topics when the day comes.  Know how I know?  Did you ever look at logos that Google displays on their main page?  Frequently they will display special logos drawn to commemorate a holiday or event.  A recent favorite was on June 9th, Les Paul's 96th birthday.  Take a look at the Les Paul logo - and strum the strings!

Now, take a look at this graph that shows the Google search trend for Les Paul:

See that huge spike?  That was June 9, 2011, the day Google displayed their special logo and millions of curious people googled "Les Paul" to find out more about him.

While I won't promise you a Les Paul spike in Squidoo traffic, I will promise you that people will be searching to learn about unique holidays and topics they hear about as they happen.  No reason in the world it shouldn't be your lens that they find when they do their search!

So, what niche holiday or topic are you going to write about in the coming month?  Have you had a lens spike in the past?  Tell us about it in a comment below.

Happy Flag Day, USA!

June 14th is Flag Day in the U.S.  Are you flying the American flag today?

Ever wonder why the American Flag is red, white, and blue?  Ah, I've got a lens for that!

How about you.  Do you make patriotic lenses?  If you do and you've always wanted a patriotic lens theme, be sure to vote for the 25th Squidoo lens theme!

After you do, feel free to post a link to your favorite patriotic lens right here in a comment.

How Do We Look On a Smart Phone?

I do try to keep up with science and technology, but I don't have a smart phone - yet.  For that reason, I can't check to see how this blog looks displayed in its mobile version.

There is a mobile version available now (I love you, Blogger) and I just updated the blog's settings so that if you view this blog on your phone, you'll see that version. 

Anyone want to check it out for me?  Go to www.isquidoodoyou.com on your phone and see what you see.  Then let me know how it looks, would you?  Thanks!

(One more reason that someday I will be able to justify having a smart phone!)

Summer Sale on Kindle Books

I should be writing and updating my lenses, but instead I'm reading.  Reading and buying books, in fact.  Kindle books, of course.

There's a Sunshine Sale going on right now in the Kindle store with over 600 titles selling for 99 cents, $1.99, or $2.99.  I just bought three.  Or was it four?  These are terrific titles, too, not unknown books by unknown authors.

You do know that you don't have to own a Kindle to read Kindle books, yes?  If you didn't know that and don't own a Kindle yet, read this.

I really do need to get back to work, writing, but I'll be visiting the Kindle store again before the Sunshine Sale ends on June 15th, and chances are good that I'll be spending more money there.  Sales on Kindle books are few and far between, so I'm going to take advantage of these low prices. 

How about you?  Do you like book bargains?  Do you read Kindle books?  Tell me what you've been reading recently.

New SquidU Leadership Council Elected

The new SquidU Leadership Council has been elected, and a fine lineup of nine lensmasters they are!  I have to admire their courage for volunteering for an as yet undefined job that obviously isn't going to be easy. 

I really like to be positive about things, but this time I'm going to make an exception and mention the very uncalled-for comments by several lensmasters in what should be a pure "congratulations and thank you" thread.  Don't these complainers have any idea how they sound?  If I were starting a "three strikes and you're out" SquidU scorecard, there would be several on it with one strike already.  For the sake of the council and the future of SquidU, I hope those who complained will leave the forum and take their bad attitudes with them.  (End of negative comment.)

My best wishes to the nine council members, thank you in advance for serving, and many thanks to those community members who voted. 

Another Reason to Choose a Great Intro Module Photo

Have you noticed that now you can choose SIX related lenses to feature in the right side margin of each of your lenses?  List them in the "Related Lenses" tab of the intro module in the lens workshop.  After your lens is published, check that right sidebar for the "Explore related pages" section and you'll see all six lenses displayed there, along with their intro module photos.  Very eye-catching and very cool!

If you don't specify six lenses, Squidoo will use your tags to choose the lenses that will display in that space.  If someone else who has a lens with a similar topic doesn't specify six lenses, it's possible that one of your lenses might show on that person's related pages section. 

So . . . Make sure your intro module picture is a good one.  You never know where it might show up! 

Weigh In On the Latest Round of Changes on Squidoo

How are you liking (or not) the new lens layout, new themes, and this week's other changes on Squidoo? 

