Performance Marketing for Blogs, IZEA Innovates Again

When I first invested into IZEA, I liked the parallel between Google's sponsored search (pioneered by GoTo/Overture) and IZEA's sponsored content. Google's sponsored search pays for all the other cool free stuff they offer, and is the foundation for much of the internet ecosystem -- it's arguably the most successful online business model to date. Sponsored content holds similar promise.

However, there was always a missing piece in my comparison -- sponsored search was offered on a performance-based model and sponsored content was offered on a pay-per-post model. Although pay-per-post is a natural for the blogosphere, with many blog jobs paying on that model, it's most appropriate for a subset of marketing goals -- brand and media/buzz.

Performance-based marketing, however, is more appropriate for direct marketers -- the bread and butter of Google's sponsored search behemoth. I also happen to believe performance marketing will continue to take a larger and larger share of the marketing buy -- particularly as the broader markets tighten and marketers want more bang for their buck. All of this presents the opportunity for IZEA to revolutionize yet another industry through blogs -- performance marketing.

IZEA just announced SocialSpark Affiliate Opportunities -- sponsored posts that are compensated on a cost-per-action basis. This allows bloggers to capture an ongoing share of the marketing value they create -- not just a flat fee per post. It also allows marketers to pay for performance -- compensating for actions (CPA) like signups, sales, forms, leads etc. The result, as the system scales, should be higher ROI for everyone.

Some of you may ask "Great, Dan, but how do readers benefit from IZEA's approach to performance marketing?" For that I'd share a dirty little secret about blogosphere affiliate marketing -- despite all the uproar about disclosure on pay-per-post sponsored content, multi-billion dollar affiliate networks have ignored reader disclosure to date. IZEA, as the leader on social media marketing transparency, a governing member of WOMMA and creator of DisclosurePolicy.org, has introduced the industry's first 100% Disclosure affiliate network. Every SocialSpark Affiliate post must conform to SocialSpark's Code of Ethics, including auditable in-post disclosure. The largest affiliate networks don't even mention "disclosure" in their Terms of Service -- IZEA leads.

And for the Google lovers out there, SocialSpark's Code of Ethics also requires 100% no-follow affiliate links, to guarantee adherence to Google Quality Guidelines -- another first for the affiliate industry. SocialSpark bloggers makeup the only GOOG-approved sponsored blogging network on the planet.

All of this is delivered within SocialSpark's existing blogger/advertiser marketplace, including advanced segmentation and analytics. Marketers are able to hand-pick bloggers or develop smart blogrolls that auto-populate based upon segmentation criteria such as traffic, quality, demographics.

Too good to be true? Check out affiliate posts for yourself and tell me what you think.

IZEAFest: Like an Obama, Palin, Arrington & CarrotTop Love Child

Imagine combining the best speakers, the best bloggers and Orlando fun into one event-packed conference and you'd have IZEAFest -- September 11-13.

The speaker lineup is crazy, including top bloggers such as Merlin Mann (43folders.com), Jeremy Schoemaker (shoemoney.com), Tamar Weinberg (techipedia.com), Loren Feldman (1938media.com), Stephanie Agresta (internetgeekgirl.com), Loren Baker (searchenginejournal.com), Brian Clark (copyblogger.com), Etan Horowitz (Orlando Sentinel), Tony Hung (deepjiveinterests.com), John Chow (johnchow.com), Alexander Schek (fayerwayer.com), and Steve Spalding (howtosplitanatom.com) -- and that's less than half of them.

Bloggers, advertisers, entrepreneurs and social media butterflies will take over Orlando's Grand Bohemian to discuss topics such as:
- Improving Your Content
- Big Money Bloggers
- Growing Traffic
- What Advertisers Want
- Social Networking for Bloggers
- Compelling Video
- Tools & Plug-ins
- Blog Design

After a couple days of throwing down some knowledge, the event culminates Saturday night with IZEAHunt -- a multimedia team scavenger hunt throughout downtown Orlando. My suggestion: wear clothes you won't mind throwing away at the end of the night. For those still alive Sunday, Universal will experience a blogger takeover the likes of which they've never seen -- bloggers in shorts and tanks, scary...;-)

If you're interested in blogging, social media, online advertising or just Florida's startup/technology scene, don't miss IZEAFest. Whereas most conferences of this scale cost hundreds or thousands, the $65 ticket price is unheard of -- although you do have to consider the "ruined clothes" cost. I hope you join us!

For those of you that don't already know, IZEA is a portfolio company of mine. Oh, and for those of you still hoping for a picture of the Obama, Palin, Arrington, CarrotTop love child, here you go:

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I Knew Ted Murphy was Superman, but Geez

I woke up this morning to messages that IZEA CEO and friend Ted Murphy got jumped in New Orleans by as many as 8 guys. It sounds like IZEA's Travis Andrews saw the commotion and jumped in to help -- resulting in a beat-down of his own. Wallets and camera stolen, bumps, bruises, blood and a hospital all-nighter.

