If you are looking for ideas to create Squidoo lenses you have come to the right place. I am full of ideas and lack the time to follow up on them all. Here you will find five new ideas a week which you are welcome to create a lens with (attribution is not necessary but appreciated). Be sure to come back and share the link to your new lens in the appropriate post so we can all see your interpretation, and of course leave you a comment and rate your lens.
Posted by biggirlblue | Posted in How To, Tips | Posted on 19-01-2012
I watched a great video from TED today featuring Sheena Iyengar talking about “How to Make Choosing Easier”. Within the first few minutes I could plainly see how this relates to creating lenses that visitors will choose to buy from. It really drove home that the less is best way of making lenses is the way to go. The video is about 16 minutes long and I recommend investing your time in watching it all then applying the concept to your lens making. Especially those of you who tend to over monetize your lenses with affiliate links, products, and even further lens choices.
Living green is a huge topic. Everyone wants to know how to live a little greener. On the flip side parents also want to learn how to be green parents and teach their children by example as well as put them into situations where they will make the proper choices. Create a variety of lenses on green parenting to help Parents educate their children on the importance of a green lifestyle. I say variety because this is a growing topic that will easy expand from one lens once you get started.
In your initial lens include the following modules after your lively introduction:
Poll Module: on how being green rates in their life (1 out of 5)
Text List Module for the top ten areas parents should focus on when talking with their children about living green. If you make it a voting plexo then parents can vote on the topics most important to them.
Use a Text Module for each area expanding on each section, offering tips and activities to do with childen
The Amazon Spotlight Module is wonderful for a green book on parenting.
Guestbook for parents to offer their own suggestions.
This type of reader does not want to be bombarded with ads for products, they will quickly find the door if that is all they see or if they have to search for helpful information. Keep it specific and keep it focused.
Posted by biggirlblue | Posted in Food, How To | Posted on 22-03-2011
If you are a green thumb, even if you are not a green thumb but have the initiative and patience, create a lens on planting and growing strawberries from seed to table.
Here’s a great opportunity to create a weekly image diary of your strawberry growing process and any trials, tribulations, and recommendations along the way. Use the gallery module so the weekly images don’t take up too much space.
Other modules to include:
Poll module for people to rate their love of fresh strawberries — 1 to 5 stars.
A text module with a childhood memory about picking strawberries.
A duel module for visitors to battle on which fruit is better: strawberries or raspberries.
An Amazon spotlight module for a sun hat, or strawberry pot.
A recipe module for your favorite strawberry dessert.
Or instead of a recipe module you could use a Featured Lenses module to feature recipe lenses by other lensmasters.
Posted by biggirlblue | Posted in Tips | Posted on 18-03-2011
A good way to keep your lens building on trend is to create a seasonal promotions schedule. Having one will make it easier for creating lenses on topic for each month of the year. Even though it is March it is not too late to set one up for this year. Here is a basic listing of promotion ideas for every month of the year to get you started. Add your own as they relate to your niche and as you think of them throughout the year. At the end of the year make a point of creating a new list with your new ideas.
JANUARY
Winter Blahs
Christmas Bills
People Stay at Home More
Adopt a Rescued Bird Month
Elvis Birthday
FEBRUARY
University and College Break
Family Day
Ash Wednesday
Income Tax / RRSP Contribution Time
Black History Month
MARCH
St. Patrick’s Day
March Break / Spring Break
Palm Sunday
Dieting/Exercising
Daylight Savings Time
APRIL
Easter
April Showers
April Fool’s Day
End of Lent
Professional Secretary’s Day
MAY
Mother’s Day
Victoria Day
May Flowers
Bedding Out Plants
Summer Cottages Being Open
JUNE
Father’s Day
Weddings
Summer Holidays for Kids
Able to spend more time at summer cottage
Home Renovations
JULY
Canada Day / Independence Day
Births
Farmer’s Market
Hot and Sticky
Peaches
AUGUST
Civic Holiday (Long Weekend)
Start thinking about kids going back to
Fall Fair
National Cat Fish Month
Elvis Week
SEPTEMBER
Labor Day
Kids Back in School
Weather Getting Cooler
Start thinking about Christmas shopping
Apples ready to harvest
OCTOBER
National Book Month
Oktoberfest
Craft shows
Thanksgiving (Canada)
Halloween
NOVEMBER
Remembrance Day
All Saints Day
Thanksgiving (United States)
Christmas Shopping
Colder Weather
DECEMBER
Last minute Christmas Shopping
Christmas/Boxing Day
Christmas Break
New Year’s Resolutions
More Indoor Activities
How to use: At the beginning of each month look at the next month’s promotions to see what you should be thinking about creating now. Keeping ahead of what is coming up will make what you create more attractive to search engines because your lenses will be fresh and ready to go in the when readers start browsing.
