Archive: Advertisers
So have you ever thought what your life would be like if you had to enter the Witness Protection Program? Or what would be going on in your present life if you left? What would happen at your job? Your school? Your neighborhood? If you had to enter the Witness Protection Program where would you end up? Would it be another city? State? Continent? What would your name be? What if it ended up being something like Ima Hogg, Dan Druff or even Anne Chovy?! Eek!!
You can actually talk about what you think your life would be like in the Witness Protection Program and get paid for it! How, you ask? (I thought the same thing when I heard this sweet deal.) There is an Opportunity in SocialSpark right now titled, 'Hometown Hiding' which requires you to create a post about the U.S. city you would choose to relocate to if you had to be moved as a part of the Witness Protection Program. Also, there are some other Opportunities out there about this concept and this awesome new show In Plain Sight (go here to see them all). You should really check this out - a fun concept and you get paid to do it! What could be better? (Maybe entering the Witness Protection Program and getting relocated to Hawaii? Just a thought...)
If you want to imagine this even further you can check out the new USA Network original series, 'In Plain Sight' Sundays at 10/9c. The star, Mary McCormack portrays Mary Shannon, a US Marshal who works in the witness protection program - wonder what her job is? She hides her witnesses... in plain sight. I wonder what you need to put on a resume for a job like that?
Many Advertisers are clamoring to try SocialSpark out- and we couldn't be happier! We certainly want to make sure that we are available to help with any questions. So, before I go on, let's recap the ways you can get help in SocialSpark:
1. You can watch the Tutorials here.
2. Clicking on Help will send you to the Customer Love page, where FAQs and glossaries await!
3. The Boards are a great source, too.
Great- now for a more specialized kind of help. Our Sales team is always available to assist with campaigns. While signing up for an account, even, the Activation screen, after you have confirmed your account, will present you with information to email the Sales team. Additionally, when you are filling out your information, you will note a checkbox that you can click, if you would like our team to get in touch with you. Be sure to enter your phone number, and extension, if applicable.
Once you are paired with member of our Sales team, we can better evaluate how to take on your project and how SocialSpark best fits your needs via a proposal. Drumroll, please! This is where I come in. Typically, proposals are a way to show you, the Advertiser, exactly what our system can do- and believe me, it can do a lot! But, when I create a proposal, I try to present a variety of topics (Opportunities) that both promotes your product/service and engages the blogger to create genuine content for you. After all, that is one of the beauties of SocialSpark: continuous conversations and relationships between Advertisers and consumers.
So, here for you, is a sample proposal- along with some notes: PDF Sample Proposal
SOCIAL SPARK IS LIVE!!!
The first thing I want to say is how proud I am to be working for a company that is on the cutting edge of social media marketing. We have come a long way even in the short time that I have been here. And now the questions about our new product are starting to pour in.
The new Dynamic Pricing has really caused a lot of questions. How does it work? Why does it work that way? Is this better for the advertisers or the bloggers? Well, I will do my best to address all of these issues here. I do have a finance degree so, as Crystal says, that should come in handy!
How Does It Work?
It's simple supply and demand really. If there is more demand than there is supply, the price will change until there is equilibrium. If an Opp seems undesirable because it is offered at a lower price, no Postie will take the Opp. After a certain period of time, the price offered for the Opp will increase until someone takes the Opp. If a bunch of people rush to take the Opp (demand), then the price offered will drop back down. Advertisers choose the range they want to pay for each Opportunity.
Why Does It Work This Way?
We often had Opps that never filled in PayPerPost because they were offering a lower price for harder requirements (high word count, embedded pics, multiple links, etc). Advertisers simply did not know what to offer for certain kinds of Opps. We have added the dynamic pricing feature so that the advertisers will be able to offer a price range for every Opp. Therefore, the dynamic pricing system takes the guesswork out of pricing an Opp. Now, you simply offer a range.
Is This Better for the Advertisers or the Bloggers?
The answer to this question is .... BOTH. IT IS MORE BENEFICIAL TO THE ADVERTISERS AND THE BLOGGERS!!! Advertisers no longer have to worry about overpricing or underpricing an Opp. If it is over-priced, the price will drop to decrease demand. And if it is under-priced, the price will rise to increase demand. Bloggers now can decide if that 300 word Opp with four links and a pic is worth $5.50 to them. Or if it is worth waiting to see if the price will go up. Either way, the Blogger gets paid whatever they reserve the Opp for (as described in <a href="http://community.izea.com/blog/2008/04/dynamic-pricing.html#comments">Carri's Post</a>)
Just Remember: SocialSpark relies on Supply and Demand. If you have any questions about how this works, please send in a ticket by clicking on the 'Help' tab at the top right of your SocialSpark account.
The word is out! SocialSpark is live!! We are all very excited to introduce you to SocialSpark, and help you along the way as you become familiar with the site! There are several ways to find information throughout the site, so let's be sure you know them all.
