How to Make Your First (or Second) Squidoo Lens

Great Squidooing, FAST!

Step-by-step, here's how to get started, answers to clear up some confusion, and all the basics to help you be a GREAT lensmaster right off the bat!

There are FAQs, instructions, tips and techniques, common mistakes, some strategies and some technical information for you. I hope it is a fun and inspirational page to get you started well!

If this page doesn't answer all your questions, you can 1. email me; 2. look at the resources already listed on the main page; 3. look in the right sidebar for some awesome tutorials that will specifically help you.

There is no reason to spend a nickel to learn basic Squidooing. Our best lensmasters have provided so much information, so many great helps to you, that using those you can be an expert in no time at all, and a little richer for not wasting your money!

Always, always, check out SquidU- our Citizen Squids and moderators are very generous with their help and assistance.

What IS a Squidoo Lens?

A webpage built with MODULES

Understanding exactly WHAT a Squidoo page is will help you to be oriented to what it can do, how it can help you, how to earn money with it, and how to promote it.

You can pick and choose modules at any time. Add the ones you need or want, delete the ones that aren't relevant to your page.
Page styles are determined by CATEGORY. Whatever category you choose will give you different pages, such as Squid Who (about YOU, or another person), Squid Vids (about movies), Squid Zippers (about localities).
All modules are available to use on any type of page in any category.

You found the "make a lens" button.

On any lens, you'll see a button like the green one, shown here. It will say something like "Make your own page like this" or "Make a travel lens." It might not be green, like this one, but it will be pretty obvious.

When you click on that button, you're on your way to making your first lens.

Note: Above, I've shown what the whole browser window looks like (using Internet Explorer). For the rest of the screenshots, I'll only show the Squidoo part. You won't see the blue bar at the top.

Magic Builder Sign Up Sheet!

To get you started and on the right track NOW!

This is the sign up page, the first thing you will see if you do not already have an account.

Be sure to fill out every field, fill in the security code word, and YOU'RE IN!

It Might SEEM Hard, But It Isn't!

Introducing: The NEW Magic Builder!

Giving YOU a head start, for the fastest Squidoo Pages EVER

Squidoo's new Magic Builder assembles a collection of modules for you to use according to the category your page will belong to. This very easy, very fast way to begin squidooing increases your productivity, gives you a collection of the most popular modules for your category, and gives you a head start!

Because the category that you choose determines the modules that are given you at first, I can only give you a general idea of how to use the Magic Builder.

Just be sure to follow, step-by-step, each of the screens that are presented to you.

Fill in each of the boxes so you can easily and quickly proceed through the Magic Builder.

Magic Builder Step One: My Page is About

The ABSOLUTE Bottom Line!

Understanding the first step of the Magic Builder.

The "My Page is About" box is what determines your url, or the specific web address of your page. Except for ever.com, every Squidoo page begins with the url www.squidoo.com/ and the 'my page is about' box fills in the rest of the address.
Notice that the suggestion is to have a one or two word description. Make this as minimal, and to the point, as possible. You may want to write about 'fabulous and versatile directors' chairs' but that would be the TITLE, not the url. In this section, then, you would write directors chairs.

This is IMPORTANT for the search engines to help visitors find your page.
If the url you have entered is taken, the Magic Builder will let you know. If it has been taken, enter another word. You might want to add a word that is invisible to the search engines, for example 'the' and then your url would look like '/the-directors-chair
Once you have an url for your page, it CANNOT BE CHANGED. If later, for some reason, you want a different url for that page, you will need to create a new page altogether, with the correct url.

Show Off Your Pet!

Squidoo Your Pet: I did mine!

And Other Animal Pages Too!

Nobody knows your pet like you do, but maybe they should!

The Thor-acle

I'm Thor and I'm Completely Perfect. You don't know me, but you will! You don't like bulldogs, but you will! You think I'm ferocious, you think I'm too big? You'll be stuck on me before its over! Thor on Wikifido Cr...

SquiZoo:: The Zoo on Squidoo

Squid City will be a METROPOLIS, and it NEEDS a SquiZoo! Looking for your animal lenses to make SquiZoo the best Zoo in the world! All animals: fantasy, animated, cartoon, stuffed, breaded, fried, mythical, furry, fuzzy, wild, exotic, painted, sewn,&n...

Magic Builder Title

What the world sees about your page!

Understanding titles!