I'd love if you'd leave a comment here and/or on my Facebook page to share your opinion. 

If you don't know what I'm talking about, this page will enlighten you. 

So, comments?

Squidoo Tags - Have You Noticed?

Tags on Squidoo lenses are much more noticeable now.  Have you noticed? 

You'll find the "Related Tags" section on the right-hand side of each lens.  Each one is linked to a tags page, consisting of a list of all lenses that use that same tag. 

This week, Squidoo changed the display of the tags, making them much more noticeable.  The format practically screams, "Click me!"  And people will click.  I know I've been clicking on tag links, on my own lenses as well as others', ever since the change just to see what I can see. 

So, what will visitors to your lenses see when they click on your tags?  I already told you that they'll go to a tags page with a list of lenses.  So, why is this important to you?  It's important because when a visitor to a lens on a topic similar to yours clicks out on that lens's related tag, you want to be sure that your lenses on the same topic show up on that tag's page.   Why?  So those visitors will click on and visit your lenses. 

Make sense? 

Update your lenses with the right tags and see if you notice an increase in the number of visits to your lenses.  I'll be updating my tags and watching my stats, how about you?

Monthly Squidoo Profile Tune-Up

Here's a quick Squidoo tip for today.  It's a new month.  Time to update your profile.

You can feature up to five lenses on your lensmaster profile page.  Last month you might have featured Easter lenses.  This month, change the lenses to reflect the calendar by choosing topics related to Mother's Day, Memorial Day, or summer vacations.   Go to the "Profile" tab on your dashboard and look for "featured lenses" to update your choices. 

While you're there, take a look at your default lensmaster bio.  Is it up-to-date?  If not, take this opportunity to freshen it up a bit, too.  Not sure what to write?  Click here to learn how to write a Squidoo bio.

Ahhh.  Now your profile is fresh as a May flower.  Doesn't that feel better? 

Which Holiday Are You Gearing Up For?

My Easter lenses performed rather well this year, overall much better than in years past.  (I'll never understand Google, but this year I like the way it treated me.)  Three of them should qualify for tier one earnings this month and had several sales, so I'm happy about that.

So, on to the next holiday.  "And which holiday would that be?"  Glad you asked!

It isn't too late to make a lens for Mother's Day (though likely it will perform better next year than this), but it isn't too early to make lenses for back to school or Halloween or Christmas either.  Those are the three top selling seasons, so I hope you'll start planning lenses for one or all of them and get them published soon in order to let them "age" a bit.  Don't forget occasions such as weddings or special birthdays, though.  Those occasions occur year-round and it's a great idea to add them to your lens collection in order to keep lensrank and sales figures up all year long.

Making lenses for holidays and special occasions is a good idea, but always remember to make them with your unique spin.  You're probably tired of reading it, but I will never tire of reminding you (and myself) that unique, useful, updated, passionate lenses perform best. 

Happy holidays!

Choosing a Squidoo Theme - Which is More Readable?

Squidoo offers some awesome themes for our lenses and they're adding more and more.  Specialty themes for holidays and seasons are great for certain lenses.  I've discovered that on some of my lenses, though, especially those that are more "wordy" and educational, I really want to emphasize module titles - and sometimes it seems that the ads get in the way.

Recently I've been switching some of my lenses from a standard theme (such as Big Lucid) to the Highlighter theme.  This makes it really easy for visitors who are scanning through to see the main parts of the lens.  Also, at the top of the lens, it brings the eye to the module titles rather than to the ads.  Earning money with ads is great, but I really do want people not to miss the contents of the lens because it blends in with the ads.

Here's an example.  Look at these two pictures of the same lens, one with Big Lucid as the theme, the other with Highlighter.

 

See what I mean? Do you agree that it's easier to see what I've written when it's highlighted and that the ads get in the way of my text otherwise?  

I'd like to know what you think.  Which themes are your favorites?  Do you vary your choice of theme depending on the lens topic?  Let me know in a comment below.  

Spelling and Grammar Errors on Squidoo

What do you do when you find a lens on a wonderful topic, passionately written, but with multiple spelling or grammar errors?

