Cat Dead, Details Later

0 BzzAgent

BzzAgent: Sample products, spread word of mouth and have fun. See why we're the leading word-of-mouth (WOM) media and marketing company!

I do a lot of things on this blog: share photography and art, write product assessments or review books and movies. I especially love to write about a product that catches my attention; good or bad. Which brings me to an online community that I've been enjoying:

I've tested the waters with these kinds of programs in the past. You sign up, start doing some quality write-ups on products that interest you and take part in mainly WOM (word of mouth) campaigns to promote said products. I was never particularly pleased with these offers as they usually called for money out of my pocket to begin with; starter sets or "training" fees.

I'll get the obvious out of the way first: This is not a scam. It's not a handout either. The opportunities here are genuine and--so long as you are honest in your surveys and product interests--and eye-catching. You'll seldom find yourself taking part in a Campaign that are not tailored to you based on your preferences.

On the other hand, if you sign up for a Campaign, take advantage of the product and then do no reviews and put no effort past "getting free stuff", don't be surprised if you're left out. A few facts from the site...

Definitely a communicative stories. If you live online, have a blog, like to write or record reviews, spread your word on Twitter and/or Facebook, then your efforts can come in definite handy.

Expect to do some "bzz'ing". Whether or not you liked the product, you'll need to talk about it. Face to face, on the phone, via e-mail, however can best spread your honest opinion.

Obviously some people may try to circumvent doing good work by submitting mass-bzz. Half-assed reviews or last-minute Bzz won't really help set your standard, though. If you want the good stuff, you'll need to put in genuine good effort.

My favourite part. No, there are no costs, no fees, no shipping prices, no nothing. Just your time and opinion.

My Latest BzzCampaign

So bottom line...what sort of campaigns can you expect? What sort of campaigns have I been a part of? Most recently, I did several reviews and a blogpost giveaway related to Burt's Bees products:

What was involved? Completing several surveys in order to determine whether or not I would be eligible (if, for example, you are an elderly man, you seldom want to involve yourself in a campaign promoting nail polish).

After accepting the campaign, you are shipped the product (at the cost of BzzAgent.com) and are given ample time to research, sample, and spread the news. You can write reviews, tweet, suggest it to friends on Facebook, write a blog post, or whatever else your imagination can come up with to "bzz" about your campaign.