Squid-School for Squidoo Newbies

Section I: Getting Started 

Step 1: Free Guide to Squidoo: Calamari!

Are you ready? Well, let's get started...

Click the lens below called "Free Guide to Squidoo: Calamari!". Once in the lens, you will find links to two eBooks as mentioned below:

eBook #1: "CALAMARI: The Official Squidoo How-To" by Megan Casey and Seth Godin
This is a short manual that will show you, step by step, how to start using Squidoo and will point you to the best resources to get really good at it.

eBook #2: "The Joy of Squidoo" by Seth Godin and Megan Casey
The idea for this cookbook is very simple. Once you see how creatively and successfully other people use Squidoo, you'll be more likely to use it well yourself. You will be inspired by the tasty possibilities.

The free guidebook to Squidoo: Calamari!

But, on the other hand, perhaps you'd like a complete guidebook, the sort of guidebook published by Wiley, the sort that sold a million (a million!) copies just on eBay. Well, we didn't want to wait for a 'real' book, so we wrote a free one. You can...

Step 2: Zero Tolerance for Spam

Squidoo's aim is to provide good quality and unique content to people who are looking for it. This means creating an environment of zero tolerance for spam, so it's vital you understand this important aspect. Please review this lens in detail, in order for you to be a good Squidoo citizen and stay in the community.

SquidSpam: Zero Tolerance

... that everyone deserves a voice online, and a free service for sharing and spreading recommendations, ideas, products and passions. Not just the gatekeepers. Not just paid editors. Not just A-listers and  marketers. Everyone. We also believe...

Step 3: SquiDOO's & SquiDON'Ts

When you first join Squidoo, you may be overwhelmed with information, which you can find all over the Squidoo platform. This short and sweet lens "SquiDOO's and SquiDON'Ts" summarises the DO's and DON'Ts when Squidooing. You will find it very useful.

SquiDOO's and SquiDON'Ts

When I first signed up with Squidoo I was more than a little overwhelmed by the vast amount of information that was in front of me. So this lens is meant to be SIMPLE Squidoo is an amazing online community and, as such, there is a lot to learn. What...

Section II: The Art of SEO 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via natural (organic or algorithmic) search results.

This is an important aspect, but I would suggest that for now, don't put too much of emphasis on it. For your first couple of lenses, focus more on "naturally" building your lens with unique, relevant and quality content.

For now, you can just take a peek at this Featured lens to get a basic understanding of SEO.

Squidoo SEO: Help Search Engines Send Traffic to You

Welcome to Part III of "Greekgeek Squidoo Tips: How to Get Your Lens Found!" This final part focuses on search engine optimization. If you surfed here from the web, Part I was Ten Steps to Build an Appealing Lens (or Webpage) while Part II...

Section III: Lens Creation 

Step 1: Understanding the Visual Dashboard

This lens "Visual Dashboard Tour" will give you a quick tour of what you can expect in terms of lens management. Take the time to understand this basic step so you can effectively manage your lenses.

A Visual Dashboard Tour

Ok, we admit. There IS a lot to see and do at Squidoo, but managing your account shouldn't be tough. So we've made it easy with a tabbed dashboard and this cool visual tour. Now you can see a magnified view of the vital parts of your dashboard, with...

Step 2: Types of Squidoo Lenses

Squidoo understands the importance of being creative, so they've given us an array of lens types. It allows you to build lenses with a different "look & feel".

This Featured lens gives you a good synopsis on the various types of lenses that you can create on the Squidoo platform.

Types of Squidoo Lenses

If you are new to Squidoo, or have only been creating the "normal" lenses, you might not know yet that Squidoo actually has several breeds of them. These usually have a different layout and look and choosing the right type should help you get more vi...

Step 3: Ideas for Awesome Lenses

Are you lost in terms of what lens you should create? Well, Megan Casey (Squidoo's Editor-in-Chief) comes to your rescue - she gives you plenty of awesome ideas - check 'em out in the lens below!