The title you enter will be what the world sees, what is displayed across Squidoo, and what will show up when your lens is featured in groups.
A good title helps the search engines find you! Be sure your most important words are in the title!
A good title also piques the visitor's interest. It is your drawing card, the place where your reader forms their first impression of you, your topic, and your ability.
You can always change your title, but you can never change your url.
The title needs to be an accurate description of the content of your page. Except in the case of parody or humor, where it quickly becomes obvious, a title that does not represent what is actually on your page is known as 'link-bait' and is considered SPAM.

Tell a Story!

Magic Builder: Pick a Category

Automatically gives you your layout!

Squidoo has developed some special headers and designs for some categories!

Selecting the category that best approximates the topic of your page will give you an automatic, official Squidoo header. For example, movies will give you a SquidVids header, local will give you a SquidZipper, the about ME category will give you a SquidWho, and the duel will give you the MonkeyBrains debate header and modules.
Depending on the category, some of the modules you receive will be different than in other categories.
Every module is always available to you when you are ready to edit.
You can always change the category later, if you need to.
The automatically generated layout will not change if you do later change the category. For example, a MonkeyBrains layout will not change if you later change the category to 'shopping'.

Magic Builder Chosen Category (Arts, in this case)

Some categories will show a screen like this one.

Now that you've chosen a category, you may see a screen like this.

How do you choose?

A few pointers...

There are 'templates', a selection of modules, that are most popular with lensmasters in your category.

To help you more, Squidoo has created templates for the different categories, with the most popular modules used by lensmasters in that category.
If you choose the first and get the 'template' version, you get a pre-selected set of modules for you to add content to.
If you choose the 'do my own thing' version, you will get very few modules to start you out. You would add exactly the modules you think you need, as you need them.
In either case, you will be able to add or delete modules when you are in the edit mode of your lens.

Make a Point!

Magic Builder Step 2

Adding basic content!

Some content is just basic, just necessary. Without certain basic content your page just isn't a worthy Squidoo Lens!

Here the Magic Builder helps you add the basic content and places it into your newly created lens.

Populating Your Modules with Content

Content really IS king!

The best and most popular pages have interesting content, personal recommendations, expertise or are a useful resource.

Being sure there is quality content in each Squidoo lens is a major benefit of the Magic Builder, for you and for all the lensmasters at Squidoo!

Be PASSIONATE! Yes, this text will go into your introduction module and will direct your visitor's attention to the rest of the page.
About me information is added to your page bio. Give specific information about yourself and your passion related to your topic. This does not take the place of your account bio, unless you want it to. Visitors are interested in WHY you wrote about your topic, make sure you tell them!
A blog worth reading! Yes, there are blogs worth reading on almost every topic in the world. Here you can add the best blog about your topic, OR, if YOURS is the best blog in the world about the subject, then put YOUR blog here!

Why did you recommend this blog? Give a great reason for your visitors to check out this blog. You get 'credit' for the click-outs, but you also get credibility with your audience for knowing the best sources of great information, too.

If you don't know how to add the blog feed, see the information farther down the page.
Google Feed! Isn't this GREAT??? This is your chance to put your keywords into the google feed for either blog posts OR news, related to your topic. This keeps your lens FRESH, FRESH, FRESH for the search engines, and increases the value of your page for a 'go-to' resource for interested people.

Why did you add this feed? Aside from your own purposes of keeping your lens fresh, why would interested and passionate VISITORS want to keep up on the latest and greatest news or blog posts about your subject?
Allow people to comment on my page: this is your first truly interactive module. This gives your lens a guestbook where people can leave their opinions, their questions, their comments.

You can edit and control this module later, to permit anyone to comment, or just logged in Squidoo members.

Try Something New!

Magic Builder Step 3

Seeing What You've Gotten

Depending on the category you have chosen, the Magic Builder has selected appropriate modules for you.

Only the top of this page is shown, because pages are different!

Turbo It takes you to the edit mode so you can add more content. It is a very, very rare page that doesn't need editing on the modules.

However, you can 'publish' now, see how it looks to the public, and edit it right away.

Make a Page YOU Love!

Here's your lens!

This is your lens "workshop" page. Now you can start entering stuff!" But first, look over the right-hand side. There are a lot of settings over there. Later, you might want to change some of them.

You can edit the tags that the lens can be found under, and the overall topic for the lens. Now scroll down and look at more stuff...

