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Kate was, as far as I remember, the first Lensmaster to dominate the #1 Lensrank with her Funky, Chic and Cool Laptop Bags. Even now after 3 years its still a mainstay in the Top 100.

Glen: How did you discover squidoo?

mynameiskate: I heard Seth speak about it at Blogon back in Oct 2005. I liked his assertion that Web 2.0 was about making sense. So after the conference, I went and signed up.

Glen: What is the process you choose to decide on a keyphrase(s) for a lens?

mynameiskate: I try to make it specifically generic as possible I lucked into laptopbag since I joined Squidoo so early. It’s definitely getting harder. But I try to think about (and research a little using tools like Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool what people search for as a primary term. If I see a high use of additional specific terms, I will add them.

Glen: Is there an ideal number of modules you like to include and why?

mynameiskate: Not really. All of my lenses are getting kind of long. I finally broke out part of my laptop bag lens into a laptop sleeve lens. That helped a little, but they are still probably too long. This is probably my biggest Squidoo challenge right now

Glen: What is the secret to your outstanding success?

mynameiskate: I have to believe that it is writing good content people find useful. Simple as that. I expand on this in my “FAQs about My Success” lens. This URL, by the way, is a great example of what NOT to do. I had a slightly different idea in mind when I started this lens and it turned into more of a lens about Squidoo success than Laptop Bag Help. Sigh. All points to good planning.

Glen: What are you doing to generate traffic to your lenses?

mynameiskate: I have a companion blog – I also link to my lens on my social network profiles. I will occasionally Twitter or StumbleUpon a new review that I write or if I have something like a reader giveaway. I don’t do this for every lens I have and I don’t do it all the time – but I do think it helps, especially the blogging.

Glen: How often are you updating your lenses?

mynameiskate: Ideally every lens is updated once a week (I have only 6, so it’s a little easier for me). Sometimes, my laptop bag one isn’t updated that often because I don’t have time to do a full review. And I probably don’t update the FAQ one once a week either. Maybe every 2 to 3 weeks for that one.

Glen: Do you have a favorite html trick?

mynameiskate: Including multiple images is the one that is most important to me. I think you talk about this on your HTML Tricks lens. I also make use of the different alignment attributes for images as well as the hspace/vspace attributes.

Glen: Do you have any tricks for encouraging your lenses viewers participation through any of the interaction modules?

mynameiskate: I get a fair number of comments right now on the laptop bag lens via the guestbook. This is great. I’ve thought about running a poll to try to understand the kind of bags people are looking for or what my readers consider most important in a laptop bag, but I haven’t done that yet. Hmm .. That gives me an idea for this week’s update!

Glen: Do you focus on a specific, narrowly-defined keyword or phrase, or do you get traffic from a variety of different phrases and keywords?²

mynameiskate: Most of my search traffic is a variant on “laptop bag” .. Mainly using either the emotional descriptor that people want in a laptop bag (e.g. Cool laptop bag or stylish laptop bag) OR the functional requirement (e.g. 17″ laptop bag or rolling laptop bag). This is important to understand about your readers – what “specific generic” term are they likely to use. As an example, I don’t get a lot of people searching for a material (e.g. Leather laptop bag) but I do get a lot of people searching for a colour (e.g. Pink laptop bag). This will, of course, differ depending on the topic of your lens.

Glen: What¹s your favorite white-hat SEO trick?

mynameiskate: Really good anchor text. I can’t believe people still use sentences like “Click here for more information” and put the link on “here”. Use something like “Get more information about stylish laptop bags” and put the link on “stylish laptop bags”.

Glen: What non-Squidoo book or other resource have you found that helps you with your lenses?

mynameiskate: There are some amazing Squidoo resources out there. (I list my favs here: http://www.squidoo.com/laptop-bag-help#module8811660). These are really the best for understanding Squidoo, but also just understanding some web, HTML and SEO basics. The non-Squidoo resources I use are often subject matter specific – e.g. Blogs about laptop bags, particularly designer’s blogs – just to make sure I’m keeping up to date.

Glen: What common mistake do you see even experienced lensmasters make?

mynameiskate: Hmmm .. My answer is going to be a bit contentious. Stop writing about crap just because you think you’re going to make money. Crap products are crap products and no amount of black or white hat SEO is going to make people want them. There are so many great topics to write about that can be monetized – stop promoting the terrible stuff and focus on quality.

Glen: What mistakes have you corrected as you¹ve built up your Squidoo expertise?

mynameiskate: As I mentioned above, the URL is one. You really do have to have a url that relates to what you’re talking about. And then planning for growth. What will your lens look like in a year? This is definitely my current struggle. Any ideas are welcome!

Glen: What are your three favorite things about Squidoo?

mynameiskate: The community – I don’t visit SquidU every day, but when I do I am AMAZED by the generosity of people there. The team – Megan, Gil and Corey are exceptional.

The charity aspect – How amazing that I can do something I love and create $$ for my fav charity. I actually just wrote about this.

Glen: Do you have a schedule or management tip for managing multiple lenses?

mynameiskate: I only have 6, so my tips will not help those amazing Giant Squids who do over 100!!

Glen: What is it about squidoo – be it a person, feature, reason – that has caused you to stick around?

mynameiskate: I think it was because people were so encouraging and that Squidoo itself rewards quality.

Glen: If you were given a day in the squidoo hq office what would you do?

mynameiskate: Hmm … Aside from trying to find the key to the lensrank algorithm? I’d probably just bring a basket of muffins and get as much insight as I could into the big blue sky vision for Squidoo. What does Squidoo HQ imagine it to be 5 years from now.

Glen: Where do you write the content for your lenses?

mynameiskate: Most of my writing centers around the laptop bag, so as long as I’m using the one I’m writing about, I can write where ever. But it’s usually at home.

Glen: You wake up in the middle of the night if a fantastic lens idea,do you: a) hope you remember it in the morning, b) get up and fire up the computer, c) grab the pda or notepad and pen thats ready and waiting next to the bed for times like these, d) rouse your partner from their blissful slumber and put the responsibility on him/her to remember your grand idea.

mynameiskate: Usually a. If I did d, I’d be divorced

Glen: What’s your favorite module and why?

mynameiskate: I have to admit I’m not super-experimental with modules. I’m just so delighted that we can use HTML in the Write module – that’s the one I use the most.

Glen: What’s the topic of the next lens you’re working on?

mynameiskate: I hope to expand the “Funky, Chic and Cool” idea to bags for men – I get a lot of email from fellows who want something interesting and cool in a bag, but don’t want it to be too girly.

Glen: What three words best describes your fondness for Squidoo?

mynameiskate: Hmmm … I think “Funky, Chic and Cool” applies to Squidoo as well

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