Is It Too Late to Make a Halloween Lens?

No!  It's never too late to make a Halloween lens.  This visit graph proves it.

This is from one of my costume lenses.  The first October it didn't do a lot (just a little "melted witch" puddle on the graph) but the next two, look at those nice high "witch hat" peaks!  I'm looking forward to the next one, which is trending upwards now (end of September) and hopefully will peak nice and high by the end of October.

Lesson:  Think long-term with seasonal lenses.  And watch for witch hats on your visits graph.  Visits begat sales, the most fun part of the Halloween shopping season!

Creating Happy Endings

There's been a lot of debate over the past few months about making personal Squidoo lenses that include storytelling.  Some believe that their readers don't want to be bothered with anything "personal," so they balk at the whole idea, preferring to stick with just the facts, ma'am.

While every lens doesn't have to be about you, it's important that lenses include a story of some kind.  Our objective should be to engage our readers so that they will want to read all the way to the end. 

As usual, Seth Godin says it best about storytelling, in the next to last sentence in this piece (well, in the whole piece).

Do your lenses tell stories?  Are your readers engaged all the way through?  Sounds like creating happy endings is a goal every lensmaster should strive for.

Where to Find Answers to Your Squidoo Questions

I haven't been posting to this blog as often as I should, but that doesn't mean I'm not writing about how to Squidoo. 

Most of my writing these days is done for RocketSquids, the members-only "boot camp" on Squidoo that's designed for new lensmasters who want the inside track on how to make great lenses.  If you're new to Squidoo and want to get on the fast track to Giant Squid, then RocketSquids is the place to be.  You can read more and sign up at this link. 

I also contribute to the official Squidoo blog, SquidooHQ, with occasional tips posts and frequent interviews with up-and-coming new Squid talent.  If you haven't checked out HQ lately, you might be surprised at all the helpful resources that are offered there.  What's more, everything is free.  There's no reason for anyone ever to pay to learn how to succeed on Squidoo. Between RocketSquids and the Squidoo Learning Center, and of course the official forum, it's easy to find answers.

It didn't take long after I signed on to Squidoo over six years ago for the teacher in me to rise to the surface, offering help to other lensmasters through posts on this blog and more private messages than I can count.  I'm just thrilled to be able to help in an official capacity now. 

I love to answer Squidoo questions and offer help wherever it's needed.  So if you're stuck or just want a second opinion on a lens, feel free to let me know.  I'm still around.