Debate an Issue!

Scrolling down...

Scrolling down, you can see some additional settings.

Here you see some lens statistics (your lens rank will be *last* at this point). You can also change your bio and your payment options later, by using the edit buttons here.

TIP

You can add a picture to your lensmaster profile right now, by clicking the orange edit button under your name.

Explain a Mystery

An important task...

Before you go any farther, you should scroll to the top of the screen, and find where it says "My Account."

When you mouse over, it will open some options, like you see above. Go down to "preferences" and click.

When you get to the preferences page, on the right side, you'll see "Allow contact: OFF". You should immediately change that to ON by clicking the orange "edit" button.

No one will ever see your email address, but Squidoo will be able to forward message to you, like love notes about how great your lens is, invitations to join groups, requests for interviews from newspaper reporters (it happened to me!), and more. Don't miss this step. It makes a big difference!

Now people can contact you! Yay!

P.S. Did you happen to notice that the lensrank is higher in this screenshot? That's because I took that screenshot later, when the lens was a day or two old. It goes up quickly!

Expose a Danger!

Now click your back button.

Back to work!

So, let's get started really making a lens! On the first "module" at the top of the page, the introduction module, click the orange edit button.

Here, you'll type an introduction to your lens. Tell us what it's about, and why we might want to read it!

You can also add a lens photo here, from your computer. Click "browse" and choose a photo.

TIPS

Don't forget to click "upload"!

And make sure the photo is under 1 megabyte, or when you try to load it, nothing will happen.

Share a Favorite!

Here are some favorites!

Recessionary Squidooing: A MUST for Small Business

Small businesses are suffering like never before in history due to this very difficult and continuing recession. However, certain aspects of a recession can be turned to the advantage of a small business person, especially when enhanced and exploite...

Amish Quilt Racks, Quilts, Quilt Shelves & Quilt Clamps

The Amish are justly famous for their quilts, but not so much for their quilt racks, stands and clamps. They have several styles of quilt racks which are shown here. But for display, they also have quilt shelves and quilt clamps whi...

1963 Corvette Grand Sport

Breaking news- the #002 of the two original ROADSTERS is going on the auction block in January- take a look if you want to see Corvette history being made! This Corvette was stashed away, never finished, never assembled, until recently when my broth...

Lovely, Lonely and Haunted Lighthouses

Lighthouses! Living in Michigan, I've seen lighthouses all around the Great Lakes all my life. The Great Lakes have LOTS of Lighthouses, perhaps more per square mile than anywhere else. But since America has LOTS of coas...

Talk about Food!

Wow! Not Your Grandma's Gingerbread Men!!!

Gingerbread men have moved out of the Christmas season into fun celebrations and events all year long! Create gingerbread men to make a statement, dress up your special events, or even to send a special person a message! The spicier, the better!

French Alps Travel & Cooking: La Bérarde

About 20 km outside of Grenoble, deep into the French Alps near the Italian border, is a beautiful hidden little hamlet called La Bérarde. I spent some time there, exploring the life and food of the French, ...

Limoncello di Capri

Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur that originated in Southern Italy. The liqueur derives its flavor from the peels, rather than the juice of the fruit, resulting in a pleasant, sweet, lemony taste. Limoncello gained popularity more than a centu...

Salt :: The Gourmet Guide

The BEST barbecuing secret around, natural sea salts with incredible flavor, high potency minerals naturally! Prepare your meats, vegetables and marinades with flavorful earth salts- no one will know how you do it! "Until recently salt was...

Organic Heritage Amish Popcorn! Yummy Fabulous!

Once you've had Amish popcorn, made with Amish popcorn oil and drizzled with Amish butter, well, there is just NO GOING BACK! In comparison, all other popcorns just taste stale and flat, in the same way that after you've had homemade noodles, bo...

Be Yourself!

A final few tips.

See those buttons at the top? Add module, Reorder Modules, Discard this Draft, Keep this Draft, and PUBLISH? When you're done editing, be sure to click "Keep this Draft" and then "Publish!" Without "Publish!" no one will ever see your wonderful work!

Advocate a Cause!

To-Do List

1. Get your money right!
2. Choose an avatar photo & upload
3. Fill out your bio- add websites, personal page links, anything important about you!
4. Begin your page with the intro module
5. Delete any modules you don't need
6. Tell your story!

