Another reason to dote upon our service? Uh, why not! (gulp. smile. eyes wide. pride showing) We gladly put our best foot forward.

Our absolute favorite thing to do here at Chitika, is personally reach out to our publishers. We can’t help it. We like to be able to put a name, face and personality to a publisher ID and website. We want to know what you like to do in your spare time. And we’ll tell you too, just ask!

Some of our publishers already know this about us, because we work closely with most of them already. So we thought to ourselves, “how can we get to know everyone, even those that may be a little computer shy? I’ve got an idea!
An online community, one where people are already used to going and are comfortable with. I’ll call it a…… forum!”

For those who have not yet checked out Chitika SPHERE, you are missing out on some great discussions between our publishers and the Chitika staff. Once you do, you will see we have made sure it has a personal touch to it. No questions will go unanswered, and if you can manage to stump us on a question, we will try our best anyway. Hey, we are human too.

SPHERE Hot Topics:

• 15% revenue increase with RPU
• Tag clouds + shopping = $$$
• ShopLinc vs. Amazon aStore

“Finally there’s a place I can go to meet other Chitika members, hear their success stories, learn some tips and tricks I didn’t even know about and share my own ideas!”

Enter SPHERE

The #1 referral program on the Internet just came with extra protection, for everyone.

With the holiday shopping season upon us, you are probably faced with a tragic fact:

My October 2005 referral revenue stream is coming to an end thanks to the 12 month limit on the referral program!

Slam! Right smack in the middle of the holiday shopping season. We simply could not let that happen.

We just extended the referral revenue stream from 12 to 15 months! For example: If you referred someone in October 2005, your referral revenue will continue through January 2007.

On the same lines, if you refer someone now, your referral revenue stream will continue through January 2008 (thus keeping you safe through the 2007 shopping season as well!)

Who does this benefit the most?
Anyone who referred publishers to Chitika during Q4 last year (2005). Without this change, that revenue stream would essentially have stopped this month (and next) — thus missing out on the upcoming holiday shopping season. This change eliminates that problem for those referrers.Happy Holiday Shopping!

You applied for your very own ShopLinc and were approved - Bam! You configured your ShopLinc - Biff! You checked your revenue reports… wait a minute, where is the “Pow!”? Sure, ShopLinc is a merchandizing tool of heroic proportions, but just like some super heroes, ShopLinc’s power is limited.

Remember Batman? Sure you do. The thing about Batman is that he doesn’t really HAVE super powers. Sure, he has above average wealth which allows him to make a few gizmos like his Utility Belt, but Batman’s true power comes from his intellect. Your ShopLinc is like Batman. No wait! You are like Batman! No. Your ShopLinc is like a tool in your Utility Belt. No! Um… Your ShopLinc is like the Batmobile?

Okay, maybe I am reaching too hard for this analogy. Anyway, the point is this: if you want your ShopLinc to be effective, you need to get your readers to your ShopLinc.

Putting the “Pow!” in your ShopLinc:

Assuming that you have forgiven my analogy-gone-bad, let’s talk about getting your ShopLinc to really perform. “How?”, you ask. Elementary, my young ward.

• Open the doors to your shop - if you want your ShopLinc to prove its effectiveness you need to give your readers a way to get to your ShopLinc. The best methods?
  • Deep Link - This may take a little leg work, but this really is the most effective method. ShopLinc was designed to allow for you to easily link directly to the most effective pages. Think about it, your reader is perusing your intriguing review on Laser Guided Scissors (thanks Gadgeteer) and they are convinced, “I must have you, Laser Guided Scissors”. What could be more effective than a link to your ShopLinc? Try it yourself.
  • Let ‘em Search - Always wanted a search box to your own store? Now here is your chance. ShopLinc actually has two tools designed to help you. Login and try it yourself. Try a ShopLinc search box or the Interactive Product Search Unit.
  • ShopLinc Link - If neither of these methods work for you, simply add a well placed link to your Shop. Be forewarned, though, this is not nearly as effective.
• Customization - ShopLinc was designed to be your online shop. We put a lot of effort into allowing you to customize your site to look like a shop that you would design. Now, make it YOUR shop!
  • Be the Expert - Let your visitors know that this is your shop. Update your expert information. Display an image of yourself. Let your visitors know that they are shopping with you, the expert.
  • Look the Part - from background colors, to fonts, to headers and footers, we let you customize your ShopLinc to look like your blog.
  • Use Your Domain - this isn’t some sort of glorified vanity plate. We went out of our way to allow you to have a ShopLinc url under your domain (eg. http://shoplinc.YOURDOMAIN.com). Learn more.

