The Chitika eMiniMalls Blogging Toolkit (a.k.a. Batman's Utility Belt)

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)

Published By
Categorized as Blog Tagged