I apologize to my 2 readers for the lack of post frequency this month. I won’t make lame excuses. I will say that SIY is beginning to get significant search engine traffic, so it’s time I got off my kiester and did some good old Squidoo-related writing.

I have several lenses which are in the top 100. My Sopranos and Trailer Park Boys lenses get roughly 350 hits a week each. The TPB lens appears #24 in Google for the term, which is pretty cool. I have been working on it a lot lately as a result - sorta like buying new drapes before your parents come to visit - and I thought I’d indulge in a little shameless self-promotion while explicating what makes it great. Open ‘er up and we’ll begin.

I’ll run down the lens from top to bottom, making a few comments along the way. First of all, put some time into your intro, and don’t just copy and paste it from somewhere else. Make sure you use a photo, and make sure your text is at least as long as the graphic. I made the TPB intro funny and as many folks don’t know a lot about the show, I attempted to get a few snippets in there to make them curious so they’ll continue reading.

I like to use ‘Write’ modules wherever possible, as this is where you can write original content and include photos. In the next module down, I include a photo of TPB’s main characters and a synopsis of the show. You can also include external liks in these modules, and make sure you do. External links seem to help Lens Rank.

Amazon Lenses give you the ability to choose, order and write blurbs about whatever you want to try and sell on your lens. So make sure you take the time to do this, and don’t just let Amazon pick for you. Write unique summaries, like I did here for each of the TPB DVDs, and choose your items with care. Also see the Sopranos lens for another example of an Amazon module I spent a lot of time on.

Next we have another write module containing a photo and links to an external TPB FAQ. I also included a quote here - quotes are great content for lenses. You can have a module devoted to them, or spread them throughout like I do in my Sopranos and Red Sox lenses. Trivia is another great topic for lenses, and if you do it in a Write module, you can add an additional photo, too.

Next up - another Amazon lens, this time for posters. If Amazon has different types of products devoted to the same subject, split them up into separate modules and spread them out. And another word on hand-picked items and description. It ties into consumer confidence and conversion - if you’ve taken the time to customize any of the revenue-generating modules, people will be likely to appreciate that and in turn be more likely to convert.

Link modules are probably the most popular module around. My best piece of advice is painstakingly write good, funny and descriptive paragraphs for everything you include. Visitors will appreciate accurate descriptions of the links you provide, and that good karma may earn you a sale or at least a good star rating!

The Cafepress module here is great because there are lots of Trailer Park Boys related schwag on their site. The images are also a great way to liven up your site, and add more skimmable content. As with the Amazon modules, be sure to customize where you can. I have seen these shirt designs go from relevant to completely non-related from day-to-day. Hardlink in the module options to keep this from happening.

Here is another write module, with guitar chords to the show’s infamous Liquor and Whores song.” I even found a photo of two of the characters playing their guitars to add to the mix. Get creative with Write modules - quotes, quizzes, chords, trivia - it’s all fair game. RSS feeds are your friend. Here I’ve pulled in any news article from Yahoo which contains “Trailer Park Boys”. You can customize Yahoo news feeds for absolutely anything here. I love this feed, and use it in all my lenses.

Flickr modules are great fun, if there’s an abundance of related subject matter accurately tagged back at the main site. And as with the Cafepress module, relevancy can fluxuate. It’s best to link to a specific photo set or one photo at a time to ensure you’re always displaying the best content for your lens.

And finally, another Write module with some trivia thrown in this time. I hope this little review was helpful, and has given you a few ideas to take back to your own lenses. Remember, you can always email us or comment with any questions. Happy Squidooing!

This entry was posted on Friday, May 5th, 2006 at 8:55 pm and is filed under Amazon Modules, Text Modules, RSS Modules, Content, CafePress Modules, Beginners. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.