Your Intro Module- Common Mistakes

Your introduction module really NEEDS to have a photo. Why? Because without a photo, your lens will have an ugly orange placeholder wherever it is displayed.

Nothing says 'unfinished lens' like a placeholder!

Most group masters, who are trying to have a nice looking group, won't feature any lens that doesn't have a good photo.

Another problem with introduction modules is trying to get too much information in one spot. If all your information is only in the introduction and not in other modules, you may NEVER get out of wip (work in progress) status!

Long introductions are boring and hard to read. Make them interesting by simply introducing what you will be putting on your page. Break up your text into different, specific modules. You'll end up with a much more interesting page!

Discussing an Issue!

Real World Learning

Real World Learning * Already homeschooling? This page will give you resources for making your family's experience richer. * Considering homeschooling? I hope the resources here will help you make the decision. * Know someone who is planning to homesc...

Still Standing For Now:The Statue of Liberty!!!

Lady Liberty MEANS America. America MEANS Lady Liberty. This beautiful statue is a critical symbol of the heart of what the United States of America is. Emma Lazarus provided the most famous work of literature supporting immigration in her 1883 poem,...

What's Wrong with Barney

I love you, you love me, we're a happy family. Lots of people find Barney annoying, but they figure he's ok for little kids, who like that sort of thing. I'm here to tell you differently. It's no joke. Barney really is insidiously evil.

Plumber's Butt: The Crack Epidemic

Crimes of visual "over-share". They can happen anywhere, in any climate and every part of the world. In our culture of over-share, people somehow have come to think showing a sliver of your own full moon to the world in everyday settings is...

Be Controversial!

Common Mistakes- Your Avatar

For those of you who don't know what it is, the avatar is a small picture which will help serve to identify you. You can see mine up at the top left (or right) of the page. This adds instant visual recognition for people who visit one or more of your pages, and you can use the same one for the forums, lounges and other places where an avatar is needed.

Without an avatar, you will end up with the infamous 'orange guy'! To visitors this makes it appear as if you'd prefer to be anonymous, and if you're a business person, you don't want to look that way!

You may want anonymity, but you've given none away by using an avatar of some sort.

Group masters often use a 'featured lensmaster' module on their group page, but when they do, they usually avoid lensmasters that use the orange guy, since it just isn't interesting or beautiful on the page!

ReCap History

More help for new lensmasters

Here are some links to helpful pages about building lenses. Some of them have general advise, and some have awesome tricks and hacks for the most popular modules.

Ask a question!: The SquidU Lensmaster Lounge is a great place to ask questions, and meet other lensmasters.
SquidU: Lots of tips here at SquidU will help you make the most of your lenses.
Cafe Press Pantry - Cooking Up New Uses for the Module: Not familiar with Cafe Press? That's OK! Explains the module and its many uses here!
The Write Module for Anything!: The Write (and add a picture!) module can do more than you ever imagined!
eBay on Squidoo: If you want to add some great and possibly rare items to your lens, the eBay module can help.
Using the Amazon Module: Amazon offers more than just books. Use this module to enhance your lens and maybe make some money!
10 Simple Steps To Create Traffic for your Lens using a Personal Social Network: Personal Social Networking it's the key to success in 2008 and future years. This little guide will teach you how to use social networks to bring loads of traffic to your lens and create your own personal social network.

Show Some Love!

Chocolate :: The Incredible & Extensive Gourmet Guide

From the moment the aroma rises to your nose, to the sensual bliss of the feel and taste, fine chocolate is a gastronomic experience like no other. The focus of this lens is on the finest chocolates available. Understanding the differences between th...

Texas Wildflowers :: Lady Bird Johnson

I'm not a Texas girl. Yet one of the things that I like best about Texas are the wildflowers. With 268,000 square miles - most of it undeveloped - there is plenty of room for a riot of wildflowers! Bluebonnets, paintbrushes, phlox and salvia are...

American Recorders, Visionaries & Artists: Currier and Ives

Currier & Ives' vision of America is as deeply rooted in our collective memory as the vision of any other America. At Christmas and Thanksgiving, it is often their artwork, their ideas that reach to...

Amish Christmas

The Amish celebrate Christmas in the time honored Christian manner, with a clear focus on the birth of Christ. Like everything else, though, they bring a simplicity that was completely overwhelmed in the greater world. This lense gathers information...

