===== Plugin Name =====
Contributors: spotlightyour
Donate link: paypal@hcdesk.com
Tags: daily deal software, deals, offer, spotlight, spotlightyour, wordpress daily deal plugin, wordpress daily deal platform, daily deal builder wordpress, deal software wordpress
Requires at least: 3.3.1
Tested up to: 3.3.1
Stable tag: 4.3

SpotlightYour is a daily deal software plugin that you can install on your Wordpress sites to offer deals to your audience.

== Description ==

Spotlight is a plugin by Daily Deal Builder where you spotlight various promotions and deals. 
You can use our built in deal feed, or you can make, post, and share deals all around the globe by downloading this plugin and making your own daily deal website with it.  Offering deals and discounts on high quality products is a great way to further monetize your existing audience.

== Installation ==

You can visit spotlightyour.com and enter your email information to be emailed the plugin zip file.  You can also search for the Plugin inside your Wordpress account in the plugins section.
1. Upload `plugin-name.php` to the `/wp-content/plugins/` directory
2. Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress
3. Add cities in Deal Menu

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= What type of deals are displayed =

You can display your own deals at front-end and if you are an affiliate member then you can use your iCoupon Affiliate id in Deals settings->Theme settings section. 

= How does the Deal Settings Section Work =

Deal Settings :: Theme Settings :: General Settings

- Theme Skin - Select the color skin of your site from here.  Skin color options consists of Green, Red, Blue, Rosy Brown, Lemon, Gold, &  Sienna.

- iCoupon Affiliate - Spotlight allows you to syndicate offers from iCouponOnline.  To generate affiliate commissions from iCouponOnline, simply visit http://www.icoupononline.com/index.php?option=com_affiliate&task=affiliateRegister.  Once you fill out the information and are approved as an affiliate, you will need to grab your affiliate link and enter it in this section.

- Show iCoupon Deals - To display deals from iCouponOnline, select Yes.  If you would like to offer your own deals and process your own payments you will need to upgrade your plugin by visiting: http://whmcssitelock.dealopia.com/cart.php?a=confproduct&i=0.  iCouponOnline runs deals from about 40 major markets and puts main focus on Travel Deals and National Deals.  You have the ability to manage the cities that the deals feed through by visiting “Deals :: Deals Cities” from your side Wordpress Menu bar.

"Tweet” button - Selecting “Yes” here will show the Twitter “Tweet” button on your Spotlight plugin which will allow visitors of your website to ‘Tweet’ your site to their followers.

Currency - Select the currency code that you will be accepting on your Spotlight website. You can only choose one currency

"Facebook Like" button - Selecting “Yes” here will show the Facebook Like button on your Spotlight which will allow visitors to “Like” your site / deals.

Content Display - Instead of Default Post excerpts (text gets truncated), you can display Full Post Content in City Listing.

Content Excerpt Word Count - To limit the amount of words that an excerpt will show, enter the number of words here.

Content Excerpt "Read More" Link Text - Enter Content Excerpt "Read More" Link Text.

Facebook Plugin Support - Select if you want to enable Facebook Connect plugin support. If you enable this option, then you will need to install this plugin

Switch view for listing - Grid View, List View.  Grid view will show multiple deals on one line when viewing all deals.  List view will show one deal per line.

Facebook Plugin Support - Select if you want to enable Facebook Connect plugin support. If you enable this option, then you will need to install this plugin here: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-facebookconnect/

Switch View For Listing - You can have a Grid View or a List View. Grid view will show multiple deals on one line when viewing all deals.  List view will show one deal per line.

* Remember to save settings by selecting “Save All Changes” at the bottom right hand corner of your screen.

= How do I add scripts to my site? =

Deal Settings :: Theme Settings :: Add Scripts

Header Scripts - If you desire to add any scripts to the header of your website (like Mint tracking code), enter the script in this location.  If you enter a script and it messes your site up, select the “Reset Options” button at the bottom left hand side of the screen.

Footer Scripts - If you need to add scripts to your footer (like Google Analytics tracking code), enter the full script in this location.  If you enter a script and it messes your site up, select the “Reset Options” button at the bottom left hand side of the screen.

* Remember to save settings by selecting “Save All Changes” at the bottom right hand corner of your screen.

