I realize the new lens revenue goes right into the Ad Pool, so it’s still getting divvied up; it’s just not earned its own chops.

That works.

I just gotta start taking your advice about holding off on social promotion — at least on Squidoo-related lenses — until month’s end. That makes sense. It depends on the lens; most are going to get most of their worth from outside Squidoo anyway.

And hey, cool beans, I’d somehow forgotten the ad revenue on tag/search pages.

So, what happens to revenue that is generated by a new lens? Well, that goes into the same pot as the rest, and then shared amongst the top lenses. The ad revenue generate from any single lens is going to be a mere drop in the ocean, especially if it’s only been live for part of the month. Because that new lens is not eligible for a share of the revenue, another lens will get it instead.

Over the long term, I really don’t think it matters. A lens can start earning affiliate revenue as soon as it get traffic, and after a couple years the “lost” revenue for that first month really won’t be significant.

I recommend publishing a new lens as soon as it’s ready, but maybe hold off on the social promotion until just before the next month.