SquidU

Happy Monday, lensmasters!

We always plan for the worst, but sometimes a glitch becomes us. Your internet connection fails while you’re editing a module, a module burps up a nasty bug, or we launch something new that goofs with your formatting. Oops.

What’s a lensmaster to do? Back it up!

There are a few ways you can back up the content on your lenses:

1. Export your lenses
Exporting your lenses is simple and fast!

1. Edit the lens you want to export.
2. Scroll down in your Workshop and look for Export in the right hand sidebar.
3. Click.
4. The XML export contains all of the text and configuration settings you made on your lens.
5. You’re done!

2. Save the lens in your browser.
By opening your lens in a browser window and clicking File -> Save Webpage, you’ll save the HTML copy of your lens AND save the images to a directory. How helpful is that?

3. Copy it into NotePad.
My personal favorite is to simply copy my text into NotePad whenever I make big changes. You can use any word editing software, and save similar lenses in the same file. Easy!

If you don’t trust your computer or external hard drive, you can even save your backup files to Box.net or another online file hosting service.

While these methods may not save every tiny tidbit of information, they’ll keep your content secure just in case. It’s always good to have a backup plan!

(If you haven’t read our Squidoo Policy Update, take 2 minutes to look it over. If your lens ends up locked *gasp* you’re responsible for backing up your content so you can use it elsewhere.)

Make it a great week!
~Kimberly Dawn Wells
YOUR Community & Charity Organizer

PS - are you making good use of our Citizen Squid Mentors?

Hi lensmasters, short post today.

Over the years we’ve worked hard to improve how lenses are promoted and monetized. Recently we’ve made even more adjustments to advertisements on maxed lenses, and we’ve had a lot of feedback.

For those who create great lenses on authentic topics, these ads can be a big boost in their revenue, or the donations they’re sending to charity. However, we realize ads aren’t for everyone.

To learn more about which ads you can remove from your lenses, and how, visit Opting Out of Squidoo Lens Ads.

And thanks for continuing to hang in there with us when we test new features. While some things we’ve tried have ended with not-so-desirable results, many have helped us get to where we are today. We promise - everything we do, we do it for you!

Happy lensmaking,
~Kimberly Dawn Wells
YOUR Community & Charity Organizer

PS - opting out of ads? Why not send your royalties to your favorite deserving charity?

Hi Lensmasters!

I’m here today with a helpful tip about buying and selling lenses and lensmaking services through Squidoo.

Just like any service that can be generated on the behalf of a client, Squidoo has become a popular place for “experts” to generate lenses on behalf of others. Maybe you bought a Squidoo lens that was already made, or hired someone to build one for you. Maybe you’re thinking of getting into the business, and making lenses for others. Like any business transaction, there are a few things to consider before buying or selling lenses. Here are a few notes on our official stance on this, plus some tips for making a buying or selling experience successful.

1. We don’t encourage or discourage the act of buying and selling lenses on Squidoo. Many a lens has been successfully transferred; the first sales and auctions were milestones of our early history. We’re mostly laissez faire on this, unless something goes wrong.

2. If something goes wrong and we get a complaint, we’re not responsible for moderating it. Simply, we’ll lock the account in question and refer the owner to the complainant for resolution. We don’t like doing that, though. We’d rather see you work it out.

3. If you’re buying or selling a lens, or a house, or a car, take the time to develop a reputation with the other party first. Know what you’re getting into, and don’t jump into unfamiliar territory.

4. If we find a lens that violates our TOS or SquidDon’t policies, or has actively spammed a network or individual, we’ll lock it, probably for good. So regardless of which end you’re on, be aware of our policies. Know what isn’t kosher to write about, and review our rules on junk and uncurrated content.

5. When in doubt, don’t do it.

There are plenty of great lensmasters who, over time, have helped others get a head start on their Squidoo account by building lenses for them. Or they’ve built lenses for their local businesses, their brother’s garage band, their niece’s class project, or their best friend’s wedding. Genuine lenses, with authentic content and solid social connections, that have performed well.

Unfortunately, there are also plenty of lensmasters whose purchased lenses ended up getting locked, because they were on movie downloads, or ten duplicate lenses on dental care in Boston, or hosted copyrighted material, or redirect scripts.

Bottom line? We’re hands off, but we won’t let you abuse the system, either. So play nice, play fair, know the rules, and everyone wins!

Make it a great day!
~Kimberly Dawn Wells
YOUR Community & Charity Organizer

PS - Curious about our stance on unofficial ebooks and tutorials?

Happy Friday, Lensmasters!

If you have a Squidoo lens, chances are it’s not your only online presence. Before finding Squidoo, most lensmasters are already into blogs, personal websites, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Ning, or one of a dozen other online networks that they started or participate in. No matter where else you’re found on the web, if you’re not promoting your Squidoo lenses there, you’re missing out! Your online communities are already interested in what you have to say, so fulfill their curiosity and answer the question, “What have you been up to?”

If you own a website…
Chances are good some or most of your lenses are related to your website topic. If you run a website about horses, you probably have a lot of lenses on horses. Just as you refer back to your website in your lenses, refer to your lenses throughout your website. You can even use them to showcase exclusive bits of information, and they make shopping easy. There’s no need to plug all that crazy affiliate coding in to your website when you can easily organize it on a lens.

If you own a blog…
Blogs aren’t as static as websites, which means that every day is a new opportunity to spotlight one of your new lenses or a major update you made. Plus, matching your niche websites with niche blogs is a little slice of lens promotion heaven. Not only are you using the SEO friendly Squidoo to publish your knowledge, if you have Feedburner, your updates can automatically be sent to readers, newsletter style. It’s another quick way to automate your advertising.