Always keep your schedule handy to you can easily add brainstormed ideas or refer to it when you are stuck — it is a great lens idea prompter.
Posted by biggirlblue | Posted in How To, Personal | Posted on 16-03-2011
Summer will be here before you know it. Women (some men too) are already making appointments to spas for pedicures to make their feet look their sandal best. Create a lens on how to have silky feet with a little personal elbow grease. If you want to be really different then make a lens just for men and their feet.
What to include:
In the intro give your own personal feet reflections (in brief) and history of caring for your feet. Provide a brief overview of what the lens is about.
Poll: How often do you go for a professional pedicure? Or how much do you pay for a professional pedicure.
A to-do list for great looking feet beginning from soaking to the final polish (soak, scrub, file, lubricate, polish).
Include step by step pictures in a Gallery module with further descriptions.
Amazon Spotlight on the one tool you can not live without when it comes to foot care.
Put more Amazon Spotlights in your side bar for: lotion, sandals, and a lovely shade of O.P.I nail polish.
Guestbook: Ask people how much time they spend on their feet or their general thoughts on feet.
Posted by biggirlblue | Posted in Tips | Posted on 11-03-2011
If you are not familiar with affiliate programs they are your connection to 1000+ of companies that offer products and services. By having a free account you are able to acquire text links and banners that have a special code just for you. When a sale is made you are credited with a percentage of the sale which can be anywhere from 3% to 15% of that sale. The affiliate program takes care of the networking, code creation, and your monthly check all you have to do is insert the code and wait for someone to click on it.
That’s a very basic explanation of what’s involved. Now where to find affiliate programs? To start off you can have a look at my lens on some of the affiliate companies I use (you also see four banners to the right). Another option is to look on some of the websites you already recommend to people. Usually in the bottom in small print you will find an “affiliate” link that will explain what affiliate program the company uses, what they offer, and how you can sign up.
Basic Tips on Using Affiliate Banners/Links in Lenses:
Don’t overload your lenses with banners and text links to affiliate programs. A good rule of thumb is three at the most. Any more than that and your lens will be blocked, turn off viewers, or be badly ranked. The smaller (I refer to content here, not number of modules) your lens the less you should use.
Spread out your banners. Don’t just pile all three on top of one another in one module. It looks spammy and unattractive.
Use a text module to appropriately place one ad alone with no title or content or if you have a content lens put it at the bottom after a few lines of space so it looks separate.
Center your banner.
Don’t load up your profile or bio section with a bunch of ads related or not. Pick one good related ad.
Keep the banner ads and text link on topic. A strategically placed on topic ad will do better than a bunch of banners in a row and that have nothing to do with the topic. If your lens is about power tools don’t add a banner ad on designer bags. Keep the topics related!
With properly placed banners and text links you have the potential to earn additional income above and beyond what you already make from Squidoo but you need to have the right balance. Start off with one affiliate company until you get the hang of it. My first company was Shareasale and it is still one of my favorites (linked to the right).
Posted by biggirlblue | Posted in How To, Shopping, Tips | Posted on 09-03-2011
Readers can not get enough of Squidoo’s green lenses. Create a wonderful review lens of eco-friendly laundry detergents. Real reviews, don’t just make a listing of the companies who supply products or affiliate links to different detergents. Find five to ten eco-friendly laundry detergents and try a new one out each week.
For each detergent use a text module (include a picture you have taken of the detergent/box) and review the detergent: how well does it work in cold water, does it sud, does it clean, does it leave any residue, what does it smell like, are you happy with the results. You might even want to give it a rating out five, five being the best.
Other modules to include:
Poll module: are you concerned about the eco-consequences of your detergent?
An amazon module including your top three choices of detergents from your reviews.
A featured lens module highlighting other eco-friendly lenses (yours or created by other lensmasters).
Include a guestbook for readers to share other eco-friendly laundry detergent recommendations.
