Featured Publishers
Please help us give a shout-out to another set of great Publishers in our Community. If you have any questions about enhancing the quality of your own content, or building your audience, these are some of the folks to look to! Follow them on Twitter or visit their blogs – they’d love to hear from you.
1. How did you discover IZEA, and how did you know sponsored content would be right for you? I actually discovered IZEA from a friend who was talking about it and I decided to check it out myself. After scouring the IZEA website and blog I decided it was something I wanted to do and I signed up for it. That was a very good decision on my part, one that three years later still provides content for my blog.
2. You originally started blogging as a means of connecting your children and the rest of your family. When did you realize it was something you wanted to pursue full-time? I had been involved in the computer in one form or another from designing graphics to HTML coding and after I started my blog, well about three months in, I decided to make a push and see where I could go in the online media scene. I saw what others were doing and wanted to reach those goals for myself. I worked hard and it has paid off in ways I could never have imagined.
3. You’ve worked with some pretty reputable brands. How did you begin engaging with these brands/companies? In the beginning I pursued the companies I wanted to work with, and by pursue I mean I started by asking for product to cover on my blog. I established myself first and then slowly inquired about bigger projects. Some panned out and some didn’t but the one thing that held true throughout was my professionalism, something that a lot of companies said they admired. Now companies come to me for campaigns and that is a testament that all my hard worked has paid off.
4. Do you have a favorite type of brand or product review to work with? I have two, one company and one type of product that are my favorites. The company is the J.M. Smucker Company, they truly are a family and not only was I shown that first hand but I was brought into the fold and to this day, a year and a half later, I still feel like part of that family.
My favorite type of product to review would be tech products, my family is a bunch of geeks (lol) and we love all the gadgets and video games that I get to review, those are some of the best products that we use on a daily basis.
5. We all know maintaining a quality blog can be quite time consuming. How do you balance keeping up your blog and being a wife and mother? Balance? I am not familiar with that word…..I kid, I try my best, some days my business and I are up in the air and others my husband and kids are up in the air, very rarely do they actually balance out. I have learned to say no and take some more time for myself, which has helped the two sides come together a little more. I credit a loving, understanding husband with a lot of my success; he keeps things together when I need to be away. Lately I have been able to attend events that my family is allowed to attend, so we have been spending a lot of family time together and that is the best of both worlds.
6. You have fairly decent followings on both Twitter and Facebook. Do you find one platform has a more engaging audience over the other? Or is there really a difference? I feel that they balance each other out; I use Twitter to speak instantly and Facebook to have a more in depth conversation about a cause or just life in general. I do feel that people engage more on Twitter because I see it more there.
7. Complete this thought: If I could I would ____. Save the world. (Awww…that’s nice!)
8. My favorite word right now is ____. Ginormous!
9. You’ve attended conferences and networking events in the recent past. What value do you think such events bring bloggers and content creators? From my point of view attending conferences is valuable to learn things that you didn’t know before or gain insight on how to better your blogging. I have gone to a few where I thought I knew the best way of doing something but learned that I have been doing it all wrong. To me that is invaluable. As far as any networking event I believe that they value they have is connection. I have connected with PR reps, heads of companies, other consumers and from those connections new campaigns, friendships and work has emerged. I highly recommend putting yourself out there at both conferences and networking events, you never know what it will bring you.
10. What’s one word of advice you’d give to bloggers who are looking to increase the quality of their content? Keep at it, be creative with your voice and the content will come.
You can find Jennifer blogging at TheDirtytShirt.com.
1. What originally attracted you to Sponsored Tweets? The money, of course! I’m already addicted to Twitter, so I figured I might as well get a little compensation for that addiction. Besides, I often discover new companies and products via Twitter, so why not “pay it forward” by sharing blurbs about companies and products and getting paid to do so?
2. What has been one of your favorite campaigns in which to participate? I have really enjoyed promoting Zenni Optical. I first found out about them a few years ago, via a PayPerPost opportunity, and finally purchased a few pairs of glasses from them myself last May. I love them! Their prices rock and their selection is amazing, so I was more than happy and maybe just a bit proud to be able to promote a company whose products I personally own and use – and love!
