Banner and Link Advertisements - Instructions
Overview
The banner and link advertisement system allows you to group multiple banners into a single campaign. The names of campaigns are freely definable, and you may have any number of banners in a campaign. The included reports present statistical information per campaign, allowing you to gauge the effectiveness of your individual banners.
Reports
In order to display the available reports, simply fill in a begin and end date in the provided fields and click the "View Reports!" link. This will display the built in reports below.
The first "Summary" report shows you totals for all hit types that occurred as a result of your campaign. The second "Summary By Campaign" shows you totals for all hit types grouped by your different Campaigns. The "Summary by Campaign, Banner" report shows you totals for all hit types grouped by your campaigns and the individual banners of your campaigns.
Below these three summary reports is a detailed report showing each individual hit, the date it occurred, etc.
Hit types
| Hit Type |
Description |
| First banner click |
This event is generated when somebody clicks on one of your banners for the very fist time. |
| Subsequent banner click |
This event is generated when somebody has already clicked on one of your banners (thereby creating a "First banner click" event) and clicks on the same banner again. |
| Page request |
This event is generated every time somebody that you brought to the Skydive Chicago website through one of your banners visits any page on our website. |
| Sign-up |
This event is generated when a user signs up as a result of clicking one of your banners. |
| Item purchase |
This event is generated every time somebody makes a tandem jump purchase as a result of your banner. |
| Item redeem |
This event is generated when somebody who has purchased a tandem dive actually comes in and redeems it (jumps). |
| Paid incentive |
This event is generated when your account has been credited. |
Creating a new campaign
To create a new campaign, simply type in a name in the provided field and click the "Create Banners!" link. This will create the campaign and immediately take you to the banner selection screen.
Adding banners to an existing campaign
The easiest way to add banners to an existing campaign is to simply click on the campaign name in the detailed report. Alternatively, you may type in the name of an existing campaign in the provided field and click the "Create Banners!" link. However, if the typed in campaign name does not precisely match the name of an existing campaign, you're effectively creating a new campaign. For this reason, it's best to stick to clicking the provided links!
Both methods will immediately take you to the banner selection screen.
Selecting a banner
As soon as an existing campaign is selected or a new one is created, you'll be presented with a list of available banners and their corresponding code for insertion into your websites. Notice that the list is a combination of image and text banners, both of which work in exactly the same way when it comes to tracking how many clicks, referrals, and purchases were made as a result of banner.
The code that you see is pre-formatted HTML that is ready for you to copy and paste into your website of choice. The code will embed the banner image into the site and includes a specially encrypted character string that represents you and your campaign, allowing us to track all relevant events that occurred as a result of your banner. These statistics, in turn, are available for you to analyze in the report page.
Selecting the HTML code
The first method for selecting a banner involves selecting and copying the provided HTML code, and it can be used wherever pure HTML can be used (MySpace, your own personal website, etc.).
- Select all of the HTML code provided next to your chosen banner. To do this, either use your mouse to select all the text. Alternatively, you can click on the text box, and press CTRL-A on your keyboard to automatically select all the text in the text box.
- Copy the text to your clipboard, either by right clicking and selecting 'Copy' in the context menu, or pressing CTRL-C on your keyboard.
Selecting the banner image or text
The second method involves copying the banner image or text itself: For an image banner, this process is different in Firefox and Internet Explorer.
- If you're using FireFox, you need to select the banner image. To do this, click somewhere to the right of the image and while holding the mouse button, drag your mouse to the left and over the banner. As soon as you're past the halfway point in the banner, the image should turn a darker shade of blue, indicating that it is selected. Once selected, simply copy it either by right clicking on your banner and slecting "Copy" from the context menu, or by clicking CTRL-C. The banner is now in your clipboard and ready to be pasted into your destination of choice.
- In Internet Explorer the selection and copying is a bit easier. You simply need to right click on your banner of choice and select "Copy" from the context menu without having to make a selection as in FireFox. The banner is now ready to be pasted into your destination of choice.
For a text banner, select the entire text of the link and copy it either through the right click context menu, or by pressing CTRL-C on your keyboard. This procedure works the same way in both FireFox and Internet Explorer. After copying, the link is ready to be pasted in its destination.
Walkthroughs
Posting on a MySpace profile
There are two ways to post a banner in MySpace, either somewhere in your personal profile or as a comment on a friend's profile.
To post a banner in your MySpace profile, just select and copy the entire pre-formatted HTML code block and when editing your profile, simply paste it wherever you would like the banner to be presented. MySpace has great flexibility, allowing you to embed HTML virtually anywhere in your profile. Where you post it in your profile will depend on the type and size of the banner, as well as your own personal design choice.
In the same way, you can embed a banner in a comment on a friend's wall. Just select the banner HTML code block, paste it into a new comment, and add any supporting text you'd like. It's that easy!
Sending an email
We have tested the three most popular free webmail services, specifically Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Windows Live Hotmail, as well as Microsoft's popular email client, Outlook. All of these behave very similarly - they do not accept HTML code when composing a message. However, it is possible to embed a banner using the second banner selection method outlined above:
- Select and copy your banner of choice, whether it be an image banner or text link.
- Paste it into the message you're composing, either by right clicking and selecting "Paste" from the context menu, or pressing CTRL-V on your keyboard.
This will embed the banner into your email for your recipients to see. Compose the rest of the email to entice your friends an family to come out and do a tandem jump!
Google's popular Blogger service allows you to set up your very own blog, a medium for you to share your thoughts, musings, and experiences with the world. Luckily, Blogger makes it very easy to add HTML banners to a posting.
The most direct way to add a banner to a post is by inserting the pre-formatted HTML code block that the Banner and Text Advertising system provides:
- Compose your post as you normally do.
- In the Banner and Text Advertising system, select and copy the HTML code of the banner of your choice.
- Back in Blogger, edit the HTML of your post by clicking on the "Edit HTML" tab.
- Paste the copied HTML (right click and select 'Paste', or simply CTRL+V) into your post whereever you'd like the banner to be displayed.
- Going back to "Compose" mode, you'll see your banner and how it's placed in your post.
It's also possible to insert a banner and link without directly editing any HTML:
- Compose your post as you normally do.
- In the Banner and Text Advertising system, select the rendered banner image or text.
- Back in Blogger, when in "Compose" mode, simply paste in the copied banner (right click and select 'Paste' or CTRL+V) into your post whereever you'd like the banner to be displayed.
- If done correctly, you should see the banner in your post!
Tips
- Write blogs about your experience and include photos. Encourage readers to follow the banner link in your texts. Remember that hundreds of random people will find your blogs on a search engine every year, and that your text could inspire them.
- Make comment posts or send messages that include the banner to friends who you know might be interested.
- If a band you’ve never heard of advertises on your comments page, advertise Skydive Chicago on his! Make it friendly like “That’s really cool I will try to check out your show. Hey, you should come Skydiving with us down at Skydive Chicago!”.
- Find forums where someone has asked a question that you know the answer to. Take some time to answer the question correctly and fully but leave a banner at the end of your post as an advertisement.
- Always consider other ways to equalize your karma while spreading the love!
- Whenever possible include personalized text with the banner describing your experience or encouraging others to come share in the fun.