Pretty Lenses by Pretty Bullet

These points were prepared for those who are trying to become Giant Squids, but these are excellent suggestions for what makes a great lens:

• Make lenses about things that interest you
• Write good introductions
• Have intro photos
• Upload a photo of yourself (or your avatar) while you're at it
• Try out a bunch of different modules
• Replace the default module titles, like "New Guestbook."
• UUU - Unique, useful, updated content rocks!
• Have at least 50 great lenses (obviously). If you do, then sell your account or delete your lenses, your Gianthood also goes away
• Don't copy. Don't cut and paste. Don't plagiarize
• Keep an eye out for style. Junky lenses send readers running
• Stop by the SquidU forum and get feedback. Ask politely
• Stay relevant on your lens
• G-rated or R-rat

Definitely things not to do:

• Spam
• Spamming
• Junky lenses
• Copied lenses
• Or worse: Lazy lenses
• Or even worse: mean-intentioned lenses
• Undeveloped "starter" lenses with no personalized content
• Too many empty lenses (even if you have some good ones mixed in)
• Too few complete lenses
• Lenses that sell selfishly (lenses that yell at the reader, or flash BUY ME BUY ME in all caps)
• Being mean spirited on the SquidU forums. Regardless of how good your content might be
• All X-rated lenses
• Typo-riddled lenses
• Empty or expired modules
• Lots of modules with generic default titles like "New Amazon Plexo."
• Tricking your readers into clicking on links they weren't expecting
• Lenses on SquidDon't topics, like pharmaceuticals and ringtones and gambling and weight loss pills and Yuwie and various affiliate marketing programs
• Empty introduction modules
• No lensmaster photos

Thank you Megan Casey.

~ OK, so let's talk pretty ~

1. Pay attention to the spacing in the introduction module

Depending on the size of the image you uploaded, you may have to write more text or upload a smaller image.

Before the changes to the new workshop, when we uploaded an image to this module, it was automatically resized by Squidoo. I actually like this feature.

Now that the images uploaded can be any size, lensmasters are not paying attention to the space left and I find there is too much white space in the introduction module on many lenses.

1. First and foremost, be sure you replace the default title, and at the very least, remove the word "New".



2. Be descriptive, but do try and use a short module title, the page will look cleaner if titles are on one line instead of running on to two.

1. Don't use excessive capitalization, not only is it considered "yelling" online, it is very difficult to read.



2. Don't over use exclamation marks, some folks find that irritating.



3. Don't overdo styling (HTML, CSS or both)



4. Make good use of paragraphs, when there is one huge long blob of text, people tend to skip over it and may miss something good you have to say.



5. Use paragraphs correctly, sometimes folks forget that extra "enter key" or paragraph tag and the next paragraph is immediately below without the extra "line space".



6. Do experiment and try different modules, there are so many to choose from.

1. Size your picture to fit the module it is in. Where I see a problem with this most is with images used in a text module. With the picture on the right, there is only one or two lines of text. What you end up with between each module is too much space and/or the spacing between modules is inconsistent. Overall, there is too much white space in-between modules and on the lens page.



2. Don't use a small image when using the Polaroid module, it stretches the picture out too much and makes it blurry.



3. Try not and use too many animated images, I would suggest no more than one per lens, they can be very distracting. I am starting to see animated images being used here more and more now.



4. Definitely make good use of images in a lens, face it, having a lens with just words is really boring.

1. Don't over use special modules (i.e. The Most Important Thing, BlackBox, StickyNote, etc), most times it totally takes away from your lens and makes the lens look cluttered and confusing.



2. Do add different types of modules to a lens, it creates a nice overall flow. A lens with just text and a guestbook is just too plain.



3. Do use a reasonable mixture of modules, especially if you have a lengthy lens, they can break up and add to a lens quite nicely.



4. Do make use of interactive modules, most visitors really enjoy them.

1. Don't use too many different colors on a lens; it's distracting and blinding.



2. Do try and coordinate the colors you do use, it really shows extra effort.

This is difficult to give exact guidelines as to what is too long for a lens, after all it is a personal choice.

I have seen some really awesome lengthy lenses, but I must admit, I tend to get "lost" on them, so I do prefer to see it broken down into several smaller lenses, if possible.

With that said, you also do not want your lenses too short either, otherwise it may look like you just "threw together" a really quick and content lacking lens.

You have to find that happy medium. See what works on the lens itself, based on content, and do what you are comfortable with.

In time and with practice, you will easily learn to tell if your lens is too long.

And don't forget, the longer the lens, the longer it will take to load for those on dial up! Don't lose those readers!

Now that you have created that fantastic lens of yours, take the time to give it a good once over and polish it up "Pretty Bullet" style.

1. Please be sure to review your lens for spelling or typographical errors (typing boo-boo's), it shows you take pride in your work.



2. Go back and check your module titles, be sure you didn't leave the default title, i.e. New Table of Contents, New Text/Write Module, etc.

~ Don't Overdo Pretty ~