Joomla 1.6 is still a few months away, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be preparing now.  If you're life revolves around your Joomla site, you should definitely check out our "Setup A Live Joomla! 1.6 Site" article so that you can get in and play around with the new system while it's still evolving.

Open Source Software thrives on community involvement. To make sure our favorite software continues to thrive and to set a good example for others, we are always trying to be more involved. While time is limited and we are only human, we do as much as possible. If you are involved in the community and have more suggestions than those below or need help getting momentum behind a great idea, contact us and we'll see what we can do.

 

After almost a year since our launch, and with more than 50 unique extensions for distribution on CMS Market, we decided to revisit our current commission to create an even better program for our authors. The result of this investigation led us to update the author commission for any products sold through CMS Market to 80%.  While we notified our authors of the change in early September, it's time to let the rest of the world know. Of course, listing your extension which is hosted on your own site will always remain free - we currently have almost 500 products listed through CMS Market in this manner.

 

We received an email last week that simply said, "How can I find free extensions for Joomla?".  Well, we looked at that email, then at our site, and dug in.  We had filters for narrowing down your search based on components, modules, templates, license, and more, but no way to filter listings based on whether they are free or not. That changed today. Next time you're browsing the extension directory, use the filter drop-down and you'll see the new column for "Price".  Right now, we only have the option for "Free", which will filter out any for-pay extensions. If more price-filtering options would be helpful (<$50, <$100, etc), let us know.  We want to make finding your next Joomla or Drupal extension simple, regardless of what you're willing to spend.

 

Also, if you're ever in a rush, we've setup a special shortlink using UShorten so you can get to the directory with the free filter already turned on: http://cmsmarket.com/free

UShorten, the automatic shortlink generator for Joomla!, has now been released.  Originally created for use on CMS Market, it's being released as a free, GPL extension for anyone in the Joomla! community. Now you can have a shortlink/short URL generated for every page on your site. Or just create the custom ones for the pages you care about. It's up to you. Easy to use, but with plenty of customization and tweaking options to suit any site's needs.

More details can be found at the UShorten product page or in the original "Promote your Brand (Using Twitter)" announcement blog post. The support forums have a user guide and other information for support. Enjoy!

Promotion takes a ton of work. Obvious? Yes. But when people think of promotion, they often aren't thinking about branding, cross-promotion, and general 'community respect' that should come from a good promotional campaign.

It's all too often that you'll see people tooting their horn about one product, when they're missing the opportunity to mention all of theirs or to increase awareness of their overall brand. I've recently become a Twitter convert and man the helm of both the @cmsmarket and @covertapps usernames. What converted me, and what have I learned in just over a month of Twitting? A lot, and I'm going to share it with you now.

 

 

We were out to lunch with some fellow Joomla developers last week and the topic of Joomla 1.6 came up.  I typically don't rush out and get something the second it comes out and hardly ever look at anything before it's released, but some of the things people were talking about did make me curious.  However, Joomla 1.6 has a lot riding on it's shoulders and it's always interesting to know what's on the way.  Therefore, I decided to go have a look.  This is mainly a picture tour and first glimpse for those of you unaware of the upcoming changes.

 

More information on the underlying architechtural changes can be found in the "Lifting the Lid on Joomla 1.6" presentation.  Please note that the release schedule for Joomla 1.6 is still very in flux, and as of now, this is the most up-to-date information on it's timeline.

Do you have a good idea for a Joomla extension?  Is there a module, plugin, or component that you have always wanted but have never been able to find?  We want to help you out...for FREE!

 

In August, we are going to dedicate a developer to creating your extension ideas.  While we won't be able to build everything in just one month, we are hoping to stir up interest and get other developers involved.  If it works out, we will be able to dedicate more developers to this cause going forward.

 

To submit your idea, just post on the Extension Suggestions forum at CMS Market.  If you know exactly what you are looking for, be as descriptive as possible.  If you aren't totally sure what it is you want, feel free to post a new topic and we'll try to work it out with you.

 

We also want to invite other Joomla extension developers to join in the effort.  Subscribe to the CMS Market forums and watch for new extension requests.  If you see any that you would like to work on, respond on the forum thread and let everyone know.

 

 

We can't wait to hear from you!

 

 

FREE custom Joomla extensions...help us spread the word!!

 

There's a new version of the CMS Market Product Widget available now.  The new version has some great enhancements and is available immediately.

First off, the template and stylesheet have been unified to make modifications to match your site even easier.  Additionally, the back-end parameters have been reduced and simplified to ease setup.

For the big news, the Widget now supports our new free Affiliate Program.  Simply type your affiliate ID into the back-end parameters, and all links to CMS Market will automatically be updated.  Any purchases made from CMS Market through your referrals will earn you 50% of the CMS Market sales commission.

It couldn't be simpler to promote your favorite extensions, and make some money in the process!

We've just implemented an affiliate program where you can earn 50% of the CMS Market sales commission from users you refer to CMS Market.  All you need to do is refer users to our site, and you'll earn a commission for any purchases they make.

It's extremely easy to sign up and we're updating the CMS Market Product Widget and other tools to accept an affiliate ID and insert it into your site in a snap.  There's also some other great tools in the pipeline that will help you spread the word about your favorite products, and get a return in the process.

 

For a longer FAQ or to signup, go to our affiliate area.

Quick FAQ:

How much do you earn if you refer someone?

50% of the CMS Market sales commission after payment gateway fees (PayPal) have been deducted.  CMS Market works by letting developers post their products for sale, and CMS Market takes a portion of each sale.  As an affiliate, you will earn 50% of the CMS Market commission from each sale you refer.

How do you refer users?

Simply link to any of our pages using your affiliate ID and we take care of the rest.  For 15 days after your referral, you get credit for any purchases from that user.

An example affiliate link to the home page would look like: http://www.cmsmarket.com/?a_aid=your_id

What kind of links can I use?

Text or banner links are availble to use.  Additionally, you can use the CMS Market Product Widget to link to your favorite product or categories.  The widget has a parameter to enter your affiliate ID, and all links to CMS Market will automatically be updated.  It couldn't be simpler.

Do I only get a commission for products I link to or own?

No. If you link to any page on the site (product, forums, home page, etc), and a user purchases any extension that suits their needs, you earn a commission.

If I sell my product on CMS Market, does this affect my author commission?

Not at all.  The Affiliate program is separate from the author program, and combined, allow you to earn up to 80% of your sale price.  If you want to help promote us and your products, we want to reward you for that!

 

For comments or other questions, hit up our forums!