It is Thanksgiving week in the US. A time when families and friends gather to give thanks for one another and the blessings in their lives while eating WAY too much good food. This year, IZEA celebrated together with a delicious potluck, a little Cornhole and some gingerbread house decorating and we thought we’d share a bit of what WE are thankful for with you.

“Thankful for my family and friends. ”  -Rhia, Account Management

“I am thankful that 100% of my problems are “first world problems”.  – Priscilla, Engineering

“Two things:

1) In today’s world, I’m actually thankful for dirty laundry and dishes because both say that we are blessed and lucky enough to have clothes on our back and food on our table every day.

2) I’m forever thankful for the love and support of my family because they’re the reason I have the incredibly rich and full life that I enjoy every day.  I might sometimes have to say “I love you” through gritted teeth but I always mean it. Nobody can drive me crazier or make me happy to say “I’m part of them” faster than the people I was blessed enough to be born with and/or marry into. “  -Melissah, Publisher Ecosystem

“I am thankful for our team members, customers and investors.  Thank you for all of your support over the years.”  -Ted Murphy, CEO

To celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, the IZEA offices will be closed from Wednesday, November 23rd through Friday November 25th.  We will resume normal business hours on Monday, November 28th.  Should you need assistance in the mean time, please be sure to reach out to via our support forums or our Twitter accounts.

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

It’s not too late for you to support our boys in their endeavors to grow their most amazing mouth brows in support of men’s health issues by donating to our joining our Movember team.

Take a look at how the Bros’ Mos are growing and let us know your thoughts!

Meet the Bros

Jack

Marty

Steve

Juan

Brian

Sean

Dean

Ben

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

Moustache Season is upon us, so Izea has registered for Movember to embrace the hair of the wild.  Several of the IZEA staff have pledged to cultivate a genuine 100% face grown moustache for 30 days to raise awareness and funds for men’s health, specifically cancers affecting men.

Did you know that 1 in 6 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime?

We’re on the hunt for trusty and fearless pioneers to join us by signing up for our team. Together we can change the face of men’s health. As more people become Citizens of Movember, more lives will be impacted. You can grow a moustache as a Mo Bro, or join as a Mo Sista to show your support and help recruit other Mo growers to the team.

Once registered, Movember will send you all the information you need to start raising awareness and funds for men’s health as part of our Movember team.

Meet the Bros

Steve

Ben

Jack

Sean

Dean

Marty

Juan

Joe

Brian

We’ll be updating you on their progress as the month progresses so be sure to show your support by joining the team and leaving some comments here as to who you think will take the Mo Bro top honors and what kind of ‘stache they should rock.

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

1. What originally attracted you to the IZEA community, and how did you find out about it? I first found out about the IZEA community through my blog buddy’s site. I was intrigued with the idea of SocialSpark. I thought being a part of this community could allow me to work with companies and products that I would like to share with my readers as well as make money at the same time.  Win win.

2. Why Lil’ Luna? I chose Lil’ Luna because my mom’s maiden name is Luna, and I’m one of the many crafty ”Lil’ Lunas” in the fam {plus, I liked the way it sounded.}

3. What’s been your favorite SocialSpark Campaign? I’ve had several SocialSpark campaigns I have enjoyed, but I’d have to say the one about the movie, Monte Carlo was my fav. I planned a night out with my niece, and we had such a great time watching the movie. I loved promoting it on the blog because it was so adorable.

4. What inspires you to blog? So many things inspire me to blog but the biggest one would be the fact that I love sharing with people {my readers} all the amazing things out there in the world. From crafts to deals and recipes to tips, it is so fun for me to share these things with my readers and inspire them. I have also “met” so many amazing people and have loved getting to know so many bloggers that inspire me on a daily basis.

5. What’s one word of advice you’d give to bloggers who are looking to increase the quality of their content? If I had to offer someone advice about quality blogging, I would say to CHALLENGE yourself. Challenge yourself to do things no one ever has. Be original. Be fun. Be YOU!

