When you first were learning how to cook, you probably made a lot of food that the dog wouldn’t even eat.
I remember when I first got married, I burned a pot of peas…then broke into tears!
If you are brand new to internet marketing and are venturing out with your first Squidoo Lens, I know how frustrating it can be not being sure if you’re doing it right.
One of the nice things about Squidoo lenses is that they are very forgiving. You can go back and change anything about your lens (except for the url…bummer).
I wanted to give you some tips to get you off to a good start with your first Squidoo lens, so you don’t have to re-do too much later.
You should have a good understanding of Squidoo Basics and the 4 Essential Steps to Squidoo Lens Success before building your lens.
1. Introductory Module.
Think of constructing your lens like you would an essay. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Your Introductory module is your beginning. It is what it says…your introduction to what you are going to write about.
This is where you have to grab your reader’s attention. You only have about 3 seconds, so you have to make it good.
The Introductory module is NOT the place to write your story or the meat of it.
Briefly tell your readers what you’re going to tell them and how you can solve their problem.
2. Modules
Be creative with your modules. Don’t restrict yourself to using just Text modules and a Guestbook.
Use your text modules as if they were paragraphs in the body of your essay. One main point to each module.
Break up your text modules with some visual interest. Use the “Black Box”, “Talk Bubble”, or “Sticky Note” to punctuate an important quote or main idea.
Consider using the Amazon module to recommend books on your topic. There are several other modules like CafePress and Orbitz, but avoid using too many modules that will direct your reader away from your lens.
End with a guest book to invite comments and interaction with your readers. Use the Title and description to tie it all up…think of it as your conclusion.
Remember to ALWAYS create your own title for every module. Never leave the default headings! Make sure your module titles contain your keywords and are relevant to your topic and module contents.
3. Visual Appeal
We are by nature visual beings. With the high volume of information we get on the internet…email, pop ups, ads, blogs, social media, tweets, etc…we are relying more heavily on grabbing reader interest and attention with a visually appealing article.
Use pictures or graphics in all of your modules. {Remember to site your sources.} Avoid the overuse of logos. They tend to send the message of a pitch rather than information.
Do a search using Google Images to find a variety of photos and clip art that are free-use or public domain.
Use a lot of white space. One or two sentences broken up with space is far easier to scan for main points than a complete paragraph.
Bold and italicize key words and ideas. This makes it easy for readers to scan the text to see if they should read further.
As a last bit of advice, don’t get too worried about making your lens perfect for the first time you publish it.
You can always go back and edit your content. You can change or add images, modules, titles, tags….just about anything…except for the URL.
Besides, Squidoo likes it when lensmasters go back and freshen up their lenses. It boosts your lens rank within the Squidoo site.
Always have the goal in mind to add value to solve your reader’s problem without being one big sales pitch.
So, get started and happy writing!
Karen
I Believe In You
mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com