49 Ideas For Awesome Lenses

...or 10 or 100! It's pretty easy, non-techy, and of course, free. Right? Right. Sure, to make your lens a real knockout it takes some time, but chances are you've already learned the basics and are looking to do more. Congrats. That's the best pl...

Step 4: How to Create a Quality Lens

Ok so you're all excited about creating lenses on Squidoo, but what does it take to create a "Quality" lens. Remember "Unique" and "Quality"? If you truly want to achieve the Giant Squid status and attract quality traffic, then you must read this lens.

How To Create A Quality Lens

The word "quality" has come up a lot lately on Squidoo, particularly when it comes to the Giant Squid Program. In order to be accepted you need 50 quality lenses, but what constitutes a "quality" lens? Here's what I think defines quality and how you...

Step 5: Three Ways to Create Lenses

Didn't I tell you that Squidoo loves creativity? Well, that's one of the reasons Squidoo provides 3 types of builders, which gives you 3 ways to create regular lenses: The Old Lensbuilder, The Magic Buider and The Quick Builder - learn more about it in this lens below:

Three Ways to Create Lenses

Now there are three options for creating "regular" Squidoo lenses, depending on your level of expertise and preferences. Each of them uses different tips to help you create awesome lenses, and you can always go back and make changes. Keep reading to...

Step 6: Understanding Squidoo Modules

The Module Mentor - you wouldn't want to miss this lens! Modules are basically sections of lenses. A Giant Squid (Ener-G) walks you through how to use these numerous modules available at your disposal.

The Module Mentor

What makes Squidoo different than other help-you-build-it websites? One feature is modules. Modules are sections of a lens that you add depending on what kind of content you want to add. Want to create a list of links? Add a link module. Want to wr...

Step 7: The "Introduction" Module

Having a great introduction is SO critical. This lens specifically focuses on the "Introduction" Module in Squidoo - this is an important one!

The Introduction Module in Squidoo

The introduction module in squidoo has an inbuilt table of content. Do use it! And do upload a picture as an intro image - not having one will stop people from featuring your lens on theirs. And no - just using HTML to put a picture in there does NO...

Step 8: Adding Images to Lenses

You've heard the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" - well, it sure is and Squidoo allows you to place images on a few of their modules. This lens is filled with valuable resources on how to get free images and use them in your lenses to make them presentable.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: ensure that you do not use copyright images in your lenses, unless of course you have the "rights" to do so.

Free Images and How to Use Them

This is a listing free image resources to use on your lens or website. Also, it includes several detailed How-To sections on how to add the necessary HTML to control and enhance the images in your pages (or lenses). Examples included. If you do fi...

Step 9: The "YouTube" Module

This lens "YouTube Module" shows you how to utilize the power of YouTube by using videos relevant to your lens topic and attract traffic by doing so. Most people love watching videos, so this is an important module to master and incorporate in your lenses.

The YouTube Module

YouTube; the giant of online videos. YouTube has seen many videos in it's time online and here is the lens that will show you how to put those videos on your lens. You can utilise the power of YouTube by using videos relevant to your topic, using v...

Step 10: Editing Lenses

This is a very short lens, but a useful one: many newbies ask the question - "How do I edit my lens?" - you can find out how, by clicking the lens below:

How do I edit my lens?

If you're here, chances are you're new to Squidoo. Welcome! For some quick tips on how to get back to your lens edit screen, called the workshop, follow the easy steps below.

Step 11: Checking the "Health" of Your Lens

The "Lens Health Check Tool" is a really good feature to check the "health" of you lens. Once you create your lens, you can use this "Health" feature to take the pulse of your lens.

Lens Health Check Tool

Originally developed for SQUIDUtils.com, the Health Check Tool can quickly identify common issues with your lens. The advice that it gives can help improve the ranking of your lens in the search engines. This lens will tell you more about what it do...

