New to Squidoo?

Getting Started on Squidoo: Basic Lens Making Walkthrough for Beginners
You found this page didn't you! If you can find a page that helps to walk you through building a lens then you can build a lens!

I was terrified of the internet. I had no idea what I was doing and things like "Aaaaagh, how do I add a link in the text?" kept running through my head. I went to the SquidU forum and every one was discussing SEO, HTML and other scary abbreviations that intimidated me into sitting on the sidelines.

One day, I asked a question, terrified that I would be ridiculed for being so clueless and yet wanting to earn a living online. I was so shocked when everyone jumped in to help, they all had advice, they REALLY dumbed it down for me- yet not in a condescending way at all! In fact they were incredibly supportive, and they still are!

There are tons of things that I don't understand about writing online- I manage just fine here and with the support of the Squidoo community there is no doubt in my mind that I will continue to learn.

The community here is one of the most important factors, this type of support, generosity and kindness is extremely rare to find on any online writing platform.

The First few lenses you make will probably be very time consuming, as you learn where things are within the workshop it will become easier. You should focus most of your efforts on your original content- the modules are easy and you will find info on those below.

You probably won't get rich here, most don't and you won't be making the money immediately. But if you work really hard and have the patience, you can earn some money!

Please note that there is NO guarantee that you will make money with Squidoo.

My average earnings for the last six months is right around $120-130 just from my Squidoo lenses - this does include sales through the Amazon modules as well as the income from lenses which I have set to be given to charity, but the majority of my earnings is the tier payments. I make a little bit through my blog as well because of the links to my blog from Squidoo (I still really haven't gotten the routine down yet for actually blogging regularly).

I also make about $50 per month through Zazzle (I use Squidoo to showcase my Zazzle designs) and a variable amount through various other affiliate programs I have joined whose links I use in some of my Squidoo lenses!

All in all that's not bad considering I can do it whenever I want, I don't have a boss, I am not using any gas to get here and... my favorite- I don't even have to get dressed up unless I want to! When I first started I spent hours and hours making lenses. Now, I spend about 5 hours per week making lenses and a whole lot of time exploring lenses and hanging out in the forum!

It takes some time (sometimes a long time), but eventually if you stick with it and learn from other lens masters you could make money here- in fact there are a few people who write here who make ALL of their income online (although they are other sites that they use as well which they link to with Squidoo).

The first few paydays are rough for newbies- you will see comments in the forums about getting paid and you are not even eligible yet as the pay is from before you even joined, when you finally are eligible, you may be disheartened to see a whopping $0.27 - I was certainly disappointed at my first 3 or 4 paydays. Many of the lens masters who make $100 or more per month have over 50 lenses, many have well over 100.

Again, your ability to earn money anywhere online is NOT guaranteed. Those who do make money here have worked hard to do so and many who do make money have been here for a long time.

The pay can be a bit confusing at first- ok, I still get confused! There are different types of pay such as Tier Payouts and Royalties on sales.

Tier payouts are the ad pool money as well as Chitika and infolinks- when advertisers pay for ads, it goes into a pool here. This helps to prevent click fraud as you do not get paid for the number of clicks, rather your pay is based upon your lens rank . Lensrank is calculated using a complex algorithm that we do not know all the factors of as lens masters (this prevents cheating). We do know that # of visits, likes, blessings, comments, clicks and sales are factors... see
a great lens about Lensrank Factors for more information about lensrank.

Anyhoo, the amount per tier varies by month.
Tier One Pays the Best, then Tier 2, then Tier 3
If your lens ranks between 1 and 2,000 you will get tier 1 pay for that lens.
If your lens ranks between 2,001 and 10,000 you will get tier 2 pay for that lens.
If your lens ranks between 10,001 and 85,000 you will get tier 3 pay for that lens.
There is no tier 4, but on occasion some lenses get a little bit of pay below tier 3 because some higher ranking lenses opt out of certain types of ads- this passes the $ down to the next highest ranking lenses.

You can make $ though Amazon and your own affiliate links as well- just be sure that any affiliate program you are using is on Squidoo's Whitelist and be mindful of the limits on outbound links to any one domain that has not been white listed for more.

If there is no guarantee, why do people come here?
Squidoo is an amazing free platform for online writing. It does not cost you a cent to use it- it is completely free. You will learn things here about the online world, writing and because there are many lens masters from around the world, you can even learn about other cultures! Squidoo is also a fun way to do all this- the most fun of anywhere to write!
The possibility does always exist that at some point one or more of your lenses will make you some money!

If you are in to the tech aspect.... Squidoo is highly ranked by Google- the likelihood of being found here is better than many other places (which is also much better for newbies) and there are plenty of experienced lens masters here who are willing to share their expertise!

Getting Started on Squidoo: Basic Lens Making Walkthrough for Beginners
If you already know about Keyword Research, then do it. If not, decide "am I just seeing if I can build a lens this time, or am I really trying to have my first lens be incredibly successful?" If you want to try one first just to see how you like it, you can learn about keywords another time- it really isn't as hard as it sounds! Please Note however that after you decide if this is easy enough for you, you really SHOULD try to learn about keywords to be more successful- they are basically words that people search for and using them correctly on your lens will get you more traffic.