Do you contact the lensmaster and point out the errors?  Do you "like" the lens anyway and ignore those pesky apostrophes?   Do you just grit your teeth and hit the "back" button? 

Or do you even notice grammar and spelling mistakes?

This is an area I have a hard time with because I really don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but I'll admit that poor grammar and repeated misspellings drive me ABSOLUTELY CRAZY!  (Sorry for shouting.)

What should I do?  What do you do?  I'd really like to know.

Photo by crazytales562 (a fellow grammar greek) via a Creative Commons license

Interview's Up!

Kimberly has been interviewing "successful Squids" on the SquidBlog for the last couple of weeks.  My interview is up today!  {blush}

I hope folks can take something productive away from it, something they can apply in their own Squid lives.

If you read it, I hope you'll leave a comment to let me know what you found that was helpful.  Thanks!

Progress Bar on Squidoo - Pros and Cons?

Have you seen the new progress bar on Squidoo?  In case you haven't, go look at one of your own lenses now.  On the right, just below your bio, is a green bar showing "lens progress" with a percentage posted next to it.  Click on "see your progress" below the bar for details.  There you'll see a list with 11 items, with the completed ones checked off.

New lensmasters that I know really like the progress bar.  As they make a new lens, they are prompted to complete each one of the steps (write more in your intro, add an intro photo, pick a topic and subtopic, add a social module, etc.).  It's very encouraging for these young Squids to achieve some immediate gratification as well as to be able to gauge their progress.

The last two items on the list, "Get at least 20 SquidLikes" and "Get SquidLiked By a Giant Squid," have generated some controversy among experienced Squids.  While the first nine items on the progress list are items that lensmasters directly control, completion of the last two items requires other registered Squidoo users to visit and "like" the lens, with at least one of those "likes" being from a Giant Squid.  While there are ways to promote a lens within the Squidoo community, most lenses are written with a different audience in mind.  Most lensmasters would be much happier with 20 visits to the lens from strangers rather than having 20 fellow Squidizens visit and like the lens. In fact, many people couldn't care less how many SquidLikes a lens gets in its lifetime - as long as it gets search engine traffic from shoppers.

While a number of people have voiced their concerns (some rather loudly) about these last two "requirements," at least one person has suggested that the first nine items on the list should comprise 100% completeness while the last two be added on as a bonus. That seems like a good idea.  Obviously having traffic from shoppers is very important, but it's also true that participation in the social aspects of Squidoo figures into lensrank calculation.  So, having those peer "likes" has potential monetary benefit, too. 

I've been around Squidoo long enough to know that almost all changes create controversy and, occasionally, chaos among the troops and some lensmasters can be very vocal about their disapproval.  "This too shall pass" is usually the way I handle situations like this one, but I'll admit that I was glad, and somewhat relieved, to hear the positive feedback from those in my small group of young Squids about the progress bar. 

My plan is to take those last two items on the progress list and use them as an object lesson for teaching promotion of lenses in general and participation in the Squidoo community in particular.  If others will stop worrying and simply adhere to TOS and not beg, bribe, or otherwise plead for their 20 "likes" but use good promotion and social media practices instead, I think they'll be far better off.  Which I'm pretty sure was the reason for the progress bar in the first place.

Sales Lenses vs Product Review Lenses: What's the Difference and Why Should You Care?

I really like today's SquidBlog post, written by Robin about Brenda's recommendation of Katinka's lens about her favorite office chair.  But enough name dropping.  Let me get to the point.

Robin points out that to create a good, well-written "sales" lens, don't think sales.  Think product recommendation.

What do you as a consumer want to learn from a product review or recommendation?  You probably want to know a lot about the product, including details and specs, but you probably also want to know how a real person feels about that product.  I know that I am far more comfortable shopping based on personal recommendations than from "facts" that oftentimes sound as if they've been translated from a foreign language by a computer.

I agree with Brenda and Robin.  Katinka did a fabulous job presenting the product in her lens, covering both the technical aspects and the psychological or emotional aspects in a way that not only makes for a quality lens but is very likely to convert readers to customers.  Read the blog post, then visit the lens if you're interested in learning how to write a product recommendation or review lens that people will actually want to read.