= How can I update my style and color settings? =

Deal Settings :: Theme Settings :: Style & Color Settings

Fonts - Choose the font that you wish to use on your Spotlight page here.  Your site font options include; Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Arial Black, Trebuchet MS, Helvetica, sans-serif, Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, & serif.  When in doubt, just use Arial or Arial Black.

Body Background Color - Choose your site background color by clicking the text box for the color picker.

Body Background Image - If you desire to use your own background image for your Spotlight Site, browse your computer and Upload a background image.  To delete your background image, select the red minus sign at the bottom of your image or simply upload a different background image.

Link Normal Color - Choose which color you would like your hyperlinks to be on your Spotlight site here.

Body Background Image Positions - Select body background image position from here.  Repeat X means it will repeat on the X axis.  Repeat Y means that it will repeat on the Y axis.

Main Title Color - Select the Title color of your Spotlight Offers here.

Link Color Hover - If you would like hyperlinks to change color when they are moused over, select a Hover link color here.  If you do not want them to, simply make sure that this color is the same as your ‘Link Normal Color.
’
Use Custom Stylesheet - If you want to make custom design changes using CSS enable this and edit custom.css file here.

* Remember to save settings by selecting “Save All Changes” at the bottom right hand corner of your screen.

= How can I manage the emails and notifications that my site sends? =
Deal Settings :: Manage Notifications

Notification emails are sent to the administrator and sellers at various events like submitting a deal, rejecting a deal request, expiration of deals, etc. You can customize these notification emails and messages here in this section.

Available tags are found at the bottom of the page.

= How can I post custom fields to my forms? =
Deal Settings :: Post Custom Fields

Custom fields help you gather required information from sellers via the Post Deal page. They will fill their information in the fields you set in this section.  Select Edit to edit one of your custom fields and delete to remove one.
.
Add a new custom field: You can add a new custom field here. While submitting a post or a deal, sellers will be required to fill out the information.

Show in post-type: Specify whether this custom field is shown while adding/editing a new Post or while adding/editing a new Deal.
Field Type:Select the type of this custom field.
Field Name (for admin only): Name of the field for admin reference only. It won't be displayed in the front end.
Field Label (for backend): The field label for the custom field displayed in the back-end.
Field Name (for front end): The name you provide here will be displayed as the field's name (label) in the front-end.
Description: Custom field description which will appear in the front-end as well as the backend.
HTML Variable Name: The HTML variable name for the custom field. IMPORTANT: It should be a unique name.
Default Value: Enter the default value of the custom field.
Position (Display order): This is a numeric value that determines the position of the custom field in the front-end and the back-end. e.g. 5
Activated: This setting activates/de-activates the custom field in the front-end and the back-end.
Compulsory?: Specify whether or not this field is required to be filled in by users.
Show on detail page?: Specify whether or not this field will be shown on the ‘Detail page’

* Remember to “Save Settings.”

= What is the Custom User-info section? =
Deal Settings :: Custom User-info

Custom user-info fields help you gather required information from sellers to display on their profile page. They will fill their information in the fields you set here.

Add a custom user-info field - You can add a new custom user-info field here. Users will be able to add / edit their information on their profile page.
Field Type: Select the type of this custom field
Field Name: The name you provide here will be displayed as the field's name (label) in the front-end.
Description: Custom field description which will appear in the front-end as well as the backend.
HTML variable name: The HTML variable name for the custom field. IMPORTANT: It should be a unique name.
Position (Display order): This is a numeric value that determines the position of the custom field in the front-end and the back-end. e.g. 5
Activated: This setting activates/de-activates the custom field in the front-end and the back-end.
Compulsory?:Specify whether or not this field is required to be filled in by users.
Show on registration page: Specify whether or not this field be shown on the ‘Registration page’.
Show on Profile page?: Specify whether or not this field be shown on the ‘Profile page’.

= How can i get reports on my sales and users? =
Deal Settings :: Report

From the “Report” section, you can generate various reports such as transaction reports, seller reports, and deal reports.

Seller Report: Choose which seller you would like to generate a report for and select either “Details” to view details of the report, or “Export” to save a CSV (Comma Separated Value) document to your computer.  You may wish to deliver these reports to the seller so that they have the information also.

Transaction Report: This is where you can view details on all the transactions that have occurred on your website.  You may sort information by using the fields at the top.