Section IV: Sprucing It Up With HTML 

Step 1: HTML Basics

HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language) is a great way to make your lenses look better - you must learn how to use it! You may want to master just the "Basics" for now and leave the Advanced HTML for later, but this is a great tool in your lens creation arsenal.

HTML Tips for Color

Color can be applied via HTML tags to fonts, borders and backgrounds. squidoo.com/basichtml and squidoo.com/advancedhtml show how to implement these colors. This lens however isn't going to show how the code is applied, but is a repository for the...

Basic HTML for Squidoo

Before you start reading all this, you may want to open Advanced HTML in a new tab, because you'll be wanting to check it out as soon as you've finished this! You can use basic HTML in a few of the lens modules. Mostly used to create hyperlinks (the...

Step 2: Advanced HTML

Using these advanced HTML features will give a sofisticated look to your lens by creating fancy borders, fonts, etc. Once you master the "Basics" come back here and check these Advanced HTML lenses below:

Advanced HTML for Squidoo

The techniques shown here aren't much more advanced then what's in the Basic HTML tutorial. The code being used isn't any more special. But the results and presentation can appear to be more sophisticated. Hence it being the Advanced HTML tutorial. F...

Add Borders to Your Lens Photos on Squidoo

Would you like to jazz up the photos on your lenses? You can use borders on your images to give them much more impact and to help them "pop." You just need to use a little bit of simple HTML magic. I have included easy instructions for a variety of...

HTML for Squidoo Themes

Welcome! You are writers, marketers, researchers and artists. Words are your medium and the web is your canvas. There's a lot to learn about building quality lenses that attract visitors, whether it be to share information or sell a product. Squidoo...

Borders and More

When it comes to HTML and CSS, sometimes we want to have borders around our text to spice up your pages. There are a variety of different types of borders. You have regular ones and then rounded ones. Please remember not everything works in all brows...

HTML Borders Backgrounds

Have you seen sharp looking lenses formatted with HTML borders and backgrounds and wished you could do the same? There are already plenty of EXCELLENT how-to-HTML lenses available, so I thought I'd do something a little different. There are two main...

Section V: Watch Out - Common Newbie Squidoo Mistakes! 

There are many pitfalls in Squidoo lens creation, which you definitely want to avoid. If you truly want to make exceptional lenses, this is your secret tool...sssshhh!

Common Newbie Squidoo Mistakes

Making a Squidoo lens is easy. Making a good Squidoo lens, well, that's another story. A lot of Squidoo newbies ask veterans to critique their lenses, and most of these lenses are not nearly as good as they could be. (There are exceptions!) Hopefull...

Section VI: Lens Promotion 

Ok, you've built a lens or two, so how do you attract interested people? Well, learn from none other than Squidoo's Editor-in-Chief (Megan Casey) and Giant Squids (GreekGeek and JeffWend) in these next featured lenses.

GreekGeek's Squidoo Tips: How to Get Your Lens Found

So, you want to learn how to build successful Squidoo lenses (or any sort of webpage), attract web traffic, and get your Squidoo lens found by Google! This three-part tutorial covers: Part I: Ten Steps to Build an Appealing (and Effective) Lens Part...

Lens Promotion and Traffic Generating Strategies

One of the most often asked questions in the Squidu Forums is, "How do I get traffic to my lens?" The most obvious way to generate traffic to your lens is to make sure that it is search engine friendly. But that is a topic that deserves it...

6 ways to improve your lens, right now!

You've already done the hard part. You've had a big idea, something you want to talk about or share on your lens, and you got started. Way to go. So, this lens is about what comes next. It's a quick, 30 second overview of just a handful of easy thin...

A Very Useful Resource 

Learn How To Back-up Your Lenses

How to backup your lens

Recently, I came across a few posting on SquidU about people accidentally deleting their lens or due to some bug. To avoid future headache, once you have created your lens and are happy with the content, I recommend you take a few extra minutes to ba...