Expanding your Lens Publishing Power
Hello Lensmasters!
The question is often asked on the forum, “How long is too long for a lens?” The answer varies, depending on the topic of the lens, the target audience, the types of modules, etc. However, if you are thinking about breaking your lens into smaller parts, or creating new ones to showcase new information, additional lenses can boost your linking power and give you new opportunities to get found online.
This week, Giant Squid Jaguar Julie teaches us how to expand your lens repertoire by creating new lenses from old ones.
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Making New Lenses Out of Old Lenses
As Squidoo fanatics, many of us have loooooong lenses that we developed on our favorite topics. Is this the best way to go? There’s nothing wrong with a few long lenses, but many smaller lenses to compliment them can be very powerful as well.
When your readers notice that you have several lenses on one topic, they’ll be more interested in seeing what you have to say. “The more you have to say about one topic, the more people will think you know about it.” says Kimberly Dawn Wells. And, not only that, but “more lenses equals more links equals more opportunity to be found.”
You can take what Kimberly says “to the bank” as your Squidoo royalties will increase with more focused lenses too! How does that work? Read on to find out.
Making multiple lenses from an EXISTING longer lens
What is a ‘long’ lens anyways? While you can see top-rated lenses that have 30-40 and even more modules, that can be a bit too many modules for a focused lens. It’s a matter of whether or not each and every module within that lens contributes to the lens primary topic. If some of the modules appear to deviate from the primary topic, than these modules would be great for a second or third more focused lens! Once you have identified your long lens that you want to split, let’s get started!
- TIP: Print a copy of the long lens first!
- Mark up the printed copy, identifying which modules will be copied to the new lens(es).
- Use the printed copy as your guide to keep track of your progress.
At the moment, there is not a utility that can copy modules from an existing lens to a new one. You will need to manually copy and paste, but this is a pretty easy task if you have a great long lens to work with.
- Open your long lens in edit mode so that you will have access to any special code in your modules that you want to copy to the new lens.
- Open a new browser tab or window and create the new lens.
- Add and rearrange the modules in your new lens that you want to copy from the long lens.
- Copy and paste from the long lens to the new lens.
- Add any necessary new copy to your new lens and publish!
- Delete the modules you no longer need on your long lens, rearrange modules if necessary, and publish.
- TIP: Be sure that you have added the featured lens module to both lenses so that you can reference the other lens!
- Don’t forget to lensroll to AND from the new lens for more traffic!
Making multiple NEW lenses
For those of you who have access to the Create a Lens Template**, this is a super easy way to create multiple lenses which focus on different aspects of a single topic.
- Select and rearrange specific modules
- Write your customized biography and upload your portrait
- Add your tags
- Set up your charity and cash options
Once you have finished setting up your custom template, you publish it. Your template is then available for using with the lenses that you want to have the similar modules.
** - only Giant Squids currently have access to the template. Learn more here!
Some examples of shorter, more focused lenses
A popular type of lens is the lensography, a compilation of a lensmaster’s lenses. However, a lensography can get to be the epitome of a long lens especially for Giant Squids who are quite prolific! Jaguar Julie Lensography was my first lensography and it has a lot of modules.
While it does meet the criteria of a focused lens, it also benefited by being split into more focused lenses or lensograpies. So, I opted to create several lensographies that were more focused in topic.
- Jaguar Julie Fashion Lensography — variety of trendy fashion and accessories lenses.
- Jaguar Julie HMB Lensography — Hey Monkeybrain lenses.
- Jaguar Julie Hungarian Lensography — variety of slightly ethnic, definitely EasternEuropean, and very HUNGARIAN lenses.
- Jaguar Julie Jewels Lensography — varietyof artsy jewelry lenses.
- Jaguar Julie Video Showcase Lensography– video showcase lenses.
Examples of longer lenses
To know me is to know that one of my passionate core topics is Eastern Europe. My “made in” lenses have been some of the most passionate lenses that I have lovingly created. These are the lenses that have some of the most modules of any of my lenses. Made in Bulgaria — Francesco Biasia, Karl Lagerfeld, Lacoste and Perry Ellis is the shortest of the long lenses in that I split out a portion of this lens to create a second, more focused lens, Made in Bulgaria — Lalo Orna.
In summary
More good lenses = more good content = more good exposure = more good readers.
Learn more about how Jaguar Julie is expanding her publishing power through highly focused lenses and categorized lensographies.
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How do top lensmasters keep up with a constant flow of new lenses?
1. Make a list of specific topics you want to cover.
2. Schedule days for new lenses.
3. Create a system - claim and fill in basics on day one, add new content on day two, fill in links and moneymakers on day three, publish and promote on day four, lather, rinse, repeat.
Several lensmasters have recently announced their goals and successes for making money and boosting traffic with Squidoo. Ready to join the ranks? There’s never been a better time to get started!
Enjoy and prosper,
~Kimberly
Your Community Organizer on Squidoo