Luxury Soap :: The Buyer's Guide.

After a hard day, coming home and drawing a bath is one of the most renourishing things for one's psyche. But, the great indulgence is in the soap you choose. From high lather producing shea soaps, to a hard milled, exfoliating lather of a handmade o...

Common Mistakes- Your Bio Page

Your bio page is very important! It is from this that your lensmaster page is built, and if people are interested in you, this is how they will find out about you!

Don't overload your first lens with too much personal information, or information related to you unless you're planning to do a lensography (a page with a list of your lenses).

The very best place to put links to your website, your blog, your articles and anything else you want to link to is your bio page! You'll see that because of your squidoo pages (which all link to your lensmaster page) your Google Page Rank will rise very quickly!

You can go to the top of the page here and click on my name, and see my own bio page in action.

What you put on your bio page will be the default bio for every page you build.

2 Bios!

There is a 2nd bio- the small one on each page! You can change each page bio to be appropriate to the topic, instead of always showing your main bio there.

Use that place to share your reasoning, special experience, or motivation to write about your topic. It really improves the page!

Review a Movie

Common Mistakes: Lensmaster Name, Account Name

Be SURE You've gotten this right!

One of the first inclinations, if you are promoting a product or a business, is to use that product or business as your account/lensmaster name. It certainly makes sense at first, but there are some very good reasons not to do this!

First, you will be building at least one page about your product or your business anyway. This will appear on your lensmaster page so that people can easily find you.

Second, you are not your business or your product! You will most likely discover that you want to create great pages about other things than your product or business, and somehow naming your entire account after a product creates a 'disconnect' in the mind of your visitors.

For example, you might want to sell 'KISS' memorabilia online. However, later you might want to write about Pat Boone, or baby names. The wrong lensmaster name might interfere with how people view your page. A more neutral name would enable you to make pages on many, many topics without a problem.

It has been done successfully, but not often! Consider very carefully whether you want to be known as your product or as your own 'special' self!

Make Some Friends! Its EASY! Join the Fan Clubs!

Common Mistakes: Delete the Modules You Don't Need!

Often newbies don't realize that they can delete any modules that they don't use, and so they try to make all the modules that come in the 'basic package' useful.

If modules don't help your page and focus, just delete them.

Most new lensmasters aren't aware that sometimes empty modules get published along with the content modules- which reduces the quality of your work!

Investigate the Strange!

Common Mistakes: Module Titles

make good use of your titles!

Often we see lensmasters who have overlooked or forgotten to change the default titles in their modules!

It is easy to do when you feel overwhelmed by building your first page, but don't worry- it is just as easily fixed as any other thing on a Squidoo page!

Your titles and subtitles are VERY USEFUL when being searched by Google or other search engines.

Therefore, your titles and subtitles will work best for your page if they are related to your most important keywords.

Double check all of your modules and be sure you've put good titles and subtitles!

There is a mystery about the main keyword, which you chose when you decided to build the page. It doesn't show up in your tags list! Be sure to add your primary keyword again in your keywords!

Keywords and Tags

We can have a MAXIMUM number of 40 keywords on a page, so make sure you have the MOST relevant keywords for your topic.

Also, remember to add your main keyword to your tag list again or it may not show up in searches!

Support a Charity

Common Mistakes: Don't Spam- Groups or Anyone!

You want to promote your new page because you're proud of it and you should be! There are plenty of ways to show off your page, and it is so much fun to watch the traffic come in and to get comments!

One way to help get traffic is to leave comments on other lensmaster's pages.

Your lensmaster page is AUTOMATICALLY linked, along with all your squidoo pages, every single time you leave a comment!

Many newbie lensmasters have decided to use the opportunity for leaving comments to also leave a link to their page. This CAN be done IF the lensmaster allows html in the comments section.

BUT- and this is VERY IMPORTANT- if you 'spam' the comments, you can get barred from EVER LEAVING COMMENTS AGAIN!

So, be careful about this. Visit lensmaster pages, and do leave comments. But make sure the comments are thoughtful, considerate, express an opinion, mention that you rated the page and

IF YOU LEAVE YOUR LINK, be sure that it is appropriate and relevant.

This is a case where the golden rule applies: only leave the kind of comments you'd like to see on your own comment module!

Squid Spam, Lenses Locked, WHAT'S THE DEAL???

