The Value of a Comment

Have you ever thought about the value of a guestbook on your lens? I mean, besides answering questions, what good does a comment section do on your lens?

First of all, it is important to know how to use the Guestbook or Comments module. For that, I will refer you to a lens by Kimberly, called Guestbooks and You. In this lens, you will find all the answers to how to use a Guestbook module, and control the comments that you receive.

Now that we have that down pat, why bother with a comment section at all? You may notice from time to time that some lenses do not have a comment section, and some of those lenses are by well established lensmasters.

So let's start with some Squidoosophy about Guestbooks. The majority of active Squidoo lensmasters including most of the Squid Angels prefer that you have a Guestbook or Comment section on your lens. It is the easiest way to contact you. If you don't have a Comment section on your lens, at minimum it is a good idea to turn on your Contact Me button on your profile page, otherwise there is no way for one of us to contact you.

Now, if you turned off your contact button and you don't have Guestbooks on your lenses, don't be upset if no one contacts you. So, first of all, having Guestbooks on your lenses makes you seem friendlier. You may find, however, that some of your lenses get a lot of spam comments due to subject matter. You have the ability to screen your comments before they are public, but the only way to turn that off completely is to delete the Guestbook module. You can also set it for signed in lensmasters only. But this is one big reason why people sometimes do not have guestbooks.

However, if you want to be an active member of the Squidoo community, it is a good idea to have your Guestbooks active on at least the majority of your lenses.

Another issue about guestbooks is whether to leave a link in your comment. And I would have to say, that unless the link is absolutely going to add to the value of the lens, do not. Most links left in comments are essentially self-promotion which many lensmasters delete. It is considered a kind of spam in many cases, and I can tell you that I have the html turned off on all my guestbooks, and will delete most comments that include a link in them. The only exception is to a link that will add to the value of the lens.

Beyond philosophy, Guestbooks can give you some "Google juice" if your commenters make valuable comments. And here is where we as lensmasters can help each other. When I first started on Squidoo, I thought it was enough to just leave a "great lens" comment. But really, that does nothing for the lensmaster except to make them feel good. A true benefit to the lens is if you leave a comment that is relevant to the topic being discussed. Even better if you include some keywords related to the topic. Why? Because Google scans the entire lens, and sometimes the comments are part of that scan. If a comment is valuable, it may add to the worth of the lens itself in the "eyes" of the search engines.

So do your friends a favor. When you comment on their lenses, say something about the topic you just read about. You can help raise the value of what you are reading.

And a personal plug, my newest lens, just published today is Pink October: The New Color of Fall. I would love to get your views on it. :)

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Interact with Your Readers

Keeping your reader's attention to keep them reading all the way down the page is one of the goals in writing a great lens.

One of the best ways to do that is to interact with your reader. Squidoo offers several interaction modules that are simple to implement on lenses.

I have found that there are three modules that always get readers to interact. These are not the only three modules, but if you are looking for responses, they are the best ones.

Poll module:

The poll module is a simple one to implement. You ask a question, and the readers pick one of several choices to answer. It is anonymous so if your subject is delicate, people can feel assured that you won't know which was their answer. I tend to put the polls near the top of my lenses when I use them. Usually I use them as a survey of feelings or likes and dislikes. I like to give at least three choices. Remember to always give a choice that means "I don't know or I don't care or it doesn't affect me". Here is an example of a poll in my Living with Dysthymia lens. You will notice that the poll is only the fourth module in including the introduction.

Duel module:

I love the duel module. I don't always use it for a duel. Sometimes it is just a place that people can offer opinions. Most people like to express their opinions on topics that they are interested in. Especially if they have personal experience. Duels are fun because they lay out nicely in the lens, you can see the people's avatars next to their comments, and it breaks up the lens nicely. This particular duel in the Living with Dysthymia lens asks almost the same question as the poll. I broaden the question by asking if they live with anyone who has experienced depression.

Guestbook:

Guestbooks are slightly controversial on Squidoo. I personally prefer lenses that have guestbooks or at least some way to reach the author, but I understand perfectly why someone wouldn't have one. Some lenses in particular get a lot of spam comments. It seems to particularly true in guestbooks more than any other kind of interaction module. However, it is another chance for your readers to interact with you and let you know they were there. You can set up all of your comment modules so that you have to approve the comments. It only takes a few minutes to check your comments page in your dashboard to read them and approve them. You will probably find that the same people will not always take advantage of all your interaction modules on a lens, but the more chances they have, the more chances are that they will respond to one of them. I myself don't always fill out polls or duels if I don't have a strong opinion. Sometimes I don't know enough about the topic to leave a comment. Here is the guestbook for the same lens. I like to ask the reader a question related to the lens they have just looked at. It gives them a reason to leave a comment. Depending on the lens, it can be more or less specific.

Another option you have for all your comment modules is to turn off the html in them. By doing so, you eliminate the links to outside sources. I didn't do this at first, but I do now, even if I am encouraging people to leave a link. I can always copy the link address and put it in my browser. Not everyone agrees with me on this. This is my compromise between having the comment section and cutting down on spam.