6. Complete this thought: If I could I would____. If I could I would…. Like to meet all my “virtual friends”. We are scattered all over the world, but I would LOVE to meet every one of them and be friends with them IN REAL LIFE!

Kristyn’s blog can be found here

1. What originally attracted you to Sponsored Tweets? I have been a publisher with IZEA for about three years, and got in on Sponsored Tweets pretty much the day it started. I was already an active Twitter user and I wanted the opportunity to promote and connect with products and businesses. The extra cash doesn’t hurt, either!

2. What has been one of your favorite campaigns to participate in? Boudreaux’s Butt Paste! There’s a personal story behind it; when I was starting out as a writer in New Orleans about ten years ago, I interviewed and wrote a profile on the inventor of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste, George Boudreaux, when a one of the country’s largest retailers decided to pick up his locally-sold product and distribute it in stores. A few years after our interview, his product started selling like crazy, and he sold his formula to Blairex Laboratories. He’s one of the most genuine people I’ve ever interviewed, he makes a great product I use and recommend, and his story really is a great one about what small entrepreneurs can become. I’ve participated in quite a few Sponsored Tweets and IZEA campaigns about Butt Paste on Twitter and other social media outlets, and I love to share Mr. Boudreaux’s story and my memories of talking with him “way back when.”

3. What do you love most about Twitter? It has almost eliminated my need for text messaging! Sometimes your friends don’t want to hear about everything you’re up to, but chances are, someone on Twitter wants to know what you had for lunch, what’s good on TV or the funny thing that happened to you while you were at the grocery store. And they share it with other people. Who share it with other people! It’s a great way to connect with like minds, as well as the organizations and brands you love.

4. Finish this: Without Twitter I would______. Probably lose friends over their their text overage charges! (see above.)

5. What do you do to market yourself, and get new followers? I do so much to market myself! I have business cards that I send with just about every piece of mail that ever leaves my home – from items I’ve sold on auction sites, to care packages I send to friends, to anything else I can think of. The cards have my Twitter page and a link to my blog – http://bellesouth.blogspot.com – which also links back to my Twitter page. I have links on all my social networking sites. But the most important thing I do is be myself! I respond to people, I retweet things I find interesting, I don’t hide who I am. I’ve built up a decent following in the past few years without compromising myself.

6. Any advice to other Tweeters on how to get more Sponsored Tweets Opportunities? First of all, I don’t think it’s important to get more Sponsored Tweets Opportunities, but rather quality opportunities. You can log in to find tons of opportunities that don’t necessarily fit you or your followers, and consequently, your followers won’t click with the product or on the links. Play around with your topics and see what suits you and your followers the best; what would they want to look at? There are opportunities available on just about every topic.

• Do NOT be a robot! Be a real person! Nobody wants someone who just tweets ads all day on their feed, and you might be unfollowed or worse yet, reported for spam. Spend most of your time tweeting about other things – yourself, your hobbies and interests – and engage with your followers. You will be amazed at what relationships you can develop just through 140-character messages.

• Keep your integrity. This is paramount! If you absolutely cannot stand a certain brand, product or business practice, don’t promote it! You will lose the respect of your followers if you are not genuine. Promote products and services you really believe in. You will get a lot more appreciation in return and a lot more followers if people come to trust you and want to know what your thoughts are.

• Participate in the IZEA and Sponsored Tweets help forum on GetSatisfaction. I’ve found that IZEA has a great staff that really does listen to my concerns and wants me to succeed. If I have an issue, I’ll head over to the forum, post my thoughts and usually hear back from someone within 48 hours.

• Do NOT get discouraged. IZEA is the real deal, but like anything, it takes time, patience and work. If you want to make money, meet good people and build a real following, IZEA is a top-notch and trustworthy company to work with. You may not be swimming in piles of gold after two weeks, but you can make some extra income to help you pay the bills.

Follow Eleanor’s Tweets at @bellesouth

1. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear WeReward?15 minutes. Haha every second counts when I’m waiting to take a picture at my current location. Always being on the move, that allots for a ton of cash.

