1) Chosing a topic – When you start a new lens you’ll be asked to choose a topic like: Home & Garden. You can then choose to drill down your topic into a more niche one like Bathroom Decor & Ideas. You can go even further by choosing a 3rd sub-sub topic like: Toilets. However you don’t have to choose a sub or sub-sub topic in order for your lens to be indexed. Try to pick a topic that best suits your lens even if you only use a Main and sub topic like: Home & Garden > Gardening.

2) Add a few modules to your new lens – Modules are the building blocks of your lens. You can add a module by click on the Add Modules (building block) bar on your right hand sidebar when you are in edit mode on your lens, here’s what it looks like: http://cl.ly/1w2K3R33440f0F1v2N39. Choose a few of the modules from the “popular” tab to get started.

3) Sort your modules – You can sort your modules using the Sort Modules tab: http://cl.ly/1c2B0O130R2e130f0H3y on your right hand sidebar when you are in edit mode on your lens. Just drop and drag to sort. Try to arrange your modules in a way that makes sense for your reader like putting the Guestbook at the bottom of the lens.

4) Change out generic titles – This is a big one. When you add a new module it has a generic title like: “Amazon Spotlight Personal Review”. Do change this to something unique like, My Favorite David Bowie Album Of All Time and add a subtitle like, The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust is the original recording remastered.

5) Publish your lens – Before your lens gets published it’s considered WIP or Work In Progress. In order for your lens to be live you’ll need to publish it by clicking the big orange “Publish” button at the top of the screen: http://cl.ly/3M2b3C0K3t15140J192N. As long as you added enough content your lens will now be a “featured lens”, featured means that we’re promoting your lens within Squidoo search and are submitting it to search engines outside Squidoo. One note: A new lens will not become Featured (receive a green check mark) until it receives a LensRank. This can take up to 24 hours after your first publish.

Bonus Tip! You’re probably anxious to learn when you’ll receive a royalty on your new lens. Here is a very comprehensive FAQ sheet about how and when you’ll get paid: http://www.squidoo.com/squidoo/65431431-Payout-FAQ

The lens author, edacas, has worked in horticulture for 10 years and is a passionate gardener herself.

Her advice contains tried and true tips for products that really work.  With a yard full of fig trees, I’ve fallen in love with the idea of that motion activated sprinkler to keep the birds and bees away.

Stop by How to Keep Pests Out of your Garden today so you’ll be well prepared to stand guard over your own garden this summer.

http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-keep-pests-out-of-your-garden

75 Chocolate Lenses We Love is a delectable tribute to one of our favorite foods…chocolate! This MonsterBoard contains some of the best chocolatey lenses on Squidoo.

75 Chocolate Lenses We Love was put together with the help of guest MonsterBoard lensmaster heather426 and is a compilation of some of our favorite chocolate lenses.

http://www.squidoo.com/monsterboards/75_chocolate_lenses_we_love_yum

Image Credit

New lensmaster johnpatricklouis has been involved in charity work for many years and now he’s brought his work to Squidoo. In his first lens, Blue Collar Philanthropy he explains that you don’t have to be wealthy to lend a helping hand. If you agree, or if you’d like to learn more, check out his lens and introduce yourself while you’re there.

Grandpabrick is a Vietnam veteran (Thank you for your service!) who also has a varied background, ranging from dental lab tech to drag racer – and that just scratches the surface. He’s also a motivator who enjoys encouraging and helping unemployed and underemployed people work online. If you fall into one of those categories, or if you just need a kick in the seat of the pants to get your business jump-started, be sure to check out his lens, Unemployed? Not looking for work? I WANT YOU.

Lhbeninger says, “I am a writer. And a small business owner. And more (I hope).” In her first lens, she introduces us to The Anxiety of Publishing (or what to do while you wait). We’re happy she decided to share her writing and getting published experience here on Squidoo.

Want to learn how one man went from “out-of-shape unemployed librarian” to “in-shape professional writer and dance instructor”?  Curiosity killing you?  Then check out TxCowboyDancer and his lenses, including Music to Dance By: Triple Two Step. If you know nothing about line dancing, that situation will definitely be rectified by the time you’ve finished reading through his lenses.

What do your lenses reveal about you? Do you write about yourself and what you do? Nobody knows the subject of “you” like you do, so put a little of yourself into your next lens to help us get to know you better.

Related Reading: Learn about more lensmasters in the spotlight when you read The Cheesiest Lens on Squidoo and Lost Socks Found on Squidoo and 50 Creative Upcycling/Recycling Lenses.

Image source

You can see the theme in action right here and here.

You can view all the Squidoo lens themes at Beautiful Squidoo Themes For Your Lenses. What is YOUR favorite theme?

You’ve heard us say many times that content is king. If you build it, they will come, right? But what happens when they don’t come? Sometimes, our best and most passionate work just doesn’t seem to translate to traffic. It’s okay though, it happens to the best of us and there are some easy steps you can take to get your favorite lenses in front of more people.