Posted by biggirlblue | Posted in How To | Posted on 09-03-2011
My husband has had a ham radio for well over a decade (and so do many other people). Behind every hobby that involves socialization is an expected etiquette for communicating. Ham radio is no different. Not just anyone can make this lens. It has to be someone has some experience using a ham radio or has access to people who do.
Modules to include:
The top ten most important rules of ham radio etiquette.
Dual on the importance of etiquette in ham radio operations.
Poll: how often do you use your ham radio.
Amazon spotlight module to Ham Radio for Dummies or a ham radio meter base
Links module to ham radio resources for newbies.
Guestbook for ham radio operators to share their call signs.
Posted by biggirlblue | Posted in People | Posted on 08-03-2011
Today is International Women’s Day (March 8). Make a lens in honor of a important woman in your life (or a few important women).
If you are going to make a few lenses then plan to index them under one lens. You might want to do the index lens first with a brief description of each woman in a separate text module then when you complete the dedication lens you can link to it or delete the text module and put in a featured lens module linking to one or all of the dedication lenses.
Other modules to include:
A dual module on whether we should or should not have an International Women’s Day.
A quiz on inspirational celebrity women or a quiz on significant achievements in history that women have made.
A poll asking who is a more important, the role model you know (friends and family) or the role model you don’t know (celebrity).
And a guestbook for visitors to share the inspirational woman in their lives (encourage them to make their own lens and supply a link).
Posted by biggirlblue | Posted in Personal | Posted on 03-03-2011
March 17 is rolling around quickly but you still have time to make a “luck” inspired lens. How about an interactive lens where people share that one item they own that makes them feel lucky on certain occasions.
Like that lucky sweater you wear to interviews or the lucky cap you wear to sporting events. Me I have a lucky Paddington Bear that fits in the palm of my hand when I go to the dentist. Stop laughing, we all have our quirks!
The shamrock theme would be perfect for this idea. In the intro share a few of your lucky pieces to get the readers in the mood for sharing. Include a poll to ask if they believe in luck. Include an Amazon spotlight module to something lucky or about luck like The Luck Factor. In the guestbook ask readers to share something lucky that happened to them recently.
Posted by biggirlblue | Posted in How To | Posted on 02-03-2011
It still amazes me that people with simple lifestyles are still paying someone else to do their taxes once a year. Of course this is after years of paying my Uncle $20 to do mine until I decided I could put the $20 to better use.
Take the fear out of doing taxes by providing a how-to lens on doing a basic tax return. It is a perfect time to make a lens because you have to file your return anyway so it will all be fresh in your mind.
Modules to include:
A text box with big image for each major section of the tax form.
A black box module with a link to download tax papers from government website (and a hint to print out more than one copy).
Poll: What is the most you have paid for someone else to do your taxes.
Text list module of tips or the top ten reasons why we should all do our own tax returns.
Guestbook to ask people if they are going to do it themselves this year.
Posted by biggirlblue | Posted in How To | Posted on 01-03-2011
We take our teeth for granted and while dentistry has made great strides in tooth care they can only do so much for 70, 80, 90 year old teeth. That is why it is so important to care for them from an early age. Which brings me to today’s suggestion — a series of lenses on dental care for the three major seasons of our life: childhood, adult, and senior.
Module suggestions:
A text module on proper mouth care for each stage
A video module showing proper mouth care for each stage
A poll for each one: Did you have cavities as a child? How often do you floss? Are you worried about losing your teeth?
A dual module on the importance of flossing.
A guestbook for readers to admit the truth about their mouth care habits.
Posted by biggirlblue | Posted in How To | Posted on 23-02-2011
If you are a knitter then this is right up your alley. Make a how-to lens with lots of pictures and step by step instructions on how to knit a pair of socks. Don’t just provide another lens full of links to sock patterns, we have search engines for those and frankly they do just fine. If you are going to be knitting anyway you may as well take a lot of picture along the way and post them in the lens with instructions. Think back to when you were starting out, what were the hardest areas for you to grasp?
Module suggestions:
Gallery module (you’ll probably need two) for most of images and directions.
Link module with basic sock pattern typed in introduction and three links to awesome sock recipe sets.
A text module with a childhood memory about socks knitted for you or your first experience knitting socks.
Two Amazon Spotlight modules, one featuring your favorite sock knitting needles and the other a popular sock pattern book. Put one near the top and the other above your guestbook.
Poll: Which do you prefer, hand knitted or store bought socks?
Guestbook for readers to ask questions if they need help.
