How I Build Lenses
There is no lack of information available on Squidoo, on how to build a Squidoo lens. I can't claim that this lens will have the best information, as each lensmaster will have a different idea of what is "best". I'm still learning how to do this myself; even the people who provide Squidoo for us lensmasters are still discovering what works well.
While it is possible to simply save an unfinished lens as a draft so that nobody else can see it until it's more presentable, even an unfinished lens can generate traffic. All live lenses have the potential to promote a subject and generate revenue for the lensmaster or for charity; and others who see an unfinished lens might offer constructive criticism to help make it better.
It seems some people like to build a lens on a whim, and I'm no exception. The problem is that you can end up with a bunch of placeholder pages with no real content, even with all the wizard features that Squidoo provides as you begin to build a lens. I have a few suggestions on how to make a lens-in-progress seem polished (and possibly rank higher), even if it remains obvious to the reader that the lens is unfinished.
Use a Text List as a "Mission Statement"
Some of my lenses are a bit esoteric, and it's not always clear what the focus is, especially while I'm still working on them. So I've been adding a text list underneath the introduction on some of my lenses, explaining the sort of content I eventually want to add. This way, hopefully, people who otherwise might just dismiss the lens as badly built, may become interested enough to want to visit the lens later. If not, it at least serves as a personal reminder as you develop the lens. Here is a generic version of such a list:
- Provide links to web pages relevant to the topic.
- Add a Featured Lenses module of other lenses related to the subject.
- Showcase Amazon.com products that someone reading the lens would find of interest.
Add a Table of Contents
To help people find the content on your lens, you can add a Table of Contents module which lists the other modules on your lens. A different type of table of contents can be automatically configured without a module, from the tab in the Introduction section, but it won't display on certain types of lenses. You can configure the table of contents to list only certain modules (like this one does), and you can even add more than one table of contents. An additional table of contents could list a different set of modules with a different theme, or could be the same list placed again in the middle of a long lens for easier navigation. Note that Table of Contents modules themselves don't show up on Table of Contents modules (although they can be displayed in the Introduction list); if you want to be able to move from one table of contents to another, add another module just before the table to which you want to link, and use its title to indicate the list. A Text/Write module with only a picture or very little text below the title, or a Most Important Thing module, could be used for this purpose.
Have Fun With the Table of Contents
The Table of Contents module is actually quite versatile; here's a lens I made about it!-
Fun with Squidoo's Table of Contents Module
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Even though there is a table of contents built into the introductory module on each lens, the standalone Table of Contents module is still useful. Why? For one thing, the built-in contents only shows up on regular Squidoo lenses (you won't see it on...
Beginning a new lens
a few tips
Changing the content
When you begin a new lens, Squidoo preselects modules and content based on what you enter in the wizard (the "smart" lens creation process that helps you make the initial important decisions about your lens), but you're under no obligation to leave any of this on the lens. The only thing you cannot change once you've begun is the URL to the lens; everything else can be edited and re-edited until you're satisfied with it. Even after a lens is published, it can be completely revised. So, when you are asked in the lens creation process what you want to do with your lens, if you're not sure at that time what the focus of the lens will be, there's no problem with choosing a selection randomly and then experimenting during the editing process.
If you don't like the way the wizard sets up the modules on your lens initially, you can rearrange them, add new modules, and delete old ones. But even if you leave them as they are, you should be sure to at least customize the module titles. There are many types of modules from which to choose. If you're not sure what a particular module does, you can experiment by adding it to the lens in your workshop, and if it isn't suitable for your lens, you can delete it before publishing the lens, and nobody else will ever even know it was there.
General content and layout suggestions
Coupling modules for double impact
I've noticed that many lenses will add an explanatory module followed by an exemplary module; in other words, the first of two modules will explain the subject, and the following one will show examples. For example, there may be instructions in a Text / Write module, followed by links to additional information or a demonstration on a YouTube module.
Reader feedback
One module you'll usually want to include in your lens is the guestbook module, which is one of the default modules. Most people make this module a general feedback module, but you can include several guestbook modules to discuss different aspects of the lens topic.