Hooked By a Renaissance Woman

Have you seen today's Lens of the Day?  Take a look.

This is a wonderful example of a unique, useful lens.  Full of original content, personal stories, and passion.  And a hook.

The author can easily expand this lens if she wants to, updating it with more questions and answers (as Kimberly explained in her LOTD blog write-up).  I hope that's all she adds.

Notice that there's only one sales module in the body of the lens, a nice selection of books that follow her story.  She does have a couple of items on the right sidebar.  They're applicable to her topic but had she placed them in the body of the lens, I think they would have detracted greatly from her simple living topic. 

When I read this lens, I found myself wanting to know more about the author, so I clicked on her bio.  That took me to another of her Renaissance lenses that also included some well-presented, wisely-chosen books.  Not too much, but just enough.  Again, simple and uncluttered, complementing her lifestyle.  Very nicely done.

I can imagine this series expanding with the addition of how-to lenses on self-discovery, self-sufficiency, and survival topics. I don't know what her plans are, but I suspect that as she writes more lenses, those topics will be her choices since they seem to be her life.  I hope so.  I'm hooked and I want to read more. 

Do you have a passion or a hobby or a lifestyle or even a business to share?  Make a lens.  Make it unique.  Keep it simple.  Hook someone on you so they'll want more.

Lensmasters, This is a Great Lens

"Gentlemen, this is a football."   It is said that at the beginning of every season, legendary football coach Vince Lombardi would open the first team meeting with that statement.  Of course his players knew what a football was, but the point was to remind them of the importance of never losing sight of the basics.  It's a lesson that applies to many aspects of life, including making lenses on Squidoo.

When you're planning your next Squidoo lens, stop for a minute and think of the basics of good lenscrafting. Will your lens contain useful, up-to-date information?  Will you make the lens unique by injecting into the lens your experiences and your passion for the subject?  If not, it might be a good idea to go back to the drawing board and re-think your plan.

The difference between a mediocre lens and a good lens should be obvious.  The difference between a good lens and a great lens is rooted in the basics of excellent lenscrafting.   Remember those basics so that when it's time to click the "Publish" button  you'll be able to proudly say to yourself, "Lensmaster, this is a great lens!"

P.S.  If you need to review the basics of crafting great lenses on Squidoo, take a look right here.

Look Familiar?

Got my shirt.  Look familiar?

Check the right sidebar.  See it?

You can get one, too. Right here.

Poke the Box for a Buck!

The other day I wrote about Seth Godin's new book, Poke the Box, coming out on March 1st. 

Well, HEADS UP!  The price of the Kindle version of the book is now $1 (that's one dollar - one buck) if you preorder before March 1st when the price goes back up.

If you didn't order your copy yet, do it today before you forget!  If you don't have Kindle, no problem!  Just get one of the free Kindle reading apps here.  I'm sure you have one of the platforms for which they're available, including the one you're reading this on right now.

Go, do it!  Poke The Box.

How to Start a Blog

I think most readers of this blog already have a blog of their own, but in case you don't, here's a page I just found that gives a good overview of how to start a blog on blogger.

The "How to create a blog with blogger" video that you'll find linked on that page is 2 minutes long and, while ever so slightly out of date, is a very good overview.

If you don't have a blog yet, I'd highly recommend you get one started.  A blog is a good place to post your new Squidoo lenses in order to provide a backlink.  I don't necessarily recommend a blog just to post your lenses.  Instead, start a personal blog or a business blog and add posts occasionally (once or twice a week is good) to share interesting, related information about what you like personally or what you do professionally, including your new lens links.  Consider the purpose of your blog before you give it a name and consider a name that reflects your "brand."  In fact, if you're going to use your name online, might as well grab the URL for your name and use that for your blog.

Not sure what else to write about?  Holidays like today (President's Day in the U.S.) are a great excuse for a blog post.  For example,  here's my post for today on my personal blog.

Checking out other people's blog is a really good way to get ideas for your own.  Do you have a blog?  Feel free to leave the link on a comment below so we can take a look.  If you don't, click here to learn how to start a blog today!

Will You Poke the Box?