Early this morning, Ted shared this twitter stream (read from bottom, up):

canceling all credit cards. about 1 hour ago

I would so stick my face in some cake right now. travis...... wake the F up!!!!! about 2 hours ago from web

nothing to do. just makes me sad. one minute I am having a great time. 5 minutes later I am strapped to a gurney bleeding all over. about 2 hours ago from web

26 hours of no sleep. beaten by 8 guys. Happy to be alive. http://tinyurl.com/6m3gbm about 2 hours ago from web

@john_reese this is my last trip here. great food. good atmosphere but the risk outweighs the reward. about 2 hours ago from web in reply to john_reese

@taralamberson I will. just need to keep us awake to make sure we are ok. both took lots of hits to the head; about 2 hours ago from web in reply to taralamberson

@Social_Citizen no. not at all. about 2 hours ago from web in reply to Social_Citizen

my eyes are so red and both are so tired but can not sleep. New Orleans hospital almost as scary as the robbery itself. about 2 hours ago from web

eyes and face bloody. but both are ok. i was kicked mostly in the head. travis mostly in the body. both alive and breathing. thank the lord. about 2 hours ago from web

http://tinyurl.com/6hnw2w My wallet after theft in new orleans about 2 hours ago from web

police. hah. they wanted to arrest travis for helping me. dragged out of urinal by 8 dudes. crazzzzzy stuff. i was like what!?!?!? about 2 hours ago from web

just realized they stole my camera too. about 2 hours ago from web

rolled over and beaten. both of us. bad. blood all over. about 2 hours ago from web

pocket that is. i hope we are ok. about 2 hours ago from web

OMG I got jumped in new orleans. Travis jacked too. went to the hospital. just released. both wallets stolen. staying up to make sure ok. about 2 hours ago from web

It made me sick. I've been on the bottom of a multi-booted kickfest before and it sucks. Even so, I wish I'd been there with Ted and Travis. We've fought a lot of battles together for PayPerPost/IZEA, but this is something different. These guys weren't after linkbait, subscribers or sponsored bloggers -- they just wanted somebody's stuff that wasn't theirs. If they got to dole out some physical punishment as well, all the better.

Ted has taken a lot of grief from a lot of people while building IZEA and always comes back swinging. As a result, he's pioneered an industry and helped a ton of people put food on the table, pay tuition and make house payments while doing what they love, blogging. I'm just glad he kept his head down this time.

Get well guys!


Related images: ted murphy, travis andrews, new orleans

My Reactions for Startup Reactor

Steve Spalding from How To Split An Atom and History of Blogging has kicked off an interesting concept called the Startup Reactor. It focuses on very early companies (typically pre-launch), shares their story and kicks off a conversation about their businesses. It's an easy way to dive into some new ideas and a valuable resource for entrepreneurs who join the conversation. Steve asked if I would provide some thoughts on Startup Reactor's first batch of elevator pitches and he published my thoughts via the following guest post:

First, I want to thank Steve for inviting me to guest post for the Startup Reactor. I think the Reactor is an interesting concept with value for participating entrepreneurs and those that jump into Reactor conversations. The current conversation is a review of five elevator pitches, from Transpondr, LogoBids, Publicitr, Siphs and Zambino. I should note that I was already aware of Siphs. I felt like I knew of LogoBids (or was it one of the other logo sites?). I have no prior exposure to Transpondr, Publicitr or Zambino.

The 7 Ms

I typically apply Dan’s 7Ms to evaluating venture opportunities: Market, Management, Magic, Model, Money, Momentum & Match. That’s a subject for a whole post series later this year, and too in-depth for this exercise. Therefore, I’ll assume comparable management skills across these opportunities (the #1 factor for funding) and focus on Magic (the idea), Market (size/competition for opportunity) and Model (distribution/revenue). There’s not a lot to go on with elevator pitches, but my thoughts/questions are as follows:

Transpondr

Transpondr: Magic feels too simple. I think that’s probably because you are focused on a specific problem (counting) without highlighting the broader strategic opportunity. Therefore, the market also seems small. The reference to hosting offers a hint of potential, but you need to share more than a hint — don’t make investors “do the math”, do it for them.

The revenue model sounds like freemium (good), but I have no idea how the world will find about you. Most viral businesses don’t go viral by accident, entrepreneurs specifically build in ways that use of the product automatically drives distribution of the product.

Biggest Question: How big is this problem/market?

LogoBids

LogoBids: I like the general Magic — crowdsourcing is an interesting theme across a number of verticals. The attraction of crowdsourcing also means you have or will have tons of competitors. There are graphics design and logo-specific entrants, as well as broader crowdsourcing like Kluster which have logos as a subset. Therefore, I’d ask about overall Market potential, assuming you’ll have to slice it up with 5+ other players.

The barriers to entry are low, unless you can reach scale fast enough to get eBay-like network effects: size makes LogoBay the default marketplace for logos. Revenue model is pretty straightforward (similar to other marketplaces), but like Transpondr the service isn’t inherently viral — so what is your plan to get the word out?

Biggest question: Why you win versus the mass of competitors now/later?

