Got a light? Or make that a Spark.....

Most advertisers will know about PayPerPost, the online advertising network. But did you know that a relatively new company has been generating buzz since it was launched? SocialSpark.com, from IZEA, offers many of the features of PPP in a more social environment. Advertisers and Bloggers can create relationships (or "friendships") and there is scope for non-monetary incentives through the use of "sparks".

SocialSpark already has a wide range of advertisers, selling products about as diverse as the blogosphere can handle. But I'd like to see more traditional advertisers adopt this platform, as it's really a great way to connect advertisers and bloggers. Unlike PPP, SocialSpark allows real interaction between advertiser and blogger, so that the unseemly aura of "sponsored" posts is largely avoided. The advertisers don't even need to offer money for the post - you can just offer a "spark" which will let you choose whatever reward you want, or even no reward at all for a truly unbiased review!

I hope that SocialSpark will be able to avoid the plague of issues that have surrounded previous companies in this area of sponsored posting. Most of all, it will be important to see if SocialSpark is singled out by Google and penalised in the same was as PPP. The company is trying to avoid this by such techniques as nofollow links, so it should be relatively safe. Certainly, if you are afraid of signing up for PPP because it may affect your SERPS, you need not have the same fears of SocialSpark.

Although the long-term success of SocialSpark is yet to be seen, the future looks hopeful for this new company. If you're an advertiser looking for a low-cost solution, SocialSpark might be for you.

SocialSpark.com is live!

SocialSpark is the latest big thing in the blogosphere. Moving on from the negative aura that has often surrounded PayPerPost, SocialSpark ushers in a new era in paid-for blogging. Or rather, one might call it a new era in Advertiser-Blogger relationships, because SocialSpark is all about relationships.

Firstly, there's this thing called "props". It's basically the same as a diggs. You see somebody you like, you "give them the props" (click the "prop" button). Someone with lots of props is well-reputed, somebody with less props fades to the background. Besides this, there is the ability to make (and break) friendships. This has the potential to become a powerful tool - if the advertisers make friendships only with the people whose posts they are happy with, then this will be a reasonably accurate measurement of how well a person writes. Only time will tell whether or not this comes to fruition or not.

SocialSpark's slogan is "Get Everyone Talking". My profile certianly lives out this goal: in the 12 days since I joined my profile has received 26 props, and I've got 33 friends! That's certainly a powerful connection machine, it only needs to be seen how to utilize that power for a useful purpose.

There is certainly great potential in SocialSpark. At the moment, it is lacking the leverage of big-name advertisers, but no doubt these will come as the site expands. For now it might be worth checking it out - you've got nothing to lose, and you could end up making a few bucks in the process!

This post is sponsored by SocialSpark

I've set a Spark Alight....

Most advertisers will know about PayPerPost, the online advertising network. But did you know that a relatively new company has been generating buzz since it was launched? SocialSpark, from IZEA, offers many of the features of PPP in a more social environment. Advertisers and Bloggers can create relationships (or "friendships") and there is scope for non-monetary incentives through the use of "sparks".

I've just signed up for SocialSpark, and I like what I've seen. SocialSpark already has a wide range of advertisers, selling products about as diverse as the blogosphere can handle. It's really a great way to connect advertisers and bloggers. Unlike PPP, SocialSpark allows real interaction between advertiser and blogger, so that the unseemly aura of "sponsored" posts is largely avoided. The advertisers don't even need to offer money for the post - you can just offer a "spark" which will let you choose whatever reward you want, or even no reward at all for a truly unbiased review!

SocialSpark has 4 main points in their code of ethics:

• 100% Audit-able In-Post Disclosure
  As you can see, there is a disclosure button at the bottom of this post. SocialSpark makes it easy to ensure the readers are informed about sponsored posts.
  
• 100% Transparency
  One big difference between SocialSpark and other blogging networks is that SocialSpark shows the public who is posting what. If you accept a sponsored post, any of your viewers will be able to visit SocialSpark and see exactly what your relationship with the advertiser is. This provides a very meaningful incentive for publishers and advertisers alike to "stay clean".
  
• 100% Real Opinions
  Well, this can never be guaranteed, but from what I've seen SocialSpark takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that people are allowed to write what they think, not what they're told to write.
  
• 100% Search Engine Friendly
  SocialSpark tries to help bloggers and advertisers to avoid "paid post" penalties in search engine rankings. This is achieved by automatically making all paid links "nofollow". This also helps avoid disputes in the case of a full no-follow blog.

I'm pretty enthusiastic about SocialSpark, and looking forward to taking more opportunities with them. If you're a blogger looking for a more ethical way to make money than PPP, maybe you should check out SocialSpark.

I signed up for Pay Per Post

Today my application for Pay Per Post was accepted. I know that PPP is a controversial service in the blogosphere, and I certainly don't intend to compromise the quality of my blog's results with advertising. My intention in signing up is to earn a bit of extra cash, while promoting any products which I happen to like already.

So far, PPP looks like being a great success. This post, in fact, stating why I signed up for PPP and what I hope to achieve with it, will earn me $20! It does seem strange, that I would be writing something to be paid. But in reality, I would have written this exact same post whether I was paid or not. It's simply a matter of connections - which is what PPP is all about.

Overall, Pay Per Post will enhance this blog by providing a means of support for items such as hosting and maintenance. I will only post about sites I actually endorse, so have no fear of the posts being biased. If I can't truthfully say anything good about the company, I won't post at all!

If you have any thoughts about the Pay Per Post blog network, or have suggestions for my blogging, please leave a comment. I'm excited about this new opportunity for revenue, and I'd love to hear your thoughts too.

MoreNiche - Affiliate Site that Really Works!

Recently I discovered a site called MoreNiche. This is an affiliate site which actually pays you $30 for a sign up, or $20 + 5% of the referrals earnings for life! The great bit is, sign up is absolutely free, so you can really make tons with this program. The only catch as far as I can see is that you can't creat incentive-based sites, so the user has to be really interested to be valid.

I highly recommend that you check out this site. You don't have to pay anything, so really you can't lose. Tell me what your experiences are, I'd love to hear whether anyone else has used MoreNiche, and if so, how you like it.

Sign up for free now.