Topics You Can't Write About on Squidoo

The article sharing site Squidoo will accept a wide variety of articles for the most part.   

You can write about nearly anything as long as you behave as a good citizen, meaning that you shall not spam, and you shall not plagiarize another writer’s work. 

But there are some topics that the Squidoo site just won’t accept.   

If you do submit an article on one of these topics, the article will most likely get unpublished, and repeatedly submitting articles along these lines will get you banned from the site permanently.

Today we’re going to take a look at a sample of Squidoo’s Do Not Write About List, or what they called the SquidDon’ts. 

This list below is meant to give you a few ideas of what to stay away from when writing for the site, and is in no way a comprehensive compilation.

Here we go.

12 Areas to Avoid When Writing an Article for Squidoo

1.  Don’t write pharmaceutical/ drug/diet aid reviews.  Don’t write about diet pills.  Don’t write about fad nutrient drinks or miracle fruits/nuts/berries.  Some examples of topics not allowed would be : Viagra, Hoodia Gordoni, Penis Enlargement, acai berries, PE, snoring, hair loss, augmentations, asthma miracle cures and so on.   

Don’t link to one of these topics through an affiliate program using Squidoo.  Don’t link to e-books on these subjects either. 

2.  Don’t write about MLM programs, get rich quick programs, or projected earnings and such.  Don’t write about network marketing, pay per click projects, or internet traffic exchange sites.  Search engines punish these marketing schemes and the Squidoo website does too.  There are even some affiliate programs that are rather scammy that can run you into trouble on Squidoo. 

3.  Don’t write about websites that offer help with your love life, sex life, dating websites, etc.   Don’t write about revenge websites. 

4.  No gambling articles.  No poker articles or how to win the lottery stories. 

5.  Don’t write about how to copy DVD’s, video games or television programs.  Don’t write about scamming the satellite providers or using illegal sharing sites.  If it’s against DMCA laws, Squidoo is not going to accept your article on the subject. 

You can link to products like Hulu and Amazon, but don't mislead people to think something is free if it's not.

6. Don’t write about work at home scams, companies that offer to consolidate credit card debt, mortgage brokers, currency trading, Forex, Regenesis, or topics of this nature. 

While there is some room to write good articles on avoiding scams in these fields, Squidoo will clamp down hard if you’re offering tips on firms to use or spam baiting readers.

7.  Don't be a hater.  No vile hate articles.  Don’t write ugly.  Yes, you can write a negative product review but if you cross the line by directing hate towards a person or a group, you will be unpublished.  

8. Don’t write about free downloads.  None.  Zero.  They don’t want articles about free ringtone downloads, Mp3 downloads, or movie downloads. 

9.  Squidoo will not accept adult content articles.  No porn, X-rated reading, mature content, no violence.  Reconsider if you’re thinking of adding images of scantily clad models or any type to your article.

10.  Be aware of copyright issues when quoting lyrics, books, movies, poems, etc.  Your article needs to be reviewing the work or adding something substantial to the mix, not simply reprinting prose, in order to pass muster.  Quote correctly, and credit where due.

11.  If you’re submitting an article on coloring pages or displaying computer wallpaper, you must be the person who designed the work you’re showcasing, otherwise you’re probably violating copyright laws.  If it’s your work, make sure you say so.

12.  Do no harm.  Squidoo is not the place to publish information about extreme diets, abortion information, or legal drugs.    

Squidoo is trying to keep their website “family friendly”.

A Final Thought

After years of encouraging writers to submit reviews on every product in the marketplace, Squidoo is now unpublishing writer’s reviews of products that they see as not enriching an individual’s quality of life.  This is a pretty vacuous idea, so I can’t really explain the Squidoo theory behind the rule

Squidoo Headquarters writes that it wants writers to submit reviews of music, literature, movies, and collectibles because they add to our general quality of life.  They in turn state that reviews of shower curtains and tablecloths will be unpublished because evidently these items no longer add to the quality of our human lives.* 

Go figure. 

*This policy Reprinted From "The SquidDon’t Content Policy" by SquidTeam:  No “Mundane product lenses. This includes lenses that solely focus on products that serve little purpose like shower curtains, tablecloths and garbage bags. Squidoo is about reviewing the things that enrich your life like music, books, movies, collectibles, etc”