SquidSpam: Zero Tolerance

... that everyone deserves a voice online, and a free service for sharing and spreading recommendations, ideas, products and passions. Not just the gatekeepers. Not just paid editors. Not just A-listers and marketers. Everyone. We also believe...

Locked?!

Squidoo is a place for passionate people to make single pages, for free, to share expertise, personal opinion, recommendations and links to the best stuff online. It's a place for handgathered, unique, useful, recommended, genuine content. Written b...

Make a Fan Page!

Making a Fan Page!

Paula Deen :: Food Network Celebrity Chef

"You know it's a good recipe if it starts with a stick of butter." -from the Paula's Home Cooking episode titled Cajun Cooking. Paula Ann Groover, better known as Paula Deen (born Paula Ann Hiers on January 19, 1947), is a cook, resta...

21st Century People Who are Changing the World

But I want to highlight some folks who are really making a difference with an issue or two right now. And I want you to help! Take a look at the people listed, and let folks know who you think is doing the best job at changing the world. Is someone l...

Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner

I am not a number! I am a free man! In 1967, The Prisoner came to British Television, and became a cult classic. In the first of 17 episodes, we meet Number 6, a government agent who, upon resigning, wakes to find himself in a lovely villa...

Andrew Vachss

Andrew Vachss is not especially well known, in the celebrity sense. Yet he is an important, influential and even heroic man in the best sense of the word. Some know him as a top-notch crime writer, others as a lawyer, others as someone who works with...

FAQ: Page Layouts / Templates

How to Select one

The basic Squidoo page has two possible layouts- one is a two- column format, the other is has the blue background, 2 column format.

Most lensmasters really prefer one or the other.

Once you've decided which is best for your page, you will need to go to the right sidebar when you are in the edit mode.

You will see a box that says max/min, tick the box if you want it maxed.

If you want the two column format, click min.
If you want the blue format, click max.

For now, this is the only way to select the page layout you want.

This does NOT apply to the cobrands of Monkeybrains, Squidvids, SquidWho, SquidBoo, SquidLit and so on. This is only for the regular Squidoo site.

Changing the formats every so often helps the whole Squidoo site be 'fresh' for the search engines and helps get your pages FOUND. It helps give you 'google juice.'

How To Add Modules Step by Step #1

Module Picker

At the top of the page you'll see 4 buttons: Add Modules; Reorder Modules; Save Draft and Publish.

To add a module click: Add Modules

#2 The Module Picker will Open

This is where you select WHICH module you want!

All of the modules that you can put on your Squidoo Page are here, in the module picker. If you don't find the one you want in the starter package, click on the other tabs. Some can only be found by going to the A-Z page, like the 'featured lens module'.

#3: Add Your Module

You can add as many as you need

Click 'add' to add your module. You can add as many as you need, you can add different types of modules at this time. Underneath the screen that you can see, will be a list of the ones you are adding. Don't add too many at once! Just add the ones you have time to work on during this session!

#4: The Empty Module Goes to the Bottom of the Page

You open that module by clicking the orange 'edit' button. You can also delete modules by clicking the round orange x.

Self-Promote

#5: Click Edit and Open Your Module

The title is a DEFAULT title.

If you do NOT change the title text, when published it will say 'text/write module' and THAT will be the title!

Usually the default title has nothing to do with the topic of your page, even if you are making 'how to Squidoo' pages, so you really DO need to change that default title.

This is a great place to put your keywords in your title, which helps Google to know where to put your page in the search results.

The subtitle is also a good place to use your important keywords.

#6: Add Your Text and Photos and Save

There is a SIZE limit in the text area!

Notice that the box says 'the limit is 10,000 CHARACTERS.' This is not only the text you type in, but ALSO the html that you use to have links, or to put in photos, or clickable ads. The characters include spaces.

If you need a module that allows MORE than 10,000 characters, use the link list module!

Notice the up/down arrows by the edit function. You can use these to move your module up or down one spot at a time. If you have a short page with few modules, this is good enough. If you have LOTS of modules, this is a very time consuming way to move them.

#7 Click the Reorder Modules Button at the Top of the Page

You will see a COLLAPSED version of your page

This is ANOTHER reason to re-title your modules! If you don't, you can't tell which module has what content in it!

The collapsed version of your page shows modules by TITLE only.