1. Network and share your content with power users – or anyone at all

A quick browse of Squidoo is quick to reveal some superstars. There are tons of talented lensmasters all over the site. You may even know someone who makes lenses like yours. Rather than copy them, network! Introduce yourself and most of all be kind and courteous! Pay compliments, be friendly and when you see something you like, be sure to let the author know. Connecting with other lensmasters is a great way to learn what you’re doing right and what you might need to work on. I mentioned “power users”, but anyone on Squidoo is worth reaching out to. If you like what someone is doing, let them know.

A word of warning: Don’t be pushy or exploitative. Nobody owes you anything here, especially not advice. Don’t post comments spamming your links. That’s against the TOS and just plain rude. However, joining and being an active part of the community, rather than a solo player will come with benefits like tips, constructive criticism and even help.

2. Diversify your content based on the search terms your readers are using

The “Stats” page for each lens is a very useful feature. We use this to tell you many interesting things about your lenses but one of the most valuable insights shared here is the search terms that are leading people to your lens. One thing that I advise everyone to do is periodically review this section and expand your lens accordingly. If there’s a topic you touched on only lightly, expand on it. If you see search terms for topics or subjects that you haven’t talked about, that’s a big clue that you should add that content to your lens.

Here’s how to reach the Stats page: Just mouse over a lens title and click “Stats”.

It can be hard to know what else you can add to an already “finished” lens, but I encourage you to think of all of your lenses as works in progress when it comes to adding new and fresh content. Be selective about the content you add to your lens, however. Often, people find your lens looking for something else. If the terms they searched for seem irrelevant or it’s not something you want to add to your lens, don’t feel obligated to. After all, this is your lens and you’re the boss.

3.  Evaluate your promise

When I talked about writing great headlines, also known as Lens Titles, one of the concepts I wanted to get across is that your headline tells the reader what to expect inside your lens. Sometimes, if your promise isn’t enticing, you could lose your readers before they even arrive. What information are you promising in your lens’s title? If you put all of your effort into creating great content but have a lackluster headline, you’re selling yourself short. Look at your lens and find the “heart” of the content. What’s so great about it that people might be missing from reading the title? Now, find a way to tell me about that in the title.

Never give up on content that you feel passionate about. I encourage lensmasters to keep all the lenses they really love, but don’t be afraid to scrap something that’s just not working. However, be patient. It’s not unusual for a lens to fly under the radar for months, even years before beginning to perform well.

What do you do to help a struggling lens you love? Have any stories of your best content taking a while to “mature”? Why do you think your best content sometimes goes unnoticed? I’d love to hear your tips and stories in the comments below.

Through good use of pictures, text and video, we’re brought back to the early 70′s and the birth of Glam Rock.

Waxing-Lyrical is well known for his music and entertainment lenses because they’re always comprehensive, well-written and interesting.  This one is no different.

You’ll notice that instead of trying to cover Bowie’s entire repertoire, the lensmaster has created a niche lens, pulling the most important songs from that particular era which leaves the reader wanting more.

And even if I weren’t David Bowie’s  #1 fan, I’d be telling you to make time today to stop by and see this lens.

Enjoy the content.  Study the lensmaster’s skill.  Yes, it’s that good.

http://www.squidoo.com/david-bowie-glam-rock-years

Okay, so how many of you knew as soon as you saw today’s LOTD that I’d be the one writing it?

The good news is that we’ve just deployed a fix and no comments were lost in the process.

Any comment activity will trigger the cache to reset and all of the approved comments will appear.

Have a great night and do check out our new lens theme!

Stop by Best New Cheese Recipe Lenses on Squidoo today to see THE cheesiest (recipe) lens on Squidoo!

Have you got a great cheesy recipe lens to share?  Post the link here.  When it comes to cheese, we just can’t get enough.

http://www.squidoo.com/monsterboards/cheese-recipes2

Photo Credit

Relache has been a successful lensmaster for 6 years now. She’s someone that many of us, myself included, looked up to and learned from as newbies here on Squidoo and with this lens she shares some of her secrets for making midlife travel work for her for both fun and profit.

From the lens: “Since I make a lot of my living writing for Squidoo and other sites (like HubPages) every time I have a new adventure, that’s new material to write about, which leads to more web pages, which leads to more revenue opportunities, which leads to more adventures.”

Her brilliant midlife travel tips are not to be missed and her lensmaking skill is something to be admired… even awed and studied.  She uses all of her own photos and fills the lens with unique and interesting content that flows so smoothly you just can’t pull yourself away.

Stop by today.  Read the lens for Relache’s good information, then go back and read it again from a lensmaking point of view.

There’s a lot to be learned here.  Don’t miss any of it.

http://www.squidoo.com/midlife-travel-toys