2. What device do you claim rewards from? An iPhone 4 with IOS 4.3.5.

3. Where have you checked-in the most? Truthfully, it’s hard to say–I’ve exceeded the limit for multiple businesses. Even so, I continually check into said locations to up my total reward count. Those “Izea Love” bonuses really add up

4. What’s been your favorite WeReward reward claim so far? I’m a big dog lover, so I’d say the Milk-Bone products reward. I mean, you win on multiple levels by making your dog happy, having a cute photo, and earning some money.

5. What company would you love to see using WeReward? While I’d love to see more Products/Tasks available in WeReward, I think it’s more important for businesses to officially hop on board with the service. While their rewards would increase for us users (10 cents to 50 cents!), their potential monetary gains would as well. With more people turning away from television and turning towards the internet, social media/social advertising is the way to go.

6. Most importantly, what’s your favorite way to eat bacon? A couple of weeks ago, a friend turned me onto Bacon Salt. With a seasoning like that, bacon can be included on everything!

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

You heard us right – the IZEA team will be at BlogWorld LA this year… and we CAN. NOT. WAIT!

This year, the Expo will be on Friday, November 4th and Saturday, November 5th.  Hours and additional information are located here.

Are you planning on attending?  If so, stop by and say hi!  We’ll be at space #426 on the center aisle of the Expo.  Our Engagement Manager, Anthony Adams and some of our LA teammates will be manning our booth – they are awesome people, so make sure you take some time to meet the team

Fun being had at the BlogWorld 2010

Oh, and we’re planning a super, awesome, VIP party for that weekend, but more details on that coming later…

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

One of the largest and most fun events we participate in as a company is our quarterly LOCO event where we take some time to unwind and connect with each other, recognize Anniversaries with silly homemade hats, and announce the RockStar of the Quarter award to the employee that has gone above & beyond the past few months.

For Q3, we traveled deep into tourist town to check out the new Dave & Buster’s.  A good time was had by all playing games, sharing a meal & having a few beers.

Brothers from Other Mothers: Engagement Manager, Anthony and Mobile Engineer, Ben

Publisher Rep., Kate and Stephanie from Customer Love

Operations Manager, Jenni showing off her ticket stash.

Up next, we recognized the IZEA Anniversaries including Anthony (1 year), Jaimie (1 year), Jerry (1 year), Rhia (1 year), April (1 year), Luis (4 years), Carri (ME! 4 years), Ted (12 years), Patrick (1 year) and Donna (4 years).

Luis & Jaimie from the Sales Team in the latest Anniversary Hat fashions.

VP of Sales, Jerry who is NOT wearing guyliner (I asked)

Patrick from QA got a beard/hat combo!

And then it was time for the Main Event…the ROCK STAR of the QUARTER is….

Director of Account Management, Crystal!

Crystal was chosen for her continued efforts in keeping campaigns on track and successful and her invaluable assistance in launching UTV as well as training new AM and Sales Associates. Way to go, lady!

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

1. What originally attracted you to the IZEA community, and how did you find out about it? I found out about IZEA when I was first contacted about doing something for a Pier One campaign.  I didn’t do that one, but kept hearing about Social Spark from some of my blog friends.  I decided to officially sign up and I’ve been a part of IZEA for about 4 months now.  I have enjoyed the program a lot and the fact that there are such varied topics that are offered.

2. Why Southern Hospitably? If you mean, why did I name my blog Southern Hospitality?  Well, it’s because I’m a Southern girl, born and raised in the South and enjoy all that my Southern heritage brings me.  I enjoy sharing about the South on my blog, along with my family, food, shopping, thrifty decorating, and anytime I travel, I share all of those trips too.  I’m proud to be Southern

3. What’s been your favorite SocialSpark Campaign? The Hill’s Science Diet dog campaign was a lot of fun.  I featured my sister’s 2 doggies in the video and they got to benefit from the toys and action shots.  We had fun doing that one and putting it all together.  I loved getting the Sony video camera too, that was a nice bonus!

