One of the greatest things about working for IZEA is that there we are constantly developing new ways to provide value to our advertisers and monetization opportunities to our bloggers.
With the Release of SocialSpark this past Spring, Blog Sponsorships were introduced to the Marketplace. Since then, there have been many questions about how these work and how to utilize this passive income opportunity.
So, without further ado, here are the answers to the most frequently asked Blog Sponsorship questions.
Just what is a Blog Sponsorship?
There are two different forms of Blog Sponsorship that an advertiser can set up. The first is a 10 second display ad (like the Blog Welcome pictured below) that visitors will see when they visit your blog. After 10 seconds, or upon manual close, this will collapse to a display bar at the bottom of the page. An advertiser can also choose to only have the display bar shown.
Ugh! So every time someone visits my blog, they’ll see a big ad?
Actually, no. We dislike an overabundance of ads as much as anyone, so the SocialSpark Blog Sponsorship ads are set up so that they will only show to each unique visitor once per week during the run of the Sponsorship. Also, some advertisers my choose to forgo the Blog Welcome altogether and just require bloggers to display the Sponsorship Bar at the bottom of the page. Before committing to a Blog Sponsorship, you are always able to preview it to see exactly what your visitors will see.
How do I find a Blog Sponsorship?
Click on the ‘browse opportunites’ link from the ‘marketplace’ dropdown at the top right of your account and then click the ‘SPON’ tab to view all the available Sponsorship opportunities.
How do I take a Blog Sponsorship?
When you see a Sponsorship that is a good fit for your blog, click the Opp title. You will be taken to a details page where you will see a yellow ‘Tools’ box at the right. If the Sponsorship is open and available, you will see ‘take this sponsorship’ at the top. Click on the words ‘take this sponsorship’ and Voila! Sponsorship taken. Remember that you will need to choose how long the Sponsorship will run when you take it. It will default to 24 hours, but can be taken for as long as 30 days. If the Sponsorship is open to you, but all spots are currently full, you can also choose to ‘wait for sponsorship’ which will put you in queue for the next available slot.
Do I need to install any special code on my blog to run a Blog Sponsorship?
No. The Blog Sponsorship ads are set up to run through the ITK script that you already have installed to your blog. There is nothing you need to add to run a Blog Sponsorship, it will start and stop on it’s own.
Hold on a minute! I took the Sponsorship, but it’s not showing up on my blog. Where is it?
All Blog Sponsorships will begin and end when the system resets during the midnight* update following the start/stop date.
Ok, I took a Sponsorship and it’s been a few days, but I’m STILL not seeing it on my blog. Where is it?
If the Sponsorship was open to you, but all spots were full, you may have chosen to ‘wait for sponsorship’ which put you in queue for the next available slot. You can always check the status of any Sponsorship by choosing the ‘manage blogger account’ link from the ‘account’ dropdown and then clicking on ‘Taken Opps’. The ‘Spon’ tab will show you the status of all Blog Sponsorships that have finished are current or are waiting.
Can I remove myself from a Blog Sponsorship queue?
Absolutely! If you no longer wish to wait for a Blog Sponsorship to begin, simply access your ‘Taken Opps’ page and click the ‘waiting-click to stop’ link next to the Blog Sponsorship in question.
How Do I end a Blog Sponsorship?
To end your Blog Sponsorship, follow these steps:
Once logged into your account, click the ‘account’ dropdown at the upper right and choose ‘manage blogger account’.
Next, select ‘Taken Opps’
Locate the Blog Sponsorship and click the link next to it to end it.
Remember that when you take a Blog Sponsorship, it runs on a daily basis. So, when you click ‘End Sponsorship’, it will be removed from your blog at the end of the day, or 11:59PM*
Can I take the same Blog Sponsorship on more than one blog?
No, currently you may only accept each Blog Sponsorship on one blog at a time in your account. If you have multiple blogs, you may accept different Blog Sponsorships on different blogs.
When will I get paid for my Blog Sponsorship opportunity?
Payments for Blog Sponsorships are posted to your Current Account Balance at the end of the day each day the Sponsorship runs. Again, this occurs with this midnight* update.
I am an advertiser and I would like to set up a Blog Sponsorship. How do I do that?
Our Account Management team is available to help you with any assistance you may need. They can be contacted directly at accountmgmt [at] izea [dot] com. Or you can check out this post for step-by-step instructions.
So, there you have it! All that you ever wanted to know about Blog Sponsorships and more. If you have any questions that weren’t covered here, please be sure to leave a comment.
*Times are in Eastern Standard Time, or U.S. East Coast.