#8 Using the Small Arrows on the Left, Move your Module

Then, Click 'done' at the bottom of the page

This is, far and away, the fastest way to put your modules in the order you want them.

On the left are up/down arrows. Clicking those, you can grab the module and move it up or down to where you want it.

Notice that on the right side of the module titles is an orange box with an x. You can delete a module by clicking there.

Once you've moved your modules, scroll to the bottom of the page and on the right you'll see a 'done' button. Click that, and your page will come up in the edit mode. If you are satisfied with the location of your module, go to the top of your page, click 'save draft'. When the dialogue box fades, click 'publish'. When that dialogue box fades, click 'view this page' and go see the public version!

Strategies: The Giant Squid

Our Squid itself is a CLUE!

When I made my first page, I discovered that I kept adding to it and adding to it, because I had SO MUCH INFORMATION to put there.

The truth was that I was trying to get about 20 lenses into only one.

So the strategy that I needed to follow was actually based on the squid itself- make ONE MAIN page of the general topic, and new pages for each specific part of the information!

It was like the Squid itself- one main 'eye' and lots of tentacles, each one very specific and focused on the topic.

In my case, I wrote about the Amish community, and from there I built Amish Tables, Amish Recipes, Amish community, and so on, until I ended up with about 75 different pages, all about something specific pertaining to the Amish.

Make Money!

How Does the Squidoo Money Work?

Adsense, payouts...

I get LOTS of questions about how the Squidoo money works.

Squidoo has Google Ads/ adsense and Glam Ads that bring income to Squidoo. We share in those revenues. The money the lensmasters share goes into a pool.

Amazon, Cafe Press and other income generation modules are NOT put into the pool.

1/2 of revenues are paid to the lensmasters
Payouts are distributed according to LENSRANK.
Top Lensmaster payout tier is Lensrank #1 to #1999. Currently that payout is over $8 per month
Second Lensmaster payout tier is Lensrank #2000 to #10,000 which currently is paying over $1
Third lensmaster payout tier is lensrank #10,001 to the bottom, which is currently getting about $.05 or less.
Fourth Lensmaster payout tier is wip (work in progress) lenses which get $.0
Payment occurs the second month AFTER the earning. Therefore, what you earn in January will be paid out in March.
Amazon module sales are split between you and Squidoo. These revenues are NOT put into the pool. Amazon give Squidoo 10% commission rate, which is split with you, therefore you receive a 5% commission rate from Amazon by going through Squidoo. You would need a LOT of affiliate sales through Amazon to get 5% commission, usually Amazon payout to affiliates is 4%. You may do better by having your own affiliate account, but if your traffic and sales aren't high, you will most likely earn more if you partner with Squidoo.
Ebay and other income producing modules work the same way as the Amazon module. Some places pay extra money as a 'finder's fee' for new purchasers coming from your page. If this happens from your Squidoo page, you split the finder's fee with Squidoo.
Need more money that that? Sign up for affiliate programs! Sell other products from your page! However, for those programs, you do not share with Squidoo, and your payout comes directly from those affiliates according to your agreement with them.

Squidoo Strategy: Make a Test Lens!

Experiment with all the modules!

Since you can have several lenses, it is a great idea to make a 'test lens' where you can try out modules you may be interested in, without the pressure of the page looking good.

Believe it or not, my own test lens actually made sales, and was (at one point) on the top 100 list!

Once I really got the hang of Squidooing, I turned my 'test lens' into something else.

But I can tell you, that having a safe spot to test out the uses and possibilities of all the modules was a very helpful thing to have!

Here's What Happened to My Test Lens!

Humor is GREAT!

Secret Frankenstein Testing & Experiment Laboratory

This is my scientific squidoo test lens, the one where I test out all kinds of stuff to improve squidoo, the world and the human race. Since government funding has decreased, and Bill Gates is unconvinced of the ongoing value of my experiments;...

Share Your Faith

Squidoo Strategy: Make a Personal Page!

link EVERYTHING in one spot!

If you have blogs, websites and personal pages like myspace or facebook, and you'd like to increase their reach, think about making a personal page.

We also call these 'lensographies' which is a page listing all of your interests, all of your squidoo pages, all of your blogs, everything!

When you get enough, you may want to start an entire group devoted just to your own pages.

This is MY Lensography

Make one of your own!