4. What inspires you to blog? I love sharing ideas and inspiration with others out there who enjoy the same things I do.  I’ve been online for over 10 years in many arenas of decorating forums, so blogging was a natural outreach with that.  When blogs began, I jumped on board in 2007 and haven’t slowed down since. It has now turned into my full-time business and I still love it so much. The community and friendships have been so rewarding too.

5. What’s one word of advice you’d give to bloggers who are looking to increase the quality of their content? Write from your passion.  If you write about things that you love and are passionate about, then readers will appreciate that and come back for more.  I think that is the key to successful blogging.  Writing about things that you love and enjoy, sharing with the blog community will come natural.

6. Complete this thought: If I could I would____. travel around to all the blog conferences all the time, blogging and meeting new friends.  Blogging has been so much fun for me!

Rhoda’s blog can be found here

1. What originally attracted you to Sponsored Tweets? I believe in honest and transparent sponsored posts. Sponsored Tweets attracted me with its full disclosure with each tweet.

2. What has been one of your favorite campaigns to participate in? InColdStorage Vintage campaign donated 20% of its sales to saving shelter pets. I enjoy campaigns that donate portions of proceeds to good causes.

3. What do you love most about Twitter? I love Twitter’s ability to connect with so many individuals and receiving the latest news within seconds of something happening in the world.

4. Finish this: Without Twitter I would______. have less entertainment online.

5. What do you do to market yourself, and get new followers? I participate in several freelance writer communities. We are very good at supporting each other, re-tweeting each other’s links and helping promote our work. Joining Twitter-based communities, posting frequently on Twitter and taking the time to socialize are the best ways to make your account noticed on Twitter. Also, check each sponsored opportunity link before you post it to your account. Twitter followers appreciate honest links with quality information.

6. Any advice to other Tweeters on how to get more Sponsored Tweets Opportunities? Turn in your sponsored opportunities in a timely manner. Respect the advertiser’s time. Advertisers will in turn favorite your account and offer you more paid opportunities.

Follow Nina’s Tweets at @writingdivas

1. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear WeReward? Cold, hard cash (well, the electronic kind, which works even better for me)

2. What device do you claim rewards from? iPhone 4

3. Where have you checked-in the most? I’m guessing Dancing Goats Coffee Bar or Stone Soup Kitchen, since the app no longer wants me to take photos at either place.

4. What’s been your favorite WeReward reward claim so far? Nielsen Mobile Rewards, since joining was worth 1000 points (and I keep earning rewards each month)

5. What company would you love to see using WeReward? There’s already a great selection of national retailers, but Lowe’s would be a good addition to that roster.

6. Most importantly, what’s your favorite way to eat bacon? That would be the tempeh bacon (known as BC) from local vegan meatery Gutenfleischers

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

1. What originally attracted you to the IZEA community, and how did you find out about it? I was approached by IZEA because they felt that what I had developed at FreeSnatcher.com would be a good fit for their advertisers.  I jumped on board quickly because I felt that it would be a great way for me to bring new products and ideas to my readers.

2. Why FreeSnatcher? FreeSnatcher started as solely a free samples website.  I wanted to show people how they could get things for free.  It might have been a sample or a full sized product.  A lot of people don’t have to disposable income to try out new products so free samples is a great way for them to be able to try something they wouldn’t normally. After the economy started to get worse in 2008 the need for coupons skyrocketed.  This demand led me to branch out and start posting grocery coupons and doing deal scenarios to show people how they could save money on groceries.

3. What’s been your favorite SocialSpark Campaign? I would have to say working with Hill Pet Nutrition.  I am a huge animal lover and being able to work on a campaign with my dog was a great time.

4. What inspires you to blog? Knowing that everyday I help people save money.  This allows them to do things with their family that they might not normally be able to do.  That alone makes my day and makes me feel good about blogging.

5. What’s one word of advice you’d give to bloggers who are looking to increase the quality of their content? Write about what you believe in.  If you can’t believe what you are typing others are going to see that and won’t connect with you.