Well, I think my work, here, is done. I have other analogies to work on. Nanananana ShopLincs!

Posted by Mike Ross (Super Hero Training)

Having started working at Chitika last week, I had to go through something they call “eat your own dog food”; know the steps publisher’s take, to getting eMiniMalls up and running on blogs. I realized, it’s not easy being on the other end doing what bloggers do.

So I created a step-by-step guide to get started (along with some advanced stuff & some cool tools to boot). If you are a blogger, it is my hope that you can reach into this “Batman’s Utility Belt” and get what you need to get started with eMiniMalls.

Now, this is important: You don’t need to be a web-designer or html-savvy to get up and running. I neither know html or know web-design (and I managed to put this together).

Getting down to basics:

• Getting Started with eMiniMalls on Blogger.com
• Getting Started with eMiniMalls on WordPress
• Getting Started with eMiniMalls on TypePad Pro
• Getting Started with eMiniMalls on TypePad Basic or Plus

Advanced Tool Belt Functions:

Now that you have gotten started, the next big question on the table is: “How do I optimize my eMiniMalls revenue?” Here we will address the major factors that affect how your eMiniMalls perform.

• Targeting: By far, the biggest factor in optimizing your eMiniMalls revenue is the targeting of the units. There are three levels of targeting supported (in order of preference):
  • Setting the keyword to the title of the blog post: If the title of your blog post has got product information in it (e.g. “Cannon releases Powershot 630 camera”), then setting the keyword for the eMiniMall to this title is by far the most effective means of targeting. When you do this, there is a good chance that the eMiniMall will show the exact product that your post talks about. How to do this you ask? Here are step-by-step instructions on doing this on Blogger, WordPress and TypePad.
  • Setting specific keywords: So your blog titles don’t make much product sense… no worries. The next best option for you is to set specific keywords. Remember that Chitika gives you full flexibility to set keywords of your choice. So stop for a second ant think about the products that your blog audience will be interested in. Think straight (e.g. “Palm Treo”, “Dell Axim”, etc. on a site about PDA’s), or think lateral (e.g. “Ipod Video”, “LG Chocolate”, etc. if your audience is the MySpace crowd).
  • Categories: If the above two methods sound painful to you, Chitika also supports a “lazy-man’s” approach which targets the eMiniMall to the best category for your audience. Chitika will do the work of showing the most popular products in the specified category. Although this is the easiest method of targeting, it is also the least effective.
• Positioning Your eMiniMall: The second biggest factor in optimizing your eMiniMalls revenue is how the units are positioned in your website design (you might have heard of “heat maps”). Here is a quick positioning tutorial on the best positioning for eMinimall units.
• Look & Feel:Customizing the look and feel of the eMiniMall units not only optimizes your revenue but also makes the units blend in nicely with your site content (leading to a good user experience). Here is a quick tutorial on customizing your eMiniMall’s look and feel.
• Using Multiple eMiniMalls: Using multiple eMiniMall’s in a productive way allows you to reach your audiences on several different levels (specially as it related to targeting). Here is a quick tutorial on using multiple eMiniMall units.

Other Geek Stuff:

• eMiniMalls Plugin for Word Press v2.X
• eMiniMalls Sidebar widget for Wordpress v2.X
• Using Chitika Referral Buttons on your site
• Tracking your ads using Channels

Thank You’s:

Many thanks to my fellow rookies Daniel and Leo (who joined Chitika with me last week), Feedbuzzard and ProBlogger.You guys are awesome!

Posted by Ryan Travis (Client Services)

The hot new Multi-Product Unit has just gotten even better! In order to maximize the revenue from your eMiniMall Multi-Product Units to their fullest potential, (drum roll ….please) we have now referral-link enabled all multi-product units.

