Squidoo Show and Tell Modules - How To Guide for Presenting Info and Links
Ranked #3,010 in How-To, #32,164 overall
I looked through the modules (there's so many, it's hard to master them all) and brought out my favorites to help make your cool lenses even cooler.
Table of Contents
Hey, look! Contents!
- Starting Off
- Get the BIG Picture
- Using the Text List
- Fark.com RSS Feed
- Voila! A Squidoo Lens in an RSS Feed Module
- Using Featured Lenses to Spice Up Link Lists
- Ready to Place Another Cool Link? - Big Arrow Time! Place any link in the URL box.
- Use Featured Lensmasters to Promote Squidoodlers
- Got one defining picture for the site? Use the Polaroid Module.
- Blackboxes
- Section Heading
- More about Blackboxes
- Like the Blackbox, you can put in a little note that looks like a Post-It Note
- The Most Important Thing
- Got Any Other Cool Link and Content Show and Tell Modules?
Starting Off
I'm starting off with a text moduleb-b-b-but!
I know, I'll get to the cool stuff in a minute, but first I wanted to go over how to find modules in the first place, and impart some tips.
If you're already comfortable with this stuff, skip ahead a bit.
Otherwise, to add any module to your lens, you will have to click the Add Module button at the top.
When you create a new lens, you'll start with a few modules already, but you may not want those.
To delete modules, I just go to Add Modules. Why? You can delete them faster from the list there, and then add new ones you want, all in one place. Saved you some time there.
There are tabs in the Add Module window to add what you want, and there is also an A-Z tab and a module search. Familiarize yourself with what modules there are, because I'm just showing the tip of the iceberg.
Note: When looking at modules A to Z, some start with The, such as The Most Important Thing. This means it will be under T for The and not M for Most. Get used to what is where.
Once you've added the modules you want, click the preview lens layout button at the bottom to see the module order from top to bottom. Move them around to your liking. There is no right or wrong order, just what you want, but you should look for a good flow. Click the save button to go back to the edit page. Don't worry, you can add/delete/reorder again later.
Note: I added a little picture to the text module. You can do this by browsing for an image on My Computer, selecting it and clicking save.
ADD ALL TEXT FIRST, then save. THEN come back and add the picture. If you have not saved your text, when you save a picture it will not save the text. It's a two step process, folks.
(I believe this is no longer the case with the new workshop - Thanks, Squidoo!)
If you know HTML well, you can do a lot more to a simple Text/Write Module. Here's a link to a cool lens that shows you how to do more with your text module.
In the meantime, what else can we do with content, links and pictures?
We can take advantage of the other text modules: Text with BIG Picture and Text List.
Get the BIG Picture

The Text with BIG Picture module is just like the Text Module, except that you can feature a bigger a picture with your text instead of a smaller picture. I know I'm blowing your mind, but consider the impact of a bigger pic.
The picture will take center stage in the module, letting your text support the picture, rather than the other way around.
Picture courtesy of Image Quest Marine
Using the Text List
Reasons I love Squidoo
You can choose to number the points, use bullet points or simply list elements with no numbers or bullets.
Like with many modules with multiple elements, you can add additional elements and drag and reorder elements if you don't like the way you ordered them to start with. So much better than starting over.
- Squidoo has lots of cool modules
- Squidoo is easy to use
- Squidoo is respected on the Internet
- Squidoo listens to its users
- Squidoo allows non-technical people to make websites fast
Fark.com RSS Feed
Make Your Own RSS Feed!
Instead of linking to a site, try creating an RSS feed from it.
Simply enter the url you want to pull content from, enter the number of headlines, whether you want an excerpt from the site (recommended) and how often to update. (Daily is probably a good idea).
I suggest putting the name of the website you are feeding from into the module title, as I have done here.
Note: You can't create an RSS feed from lenses, BUT you can use each lens' built in RSS feed to list it. Sound confusing? Check the next RSS feed module to see what I mean.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byVoila! A Squidoo Lens in an RSS Feed Module
For any one of your lenses, view it, and on the right side you will see the RSS feed icon.
Click it and you will go to the RSS feed for that lens.
Copy the URL at the top, go back to the RSS feed module you wanted to insert the lens into and paste it into the URL.
Set your other options like before and save.
Unfortunately, this doesn't do much more than give you a fancy link, but it CAN be done.
The RSS feed module is really better for non-Squidoo sites.
One last thing...
Because your Squidoo Lens has its own RSS feed, which you now know how to access, you can submit your lens to any site where you would submit blogs or RSS feeds. Brilliant!
Fetching RSS feed... please stand by"I love the Talk Bubble! I can use it instead of a text module for quotes, highlights, anything!"
Using Featured Lenses to Spice Up Link Lists
In this case more helpful lenses for linking and traffic
You could link to other lenses using the link list, or you could add some visual *pow* by "featuring" them. They might be lenses with similar topics, your friends lenses, or more of your own lenses .You can link up to 5 lenses this way.