If you are trying to have your first lens be incredibly successful then you should learn about keywords from a lens master who is really great at keywords, Squidoo and the internet in general!

After you know what you want your topic to be, click the "Create a Lens" button. You will be taken to a screen where you select a title and a url (the address). Try to use some important words relevant to whatever you are writing about in that Title. For example... if you are writing about dog toys, instead of saying something like "my dog is cute" you might want to say something like "good toys for dogs".

Select the appropriate category for your lens. Be sure that the rating is correct, do NOT let adult content be marked as "safe for all ages and eyeballs"

Where it asks you to add tags: add words that are relevant to your lens such as dog toys, canine, toys for dogs.

Don't worry if you can't think of tons of them, you can add more tags later as you think of them! Tags help Squidoo to show visitors lenses that they might be interested in the sidebar. Other lenses that use the same tags will display other lenses on the right as "related lenses". This helps your lens get found.

Enter the security word. Poof, the magic Squid will take you to your workshop!

Now you hopefully have your modules chosen. Be sure to change the default titles to help the search engines find you and also to show readers that you care about their experience on your lens.

You can move modules up and down by dragging them in the "Sort Modules" area in the right sidebar, just beneath the "Add modules" area. Be sure to click "Apply" when you have positioned everything how you want it!

All you really need to do at this point is add some unique content! I can't really help you with that at all or it would not be "Unique!"

You should make sure that you bio is never left empty and it should have an image- you can create a default one to be automatically shown on all lenses or create a custom bio for each lens- but never let it say "Hello world, this is my bio, I can edit it later".

Getting Started on Squidoo: Basic Lens Making Walkthrough for Beginners
It is nice to have your own personal images, but that may not always be possible. We know that using images on lenses is important to help the page be successful and often to demonstrate a point but it is important to remember that finding an image online DOES NOT automatically make it ok for you to copy and paste into a lens.

Copyright law is important and can be confusing. We must respect the rights of the owners of images. If you find an image that you want to use and are unsure if it is ok to use, an easy solution is to simply contact the owner and ask. Often they will happily agree provided that you give attribution (a small note saying who the picture is really owned by) and a link back to their page.

There are a few sites that do offer public domain images such as Pixa Bay and Creative Commons. If for some reason you are unsure as to whether the original author wants attribution, please assume that they do to be safe! A good rule to follow online is that if something is not yours and you want to use it, but you don't know, simply ask to be safe- you would be surprised at how many conflicts could be avoided by simply asking permission and how flattered people often are.

Attribution alone does not make it ok to use images that have certain types of copyrights though.... some are never to be used without permission.
If you are new to this, you really should read some VERY important articles on the matter before you start.

Do's and Don'ts with Coloring Pages
How to use Creative Commons
Copyright Infringements

Image by Hans (Public Domain) Via Pixa Bay

Getting Started on Squidoo: Basic Lens Making Walkthrough for Beginners
I am writing this in a Text with BIG Picture module. I Have a picture that I want to use so I have it saved on my computer. The top of the module is for text, the bottom is for your image- the image will show ABOVE of the text once saved. At the bottom left of the module you will see a square that says "no image yet". Just below that it says "choose file". Click the choose file button and find the picture.

Label your image and if you got it online, place the link to the site where you found the image- if you got it on Creative Commons they will tell you the exact address to use when you click "use on the web"- just copy and paste.

Click upload Photo so it all sticks- wait until the image shows in the box. Click save to exit the Text with Big Picture Module and see how it looks on your page!

Getting Started on Squidoo: Basic Lens Making Walkthrough for Beginners

Tags help your lens be found in Squidoo because lenses with the same tags will display links to your lenses on the right. Look at the tags I have on this lens for example. On the right side of the page you should see "Related Tags" (which is a bunch of buttons) If you click on a tag, it will show you other lenses with the same tags!

Above the related tags you will see "Explore Related Pages". This is where Squidoo has already found a few lenses sharing some of the tags I chose- my lens will be displayed in the same area on some of those lenses! This increases the chances of our lenses being found because you can go visit them, or one of their readers might come visit me!

Now, sometimes I enter my own related pages in the "Discovery Tool" tab of the Introduction module to help them be found. You don't have to do that if you don't want to or if you have no other lenses yet! Usually though, I just let it display lenses it chooses based on the tags.

You will notice that one of my tags is my name. It is ok, and very common to use your name as a tag. This helps link all of your lenses to each other to be found more easily but also if a reader clicks that tag, they will see my lenses!

It is NOT ok however to use someone else's name there without their permission.

