How to Make a Lens About Your Blog

You'll probably need a good 15 to 20 minutes to make a good looking lens about your blog that you can publish when you're done. You can always add things later. Click on the "make a page" button at The Fatgirl's Closet to get started (open in another window so you can flip back and forth between this page and it).

When you click on the make a page button the screen will change to one with text boxes and headings. Each one is either self explanatory or gives a prompt of what to fill in. To complete this section you will need: title for your blog, 3 to 4 line description of your blog, your blog's URL feed address, and an image of your blog/logo/yourself/other. Once you have finished filling in the information then scroll down and click on the button, "ok, build it".

Once you click on "ok, build it" the site will build your page for you. It will show you a temporary page and if you look at the golden flower to the right you'll see it is asking if you want this page. Click on "I want it" and the site will take you through the next important steps to continue building a permanent page for you.

On this page you are going to create the URL for your lens. Put some thought behind it. Try to keep it under five words. Separate the words with dashes so they can be recognized as words and not just a long strip of letters together. Once you continue you won't be able to change this. Check your spelling then click "continue.

If you don't already have a Squidoo account you will be prompted to create one now. Don't worry, it's pretty painless. You'll need an email for them to confirm your account (they won't share it), a screen name, your first and last name, and a password. Then you'll need to read and check off the terms of service (it'll pop open in a new window). I recommend signing up for the Lens of a Day and SquidU newsletters. Enter the secret word (captcha) they ask for and then click continue.

You will then be taken to the workshop area of your lens. This is where you can tweak titles, correct spelling mistakes, remove modules, add modules etc. Look over this page from top to bottom and left to right. Important things to note in right side bar: lens bio (click on custom and edit); reorder modules (allows you to switch stuff around or delete); tags (similar to keywords on your blog. you should have at least three); royalty settings (open and click on the setting you want).

As you scroll down the main body of the workshop you'll find some extra modules have been added:

* The module under the intro about your blog is a black box for you to provide a fashion tip. Feel free to change the title of it. You can also change the color with the little drop down menu.
* Next is a text box to add a paragraph or two about yourself (I used 10 Things You Might Not Know About) you can be as personal or as vague as you wish. Or talk about a fashion like or dislike.
* You'll see a twitter module where you can add your twitter name and it'll show your last five tweets. If you don't have a twitter account you can delete this module. Change the title to make it more personal.
* There is an ebay module that has randomly chosen plus size dresses. You can leave this, delete it, or chose the items you want to feature. The default setting is for a charity. You can change this in your profile to "I want cash" and any sales through these links are split between you and Squidoo.
* The last addition is "About the author of this page" which I would just delete if this is your first lens as it will be pretty empty.

Once you have filled in the extra information and edited for typos you can click on "PUBLISH" in the top toolbar.

You have now created a lens about your blog. From here you can click on "View this Lens" above the "congratulations" to see the final published lens with The Fatgirl's Closet Header.

Wasn't that easy? Don't worry, the next one will be even easier. Make a note of the URL and send it to a bunch of your friends. Ask them to look it over for you and leave you a warm fuzzy in the guest book.

Before you surf out there is another important task to take care of. To the right you'll see your bio and a small box with a funny orange thing in it (above the orange Create a Lens Button). Click on your user name.

This is the profile page that is visible to everyone who ever clicks on your name. Here is where people can click to become a fan - yes you can click on it and become a fan. Make sure you do this for other people who's lenses you visit and like. (FYI -- proper lens etiquette -- if a lensmaster leaves a message on your lens then follow up by leaving a message on one of their lenses.)

Now click on "Edit this page" which is located about the join fan club button so you can fill out your profile --> this is very important.

This is your dashboard. You'll notice about eye level are a bunch of tabs with headings like: digest, lenses, stats, profile etc. It should be on profile at the moment (see image). At this moment the profile section is the most important. You can browse the other sections at your leisure.

Under personal information you'll see "default bio". Click on "change" to the right of this. Add a few lines about yourself. Be as specific or as vague as you like but add something. This box also lets you add html so you can link in images or URLs to other sites you work on. After you save it you can see what your profile looks like by clicking on the image box in the upper left corner.

Scroll down and add a "default photo", you can use an avatar if you wish. This default image will show on every lens you make in the "by bio" section as well as in your main profile.

Scroll down to the About Me section on External Links. Add all the ones that apply to you. If you are in a hurry then just add your blog URL.

Scroll down to Account Settings and change "Allow Contact" to on. This allows fans to contact you about your lens. Don't worry they don't see your email. It's especially helpful if another lens master notices a problem and wants to contact you without pointing out what is wrong in the guest book.

Scroll down to Payment Settings and add the email you use to accept Paypal payments.

And the important stuff is done. Explore the rest of Squidoo at your leisure.