What is a Sponsored Link?

A Sponsored Link is a pay for performance, extremely targeted, tasteful advertising vehicle that follows in the footsteps of market-proven models (see Overture and Google AdWords). A Sponsored Link may be placed on an arbitrary number of tickets. Sponsored Link customers bid for top billing on tickets by specifying a price they are willing to pay for clickthroughs.

See also the Sponsored Link product description (includes sample).

What is the format of a Sponsored Link?

A Sponsored Link as displayed on the Bitzi website appears in a box with 5 lines of text, linked to a URL of your choosing:

Headline (up to 25 characters)
Text Line 1 (up to 35 characters)
Text Line 2 (up to 35 characters)
Destination domain name (e.g., mybandiscool.com)
Clickthrough cost to advertiser

See the Sponsored Link product description for an example.

Who may place a Sponsored Link?

Anyone! If you are a creator or publisher you may wish to also consider a Privileged Listing.

How do I create a Sponsored Link?

Find a ticket that you wish to place a Sponsored Link on.
Click on "See your message here...".
Fill in the "New Sponsored Link" form.
Click the "Create & Apply Sponsored Link" button.
You will be taken to a confirmation screen which will display what your new Sponsored Link will look like barring further changes.
Click the "[Confirm] Create & Apply Sponsored Link" button.
You will be taken to a page displaying your new Sponsored Link (and allowing edits). Beneath the display and edit form you will see a list of tickets the Sponsored Link has been applied to (only one at this point). Click on the ticket link and you will see your new Sponsored Link appear on the ticket (if not try reloading the page).

How do I edit a Sponsored Link?

Go to your Sponsored Link management page (linked from your private workspace which itself is linked to in the header of every Bitzi page).
Click on "Edit / View Stats" next to the Sponsored Link you wish to edit.
Effect your desired changes in the "Modify Sponsored Link" form.
Click the "Modify Sponsored Link" button.
You will be taken to a confirmation page. Review your changes.
Click the "[Confirm] Modify Sponsored Link" button.
You will be taken back to the Sponsored Link page, where you may make further edits if desired. Click on a ticket link under "This Sponsored Link is applied to the following # ticket(s):" to view your changes in the context of a real ticket.

How do I place a Sponsored Link on multiple tickets?

After initially creating a Sponsored Link you will have placed it on a single ticket. To place an existing Sponsored Link on additional tickets:

Find a ticket that you wish to place an existing Sponsored Link on.
Click on "See your message here...".
Select the desired Sponsored Link from "Existing Sponsored Links".
Enter bid amount in the "Bid ($)" field. This is the amount you will pay for each clickthrough from the ticket on which your Sponsored Link will soon appear.
Click on "Apply Existing Sponsored Link" button.
You will be taken to a page displaying the applied Sponsored Link (and allowing edits). Beneath the display and edit form you will see a list of tickets the Sponsored Link has been applied to, including the addition you just made. Click on the ticket link and you will see your new Sponsored Link appear on the ticket (if not try reloading the page).

How do I remove a Sponsored Link from a ticket?

Go to your Sponsored Link management page (linked from your private workspace which itself is linked to in the header of every Bitzi page).
Click on "Edit / View Stats" next to the Sponsored Link you wish to remove.
You will be taken to a page displaying the selected Sponsored Link (and allowing edits). Beneath the display and edit form you will see a list of tickets the Sponsored Link has been applied to. Uncheck the "Listing Active" checkbox for the ticket(s) you wish to remove the Sponsored Link from.
Click the "Update Sponsored Link/Ticket Status" button.
You will be taken back to the selected PL's page. Notice that the "Listing Active" box will be unselected for the ticket(s) from which you have removed the Sponsored Link.

How much does a Sponsored Link cost?

Placing a Sponsored Link costs nothing. However, your Sponsored Links will not appear on any tickets unless you have made a deposit and have a positive balance.

When placig a Sponsored Link on a ticket, you make a bid for clickthroughs via your Sponsored Link on the ticket. If you bid $0.05, you would pay five cents for each click from your Sponsored Link.

Where can I get more information and support?

See the Sponsored Link product description and factsheet. Direct questions to the Sponsored Link discussion group.

Help: Sponsored Links