Deal Report: Choose which deal you would like to generate a report for and select either “Details” to view details of the report, or “Export” to save a CSV (Comma Separated Value) document to your computer.



= How do I add new deals using the SpotlightYour plugin? =
Deals :: Add New Deal

This is where you input new offers or deals or items that you would like to Spotlight on your website.

= What is the best way to structure my deal titles? = 

The title of your offer that you are Spotlighting is incredibly important.  Below are a few exhibits that are proven to work amongst very successful deal websites.

Exhibit A:
${Sale Price} For ${Original Price} Worth of {name of product, service, or benefit from using the product or service}.

$25 for $50 of Bamboo Tree Climbing lessons from Marc’s Backyard Jungle Gym.
$4 for $10 on any purchase at the Horne Brewery!
$97 for a $295 Rock Climbing Session from The Best Rock Climbing Gym in the World!
Why this works:  This works because it allows the website visitor to quickly see the original price and sale price of a product / service and decide if it is right for them.  Psychologically, knowing that we can get an item normally priced at $X for only $Y, gives us a sense of accomplishment.
Exhibit B:
___% Off at {name of product, service, or benefit from using the product or service}

80% Off at “insert business name here!”
50% Teeth Whitening service from “insert business name here.”
½ off admission to “insert service, show, or business name here.”
Why this works:  This works because nearly all humans can easily see that the discount is X% off.  This model has been used in the retail world for ages.

Exhibit C:
Headline: {name of product, service, or benefit from using the product or service}
Sub-headline: Combination of exhibit “A” &/or exhibit “B” above.

Horne’s Family Restaurant
“$20 for $40 Worth of Drinks from our bar”
Marc’s Backyard Jungle Gym
$25 for $50 of Bamboo Tree Climbing lessons
Why this works:  This works great because it lets the visitor immediately see who the merchant is and proceed to see the discount being offered by that merchant.
Exhibit D:
Headline: {name of off the wall activity, product, service, or benefit from using the product or service}.
Sub-headline: Combination of exhibit “A” &/or exhibit “B” above.

Go Skydiving in a Car!
Get 50% off a skydive jump inside a car!
Canopy Zip Line Tours
75% off all zip line tours at Marc’s Backyard Jungle Gym
Swim with dolphins
$25 for a $145 swim lesson from a dolphin!  That’s right, a dolphin!
Why this work does:  This works because it taps into our sense of adventure.  Even if I’ve never contemplated skydiving with a car I’m immediately picturing me doing this and wondering whether this could be a really cool activity to do with my friends.
Now, by adding personalization and past product purchase history to your headlines, you will accomplish even more and convert more prospects into customers.
Exhibit E:
{prospects First Name}, We know you like {past product or service purchased}, that’s why we found you ___% Off at {name of product, service, or benefit from using the product or service}

Marc, we know that you like rock climbing so much – that is why we scoured the streets and found you 50% a rock climbing lesson from Chris Sharma, one of the world’s best climbers.
Marc, we saw that you gave {restaurant “a” name} a {insert Yelp rating on restaurant} and so we knew that you would love {restaurant “b” name}
By using your subscriber’s first name and past purchase history – you are able to connect with them much better and the message becomes more personalized.
= What is the best way to write my deal copy? =
Writing great, compelling copy is one the 7 habits of highly successful daily deal sites (http://www.dailydealmedia.com/6477-habits-of-highly-successful-daily-deal-sites/) and it all starts with the headline.  These are headlines that have worked for clients we have worked with and by no there is any guarantee they’ll work for you.  However, they’ll get you started on the right path to writing headlines for daily deals that demand attention, peak interest, and inspire action.

Description: Your description is very important as well.  After reading the title and looking at your deal image(s), your prospect will begin to read your deal copy.  Many successful coupon and deal sites use to keep their members and visitors coming back is to incorporate humor into their email, sales, and marketing copy.
Humor on a daily deal site can be extremely entertaining and can also keep users coming back to a site every day just to read the copy on the day’s offers.  It can be a blessing, but it could also rapidly turn into a nightmare if not crafted with care.
Humor on a website comes in many different styles and if you are going to go down this route, you need to first define the comedic style of the company/website.  Humor comes in many forms and some can be off putting so defining your company style and sticking to it is important.