If you don't know what tags to use, try exploring other lenses on the same topic or similar topics and use some of the same tags as those lenses! For example, if you were writing about dog toys, you could visit lenses about Dog toys, Dog Treats, Pet toys, Canine Care, Pet Care, Family Pets, etc. So even though you are specifically looking at dogs in your lens, you may share a few general tags with other loosely related lenses. DO NOT mis tag your lenses though- for example you would not use the tag "Cat Toys" in your lens although you may find a tag on a cat lens that you CAN use like "pet toys"

Getting Started on Squidoo: Basic Lens Making Walkthrough for Beginners

My first question to you would then be "when did you publish it?" If it was thirty seconds ago, chances are no one can see it. Sometimes lenses published today can't be seen until tomorrow morning. Sometimes it is instant. Either way though, clicking "publish" is not the end of the process.

Do you think you have done a wonderful job? Try visiting the forums and submitting your lens to either Spotlight or Critique me. In spotlight light other people will come check it out and if it is really good they might share it with other people, like it, comment or otherwise participate. Posting in Spotlight should NEVER be your sole source of traffic however- it is for showing off a lens you are proud of which can help you get traffic started.

Critique me is just that. If you post your lens there, expect a critique. They will be honest about problems within your lens- it can be hard to hear, but the majority of the lens masters who do critiques do it in a firm but kind way (a bit like Mary Poppins) and always with the intent of helping you to improve it. Berating and insulting each other is NOT permitted at the forum- so please don't worry about people being mean in the Critique section. Occasionally someone tries to break the rule, but the moderators deal with it quickly. Apply what you learned in the Critique Me section and let them know you have made those changes. You would be amazed at how helpful a critique can be!

You can try to share your lens with Facebook or Twitter. there are tons of places to submit links to. Read up on that in the forum for more info.

Please do not go around asking for likes. It will not help you at all. Become active and involved in the Squidoo community. Visit and participate on other lenses and some will visit you back. Not all will- it is not a reciprocal thing- when you go visit a new lens master it is because you are interested in seeing what they are writing about. But, people need to know you are here to become interested!

Please also keep in mind that not everyone is online everyday! If you "like" my lens and leave a relevant comment for example I may not come find you today- so please don't feel bad about people not immediately returning your visit. I have a child and 2 crazy dogs to deal with! It may take a while to get back to you, and sometimes sadly I lose track of who I need to visit if I get a sudden surge of traffic.

You will need to learn about getting back links (links to your lens from somewhere else) as well. This can be a little tricky as you need to be certain not to SPAM anyone. Do not leave links to your lens in people's comments for example.

If you have written a lens and you REALLY want to share the link with a lens master who has a lens on a similar topic, one way to go about that is through leaving 2 comments. Leave a polite comment demonstrating that you took the time to read their lens. In the second comment you can put something along the lines of "I wanted to share with you a new lens that I have written on the same topic" you could even offer to feature their lens as a valuable resource for your readers to visit. Using separate comments shows that you are mindful of the fact that they probably don't want links in their guestbook, so you have offered them your link with the option of keeping your genuine comment. If they like your lens then they MIGHT decide to feature it on theirs!

Getting Started on Squidoo: Basic Lens Making Walkthrough for Beginners

The Table of Contents! I use 2 table of contents in each of my lenses. My lenses used to be very long, so I put one at the very bottom of the page as well in case someone had scrolled to the bottom and did not feel like scrolling back up- this way they could click instead of just leaving and it makes it easier for them to find things.

The first table of contents on my lenses is actually found in the introduction module (every lens has an intro module that automatically is there once you start building). There are three tabs at the very top of the intro module.

Those Tabs are
*Intro Text
*Table of Contents
*Related lenses

Simply click the tab that says table of contents, turn it on and select your style. You can also select which modules will be shown in the table of contents!

For the table of contents at the bottom of the lens, I just use the table of contents module that can be found listed under "popular modules"

I like the table of contents because it makes it easier to get around- especially if the page is long or loading slowly and they generate clicks which helps improve your rank.

It is important to rename each module that you use. Try to use keywords that are related to your topic! This will help you get more visitors!
I left the default names in my modules for this lens so you could see what they are called without having to wade through the text if you need a quick reference!

Getting Started on Squidoo: Basic Lens Making Walkthrough for Beginners

The ability to change the themes so easily and with SO many choices is one of my favorite things about Squidoo. They have done all of the hard work, all you need to do to completely change the appearance of your lens is to change the theme! This lens (that you are reading right now) is done in the "BluePrint" Theme- notice the top looks like a blueprint?

Above you will see a screenshot of one of my lenses with the "Algae" theme.

There are lots of themes to choose from, but even cooler is that you CAN change it at any time! Just be sure to change the colors of any Blackbox modules (or color codes if you use them) to avoid having them clash.

To change your lenses theme, simply click the very top box in your workshop sidebar. It will say "Pick a Theme, Express Yourself" on it. There you will see a list of themes to choose from, you can preview them before selecting. Please be sure to click apply for the changes to occur- a highlighted message will appear just below the apply button telling you that the changes have been made.

Sorry, I don't know how to make it display right so you are going to have to write it down or save the picture or something...