6. Complete this thought: If I could I would____. Travel around the country teaching kids how they can save money.  Kids are the future and it’s never to early to learn how to be a good consumer.

Sean’s blog can be found here

1. What originally attracted you to Sponsored Tweets? I read about Sponsored Tweets on a blog and was immediately interested.  I was already very active on twitter and figured why not make a few extra bucks while I’m at it?

2. What has been one of your favorite campaigns to participate in? One of my favorite campaigns to participate in was a campaign by Microsoft promoting Microsoft Tag.  I thought the infographics and statistics that were integrated into that campaign were very well done, and I’m proud to have been a participant.

3. What do you love most about Twitter? I love meeting and interacting with people.  At it’s core, social media is about interactions.  You will get more value out of Twitter if you understand that key principle.  I truly care about the interactions I have on Twitter and value each one of my followers.  These interactions have led to not only great conversations but also collaboration.

4. Finish this: Without Twitter I would______. have missed out on meeting some awesome individuals and would not have been presented with certain opportunities.

5. What do you do to market yourself, and get new followers?The key is interacting with others and building relationships and networks.  It helps that I follow almost everyone back, and I am a huge fan of lists to help manage my followers.  I retweet people and respond to their tweets to show them that I am paying attention.  I respond to almost every single @ reply I receive, despite having many followers to keep up with (over 40k).  Finally, I try to focus on only a few main subjects, though I don’t always do a great job of it.

6. Any advice to other Tweeters on how to get more Sponsored Tweets Opportunities? Don’t set your price too high.  I have 40,000+ followers, 25,000+ tweets, and have consistently used Twitter for over two years, yet I still try to keep my price per Sponsored Tweet relatively low.  Also, in general just stick with it.  Don’t expect to get offers right away if you are relatively new to Twitter, but remember that you will eventually get offers if you show you are an active user.

Follow David’s Tweets at @davidcarlson1

1. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear WeReward? The first thing that comes to mind when I hear WeReward is “fun and opportunity”.  This is because I think it is fun to participate in WeReward activities and it is also an opportunity to see what I can accomplish and to earn points toward rewards while I am doing so.

2. What device do you claim rewards from? I claim rewards on my iPhone by doing geochecks, taking photos, and hunting for “products”. My favorite is hunting for the products.  I learn a lot while doing this too.

3. Where have you checked-in the most? I have checked in most at CVS drugstores and Vons supermarkets.

4. What’s been your favorite WeReward reward claim so far? My favorite WeReward claim so far was putting on the UNDER ARMOUR t-shirt and taking my picture.  I love T’s and a friend was with me at the time.  For some reason we found it to be funny and laughed and laughed at the idea of my putting on the T-shirt to take a picture for WeReward!

5. What company would you love to see using WeReward? I would love to see Men’s Wearhouse using WeReward.  Having lost 112 pounds in the past 18 months, I am busy finding new clothes and I like to shop at Men’s Wearhouse.

6. Most importantly, what’s your favorite way to eat bacon? My favorite way to eat bacon is to cook it in the microwave oven and have it for breakfast with scrambled eggs, juice and coffee.  Good way to start the morning!

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

The IZEA Offices will be closed Monday, September 5th in observance of the Labor Day holiday. We will resume normal business hours Tuesday, September 6th.

If you have any questions or concerns while we are away, please feel free to visit our support forums or reach out via Twitter.

However you and your family choose to celebrate, we wish you a safe and happy holiday!

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

Each year the IZEA Team participates in a company retreat where we spend time bonding with our co-workers, participating in team building exercises and planning for the future of the company.

This year, we will be taking a 4 day Carnival cruise – Ooooh!

We will be setting sail on Thursday August 4th and will return to port Monday August 8th. During this time, the IZEA offices will be closed, but we’ll be checking in with our Twitter accounts and our support forums to keep up with any urgent matters.

We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday August 9th and will catch up with any pending requests at that time.

Bon Voyage!

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing