SquidU

Good morning lensmasters!

Four of your Squid Angels have gotten together to help you create better lenses, and they’re doing it Twitter-style. This week we’re proud to bring you a short Q&A - in 140 characters or less.

What one no-no about lenses bugs you most?

@jimmie No original content — a lens that’s just a hodgepodge of automatically loaded lenses.

@chefkeem fake personal content, i.e. “how I lost weight” = Clickbank copy

@bigjim Unchanged module titles. They help the flow of the lens and provide useful info if someone is just skimming it at first.

@XP Lenses with default module titles. (Especially the money-makers.) No one wants to see a thrown-together lens.

What is one thing that makes you smile when you see it on a lens?

@XP Featured Lens module. It’s okay to highlight other users’ lenses that are relevant. Builds sense of community.

@jimmie Pictures of people’s children.

@bigjim A welcoming profile picture.

@chefkeem portrait photo of lensmaster in the bio

A lensmaster who really “gets it” does ______?

@chefkeem write from the heart.

@XP Gets right to the point in the top 2-3 modules. Don’t make me look for your topic. Make it clear.

@bigjim …a lot of sharing. It’s all about relevant and clear information.

@jimmie Gets personal — shares his own stories and images.

Yes or no: can a lens really be too long?

@XP Yes. Lenses that make the reader scroll and scroll with dull, repetitive information are a waste of valuable time.

@chefkeem yes. we have a short attention span…um..what was the question again?

@jimmie Content is like chocolate, so I say NO, you can’t have too much. If the content is good, just keep it coming.

@bigjim Also depends on the layout. If it flows well, it will keep people’s interest.

What is your favorite sandwich condiment?

@XP Ketchup. Has to be cold, though. Can’t stand it when people don’t refrigerate their ketchup!

@bigjim Liquid Summer hot sauce. http://twurl.nl/x41b1c

@chefkeem Agasweet Tangerine Ginger agave nectar

@jimmie Mustard - the spicier the better!

What is one thing that earns a lens an instant thumbs down?

@chefkeem promo of a pill that gets your ex back while you lose weight and make millions overnight (w/free samples).

@jimmie Every link on the page leads to the same, scammy get rich quick scheme.

@bigjim Obvious marketing without helpful information.

@XP Do not try to sell me something (complete with affiliate link) in the intro module. If it is a ClickBank link, I’m out.

How can a lensmaster tell if they’re not ready for a blessing?

@bigjim If they haven’t read the other lensmasters’ how-tos. And they don’t even know what a blessing is.

@jimmie It’s sort of like bad breath. Unfortunately you don’t know you have it even when you do. Lensmasters rarely know their own lenses stink.

@XP If they have more money-making modules than informative (text, link) modules. You need balance.

@chefkeem if the lens does not at all fulfill the requirements of the angel forum sticky and Squid Angels’ portrait lenses.

***

There you have it! Tweets, er, tips, straight from your Squid Angels. Looking for a blessing? After following the tips above (and of COURSE reading this), hop over to the Angels’ Forum on SquidU and post your best lens.

If Twitter is your thing, you’ll find us at @squidoonews.

Happy lensmastering,
~Kimberly
YOUR Community & Charity Organizer
Share your comments at /squidureview

Hello lensmasters!

Since groups were launched in February of 2006, they’ve been a source of fun, excitement, promotion, frustration, challenge, contest, and membership with lensmasters. Some of our greatest lensmasters have created super helpful lenses on creating, maintaining, and promoting groups, and our current Groups Mentor Barkely has done a bang-up job of answering new questions and providing organized tips for all your group-making needs.

To further help you reach your group goals - or if you’re new, meet and greet the best of the best groupmasters - check out these most wanted Q&A for all the goodness we call groups.

What IS a group?
A group starts as a tricked out lens that is run by a lensmaster, or groupmaster. It is a page that has the opportunity to showcase written info, links, photos, and special modules that feature lensmasters who have added lenses to the group, and lenses that are in the group. It doesn’t start out with lenses as a part of it; those have to be added.

What are the rules for adding lenses to a group?
Anyone can submit lenses to any group. In order to be submitted to a group a lens has to be finished, published, and out of WIP. But that doesn’t mean it will be accepted. While groupmasters can “allow all” and let anyone who applies automatically get in, most are a bit choosier on who gets to be a group member.

How do I know if my lens is right for the group?
Good groupmasters have rules for lenses that want in, or a description of what the group is about. Read the group headquarters thoroughly before submitting your lens. Some require you to have “contact me” turned on. Most have a specific theme in mind. Some require a link back, or other special feature.

Why would I join a group?
Our best groupmasters create groups on topics they have a special love for and interest in. And when you love something, you just want to tell the world about it. So if you’re a member of one of these active groups, you’re benefiting from a little extra promo.

Why should I create a group?
For five fantastic reasons why you should create and maintain a group, visit Barkely’s article, Why Create a Squidoo Group?

What if I have more questions?
There’s a spot just for you on SquidU. Join us at the Groups, Groups, Groups forum for more interactive Q&A. It’s so nice, we said it thrice.

Thanks again Barkely. Be sure to visit her soon!

~Kimberly
YOUR Community & Charity Organizer
@squidoonews

PSST - want to comment on this post?

One of the most loved features of the new dashboard is the ability to give your lens a Health Check-Up right in the workshop!  If you’re not familiar with this tool, it can help you improve your ranking by publishing a more complete lens.