Most of you probably know that Seth Godin is the founder of Squidoo. He also is the author of a dozen bestselling books. His new one, Poke The Box, will be out March 1st.

Last night I saw the book's complete cover for the first time. It's different, but so is Seth.

What I love is the description on the flap of the book cover, starting with, "When is the last time you did something for the first time?"

Well, do you remember when you did?

The description just gets better from there. I would encourage you to read it. Read how Seth defines our position in the world. Maybe it's just me, but I find those words intriguing and very inspiring. In fact, I've read that whole section several times and keep going back to it, wondering about my position in the world and what uniqueness I have yet to contribute.

If you like what you read on the cover, consider ordering the book. You can find it here.  (The Kindle edition is currently the best price and remember, you don't have to have a Kindle to read Kindle books. You can download one of the free reading apps for PC, Mac, or most smart phones and read it in any (or all) of those places. The free reading apps are here.)

And if you do buy the book, come back in early March after you read it and let me know what you've decided to instigate or provoke. There's going to be a lot of that going on, so you'd might as well be part of it!

Speaking of Squidoo Video Tutorials

Yesterday I posted a video tutorial that I made about lensrolling on Squidoo. Today, I'd like to point you to The Official Squidoo Channel on YouTube.

Topics covered by the Squid Staff so far include how to send a Squidcast, how to sign up for Squidoo, how to use the Zazzle module, an explanation and demonstration of Squidoo sidebar widgets, and more.  

If you're among those who like to learn by watching video demonstrations, then you might want to subscribe to Squidoo's YouTube channel.  Consider subscribing to my channel, too, so you don't miss my "learn to Squidoo" video tutorials as they're added.  Even if you don't want to subscribe, I strongly recommend that you open an account on YouTube to claim your online brand name - before somebody else does (it happens).  Then let me know when you make your first video to use on a lens on Squidoo!

How and Why to Lensroll Lenses on Squidoo

This video shows you, step by step, how to lensroll a lens on Squidoo.



For more information, check out this lens.

Which way do you prefer learning, from a video or from reading an explanation on a lens?  Please let me know in a comment below!

New Themes on Squidoo!

I'm tickled pink about the latest new themes on Squidoo.

There are four of them, announced here with samples linked here.

My Think Pink lens has been waiting for years for the bubblegum pink theme and I'm very happy with the way it looks.  

Next task will be to go through my list of lenses and see if any others might be candidates for an easy face lift.  I like the timing - pink in time for Valentine's Day and all the rest just ahead of spring cleaning and spruce-up time!

What do you think?  Like the new themes?  Which is your favorite?  Leave a comment to let us know.

How to Sell Expensive Items on Squidoo

Someone asked me yesterday how to write a lens about an item that is higher priced but still affordable so they could increase their income from Squidoo.  Thought I'd share my answer here.

The simple answer is that you write about expensive items the exact same way you write about lower priced items. You provide the UUU (useful, updated, unique) content but choose a higher priced item that people actually buy.  To find one, go to Amazon.com and look at the bestsellers in the categories that you like writing about. Find a higher priced item that appeals to you, research it, and make a lens about it.

A fact I try to remember is this: Just because I can't afford it doesn't mean nobody can afford it. If it's a bestseller on Amazon, that means people are buying it - so somebody can afford it! I couldn't afford a Kindle when they first came out, but it appealed to me so I researched it, wrote about it, provided what at that time was very unique information about it, and I sold enough of them through my lenses that I could afford to buy one for myself!  No reason you can't choose any other popular item and do the same thing.

Keep your lens very oriented to that one particular item, make the information worthwhile (useful), put your own spin on it (unique) and people will find your lens. The method isn't foolproof, but you have nothing to lose by choosing an expensive item to promote. If it doesn't work, try it again.  If it does work, by all means try it again and watch your income grow! 

Do you sell expensive items on Squidoo?  I'd love to hear about your experience in a comment below. 

Discouraged With Your Progress on Squidoo?

If you get discouraged with your progress on Squidoo (we all do sometimes, don't we?) read this advice which I offered to a new lensmaster today on the SquidU forum.  (It did me good to read it after I wrote it.  I hope it helps you, too.)