3. What do you love most about Twitter? I love, appreciate and take shameless advantage of being able to instantly connect to people all around the world. Twitter is my go-to network of choice these days because of how quickly I can find and share information.
4. Finish this: Without Twitter I would ____. Be hopelessly lost. I’d probably go back to blogging inane posts multiple times a day, because I would otherwise be chafing at the lack of an outlet for the little things I want to share with friends and followers.
5. How do you get creative with your Tweets? I try to make even the most mundane of tweets (“Ugh, I’m stuck in traffic right now!”) interesting by injecting a bit of humor or sarcasm. I’m also not above making up my own funny hashtags. Right now, for instance, I’m dealing with some gallbladder issues, so one hashtag I have been using is #mygallbladderhasadeathwish.
6. What do you do to market yourself, and get new Followers? I just be me. I don’t participate in follower-increase campaigns or the Twitter promotions I see on blogs; instead, I just make it as clear as possible that I’m active on Twitter, and that in many ways if my readers want to know what I’m up to, they should check Twitter before they check my blog, because I almost always update Twitter first. I also run giveaways a few times a month, and I always include following me on Twitter as a way of gaining additional entries into each one.
7. What do you feel encourages engagement with your audience? I think the best engagement with and from audiences stems from Twitter users who are genuinely interested in integrating Twitter in their lives – of course, that doesn’t mean that they have to tweet where they’re at or what or who they’re doing at any given moment, but at the same time they need to be willing to open up a bit. “Realness” is what attracts the best Twitter audience, I think.
8. Any advice to other Tweeters on how to get more Sponsored Tweets Opportunities? Stay active! Tweet about a variety of things, and don’t be afraid to stir up a little controversy, should the opportunity arise. In my experience, advertisers love and get the best results from the “real” Twitter accounts – you know, the ones managed and updated by real people who will go from griping about their job to gushing about their child to laughing about their pets to complaining about politics to sharing a great deal they just scored online. When it comes to Twitter, let it all hang out!
9. A Tweet a Day ____. Keeps the insanity away. (Twitter is a great outlet for venting frustrations, seriously!)
10. What’s your favorite bird (tweet, tweet!)? I’ve always been partial to cockatiels. My family had one that imitated the phone, doorbell, and X-Files theme song. He also knew a few curse words, and addressed most people as “nitwit”.
Follow Jenn’s Tweets at @kissmykitty.
1. Why do you WeReward? I WeReward because it is an easy way to get money for doing tasks I already participate in. WeReward offers me the ability to share my experiences with my friends on Facebook and Twitter in one swift action from a central platform.
Being a Social Media Account Executive means I also use WeReward in my professional life. I tell each of my clients about WeReward and share with them all the features that WeReward offers. One of the largest assets of WeReward for my clients, that really sets WeReward apart from platforms like Foursquare is the ability for a company who does not have a brick and mortar location to join in the location based game by offering their consumers a Product based incentive.
2. What operating system do you claim rewards from? I use WeReward from my iPhone.
3. Do you remember what your first Reward claim was? The first reward I claimed was a simple photo reward at Starbucks! My fiancé was with me and took the picture of me holding my coffee.
4. What the first thing that comes to mind when you hear WeReward? MONEY!
5. Where have you checked in the most? Starbucks, there is one within walking distance to my office.
6. What other mobile social applications do you actively use? Pandora, Digg, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, WordPress to update my blog, Mashable to keep up to date on all things social media related, Hootsuite to manage my clients accounts remotely, Stickybits, Fandango, Netflix, Urbanspoon, Words Free and many more.
7. Sky’s the limit – what company would you love to see using WeReward? ALL MY CLIENTS!
8. Tell one thing about yourself nobody knows. My eyes change colors from Blue to Green….
9. If Chops were to have a girlfriend, what would you name her? Her first name would be Porky and her last name could be Chops. Mrs. Porky Chops.
10. Most importantly, what’s your favorite way to eat bacon? On a fully loaded baked potato. (Mmmm…we like the way you think!)
11. Have you purchased anything interesting with the money you’ve earned from WeReward? Not yet, but I plan to soon!
12. Finish this: WeReward makes me ____. Feel smarter than all my friends! I’m getting money for tasks they do every day!
Megan Tweets from @mtrombin.
