Squidblog

The deadline to apply to be a Giant Squid is right around the corner.

March 31st is just 18 days away!

How many lenses away from 50 are you? That is, 50 amazing lenses.

Whether you’re building toward Giant Squid status or not, I thought you might find this roundup of tips helpful.

Tips that could give you a leg up:

* Make lenses about things that interest you.
* Write good introductions.
* Have intro photos.
* Upload a photo of yourself (or your avatar) while you’re at it.
* Try out a bunch of different modules.
* Replace the default module titles, like “New Guestbook.”
* UUU - Unique, useful, updated content rocks!
* If you want to be a Giant, you need to have at least 50 great lenses in just one account.
* Don’t copy. Don’t cut and paste without credit. Don’t plagiarize.
* Keep an eye out for style. Junky, flashing, overdesigned lenses send readers running.
* Stop by the SquidU forum and get feedback. Ask politely.
* You’re an author: act like one. Don’t publish half-baked lenses. If you do, tell everyone it’s just a first draft and in-progress!
* Be kind to fellow lensmasters and your readers.
* Sure, sell stuff; but don’t sound like a snakeoil salesman when you do.
* Invite readers to participate. Or not.
* Explain your topic to new readers.
* Experiment with “front doors” like SquidWho and SquidSports and SquidBoo and SquidFlix, but don’t only make those lenses. (Those are meant to give you starter templates to edit, not just stop with the status quo).
* Own a niche and make lots of lenses in it. But don’t repeat yourself on the same topic. 40 lenses that say the exact same thing aren’t kosher.
* Link to and feature other people’s lenses. It feels good to give back.
* Be honest and straightforward and creative.

Things that could hurt your lenses:

* Spam.
* Spamming. No matter how good your lenses are, if you spam (the verb), you’re out.
* Copied lenses.
* Mean-intentioned lenses.
* Undeveloped “starter” lenses with no personalized content.
* Lenses that sell selfishly (lenses that yell at the reader, or flash BUY ME BUY ME in all caps).
* Being meanspirited or malicious on the SquidU forums. Regardless of how good your content might be.
* Typo-riddled lenses.
* Tricking your readers into clicking on links they weren’t expecting.
* Lenses on SquidDon’t topics, like pharmaceuticals and ringtones and gambling and weight loss pills and Yuwie and freemoviedownloads and various affiliate marketing programs.
* Empty introduction modules.
* No lensmaster photos.
* Anonymity hurts.