Writing.Com 101

BidClick System: Sponsored Items, Links & Genres

The Writing.Com BidClick System enables all authors and Angels (those who promote works that are not their own) to advertise, or sponsor, their items or links under any of Writing.Com's genres, item types or on the left hand side of more than 9 million pages delivered by Writing.Com each month. The Writing.Com BidClick System easily allows you to gain instant and targeted exposure by putting the items of your choice directly in front of the community's eyes!

For example, if you choose to advertise an item in the "Sponsored Items" column, every time a page is loaded by a visitor or member of Writing.Com, that person will see that item among 9 other sponsored items. Or if you choose to advertise an item under the "Comedy" genre, any time a visitor or member chooses to view the comedy listings, your sponsored item will show up first on the list ahead of everyone else!

Why Use It?
With the "Sponsored Items" section showing up on over 9 million pages on Writing.Com each month (and growing), it is a great way to get instant exposure for an item. This is perfect for that author needing to refine an item before submitting it to a publisher, the student looking for feedback on their research, or the enthusiastic reader looking to promote his or her favorite item or author. Do you have a personal or business website that you would like to advertise to the community? This is the best way to do it!

How To Use the BidClick System
If you would like to advertise one of your own items or promote another member's item, simply visit My Bids from within the "My Account" link in the navigation under the Writing.Com logo. This area is also available from within the Gift Point Tools link and provides you the ability to add a new bid, manage your existing bids, delete old bids, view a summary of clicks and view the log of clicks to your bids.

All bid prices are in Writing.Com Gift Points.

When you sponsor an item or link, you are bidding on a "spot" within a particular listing. You choose to pay X-amount of Gift Points per click to your item or link. This means that each time someone clicks on your item or link, you automatically pay X-amount of GPs for that click.

Gift Point deductions will be made from your account each time someone clicks on the item or link you are sponsoring from within the "Sponsored Items" area of a page. This is called Cost per Click. GPs are not deducted when someone views an item that you are sponsoring through any other type of link. These Gift Points are paid to Writing.Com, since you are purchasing advertising from Writing.Com. For more information on Gift Points, please read: "Gift Points" . Need to purchase Gift Points? Please visit the Writing.Com Shop  .

Choose your bidding location.

There are a few places within the site that you can advertise your items or links.

Sponsored Items Column (Items Only)
The items with the highest bids will be shown in the "Sponsored Items" area on every inner page of Writing.Com. You will find the column to the left side of each page.

Sponsored Links Column (Links Only)
The links with the highest bids will be shown in the "Sponsored Links" area on every inner page of Writing.Com. You will find the column to the left side of each page. The highest bids will also be rotated throughout Writing.Com.

Sponsored Genre and Item Listings (Items and Links)
Specific genres and Item types may also be sponsored. Choose your selected Genre or Item type from the pulldown menu when placing your bid. The top three (3) highest bids for items and links will be shown above any sponsored listing page.

Only items 18+ and under will show in "Sponsored Items" column.

Items that you would like to sponsor may have any content rating, but only those items which are rated 18+ or below will be shown within the "Sponsored Items" column. Since this column is shown to every guest and member on Writing.Com, we require that the intro rating be E rated and the content rating be no higher than 18+. For more information, please read "Content Rating System (CRS)" .

A BidClick Example
Let's say, for this example, that all bids currently in the "Sponsored Items" area are at Cost Per Click of 1,000 GPs (or one dime). If you bid 1,001 GPs per click on your chosen item, it would then be the highest bid and would show up on the top of the "Sponsored Items" list and also rotate in the "Gold Sponsored Items" area. Each time someone clicks on that item in the "Sponsored Items" section, it costs YOU, the advertiser, 1,001 GPs and they are automatically deducted from your account.

If you were to then bid 1,005 GPs on another item, that item would be the highest on the list and would move above the item you have bid at 1,001 GPs. Each time someone clicks on that new item you are advertising from within the "Sponsored Items" area, 1,005 GPs would automatically be deducted from your account.

What happens when I run out of Gift Points?
If you are sponsoring items or links and your account runs out of Gift Points, the system automatically changes your current bids to zero (0). This removes your bids from the Sponsored Items listings. When you replenish your account with Gift Points, just go into your My Bids area and change your bid amounts back to your preferred level. It's that simple! Now... go promote your favorite items and links and have fun with this innovative feature!

More Advertising Opportunities
For those of you interested in even more types of advertising on Writing.Com, please visit the Advertise With Us   text link at the bottom of any page. Here you will find information regarding banners, buttons and other sponsorship/advertising opportunities on Writing.Com.1

Recommended Reading

1. Gift Points
2. How to Use Gift Points at Writing.Com

Footnotes
1  Written by Diane and The StoryMaster