For my first two lenses, I have advertised them to my facebook, pinterest, email list, etc before squidoo ranked them. Is this a good or a bad idea? Or does it not matter either way?
The more advertising the better. Your goal is to get your information out there, so I see no harm in it.
It's fine either way. I always share mine right after I publish them. It usually only takes about a day for them to be featured on Squidoo.