To start, you will most certainly find more information and more detail by logging in. Go ahead and create an account if you haven't. Once you have logged in and started moving around the site, you'll notice question marks (?) in several places, for example here: 
and here:
Click on them!! These will show you more information, and are located in places where we felt more explanation would be useful.
Next up, there's lots of information under the 'Help' drop down in the upper right of any SocialSpark page. You can quickly access the current most common questions from Bloggers and Advertisers via the FAQ's. You'll find even more information by clicking on the word 'Help' itself. This will take you to our Customer Support page, where you can look up SocialSpark Blogger Information, SocialSpark Advertiser Information, or even access our Glossary for help with terms unique to Social Spark.
While you're still on that Customer Support page, you can reach the Customer Love Team with any questions or concerns that were not yet answered in the information you reviewed. Simply click on the Submit a Ticket option.
If you are moving through the SocialSpark site, and know you want to go directly to submitting a ticket to Customer Love, choose 'Submit a Help Ticket' from the Help drop down.
Have any suggestions of items to add to the Customer Support page? Feel free to mention that in a ticket to Customer Love, or choose 'Submit Feedback' on the Customer Support page.
You will also soon have the ability to watch brief videos to help you through the site. We have a couple set for release this week! You'll find them on SocialSpark along the right side of the pages in your account. Watch for this:
Don't forget to check out the Boards for current customer discussions and useful tips from your fellow Advertisers and Bloggers. Finally, watch here for additional Blog posts this week with more information on using SocialSpark. Enjoy the site!!
Sometimes creating an Opportunity ("Opp") in the PayPerPost Marketplace can be a daunting task. And yes, this is a basic function but one that will certainly determine the outcome of your campaign. So we've decided to put together a few tips and tricks to creating a successful Opp. Hopefully it will either be 1) beneficial new information for you, or 2) a great refresher for those Advertisers who have been with us for a while.
1. What exactly are you looking for? Ask yourself this question each time you're creating an Opp in the Marketplace. "Do I want buzz about my new site?" "Do I want bloggers to review a product?" "Do I want to consider product sampling via PostiePacks?" Having a predetermined, specific goal will allow you to clearly relay that information to the bloggers so you, in turn, will get the types of posts you are looking for.
In Section 1 of the Opp Creation page you will go through and give the main details of the Opp. Most of the requirements are self-explanatory but there are a few areas that consistently hang-up Advertisers:
- Post type: There are 3 options: buzz, opinion and review. They are pretty intuitive -- if you want bloggers to review a product then choose review; if you want buzz about a new aspect of your site choose buzz; and if you want an honest opinion about a new clothing line then choose opinion.
- Tone: This is used in conjunction with post type. You can choose positive, negative or neutral. One very important thing to note: if you choose to have the blogger give their Opinions you MUST choose neutral. For true Opinions, Neutral is the appropriate tone. If the Positive tone is more important, you may choose Buzz or Review type posts.
2. The Opp Description. This is where you will describe what you want the bloggers to write about. There are a few key things to remember:
- Don't give the bloggers too much information. If you do they'll likely not visit your website and familiarize themselves with it. This is extremely important, particularly when you're looking for them to give their opinion.
- Be clear as to what you want, but do not tell the bloggers exactly what they should write. You want to give guidelines but not stifle their creativity. After all, it's their unique voice that you're looking for....
- Bullet points are always helpful. It gets your message across quickly, clearly and easy.
3. The next very important area in creating an Opp is Section 3, 'Targeting and Pricing.' Keep in mind the pricing for an Opp often correlates with the quality of the posts you get. For example, a $5.00 for a post with 5 links, an image and 300 words is not necessarily the most attractive opportunity. The more time-consuming and creative an Opp, the higher the payout should be.
4. CATEGORIES! Categories can often be an issue for advertisers and bloggers alike. (The first "Tip of the Week" feature was on the importance of bloggers selecting the appropriate categories for their blogs.) Remember, the categories are what the bloggers choose for their blogs because it is what they write about. For example, from a blogger's perspective, if I have a blog about cooking I would choose the category 'Cooking/Cuisine.' When creating an Opp we normally select at least 3-5 categories to get the niche that is most relevant to what I write about. If you don't care as much about what categories the blogs will be on you can keep all categories selected and get a little bit of all the blogs from our Marketplace.
5. Linking. Before making your Opportunity live make sure and verify your URL is correct and your anchor text is spelled correctly. This ensures the Advertisers are giving the bloggers exactly what they want and the bloggers are, in turn, putting what the Advertiser wants in their posts. After all, as an Advertiser you don't want an Opp with a dead link out in the Marketplace, or a post that has anchor text saying 'dogs' and linking to www.cats.com!
Interested in a Press Release Opportunity?