That means, when someone clicks on the “Chitika eMiniMalls” link at the top right of your multi-product unit, signs up & receives an approval for Chitika eMiniMalls, you will be on your way to earning 10% of your referrals revenue for the first 12 months!

Chitika, offer’s the #1 referral program which allows you to start receiving your cash as soon as you reach $10.00 for paypal, or $50.00 for check payments. There is no limit to the amount of referrals, or revenue, you can receive!

You can now generate referral revenue right from your MPU unit or by using any one of our standard referral banners.

Currently all Multi Product eMiniMall units are referral link enabled. All other eMiniMalls units will be referral link enabled soon.

Login now to select any of our 5 multi-product unit sizes and be part of the number one referral program …today!

Your sitting back in your chair, in front of your computer and you’re wondering.. “What do my visitors, outside of my country see when they view eMiniMalls on my website? Is it the same product? Do they get to view it in their language?”

Well, pack your bags, and take a trip to our Globe Trot, where you can view what products others are seeing in all other countries! Here you will also be able to view what visitors are seeing from countries we currently do not support. See below for supported countries.

So, which clicks from what countries do you get paid for? Chitika actually supports traffic from 13 countries! However, not to be confused with who can apply.. anyone can, from any country! The current traffic supported countries:

(Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, UK, US)

Although these are the countries we currently support traffic from, we are still only supporting websites in English.
We are always updating & working on new features to expand our network for you. So be sure to check back for new features & updates!

Got a Question? Ask one of our experts now.

While reading Problogger’s article about Amazon aStore in iFrames (Link), we said to ourselves — “Hey, that makes sense. We should support that for our CPC-based Chitika | ShopLinc right out of the box” .. (Oh yeah — we read the comments too!)

So we went ahead and did it .. we made the necessary enhancements and now you can embed Chitika | ShopLinc right into your website or blog. And we made it as simple as a copy-paste of two lines of html. For the step by step guide, here is the Knowledgebase Article. And here is our little demo (http://chitika.com/shop.php) that we put together in two minutes.

So why is this cool ?

• You get to host a shop within your website and your domain that looks completely integrated with your site [Quote shamelessly borrowed from Problogger]
• We created a “Iframeable template” that fits in nicely with your content pane and minimizes any look and feel issues. [Krista’s Concern]
• With a little server side coding, you can have the iframe open straight to a particular product. Example: http://chitika.com/shop.php?query=Garmin+StreetPilot+c530 [SEO Anyone?]

Want in ? Request an Invitation ..

Related Stuff:

• ShopLinc Announcement
• Problogger ShopLinc Review

So this co-worker of mine, Mike, an engineer here at Chitika would frequently tell me about some swimming thing he was into, I would usually just smile and nod, not thinking too much of his stories. Actually, half the time, I wasn’t even sure if he was telling the truth, I mean, doesn’t swimming class stop somewhere around middle school?

Well, on a normal monday morning, Mike didn’t come to work. I asked around and found out he was attending a swimming competition in California.. (supposedly he told me, I dono.)

Well, when he came back the following Friday, I was astonished to learn that our dear friend Mike won a world record! Maybe I should have listened to him a bit more?

I dropped everything and scheduled an interview with our own Chitika superstar.

Mike, when did you start swimming?

“I started swimming competitively at the age of 7.”

Tell me more about your swimming career?

“I qualified for the Olympic Trials in 1988, 1992 and 1996. In college, I swam the backstroke leg of a NCAA winning relay in 1989 and 1990. As a Masters swimmer, I have won several national titles and have set a few world records in my age group (35-39).”

Mike, ok all we really care about is what world records you broke!

“Hey, I don’t ask you what world records you have!”

Mike, really we aren’t here to boast about me, we really want to hear about you.

Oh, alright. I just set the long course 100 meter backstroke record for men aged 35-39. I also hold the long course 50 meter backstroke, the long course 100 meter butterfly, the short course 50 meter backstroke and the short course 100 meter backstroke. I may have one or two US Masters records, as well.

Well! What about Chitika, done anything cool here?