Before Health Check was on your dashboard, it was on SquidUtils.com, a site maintained by lensmaster thefluffanutta. As the original designer of the tool, we’ve polled thefluffanutta to learn more about what it does, how it works, and how to use it to create better lenses.

Q: Tell us about the Health Check tool. What is it all about?

A: Squidoo is a wonderful, flexible and powerful platform for publishing your content, but getting organic traffic to it is not always easy. The purpose of the Health Check tool is to pick up on some of the common mistakes that are made by new lensmasters.

Using some of the technology originally developed for Squidaholic, the Health Check Tool can review certain data about a lens. Specifically, it looks at the main factors that search engines care about, such as keywords in your titles, and gives tit bits of advice on how to improve them.

Q: How does it work?

A: Before we continue, it’s important to note that the Health Check tool can’t read the content on your lens to know what it’s about. Instead, it uses the tags to tell it what the key words are. If you don’t have enough tags, or you’ve chosen tags are that are not directly relevant to the subject of the lens, then the results will not be accurate. There is an optimal number of tags, which seems to be between 10 and 20.

The tool examines the lens and introduction titles, and checks that they are a suitable length and that at least one of your tags is mentioned in them. The same check is applied to the primary tag and the file name of the lens photo. The tool also checks to see if you have an introduction of reasonable length - not too long, not too short.

Other factors include how many ratings it has, how much traffic it gets, and how many other websites are linking to the lens. These are not things you can edit directly in the lens workshop, and tend to be performance indicators rather than ranking factors. If you’re not getting the ratings, traffic and links you need, then spend some time interacting with the community. A good lens will be rewarded!

Q: How can I use it to make my lenses better?

A: If there’s anything the tool thinks needs improvement, it will let you know with a little note. Using the advice it gives, you should be able to make some improvements to your lens.

Once you’ve grasped the basic principles of a ‘healthy lens’, you’ll be able to apply them to new lenses as you build them. Keep an eye on the titles of your modules too - it’s a good idea to work your keywords in to these too (and no one likes to see the default titles).

Q: It doesn’t seem to match up with what I’m doing. What gives?

A: A common complaint is that the tool doesn’t think the titles match the content, when they do. Usually, this is because one or two crucial words have been missed from the list of tags. Make sure that your primary tag appears in your list of regular tags as well.

After you’ve made some alterations to your lens, you may need to wait a while for the changes to be noticed by the Health Check tool. If it is continues to complain about something you know you’ve fixed, come back to it later. If you’re still stuck, then you can always ask for help or critique in the forum.

Finally, please remember this is only an advisory tool. If there’s an orange box that simply won’t go green, or you don’t understand/agree with the advice, don’t worry about it. The opinion of the Health Check tool will not affect your ability to rank high, get traffic and make money (but it might help).

***

Thanks again to thefluffanutta for sharing his insider info on how the Health Check tool works. Since we’ve added it to the workshop, it’s been tweaked a bit, but the idea remains the same. Use it as a guide to complete the framework of your lens, but don’t obsess about its suggestions.

Now, go make those lenses healthy!
~Kimberly
Your Community & Charity Organizer

So, how’s that great watch working for you? You know, the one you got for Christmas with the strap that’s too long? Never fear, help is here!

Every day, thousands of our visitors search through over a million lenses, looking for tips, ideas, and directions for using, fixing, or buying their favorite gadgets. Things like “how to solve a Rubix Cube” and “how to get the most out of a Wii Fit.”

In fact, no matter what gift you got this holiday season, chances are we have a lens about it. AND, your gift can help someone else, and make you a little cash, when you turn it into a how-to lens on Squidoo!

What are best practices for building a helpful how-to lens?

1. Start with a description of the item. If someone is first learning about it, they may not fully understand what it is or what it does. Grandma may not know what this “Wii” thing is that she sees on her grandkids’ wish list.

2. Use photos. The terminology instruction manuals use may not make sense to everyone. Just like websites have different terms for your username (screen name, user ID, passcode, etc.), one video game system might have a cartridge, while another has a disc. Show users what the terms mean for this item.

3. Use videos. Sign language, origami, and Rubix Cubes are best mastered in real life, so adding your videos is a great way to show readers the steps involved. (Can’t find a how-to video? Create your own! And with the new Video Module, adding them from several sources is simple.)

4. Include a variety of resources. Some readers rely on links to official sites. Some just love a heartfelt story. And just about everyone wants to leave their own special note.

5. Cover the painfully obvious and the intriguingly obscure. Any how-to lens author will tell you that the range of questions they get about their topic is amazing. You’ll probably never come up with every answer; readers will think of new and weird things to ask. But each time you get a question, work the answer into your lens for future readers. Don’t forget to cover the basics and add a few treats for advanced users.

Now that you’ve mastered connecting the Wii to the new flatscreen to the satellite dish to the TV/VCR/DVD to the Playstation to the Nintendo, you can teach others how to do the same. And when you’re done, you can learn what recent recipients thought about Elmo Live.

Need some ideas?

• What are your kids doing in school?


• What special project did you just donate for?


• What did you build instead of buy?


• What is your favorite recipe?


• What do you find sexy?


• What do you vow to be better at in 2009?


• What are you addicted to?


• You have a new puppy! Um, now what?

Have fun with all those toys (and all that cash you’ll earn for yourself or charity!)
~Kimberly
YOUR Community & Charity Organizer