Brainstorming Lens Ideas!

If you're serious about becoming a success on Squidoo, you probably already know that content is king, or queen. Crafting a lens isn't just about picking a topic and adding a few lines about it. No, no, no. Crafting a lens is all about being informative, being interesting, being creative, and being original.

Now, let's look at one big fact right off the bat. Every basic topic has already been written about in some way, shape or form. So get rid of that little demon that says you have to find something completely unique to craft a lens about.

What you do have to do is put your unique voice to a topic, your unique spin, and your unique creativity. That's how you will craft lenses that are original.

OK, you know that the world of topics is now open to you. Time to go beyond your basic passions, the ones that you have already exhausted (for the time being), and look to your other interests. Look to the things that cause you to sit up and take notice. Look to the things that cause you to say "wow." And look to the things that cause you to say "I never knew that."

These are the kind of things that will bring about interesting, informative, creative and original lenses.

Right here, I'll give you my list of lens ideas. Pick any that grabbed your interest. I give them to you for free, you don't even have to give me credit for the ideas. If these cause you to springboard into something more, even better.

Your favorite charity. For those of you who don't know me, I run the BuckHawk Center Animal Rescue, an official Squidoo charity, by the way. So charities and non-profits are big on my list of lens ideas. What charity do you like to give to? What charity do you think has great merit in the world? What charity has meant something important in your life or the life of someone you care about? Tell us about it in a lens.

Your pets. Again, a passion for me. Since I rescue mostly dogs and look for quality homes to adopt them into, pets are important on my list of lens ideas. If you have a pet, Squidoo has a great way to talk about your pet and your love of your pet. It's a brand called Squid Paws and it's a fun way to work through your pet lens with lots of suggestions about how to write it and what to include.

A Hobby that intrigues you. You have in the back of your mind that this particular hobby looks interesting to you. Some time in the future, when you get some spare time, you would like to try this hobby. For me, it's weaving. I even bought a mini-weaving loom, just to try my hand at it. But, I don't really know what I'm doing, so this loom sits in my closet for the time being. Therefore, my lens will be about learning how to weave. NOTE: If you happen to make a lens about learning how to weave, would you send it to me?

Movie categories that you love, and why! I'm a huge fan of the old bedroom comedies that starred Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Cary Grant, etc. My plan is to do a lens about this category, why I like them, what I find fun or interesting or entertaining about them. Do you like horror movies, silent movies, Steven Spielberg movies? Pick your favorite category and tell us about it. And tell us why you like it.

What NOT to do. Did you learn from a wild experience what not to do for your son's 8th birthday party? Maybe you did some remodeling in your house and learned, too late of course, what you should have done. If you have a talent for writing humor, make it funny for us to read. Otherwise, tell us what you did, what you learned, and how you would do it better next time.

Your favorite family game. My family gets together and the card game Uno comes out right after the dinner dishes are cleared away. Sometimes ever before dessert is served, if I'm not fast enough! I've even thought about making Uno cupcakes. OK, I did dismiss that idea pretty quickly since my grand plans of making fancy cupcakes usually end up looking like monsters in hospital gowns. But, that's a different lens. Anyway, tell us about your family's favorite game, your toddler daughter's favorite toy, your teen-aged son's favorite video game. Tell us why this is favorite, give us ideas for how to make it more interesting, or how to be more interactive with it.

Food, Recipes, Meals Squidoo, and the world, is full of eaters! We are all forever looking for new ideas for making our meals more colorful, our food more nutricious, or our recipes more appetizing. What's your most asked for recipe? What is the dish that you always take to parties? What are your tricks for making meals faster, easier, more tasty? Tell us about them.

Holiday traditions What fun holiday traditions do you have, or would you like to have? How about holiday memories from your own childhood? What interesting holiday traditions intrigue you from other parts of the world? Even from the past? From your own ancestors?

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Isn't that great? You have a list of lens ideas the size of the Pacific Ocean. So, you carefully plan out that if you do 16, 423 lenses a day, you can get them all done before arthritis prevents you from typing one more word!

Let's get real. Even you don't have that kind of time. Can you possibly craft good lenses from every single one of those ideas? The reality is probably not, most assuredly not. So get down to business. Pick your top ideas, those ideas that really do excite you, and make that your working list.

If you absolutely have to keep your mile long list, fine. Just put it away until you have completed the lenses from your top ideas. Then you can pull out your monster list and pick another set of really exciting ideas.

Of course, if you are anything like I am, by the time I have finished those lenses about my top ideas, it has generated new ideas for me. Again, ideas that I am very excited about.

Excitement generates better lenses! Remember my list of what makes great lenses? Informative, interesting, creative and original. It's that IICO that comes from your own excitement about a lens idea.

Here are some ideas that Michelle (the originator of this lens) included for you.

July 4th 1863 ~ Why was that day the beginning of the end for the CSA?
Spending quality time with toddlers - playing ideas!
Arbor day
Planting the seeds of learning.
Why trapping ground moles isn't practical
Life as a lefty.
How to create new family tradition
What is you're favorite vacation destination? Beach or Mountains?... MonkeyBrain Debate Lens
Introducing Your Toddler To New (fill in blank) Friends, Pets, Foods, Sister/Brother.
When Is It Safe To Move Your Toddler Out Of The Crib?
How To Set Up Play Dates For Your Toddler That Are Fun And Inexpensive.
Tips For Family Fun Night: Play Inexpensive Games And Learn Something New At The Same Time.
Trading a bad habit for a good habit.
Teaching children not to fall in temptation.
Why teens like exploring bad habits.
How to make an Easter bonnet.
History of coloring eggs for Easter.
Easter traditions in my home.
Bad habits - How to brake them.
Family traditions: torture or fun?
Things that make my heart run faster!
Implications of water pollution on our health.
Is there a point where food pollutes our bodies?
What can we do to lower air pollution?
Don't forget to hug your litter today. It's pollution too!
10 Dont's that help Reduce Pollution.
How to teach kids values?
Role of school in planting values into children.
Values in people I value.
Animals as symbols of new life.
Make your own compost - use peat substitutes.
How to make drip irrigation from reused items.
Don't trash! List of items you can put into compost .

Finding the right idea for a great lens is the first step. Crafting that idea into a great lens is another step altogether. Keep a watch here, because that lens is currently in the crafting stage. When it's ready, I'll post it here.

You may have heard of SEO and keywords and rankings. Those are all topics that are worth learning about if you don't know about them already, but they are beyond the scope of this lens. Plus that, those topics have been very well covered by much more knowledgeable lensmasters than me. So, I encourage you to do a Squidoo search and find those lenses that will help make sense of SEO, keywords and rankings.

In the meantime, think seriously about crafting a great lens from a topic that really excites you. That will take you much farther on your road to success with Squidoo than anything else you can do!

Happy Squidooing to all and to all a well rested keyboard! (Sorry, I just couldn't resist being silly!)