Set daily goals as well as long-term goals. Write down what you will do each day and when you finish one thing, draw a line through it. Seeing a list with completed tasks each evening is very encouraging.

Devote a portion of your day to Squidoo education, some to promotion and social networking, and some to updating old or making new lenses.

Pace yourself and focus, focus, focus and I think you'll find yourself feeling encouraged more than discouraged with your progress on Squidoo.

Rainbow Fonts - Just Say No!

Oh, my.  I know it's fun to play with color codes and make our lenses look pretty, but I'd like to offer a piece of advice.  Please don't use multiple colors of text on a lens.  If there's a particular, really important piece of text that warrants highlighting, then it maybe, possibly, might be okay to make that text a different color.  But in most cases, in fact in almost all cases, black text on the normal Squidoo lens background is perfectly sufficient and much easier to read - all the way down the page. 

That's all I'm going to say about that. 

What do you think?  Am I right or just being a cranky baby boomer? 

Squidoo Quick Tip: Celebrity Birthdays

If you have a Squidoo lens about a celebrity or other public figure, or even a historical character, include their age and date of birth on the lens.  People often google, "How old is" so-and-so and if you have a lens about their so-and-so, your lens might just show on the search results.

Consider using a countdown module for the birthday, too, but keep a record on your calendar so you can update the counter each year on the appropriate day.

That's today's Squidoo quick tip.

P.S.  Happy 7th birthday, Kaitlyn Maher!

A Lesson on Lensrank

One of the things you have to learn to understand Squidoo is the language. "Lensrank" (or lens rank) is a term that you'll hear a lot and it's important to understand what it means.

Simply put, lensrank is where your lens ranks compared to all the 1.8 million (and climbing) lenses on Squidoo. The lower the number, the better. In other words, a lensrank of 1 is the very best and the rank that everyone strives for but few achieve.

So, how is lensrank calculated? Good question! The answer is a closely guarded Squidoo secret, but we do know some of the factors that affect lensrank. Traffic, or the number of visits to a lens, is a big factor. Fresh content, or how recently the lens has been updated, is clearly a huge factor. Record the lensrank on one of your lenses then give it a quick update by replacing dead links with good ones, adding a poll or a picture, or even simply rewording a paragraph. Then check lensrank for that lens the next day and see how it has improved. You might be very surprised at the result.

Another important factor in lensrank is the number of clickouts a lens gets. Make sure that when a visitor to your lens is finished reading that they have someplace to go next. Yes, they can click on an ad or on one of the related lenses that Squidoo provides for them on the right sidebar, but wouldn't it be better if they went to, say, one of your own related lenses that you've featured in the body of the lens? Or, better yet, to an Amazon or eBay link that you've provided where they can buy something? The back button doesn't count as a clickout, so make it a practice to provide links for your readers to use to move forward as they read your lens.

If a visitor to your lens does click on one of those product links that you've provided and makes a purchase, that counts as a sale for your lens. Sales, too, are part of the lensrank calculation. So are "likes" or "thumbs up" ratings that the lens receives. When you visit a lens, be courteous and rate it with a thumbs up (assuming you like it). That helps the lensmaster who, in turn, may just visit your lens and help you.

Some of the factors in lensrank must be earned along your Squidoo journey. That includes purple stars (which used to be awarded to Giants only, but now anyone can earn a purple star for an outstanding lens), Squidangel blessings (Squidangels patrol Squidoo looking for great lenses to "bless" with a special boost), and boosts that all Giant Squids automatically receive for their lenses. To earn Giant Squid status, you must make 50 great lenses and then apply for the Giants program. Your lenses will be evaluated and, if they are deemed truly great, you will be awarded Giant Squid status and all of your lenses will benefit from it.

There are other factors involved in calculating lensrank, including the social activity on Squidoo that we talked about yesterday. Since part of your earning potential on Squidoo is based on the rank of your lenses, keep all of these things in mind when planning and writing your lenses. Make time to update lenses on a regular basis, and reevaluate your lenses periodically with improving lensrank in mind to see what you might add, delete, or change that could help move your pages on Squidoo up the lensrank ladder.