1. Please note when creating (or taking) a Press Release Opp, the Press Release that is included in the Opp MUST BE copied and pasted directly from the Opp into the blog post! So Advertisers, please realize, the Press Release should be an acceptable length. If the Press Release is 3 pages long it will likely not be approved because we cannot require the blogger to copy and paste that much material into their individual posts.
2. The Press Release must be an ACTUAL Press Release. Information about the Opp or what requirements the bloggers have should go in the Description, not the Press Release area.
3. This one is for the bloggers -- the minimum word requirement DOES NOT include the Press Release. For example, if the word requirement is 300 words and the Press Release is 200 that DOES NOT mean you only have to write 100 additional words of original content. You must still write 300 words of original content IN ADDITION to the Press Release.
If you have any questions about creating an Opp, feel free to use our new live chat feature. You can also visit the FAQs page for additional information. The "Advertiser Den" section of the IZEA message boards is also an extremely valuable resource for Advertisers. In fact, the first discussion thread in this section is titled "Writing an Appealing Opportunity for Bloggers."
** Special thanks to Junior Account Manager Crystal for concepting this post. **
We have rolled out a new feature to our Customer Support page, just for the advertisers. This feature is Live Chat. If you have questions regarding your account, setting up your opp, or anything else, feel free to reach out to our Account Management Team.
You can access Live Chat by entering your account, and clicking on the Customer Support link at the top of the page:
This will take you to the Support Center. Once here, click the Live Chat link:
You will then be taken to the following screen, where you will click the Connect to Operator button:
After you connect to the operator, you will be taken to your chat screen:
Now you can start chatting with our Account Managers.
Our standard Live Chat hours are Monday - Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST, and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Right now we're running an Opportunity in our Marketplace for Dymo printing solutions. They're the manufacturer of postage, label, and embossing machines. Coincidentally we (IZEA) have their postage machine and use it daily. We have the convenience of not having to worry about keeping stamps around the office, even though our local post office is only a block away. Most people, unfortunately, don't that that privilege. So, not only can you purchase a postage machine from them, but they also sell label makers. If you're anything like me (highly organized, borderline obsessive-compulsive) at home, you can even label your household items to keep them organized. My first thought would be using their label maker for a work shop in a garage. Or, if you're into crafts you could label all your little accessories. And, for those of you who have a home office this product would definitely come in handy. Of course, all of this is coming from a highly organized individual. If you chose to leave your garage and office space a mess, it's your privilege! ; )
Here's a link to their site, if you're interested in organizing your life.
For your viewing pleasure here's a couple of pictures of Veronique proudly displaying our DYMO LabelWriter Twin Turbo. Yes, we're up on the times!
With SocialSpark on the horizon, no doubt many of you, our wonderful Advertisers, will want to try the exciting new platform- as well you should! If you haven't had a chance to already, be sure to take a look at the SocialSpark video Travis put together here. SocialSpark offers an unprecedented connection between Advertisers, Bloggers, their audiences- and we're very eager to jump on the roller coaster and see where it goes!
There will be plenty of SocialSpark talk coming up, so for now, I just wanted to give our more shy Advertisers a little peek at what our Sales team can do for you!
First, let us know what you goals are- is it lead generation? buzz about a product launch? brand strengthening? or do you have a press release you want to let the world know about? Second, consider your budget and realize that the more requirements and limitations you place in your campaign, the better compensated the bloggers would need to be. Our Marketplace is quite competitive, so to stand out, be sure to offer a reasonable amount, for the research and work required. Our team can work with you to help optimize your campaign along the way, so don't be afraid to ask! Last, get creative and be very clear on what you would like the bloggers to do.
If you would like our team to put together a proposal for your business, website, service, etc- please contact Joe Vaughn, joe[at]izea[dot]com, and we'll get a proposal out to you straight away!
Here is an example of a proposal. If you are an existing Advertiser and would like help with a current campaign, please reach out to our Account Management team, by emailing accountmgmt[at]izea[dot]com.
Thanks!
Veronique
Dear Advertisers,
All successful online media campaigns have one thing in common: they integrate several different types of online marketing. This can include portal takeovers, micro-sites, contests or even online surveys. If you are an Advertiser with a recently launched website, congratulations. However, I have a few questions. How are you driving traffic to your new website? Does anyone know about it? Are you building buzz around your brand?
Enter IZEA.
We are an extension to EVERY online media buy. Including bloggers is the most effective way to build buzz, drive traffic and spread the word. Why? They start a conversation about YOUR brand. And lucky for you, we know over 100,000 bloggers ready to partner with you.
If you have any questions on getting your campaign started, please contact randy(at)izea(dot)com.
Yours Truly,
Dan M.
IZEA Sales Guy
p.s. Want to see the future of the blogosphere? Visit http://SocialSpark.com