Launching Chitika | ShopLinc was a pretty big accomplishment. I also didn’t have to wear a skimpy bathing suit for that, so that was a plus.

So I guess you could say that when your not working on ShopLincs, your breaking world records.

“Ya I guess, are we done? Cuz I got work to do.”

More on Mike

-Mike’s friend, the good listener, Karla Escolas

A new customized shopping destination for your website or blog.

How is ShopLinc different from other branded shops?
Your ShopLinc will feature content from your website, blog posts or articles. So its not just another shop, its your shop with your content, not ours.

Maintained by Chitika, “remote” controlled by you!

Check out our Featured ShopLincs:

With Chitika | ShopLincs (SM) you can promote hand selected products of your choice, expert reviews and paid listings/offers from name brand merchants.

QUICK TOUR

Chitika | ShopLincs will be offered to select publishers. At this time, ShopLincs are being offered on an invitation basis only. You will be able to apply for your own ShopLinc soon.

WE HEARD YOU!

Your Questions Answered, still.. continues!

Your payments will no longer be going down in history! With our new payment tracker, you can be on-top of all your transactions, past, present & future.

Simply Login, click Account, then Payment History:

Now you can see payments accumulated till date & outstanding balances!

Happy Tracking!

-Chitika Request Team

Chitika launched it’s first ever survey, and for the first time, rewarded it’s publishers for being fast. The first 50 to complete the short survey, get an exclusive Chitika tee.

A big thanks to the thousands of publishers who took the time to provide us with the best feedback we ever received.

Enjoy!

Your Chitika CRM Manager- Karla Escolas

After the successful launch of our new Multi-Product Unit in size 468×180, the request for more sizes in our survey got us running to make more!

The following 4 are now also available.

468×60

250×250

300×250

728×90

(Image scaled down to fit page)

SHOW ME ALL FORMAT SIZES.

Login to select your new unit in the code panel.

Your Welcome.

You asked for it.. here you go!

We have expanded our categories list to give our publishers more options & have also improved our existing categories. You can expect 4x more products rotating through all categories old and new!

Our new categories are..
Drumroll please..

Why are we happy about giving you 44 categories to choose from? Ultimitely we want our service so easy to use that you will have to practically do nothing.

SHOW ME ALL CATEGORIES.
Login now to get your category!

Your Questions Answered continued..

We were very surprised to learn from our publishers that they hold back on using keywords or categories because they are worried about being in violation of terms & conditions from other ad networks.

What makes Chitika great is that you can use it with other ad networks without being in violation.

Chitika gives you the choice to display the ads YOU want, whether it be with keywords, categories or both. This is using eMiniMalls in its default, non-contextual mode. Making it completely compatible.

So rest assured, you can use our service worry-free!

View All Categories

Coming soon.. improved/expanded category options. Check back soon for details!

Your Questions Answered

Does Chitika have an updated Wordpress plugin that works with 2.x ? Yes. Download it here.

This plugin allows you to put a Chitika eMiniMall right into the body of the blog post. There is also a convenient button in the editor to customize keywords, colors etc.

Whats New:

• The plugin configuration is now done through the Wordpress options tab. No need to edit the files.
• To put a eMiniMall right into your blog post, there is now a little button on the editor to help you add and customize the eMiniMall for that particular post
• This plugin is backward compatible with Wordpress 1.5. So you can use it with Wordpress 1.5 as well.

Keep tuned in for more tips and tricks..

Hats off to all our publishers who participated in our first ever on line survey!
We received fantastic feedback.
For the next month we plan to touch on some great ideas you gave us, by adding new features & options.
We also received some interesting responses that we would like to start clearing up in a series of blog posts. Lets begin our first:

VIEWING PARTICULAR/SPECIFIC DATES IN THE REPORTING SYSTEM.

Did you know that you can select a start and ending date to which you want to see your stats for?
You can choose to view the last 7 days, last month, this month, or select your own dates:

Next, refer to the Start and End Date boxes below. Click on the small calender to the right of the boxes & select a date in which you would like to see your stats displayed:

Stay Tuned for more of YOUR questions answered..