Module order
The guestbook is usually at the bottom of the lens, but it doesn't have to be, even if you include only one guestbook module. For example, I sometimes place an Amazon.com module after the guestbook on a lens, because the items in it exemplify the subject, but I'd rather not emphasize a "hard sell" on that particular lens (and I figure that people truly interested in the subject will be reading all the way to the bottom, anyway). On the other hand, items in an Amazon.com module may represent the lens topic well, so it might make sense to place it near the top to catch people's attention.
If feedback is the focus of a lens, a guestbook module might make sense close to the top, or perhaps a poll or a Plexo. If you'd like to promote something unrelated to the lens subject, such as your personal site or a favorite charity, you could include it at the bottom.
Adding HTML
Some modules let you customize them with HTML tags, the code used to create the look of a web page. In such modules, you may be able to add bold text, italics, links, an image, and possibly more. If you save a module after adding HTML and don't see the alterations (or actually see the code as plain text), that module may not support that particular feature of HTML.
Tags
Adding tags that will lead people to your lens can be tricky. Squidoo allows multiple words in a single tag, but some searchers may be used to a system where only one word is allowed. And some people may use the singular form of a word in a tag, while others may use the plural. My initial advice is to add all variations of a particular tag in your tag list; that is, phrases with and without spaces between the words, and singular and plural forms of words. (Tags are not case-sensitive, so you don't have to add separate tags for capital or lowercase forms.)
Only forty tags are allowed, so you may want to check your stats page to see which ones are being used the most, and delete underused tags. Your stats page also allows you to add tags from phrases in search terms; if you find there is a term that often leads people to your lens, you may wish to add it to your tag list.
When you begin a new lens, Squidoo preselects modules and content based on what you enter in the wizard (the "smart" lens creation process that helps you make the initial important decisions about your lens), but you're under no obligation to leave any of this on the lens. The only thing you cannot change once you've begun is the URL to the lens; everything else can be edited and re-edited until you're satisfied with it. Even after a lens is published, it can be completely revised. So, when you are asked in the lens creation process what you want to do with your lens, if you're not sure at that time what the focus of the lens will be, there's no problem with choosing a selection randomly and then experimenting during the editing process.
If you don't like the way the wizard sets up the modules on your lens initially, you can rearrange them, add new modules, and delete old ones. But even if you leave them as they are, you should be sure to at least customize the module titles. There are many types of modules from which to choose. If you're not sure what a particular module does, you can experiment by adding it to the lens in your workshop, and if it isn't suitable for your lens, you can delete it before publishing the lens, and nobody else will ever even know it was there.
General content and layout suggestions
Coupling modules for double impact
I've noticed that many lenses will add an explanatory module followed by an exemplary module; in other words, the first of two modules will explain the subject, and the following one will show examples. For example, there may be instructions in a Text / Write module, followed by links to additional information or a demonstration on a YouTube module.
Reader feedback
One module you'll usually want to include in your lens is the guestbook module, which is one of the default modules. Most people make this module a general feedback module, but you can include several guestbook modules to discuss different aspects of the lens topic.
Module order
The guestbook is usually at the bottom of the lens, but it doesn't have to be, even if you include only one guestbook module. For example, I sometimes place an Amazon.com module after the guestbook on a lens, because the items in it exemplify the subject, but I'd rather not emphasize a "hard sell" on that particular lens (and I figure that people truly interested in the subject will be reading all the way to the bottom, anyway). On the other hand, items in an Amazon.com module may represent the lens topic well, so it might make sense to place it near the top to catch people's attention.
If feedback is the focus of a lens, a guestbook module might make sense close to the top, or perhaps a poll or a Plexo. If you'd like to promote something unrelated to the lens subject, such as your personal site or a favorite charity, you could include it at the bottom.
Adding HTML
Some modules let you customize them with HTML tags, the code used to create the look of a web page. In such modules, you may be able to add bold text, italics, links, an image, and possibly more. If you save a module after adding HTML and don't see the alterations (or actually see the code as plain text), that module may not support that particular feature of HTML.
Tags
Adding tags that will lead people to your lens can be tricky. Squidoo allows multiple words in a single tag, but some searchers may be used to a system where only one word is allowed. And some people may use the singular form of a word in a tag, while others may use the plural. My initial advice is to add all variations of a particular tag in your tag list; that is, phrases with and without spaces between the words, and singular and plural forms of words. (Tags are not case-sensitive, so you don't have to add separate tags for capital or lowercase forms.)
