(If there had been room in the title I would have also added “and make money or advertise” with this great Alexa Traffic Rank 8,567 service.)

A while back we signed up for SocialSpark one of those rare social media marketing websites that give both bloggers and advertisers a central location to either make money (bloggers) or find lots of willing individuals to write about your program (advertisers). Of course, that’s not withstanding that once written about, the advertiser, too, stands to see a potential huge increase in sales

So what exactly is SocialSpark and why should you join?

For openers, it’s free. And if the Alexa traffic rank didn’t grab your attention in the opening paragraph, it should!

This social media center is obviously already popular, making your job as a blogger easier (if you want to make money), and an advertiser’s dream come true.

Strangely enough I was going to write about SocialSpark anyway, but coincidentally when I logged back in late last night (after being away for too long), I noticed an opportunity they have listed for bloggers to write about, and illustrate, this social community. There are pre-qualifications, and I’m not sure if we’ll fit the bill to be paid (but that’s okay I was going to write anyway, remember).

What I do see inside is a vast amount of potential for the newbie and veteran blogger, and a great spot for anyone needing effective advertising. I do wish things were a bit more straightforward - the back office area is gorgeous but confusing. However, SocialSpark does have an extensive FAQ area. One day perhaps I will discover there is a downloadable PDF for me to look at in a leisurely fashion, but so far I haven’t found one (let me know if you do please!).

Offering more opportunities to get paid to write than I’ve had the time to explore, and it’s various packages for advertisers looking for bloggers to help boost their branding online appearing also extensive, SocialSpark has it all!

Take a look at this… this is the opportunity I speak of up above which I found as a happy happenstance upon logging in:

Yes, after following the steps to submit this review (and remember I was going to tell you about this anyway), OIMS stands the chance of being paid for this post. How great is that?!

Right now as I check out more of the opportunities I see advertisers seeking bloggers to write about all sorts of things - like:

o “have you been in a car accident”
o “blog about sites and sounds” (music)
o “promote the carbon neutral search”
o “blog about eyeglasses”

and many, many, many more. The variety is incredible! Given the right temperament, a blogger could very nicely support themselves taking these opportunities from SocialSpark!

As I also stated up above, each opportunity has a set of guidelines. For instance, unwittingly, this very post has qualifications itself should we wish to get paid. So we shall see what happens and announce it here in the future once we find out

If we do get paid, wonderful! If we don’t, it will be because of our own stupidity in not checking the opportunities out at SocialSpark on a daily basis LOL!

So, I gather I’ve made my point that as a blogger you can pull in a nice income working with SocialSpark, yes?

Imagine, if you are looking for advertising from blogs! The list above is just a drop in the bucket of what you can set up for someone to do some advertising for you. It appears to be an open field, and unfortunately, I haven’t covered all the ground from that side of the program. Again, though, you’ll find an excellent FAQ section inside for advertisers, too.

At an Alexa rank under 10K, you can tell they do know what they are doing. And in addition, SocialSpark does have a desirable Code of Ethics they follow.

This Code of Ethics includes:

-100% Audit-able In-Post Disclosure
-100% Transparency
-100% Real Opinions
-100% Search Engine Friendly

Before I end this post, I did want to quote a bit of the FAQ from the bloggers point of view, with a pinch thrown in for advertisers, too.

Straight from their FAQ section for bloggers

How do I know if I am eligible to accept a specific Opportunity in SocialSpark?

You must be logged into your SocialSpark account to know if you are eligible for the Opportunity you’re interested in. Once you are logged in, you will see a square next to ‘Qual’ in the summary of the Opportunity. If this square is green, you qualify and may accept the Opportunity if it is still open. If this square is red, you do not qualify. You may click on the Opportunity’s title or picture to go the details page. There you can find the specific requirements for the Opportunity, and why you may not qualify.

Blog Sponsorship

In SocialSpark, there are three main types of Marketplace Opportunities. Blog sponsorships are a means by which the Advertisers to utilize SocialSpark’s unique technology to create a ‘welcome mat’ and persistent sponsorship banner on blogs. Sponsorships can consist of text, images or video. The advertiser pays per day that a select blog runs the Blog Sponsorship.

Spark

In SocialSpark, there are three main types of Marketplace Opportunities. Sparks are free Opportunities that serve as ideas for blog posts. Sparks are utilized primarily by Bloggers, but may also be used by Advertisers. They offer no tracking or segmentation options.

Sponsored Post Opportunity (SocialSpark)

In SocialSpark, there are three main types of Marketplace Opportunities. In the Sponsored Post Opportunity, a Blogger will create a unique sponsored post on his/her blog based on the guidance the Advertiser provides. The Advertiser can choose to have each Blogger include an image, video or press release along with the Blogger’s own text. The Advertiser pays per unique blog post that is created on each unique blog.

A Tiny Bit of the Social Spark FAQ Pertaining to Advertiser’s:

What’s the difference between sponsored posts, blog sponsorships and sparks in SocialSpark?

In SocialSpark, these are the three main types of Marketplace Opportunities:

Sponsored Post:
In the Sponsored Post Opportunity, a Blogger will create a unique sponsored post on his/her blog based on the guidance the Advertiser provides. The Advertiser can choose to have each Blogger include an image, video or press release along with the Blogger’s own text. The Advertiser pays per unique blog post that is created on each unique blog.

Blog Sponsorship:
Blog sponsorships are a means by which the Advertisers to utilize SocialSpark’s unique technology to create a ‘welcome mat’ and persistent sponsorship banner on blogs. Sponsorships can consist of text, images or video. The advertiser pays per day that a select blog runs the Blog Sponsorship.

Spark:
Sparks are free Opportunities that serve as ideas for blog posts. Sparks are utilized primarily by Bloggers, but may also be used by Advertisers. They offer no tracking or segmentation options.

Okay this post ended up being huge, LOL, and well worth the effort to both write (and from your standpoint) read.

Remember, SocialSpark is free to join - how far it takes you is up to you

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 7:30 am and is filed under Recommendations, Reviews, Search Engine Strategy, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Strategies, blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.