We get a lot of questions from publishers asking whether their website is a good match. Whether they are looking to sign up or are already users.

Let’s break down the eMiniMalls unit:

Each unit features a product, (or if you are using the MPU unit, then 4) a description, review & best deals to buy. So where do we work best? On websites that also are featuring, talking about, or selling products. Although this is the obvious answer, we also have been known to work great on other kinds of sites, but you have to know how to put a spin on your unit in order for it to work for you.

This is key. It doesn’t matter so much what your page is about, but rather, who comes there. Once you can put yourself in this position, then you can start thinking about what products to show on your pages.

Let’s get creative.

If your site is about cooking, featuring recipes, etc., you could be showing cooking accessories, like utensils, pots, pans, cutting boards.. you name it. Simply search for products in your own unit, or on our live demo unit on www.chitika.com

Maybe you have a floral gift shop with an affiliate site. Showcase other great gifts.

Let’s squash the myth that Chitika only works great on technology sites. We feature a wide range of products from clothing to musical instruments. Browse our categories today to see if one is a good match for your site, so Chitika can do the work for you!

Karla Escolas-Chitika CRM Manager

Catching up with our newest star, MPU (Multi-Product unit), for an interview wasn’t easy. With so many website requests, this star is in high demand. But we managed to steal 10 minutes of its time to answer some questions for the fans.

How is it being under the pressure of all this fame so fast?
“Let me tell you, I am loving it!”

What is it about you that you think made you so famous?
“Well, it has to be my ability to show 4 products at once, I mean, people love the cool new look! I am interactive, which is more than I can say for some of those other units, I won’t name any names.”

What happens when someone puts in a keyword and there are no results?
“How annoying is that! I want a category please! By using a category, you can sit back and let me show the top products instead of showing something you don’t want, and it’s so easy.”

Do you have any plans to come in other sizes?
“Yes, but please give me time, I mean I just started in this business, ultimately I plan to offer more to my fans.”

On which kinds of websites do you work best?
“I am great in reviews on blogs, or on a site that talks about allot of products. I also prefer to be at the end of reviews or showcased with other great products.”

Any advise for your publishers?
“If you’re using keywords, make sure you’re using at least 10, since I like to show 4 at a time. My best advice is to use a category. This gives your visitors more choices & more money for you. You can find me in the code panel with the rest of the format sizes. Thank you to all of my fans who believe in me! Without you, I wouldn’t be here!”

Chitika Press

With billions of ads served, thousands of payments sent, how do we get any sleep?
We don’t.
And we wouldn’t have it any other way!

We are just as excited as you are about your earnings, so why wait! At Chitika, you receive money into your paypal account as soon as you reach $10.00! And when you accumulate $50.00 by check.

For this very reason, paypal is our default payment method. If you are not sure which method you are using, login and update your payment status by clicking on Account, then Payee Information. Here you can also select our Payment Hold Option up to $1000.00.

You keep it, we insist.
We know that service fees can really add up, that is why Chitika doesn’t charge our users a fee for paypal. We believe more money in our clients pocket, makes a happy publisher.
Payments are processed on a net 30 basis. This means, if you sign up on May 10th and accumulate a minimum of $10.00 by May 30th, you will receive your payment at the end of June. And check payments are sent soon after.

Before payments go out for May’s revenue. Lets ensure a timely & hassle free delivery.

Double check: Have you put your paypal email address or your mailing address in your profile for us to send your payment to?
Don’t have paypal? Sign up today.

Your payment questions answered:

“I received a paypal notification in my email but I do not have a paypal account.”

If you have received a paypal notification, this is because you did not sign up to receive a check payment instead of paypal. Remember, paypal is our default payment method. Login and update your profile by clicking on Account, then Payee Information. Your balance will be rolled onto your next check.

“What will happen if I choose not to accept the paypal payment?”

If you decide to decline the paypal payment because you do not have a paypal account, your balance will be forwarded onto next months payment.

“How long before the end of the month do I have to update my profile before my payment is already processed?”

You can update your profile at any time. But if you need to make changes for the current cycle, be sure to update this information before the 28th of the month.

Karla Escolas- Chitika CRM Manager