Only forty tags are allowed, so you may want to check your stats page to see which ones are being used the most, and delete underused tags. Your stats page also allows you to add tags from phrases in search terms; if you find there is a term that often leads people to your lens, you may wish to add it to your tag list.
How to Customize Your Lensroll
In the sidebar of each Squidoo lens is a list (or a slideshow-style box) with links to other lenses you might find interesting; this is called the lensroll. A lensroll can promote your other lenses, list lenses related to your subject, or feature lenses you happen to like. If you don't add anything to your lensroll, a default set of links will be featured in that area of the lens, which may relate to the subject of your lens; you might want to take a look at these lenses to see if you want to include them on your customized list.
Many lenses have a link allowing you to "lensroll" them. Clicking this link brings up a checklist of your lenses of "featured" status (see next paragraph); by checking a box, this lens will be added to the lensroll of the selected lens (and you can check as many boxes as you like).
While you can lensroll any lens or group at all, only featured lenses seem to be able to accept such links. (Groups can also accept lensroll links, but they won't display on the group page, anyway.) Any lens on your dashboard with a green check symbol in the Rank column is "featured". I'm told that with three content modules (in addition to the introduction) and 24 hours after publishing, the lens should become featured, but my own experience suggests that the wait time may be longer or shorter, and the content requirements may be different; some of my own lenses have become featured within hours, while others took several days to reach featured status.
Lensroll URL hack
While some lenses (like groups and unpublished lenses) don't include a link allowing you to lensroll them, it is still possible to add them to a lensroll, although you can still only lensroll to your featured lenses (unless there's another hack of which I'm unaware!). To add a lens to a lensroll without using a link, you can type instructions into the URL bar (the part of the browser where you enter the name of the webpage you want to visit). While you are at the lens you want to lensroll, take note of the name of the lens as it appears in the URL bar. In the examples below, the bold text represents the name of the lens; replace it with the actual lens name.
For a regular Squidoo lens, the URL bar will read:
http://www.squidoo.com/lensname
To lensroll this lens, type:
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/lensroll/lensname
For an ever.com lens, the URL bar will read:
http://best.lens.ever.com
(or possibly http://www.squidoo.com/best-lens-ever)
To lensroll this lens, type:
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/lensroll/best-lens-ever
For a group, the the URL bar will read:
http://www.squidoo.com/groups/groupname
To lensroll this group, type:
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/lensroll/groups..groupname
Many lenses have a link allowing you to "lensroll" them. Clicking this link brings up a checklist of your lenses of "featured" status (see next paragraph); by checking a box, this lens will be added to the lensroll of the selected lens (and you can check as many boxes as you like).
While you can lensroll any lens or group at all, only featured lenses seem to be able to accept such links. (Groups can also accept lensroll links, but they won't display on the group page, anyway.) Any lens on your dashboard with a green check symbol in the Rank column is "featured". I'm told that with three content modules (in addition to the introduction) and 24 hours after publishing, the lens should become featured, but my own experience suggests that the wait time may be longer or shorter, and the content requirements may be different; some of my own lenses have become featured within hours, while others took several days to reach featured status.
Lensroll URL hack
While some lenses (like groups and unpublished lenses) don't include a link allowing you to lensroll them, it is still possible to add them to a lensroll, although you can still only lensroll to your featured lenses (unless there's another hack of which I'm unaware!). To add a lens to a lensroll without using a link, you can type instructions into the URL bar (the part of the browser where you enter the name of the webpage you want to visit). While you are at the lens you want to lensroll, take note of the name of the lens as it appears in the URL bar. In the examples below, the bold text represents the name of the lens; replace it with the actual lens name.
For a regular Squidoo lens, the URL bar will read:
http://www.squidoo.com/lensname
To lensroll this lens, type:
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/lensroll/lensname
For an ever.com lens, the URL bar will read:
http://best.lens.ever.com
(or possibly http://www.squidoo.com/best-lens-ever)
To lensroll this lens, type:
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/lensroll/best-lens-ever
For a group, the the URL bar will read:
http://www.squidoo.com/groups/groupname
To lensroll this group, type:
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/lensroll/groups..groupname
How do you build lenses?
You may have different advice than mine; what do you look for in a well-made lens? What do you do when making your own lenses?
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