MobyD's Angel Lens

The basics: bio filled out, bio picture, guestbook, no default module titles, proper spelling, grammar and punctuation

Original written content, not just a bunch of links, videos and photos - video showcases should have at least some content to introduce the videos.

Good organization - a decent intro (even if it's short) with a photo or graphic, real content before links to buy stuff, table of contents at or near the top and guestbooks at or near the bottom

Relevant graphics, properly credited where necessary

Use of HTML/CSS - this shows you've put some thought into making your lens appealing - just make sure it's working correctly.

A lack of focus - I've seen lenses with titles that say they're about certain topics, but after reading for a bit I think I can be forgiven if I've forgotten just what that topic was. Some lensmasters throw in everything but the kitchen sink.* Squidoo calls the web pages we make "lenses" (singular is "lens," not "lense") for a reason. Lenses are supposed to focus in on a topic. If your lens is about kitchen sinks, then you don't want a module of Netflix movies, an eBay module about swimming pool accessories, or Amazon modules about Harry Potter books and knitting accessories. You should probably avoid discussing bathroom sinks or kitchen appliances, although such topics could be subjects for related lenses. Links to related lenses are certainly appropriate.

Plagiarism - if you've taken content from someone else's website or blog, it will be reported if I see it. It's easier to spot than some people think (if they think about it at all). I have seen (and reported) lenses with multiple screens of information ripped straight from the Internet Movie Database and other sites with not a single word of originally written content.

Uncredited photos/graphics and photos/graphics that are clearly under copyright. You can use some material if there's a proper link to its source. You can't just grab any picture or graphic from any website without permission. A lot of people do just that, but that does not make it right or OK on Squidoo.

Numerous typos, poor spelling, poor grammar, writing like you're text messaging (unls ur riting abt txt msg & want 2 give an xampl or 2). If you read just about any book, magazine or newspaper, you're going to find proper spelling, good grammar, good sentence structure and proper use of paragraphs. Think about it: when you're reading anything published professionally, any misspellings or other instances of poor writing really stand out. I don't expect every lens to look like it was written by someone who writes for a living, but it's not a bad goal to aim for. At least make your lens look like you tried.

Lenses with very little content like the person making it was in a huge hurry and just couldn't wait for the money to start rolling in. Here's a clue: It won't.

"Hello, world! This is my bio. I can edit it later!" along with the default (and deliberately ugly - I think) orange squids in place of a bio picture or avatar. If you can't be bothered to do a little editing that tells us even a little bit about who you are, you will not be taken seriously except possibly as a spammer.

Spam - Squidoo hates spam and so do I. Spam and hype usually go hand in hand. (The kind you eat* is a whole 'nuther thing, of course, and then there's that Monty Python sketch.)

Hype - use of ALL CAPS for entire sentences or paragraphs, excessive use of exclamation points either by using multiple exclamation points at the ends of sentences or using them in place of periods. Hype is also making extravagant claims not backed by evidence. If you've ever read one of those interminable sales letters hawking diet pills or running your car on water or an ebook about overnight riches, you know what I mean.

Lenses about Weight Loss for Idiots, Strip That Fat, Forex, Getting Your Ex Back, Running Your Car on Water, Ringtones - really, folks, these topics have been vastly overdone on Squidoo and even more so on the Internet in general. There is so much competition in these areas you'd best use your time making lenses about something you really care about. You're not going to make much, if any, money from yet another hackneyed lens about these things. I can't think of a single reason to bless a lens on one of these topics, but there are probably plenty of reasons to ding them.

*Yes, Amazon sells everything, including the kitchen sink and Spam. But they don't sell it all on the same page. Did you know if you buy Spam from Amazon.com you can get it gift-wrapped?

If you've never read the Terms of Service, you should. They will tell you a lot about stuff you should avoid doing on Squidoo. The SquidDon't and SquidSpam lenses by Megan Casey are supplements to the Terms of Service and should be read as well.

Those three pages will show you a lot about what to avoid on Squidoo so you don't become known as a spammer or a creator of junky lenses.

If you just want to tell your story, go ahead and tell it. Squidoo likes it when people tell about their lives, where they live and what they like to do. It might not take a whole lot of research to do that, although you do want to make sure you've got your facts straight.

If you're interested in using Squidoo to make some money — either a little or a lot — you'll probably want to do some research even before you start your lens about a money-making topic.

Start with searching on Squidoo to see if a lot of other people have already made lenses on the same topic. If there's a lot, you're going to have to make a very good lens to stand out. If a topic already has hundreds of lenses, ask yourself if we really need yet another one.

Take a look at some of the higher-ranking lenses about your money-making topic. Can you do better? When it comes to money-making lenses, it's often not all that difficult to make a better lens since so many people rely on cutting and pasting and just regurgitating ideas from spammy sales letters.

If you've spent a lot of time on your lens making sure the facts are right, the spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc. (all that boring stuff from English classes) are up to snuff and you've got some interesting graphics, maybe some nice looking text boxes, backgrounds, borders, drop caps, and other bells and whistles, you may have a lens that might impress a Squid Angel. Let us know in the Angel Forum on SquidU (I'm just giving the basic SquidU link here because if you've never visited the forums, you need to read the rules and see that there's a number of forums to choose from).

If you've just published your first lens and you've only been on Squidoo for a day or so, your lens might not be ready for a blessing. You might want to go to SquidU and post about it in the Critique Me forum (and be sure to include a link to the lens in your post). Be aware that Angels can bless a lens, which gives it a boost in lensrank for a while, but we can also ding them, which has the opposite effect.

Your brand new lens might be blessworthy if you've just started on Squidoo, but that's pretty rare. Usually a lens could stand some refining and application of lessons learned from looking at some of the best lenses and following a lot of advice from other lensmasters on the SquidU forums or from the many Squid Tips lenses people have made.

I've seen many requests for blessings for lenses that simply weren't ready to be published, let alone blessed. I've seen people ask for blessings for lenses that included plagiarized material and/or were chock full of basic errors in English language usage where I was pretty sure English was the requester's native language. I have my own word for such lenses: Dingbait.

When you post your blessing request, don't feel you have to lay on the flattery with a trowel. Angels are people who may not be a whole lot different from other people, although we may write better than some and the folks at Squidoo HQ seem to feel we have good judgment. So just ask politely.

If you really do feel you have to lay on the flattery with a trowel, then at least go so far over the top we can all get a good laugh of the kind where everyone knows we're laughing with you and not at you.

(I wasn't kidding when I said Amazon sells everything!)