Some ideas on different comedic writing styles:

Parody - A humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing.

Like, for example, if you wrote in the style of the King James Bible, or if you somehow incorporated elements from writings like Romeo & Juliet, or Dante’s Inferno, or even modern writing from the likes of Dan Brown.

Burlesque - An artistic composition, especially literary or dramatic, that, for the sake of laughter, vulgarizes lofty material or treats ordinary material with mock dignity.  

An example of this would be if you were selling, say, the Encyclopedia Britannica and mentioned how the pages make for great toilet paper, or if you are selling socks you could talk about how the sock was one of the first and finest inventions of early man and throughout history the sock has made an appearance in any number of plays, books, fancy wardrobes, etc.

Sarcasm - Harsh or bitter derision or irony; using praise to mock.  

If you don’t know what sarcasm is then I suggest you go back to grade school.  Either that or your IQ is so high that sarcasm falls short of even arriving at your ears.

Verbal irony - The use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning.

For example, if you are selling 50% off a day of paintball fun, you could mention how the bearer of the coupon will receive no bruises, should play in the buff, and/or would probably win if they didn’t use the provided paintball guns but instead used their hands to throw the paintballs as fast and hard as they can.

Situational irony – A situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected.  

For example, if you are selling hammers you could tell the story about that time you bought a hammer for a very good price from a deal website, only to find out your girlfriend bought you the same deal from the same website. You tell her that you already bought one.  You cancel your order and go to see her to discover that she canceled hers, thinking that you would keep your order.  So now you don’t have any hammers.  You both go back to the deal site and each order a hammer.

Tall tales - Overly exaggerated or even obviously false stories.  

One time, I wrote such a tall tale when selling a pair of gloves on a deal site that I won a Hugo Award for the story I crafted.  I was invited to speak in Switzerland, and also received a complimentary ticket for two to visit the international space station.

Slapstick - Physical comedy; slips, slaps, etc.  

If you’re selling electronic gear you could tell the story about how you got the same item delivered once and were so excited while opening the package that you fell down the stairs.  Then, when you held the item high over your head to show your friends, a bird pooped all over it.  You once took it to the bathroom with you and dropped it in the toilet… when you finally exited the bathroom the device worked fine, but you had three cuts, 5 bruises, and incredibly got pooped on by a bird… indoors… in your own bathroom…

The next important item to consider is the copywriter.  If your company decides that you want to take a burlesque approach and hire a writer who is adept at sarcasm, the results might not be exactly what you were looking for.  Basically the ‘voice’ of the copywriter needs to match the ‘voice’ of the company.

= What are the remaining fields I am seeing when creating a new offer? =
Voucher Text: Enter any custom text that you would like to be placed on your Voucher.

Status: To feature your deal on your homepage select “Active.”  To reject a deal submitted by a seller, select “Reject” and to accept, select “Accept.”

Name of the seller: Enter the name of the merchant, or seller of the deal being featured on your website.

Email of the seller: Enter the support desk or support email address of the Seller or Merchant who is featuring a deal on your website.

Seller's website: Enter the website of the merchant or seller who is featuring a deal on your website.

Total number of items: Input the total number of units that you, or the seller, is willing to sell or has available as inventory.

Original Price: Original price of the offering.

Discounted Price: Price at which you are selling the offering for this specific deal.

Thank you page (Redirect URL) set by the seller:  After a successful purchase, users will be taken to this page.

Deal type selected by the seller:
- Custom Link Deal
- Digital Product Deal
- Coupon Email/Print - Online
- Coupon Email/Print - Product

Minimum purchases required - This is the minimum number of sales required to provide a deal.  Also known as the "Tipping point"

Maximum purchases per user: This is the maximum number of items a single user can purchase.

Deal start date & time: Choose the start date and time when your offer will go live.

Deal end date & time: Choose the date at which you would like your offer to no longer be available.  You also have the option to “Disable Deal expiration date” - in this case the deal will always be live unless you delete or edit at a later date.

Deal image: You may use up to 3 images for your deal site.  Strive to use high quality images that depict exactly what the customer will be receiving.

= How do I manage my deal citities? = 

Deal Cities

You can add, edit, and delete the cities that you offer deals for in this section.