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Article Traffic - Using Content to Improve Website Rank
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You want your website to be hot. REALLY hot! You want people knocking down the doors to get in, pushing the red line on blowing up the servers. You want web traffic to roll into your website at 500mph, get-out-of-the-way, up-on-the-sidewalk, 8-lanes-...
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How To Submit Articles for Backlinks and Traffic
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You've created your website, you've become an authority on whatever you are selling, promoting, blogging or simply enjoying. You've optimized your site, written plenty of great content...now what? Every article you write, every how-to guide, every s...
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Squidoo Lens Link and Article Content Directory - Article Troll
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Ok, maybe you won't dominate the Internet, but you CAN leverage ArticleTroll.com's unique system to drive traffic to your website by submitting your Squidoo lenses, bios, lensographies and groups. Promote your own lenses or someone elses, and get a...
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My Favorite Squidoo Backlink Sites - Status and Info
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Creating your lens is only the first step. Once you've created a quality lens, you want to make sure people find it and that is done through good use of tags, keywords and quality content. Good writing only goes so far, and once your lens is as tigh...
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Linking Squidoo Lenses
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The first hurdle for new Squidoodlers is to create a quality lens that generates steady traffic, but once you've successfully created one lens, you want to make more, promote them, generate traffic and build even more lenses to educate, entertain, ma...
Here's my favorite link:
Ready to Place Another Cool Link? - Big Arrow Time! Place any link in the URL box.
Use Featured Lensmasters to Promote Squidoodlers
You may want to promote a Squidoodler who is a great inspiration, who is a Giant or Angel or one who just has great lenses.You can also feature yourself, encouraging others to check out the rest of your lenses. (Yes, go see the rest of my lenses).

Got one defining picture for the site? Use the Polaroid Module.
Blackboxes
Not just for maintaining your flight records anymore, the black box is like the text module but big, beefy and well, black (with white text over the top).
You can also change the color to blue, green, gray, orange or red if black doesn't convey what you want.
I like to use it as a parting shot with a link. It really pops that way.
Squidoo Rocks!
Section Heading
More about Blackboxes
Like the Blackbox, you can put in a little note that looks like a Post-It Note
This is good for a quick statement or a reminder and maybe a link like...
Squidoo Rocks!
The Most Important Thing
If there's one thing you REALLY want to emphasize, put it here.
Like the Blackbox, this makes for a great parting shot, too.
Big orange box, big text and a big link if you want to. I like doing it that way, but you can do anything you want.
Don't Forget - Squidoo Rocks!
Got Any Other Cool Link and Content Show and Tell Modules?
If you have questions, or more tips, or just want to say hi, please do!
If you enjoyed this lens, please rate it at the top, favorite it on the side and gimme 5 down-low!
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- storm_chaser storm_chaser Nov 12, 2009 @ 3:23 pm
- Very helpful, thanks for sharing!
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- ClearlyChosen ClearlyChosen Sep 22, 2009 @ 1:52 pm
- This is very useful - esp for a newbie like me. You are so right. So many modules it is hard to work them all out, all at once. So this is a great leap forward. Thanks!
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- Myster Myster Sep 7, 2009 @ 4:30 pm
- Neat lens very helpful!
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- Healthy_living_is4me Healthy_living_is4me Jun 9, 2009 @ 3:24 pm
- This is Great!! Thanks
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- GingerAlly GingerAlly May 25, 2009 @ 4:40 am
- I found your great lens at SquidU, 5 stars, thanks for the tips. I really do like using the black box too.
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- grace_antoinette grace_antoinette May 8, 2009 @ 5:52 am
- Thanks for your info! It's great and is very helpful!
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- melmail44 melmail44 Mar 10, 2009 @ 9:18 pm
- Thanks for the info! It was very helpful...I appreciate this lens!
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- dotcomboy dotcomboy Feb 22, 2009 @ 11:34 pm
- Very helpful! Thanks!
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- julcal julcal Feb 17, 2009 @ 7:01 pm
- Great info thanks! 5*
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- nichol4511 nichol4511 Feb 7, 2009 @ 6:15 pm
- Thanks new here and was wondering how you got those poloroid pix and the arrows for fav site 5*****
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- karatepooh karatepooh Dec 31, 2008 @ 11:23 pm
- Excellent! Just what I was looking for to get started on my 2nd lense.
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- LarryBass LarryBass Oct 5, 2008 @ 3:32 pm
- Well done JHFSEO on this fine Lens. Lots of the Squidoo mystery has been lifted for me, because of it. :-)
Thanx for sharing your skills with us!
LarryB
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- yeimy yeimy Sep 5, 2008 @ 2:47 pm
- i want to put ads from my web pages how to do it?
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- tdove tdove Aug 26, 2008 @ 6:59 pm
- Thanks for joining G Rated Lense Factory!
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- Aug 25, 2008 @ 2:27 am
- Thanks for the tips, i just joined and created my first lens and this stuff is fairly easy to help get my lens going..
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- GreenRevolution GreenRevolution Jul 17, 2008 @ 4:28 pm
- Nice lens! Thanks for all the tips and tricks. Great job!
5 ***** & favorited!
~Bruce~
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