For more information on lensrank, check out this lens, and this one. To see the top 100 lenses on Squidoo by lensrank, look here.

How about you?  What do you do to help improve your lensrank?  Tips are always appreciated!

Getting Social on Squidoo and What It Can Do For You

There are a lot of reasons to be social on Squidoo. By being social, I mean doing such things as visiting other people's lenses, joining fan clubs, leaving comments on lenses and on lensmaster pages, and participating on the SquidU forum. If you aren't doing those things, here's why you should.

Participation on Squidoo unlocks privileges. Leaving comments or voting in polls on lenses will help you earn points. The more points you earn, the higher your level will climb and the more privileges you will unlock. For instance, when you first open an account on Squidoo you do not have access to certain templates and even certain modules within Squidoo. As you earn points from making lenses, leaving comments,"liking" lenses, participating in polls on other people's lenses, etc., those templates, modules, and a number of other privileges become available.

Participation on the SquidU forum leads to more traffic for your lenses, which leads to higher lensrank and more visibility for your lenses. As you become active in conversations on the forum and people get to know you, they're going to want to check out your lenses. The more noticeable your presence, the more likely it becomes that people will find your lenses, join your fan club, leave comments, participate in your polls and leave comments in your guestbooks, and rate your lenses. That extra traffic and subsequent interaction with your lenses results in better lensrank.

As your lensrank improves as a result of more traffic from people ON Squidoo, search engines begin to notice the attention to your lenses. This ultimately results in greater respect for your lenses by the search engines, leading to higher visibility of your lenses in search results and, thus, more traffic from people OFF Squidoo. Getting traffic from the search engines, of course, is your ultimate goal.

Oh, and did I mention that social interaction is tracked on Squidoo and is part of lensrank calculation? That's a fact.

Can you see how spending even 10 minutes a day interacting with other lensmasters and their lenses is a good investment of your time? Your lenses benefit in so many ways. Besides, you'll meet some of the smartest and friendliest people in the world on Squidoo. It's true!

How about you. Are you social on Squidoo?

Traffic on Squidoo: It's All About UUU

Probably the most-asked question on Squidoo is, "How can I get people to look at my lenses?"

There's a very short e-book with the answer. It's known as the UUU book, "Unique, Useful, and Updated: Three Secrets to Web Traffic." Its author is none other than bestselling author and famous internet marketing expert Seth Godin, who happens to be the inventor of Squidoo.

Before you do another thing on Squidoo (or your first thing on Squidoo if you're new) I suggest that you download and read the UUU book. It only has 13 pages and some of them have pictures, so it won't take long to read. Read it through once, then go back and read it again and click on its links to see the examples that Seth uses to demonstrate his points.

Memorize UUU. Not the book, the letters and what they mean. (Or the book if you really want to.) Write it down and tape it to your wall or computer screen so that when you make a lens - no, before you make a lens - you'll see it and apply Seth's advice.

Trust me on this one. It'll be worth your time.

Click here for the book.

Squidoo Policy Changes and How They Might Affect You

There are a couple of recent Squidoo policy changes that pertain to everyone but are especially important for those of us with existing lenses.

First, the Intro module MUST contain at least 200 characters, so be sure your intro text is long enough! The intro must also contain a picture. IF YOU EDIT AN OLD LENS and the intro is too short when you hit "publish," the lens will revert to unpublished.  You'll get a message that your intro module is too short and you'll have to fix it. However, when you fix it and publish again, lensrank will start all over, which means your first lensrank will likely be in the millions. Since Squidoo ad pay is based on average lensrank for the month, even if the lens previously ranked in the top payout tier (from 1 to 2000), your average likely will be shot and you probably won't get that top tier payout. So be careful when you edit your lenses and check the length of that intro module!

The second policy change is that lenses may contain no more than 10 Amazon modules and five eBay modules. If you have existing lenses with more, don't worry because those old lenses are grandfathered into this policy; however, when you edit one of those lenses you won't be able to add any more of those modules, so just keep that in mind.  For new lenses, though, no one is exempt from this policy so plan accordingly.

To keep updated on important changes within Squidoo and how they might affect you, subscribe to the SquidBlog and visit the SquidU forum regularly.