A lensography is a great way to help organize your lenses according to the way you think, or according to topic, or any other way you can imagine. Its a great place to show off your favorite things, your best photos, your pets, your pages, your web pages and blogs, or to add all your social sites! Let everyone see what ELSE you can do!

Eccentricity :: Margaret Schaut

I've often been told I'm 'eccentric', and the older I get, the worse it seems to get. As I age, though, the less it bothers me. Eccentricity: 1. the quality of being abnormally centered... 2. the quality or habit of deviating from what is usual or cu...

Ratings System

Remember to rate your lens APPROPRIATELY! Only G rated lenses are available on the Squidoo site search. Most groups only accept G, or R rated lenses, though there are some that accept X rated lenses.

It is VERY UNPOPULAR here to be known as a lensmaster that rates X pages as G!

Share Your Travel Experience

More Help with Squidooing!

Squidoo's Peculiar Lensranking System!

How would you feel if your creator hadn't bothered to give you a name? (S)He (It's) our All Important Squidoo mascot, and a very busy boy (girl) (thing)! It's just... outrageous! Help right the wrongs done to this poor little squid. Help us Sec...

Make your Group's Headquarters Interesting and Beautiful!

You've created a group, and it's sure to be the next big thing. Now, what do you do with it? We all want our group pages to be a favorite landing spot of many visitors. THE place they'll want to visit again and again. I've studied the best groups...

Squid-Stats

Squidoo provides lensmasters with a great deal of information about people who visit your lenses. This information includes where visitors are coming from, where they go, and what they purchase. This information can be used to increase the traff...

The Text/Write Module for Anything!

I love the Write module. It's really one of my very favorites... you can do anything with it. It is one of the easiest ways to make your lens stand out. It is the primary carrier of your best content, originally written information or stories, and it...

SquidU's Lensmaster Lounge: Help for New Squids

Newbies! Need help with Squidoo? Choose "SquidU" from "Squidlinks" up top to visit Squidoo's members discussion forum, aka The Lensmaster Lounge. SquidU contains many kinds of resources to help you learn Squidoo. The Lensmast...

My Lensmastering Blog (New)

Tips, techniques and helps to build your lenses!

Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

FAQ: Publishing, WIP and Lensrank

They are all related...

Your lens is published as soon as you click the publish button. That doesn't take care of all publishing issues, though!

A new lens cannot be added to groups until it leaves WorkInProgress (wip) status. This is a MINIMUM of 3 modules NOT INCLUDING the introduction and guestbook. This can change very quickly so I suggest a minimum of 5 content modules, not 3.

You can't join groups until your page has left wip status. Even if you have the proper number of modules, this won't happen until Squidoo re-ranks all the lenses. It could happen 5 minutes after you publish, or up to 48 hours!

Lensrank is immediately improved once a lens has re-ranked through the system, and the fresher, the better! However, you will not gain in lensrank unless things happen like visitors, emails, favoriting, comments, and so on.

Therefore, the more interactive modules that visitors are actually using, the better your lensrank is likely to be!

Explore the Universe!

Co-Branding Squidoo: Monkey Brains! Put Up Your Dukes!

Here are my FIRST MonkeyBrains Squidoo Lenses!

To give lensmasters more chances to deal with popular topics, Squidoo has developed co-brands like SquidVids, SquidWho and MonkeyBrains. They are really the same as the regular Squidoo pages, but with different purposes!

Try them out- they're FUN!

Greatest Rock Band : Beatles or Rolling Stones?

Beatles or Rolling Stones or Stones or Beatles.... We LOVE them both! Here is YOUR chance to speak your piece in this age-old debate: Who is the GREATEST ROCK BAND EVER? The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?

Evolution or Creation?

Hopi Elders, when shown pictures of apes that humans 'descended' from told the 'scientists' "Those may be YOUR ancestors, but they're NOT OURS!

FAQ: What's a Plexo?

Never heard of it!

Plexo is a widget that is BIG on Squidoo. We have a few kinds of them.

We have text plexos, which is basically lines of text that people can vote on- up or down, or just up.

We have link plexos that are basically lines of links, also for voting.

We have Amazon plexos which are products that visitors can vote on.

We have flickr plexos that visitors can vote on.

We also have youtube plexos.

People can add to the plexos if you so choose.

I have a given a few examples in the plexo below so you can see it in action!

This is a Flickr Plexo

Vote on Your Favorite Mug!

Sorry. Just too many good ones! Vote on your favorites in this plexo!