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.