If you are on MySpace…
One really cool way to promote your lenses on MySpace is with the rotating headline button from Feedburner. This nifty gizmo takes your lensmaster bio page RSS feed and rotates a list of your top lenses. No muss, no fuss; it’s all automatic. Plus, you can use your bulletin feature wisely to notify friends of big updates and new lenses, and create groups for your niche topics.

If you are on Facebook…
Consider using the cool Facebook Connect application on Squidoo to post stories on your timeline. You can choose from three display styles, and a post or two a day will keep your status up-to-date and your readers intrigued. There are also plenty of ways to organize and display your lenses, with link and Shoebox applications.

If you are on Twitter…
We have an app for that too! Each time you publish a lens, you can tweet your major updates and new creations right from your workshop. Or, personalize your messages with a teaser. “What does Chris’s new tattoo look like?” “Have you tried this BBQ chicken recipe?” “I got a new puppy! Update at Squidoo.com.”

Squidoo isn’t an island. It was built to play well with other applications and networks, so take advantage of your resources. If you’re curious about increasing traffic but haven’t started here, you’re missing out. Solid promotion starts with a community of readers who care about what you have to say - the people you already know.

You never know what kind of difference you might make by sharing your knowledge with others. Today is a great day to start making a difference with Squidoo. It’s Seth’s birthday! Join us in saying happy birthday, then go out and start making your own difference.

Make it a great weekend,
~Kimberly Dawn Wells
YOUR Community & Charity Organizer

PS - does your charity want to win $3,000?

Everyone knows something special about summertime activities. Maybe you’re King of the Grill, with a marinading repertoire big enough to fill a cookbook. Or perhaps you’re the Princess of Pool Parties, with all the hot details about staying cool. Maybe you’re a Master Gardener, and could teach me a thing or two about keeping my annuals alive in the heat. No matter what you’re up to this summer, there’s someone out there who wants to learn from you, and there’s no time like now to make notes.

Every day is an opportunity to put what you do and what you know into a lens. What you think is normal may be totally new to someone else.

Here’s a short list of ideas for hot summer lenses:
- what to pack for the pool
- water-friendly baby needs
- finding the perfect patio furniture
- how to grill vegetables
- top ten grill accessories
- staying cool in hot dry/humid weather
- heat illness and water related first aid
- keeping your pets cool
- summer safety for seniors
- kid-friendly recipes
- shielding your skin from the sun
- keeping your annuals alive
- cool travel tips
- building the perfect sandcastle
- preparing a boating adventure
- fishing for beginners and kids
- planning the perfect graduation party
- back-to-school shopping sprees
- getting kids ready for school
- cool college stuff
- severe weather awareness
- family reunion fun

While its true that the real reward won’t come until next year, when a new season causes a summer searching surge, the here and now is where all your best ideas, photos, and tips will come from. (Of course, just as it cools off up north, the southern hemisphere is getting ready to break out their bikinis.) And when the occasional thunderstorm hits, there’s nothing more fun and rewarding than sitting down for a family lensbuilding activity. You’ll be earning income for your next family vacation, and teaching your kids valuable internet skills.

(For those of you in the southern hemisphere, do the same for winter. Track your tips and travels now and take advantage of some SEO lead time.)

Enjoy your summer!
~Kimberly Dawn Wells
YOUR Community & Charity Organizer

There’s Always Time to Promote!

Hello Lensmasters,

Today we have a special story from Lens Promotion Mentor and Master jeffwend. He’s been dutifully collecting your questions, and has some great tips to share regarding making time to promote your lenses.

Time to Promote!

The question that I get asked most about getting traffic from outside Squidoo is, “How do you find the time to use all of these tools to promote your lenses?”

The answer to that is simple. Make time.

Organization helps too. I create a folder in my browser and file each of my favorite websites that I use inside of it. When I make a new lens, I simply work my way down the list one by one. After using the list a few times you’ll find that you can easily do it in less than 30 minutes.

Remember, you do not have to promote your lens all at once either. There may be some websites that do not need to be used with every lens that you create. For example, I only use Facebook for certain lenses that have active groups that my lens would complement. If you are like me and you make a lot of lenses, plugging every lens you make into Facebook is going to seem like spam and it will make both you and Squidoo look bad.

However, when I have a lens that is on a particularly hot topic and I am a member of an active Facebook group, I will post links to the latest video or poll modules as they come out. This worked great for my Jason Castro lens a year ago. After every American Idol performance, I posted a link to the video and asked people in the group to vote in the duel module letting the world know if they liked that evening’s performance. This brought in a ton of traffic and backlinks from YouTube and other blogs on American Idol.

For sites like Digg, I urge you all to go through the guestbook list on my lens and add every single person who left their Digg username as your friend and send them shouts when you Digg one of your lenses.

Soon you will have a huge group of friends helping you to promote your lens. Remember to help out others though when they send you a shout to Digg their lens. It only takes a moment, this I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine will make a huge different in the traffic and links you can pick up through Digg. One word of caution, you do not need to Digg every lens. Only Digg the best of the lenses that you make. If you Digg subpar lenses you may find your Diggs being buried by the community.

Soon you will find that promoting your lens will become like second nature. It will simply become part of the lens creation process. Master the art of it and you will find more traffic coming to your lenses than ever before.

Thank again, jeffwend, for sharing more of your promotion secrets!

As you know, “If you build it, they will come” does not apply to the internet. With billions of options and only 24 hours in a day, most web surfers will never see your lens unless it’s worth seeing and in the right spot to be seen. You can get more lens promotion tips from jeffwend at his Lens Promotion Mentor lens.

Happy promoting!
~Kimberly Dawn Wells
YOUR Community & Charity Organizer
Get daily tips @squidoonews!