Publicitr

Publicitr: Magic wasn’t clear. Elevator pitch needs refinement with less buzzwords and maybe a specific example. I think the idea of analytics on a piece of content (versus site analytics) is interesting as content gets more portable/syndicated/bookmarked/digg’d, but I can’t tell if that is your secret sauce — or is it some special distribution engine.

Market potential is high, generally speaking — small business continues to look for ways to engage online customers. The model really isn’t clear either. Is this a news submission site with revenue per submission, an email distribution service with revenue per email, or revenue for some broad PR goals?

Biggest question: What problem do you solve and how, specifically?

Siphs

Siphs: I like the overarching premise: email is more comfortable for the masses than whizbang RSS stuff. However, I was left a little short on Magic. I think chicklet businesses/services can be sold small, but I have a hard time seeing the big Market (from a dollars standpoint). I’d try to understand how the button can result in a more substantial business, possibly involving ongoing email newsletters (DISCLOSURE: I’m an investor in RSS-to-email provider Zookoda) or some unique news/social property based upon what articles are being shared.

I’m assuming a freemium revenue model, but again you’ll need to offer more substantial services before people pull out their credit card. This business is inherently viral, so I like the distribution model.

Biggest question: What specific problem are you trying to solve for bloggers? I’m not convinced that an share/email-this button is sufficient enough.

Zambino

Zambino: I like the Magic here: in-video marketing offers unique ROI potential. My investment in IZEA comes from a strong belief that advertising and content will grow more and more intertwined as the world moves to on-demand content consumption (e.g. skipping commercials and/or ignoring display ads). This also suggests a very large market and company potential, if done right. Revver is a close comparable and their difficulties of late are a bit of a puzzle to me.

I would ask, “why will Zambino succeed given some other video marketing stumbles?” This leads directly to your Model. How will you, the publishers and advertisers get ROI that keeps everyone happy? It sounds like you’re already dodging the hosting expense of a Revver model by leveraging YouTube. Like Siphs, the distribution model here (good vids = more publishers/advertisers) is inherently viral.

Biggest question: Do you have the cred or the early unique publisher relationships to get content early? Just as good content can drive viral goodwill, bad content can drive viral bad will.

Now Back To You

So, there you go. As I mentioned above, the entrepreneur plays a huge role in getting funded. A great idea still needs a passionate, visionary founder to sell it to employees, partners, investors and customers. Assuming that exists for all of these, what do you think? Did I miss something or prompt any questions?

SocialSpark Launches: Do You Smell What the Spark is Cooking?

So, today's the day Sparky is let out of his private alpha chains...

IZEA's latest innovation is being unleashed today at Ad:Tech, San Francisco, and the stars of advertising and blogging are already lining up to meet Sparky and the world's first Social Marketing Network: SocialSpark.

I gave you a hint of what to expect when the site was being designed back in November, and as you can see, my tone has shifted from Ricky Bobby to The Rock. This is a seriously powerful platform for bloggers and advertisers, the likes of which hasn't been seen before. In fact, before I even describe it, go signup and come back, I'll wait...

OK, now that you've signed up and, possibly, reviewed the video above, what more can I share. There's so much in SocialSpark, I'll just focus on a few innovations that get me excited:

• 1st advertiser/brand/agency social network with direct publisher friending, blogrolls, street teams and a dashboard to manage diverse social media marketing efforts. Imagine: advertisers proactively identifying relevant bloggers and organizing vertical advertising networks for their brands.
  
• 1st face-based analytics: GOOG analytics plus MyBlogLog (faces for visitors, not just recent readers) plus visitor demographics in one end-to-end analytics, ranking, marketing and blog monetization platform. Imagine: understanding your visitors as people with faces and demographics, rather than pagevisits per unique, bounce-rates or IP addresses.
  
• 1st 100% automated, in-post human disclosure, including audit tools to help publishers and advertisers verify compliance with key corporate or industry guidelines such as WOMMA’s Code of Ethics. Imagine: a marketplace that provides the tools to maximize visibility for readers and 100% Code of Ethics compliance.
  
• 1st 100% automated, in-post machine disclosure via “nofollow”, including audit tools to help publishers and advertisers verify compliance with key search engine policies such as Google’s quality guidelines. Imagine: advertise and blog in the open with SocialSpark, without fear of GOOG penalties from SponsoredReviews, PayU2Blog, TLA or other paid-link companies that violate Google Quality Guidelines. Align yourself with SocialSpark sooner than later, I believe a fresh round of pagerank penalties are in process for those smaller networks and DIY link sellers.
  
• 1st one-click blog sponsorship ad unit requiring no blog design/template editing to position the ad unit and provides 100% publisher approval to match brands to readers. Imagine: brands you trust ask to sponsor you and it's done with one-click. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the Blog Welcome, but I believe that is being decoupled from the easy/valuable bottom sponsorship banner.
  
• 1st clearinghouse for blog writer’s-block remedies called Sparks, providing organic post ideas such as inspiring charities, hot topics, etc. Imagine: more posts = more traffic, but without backstage passes and exclusive press releases like the elites get, how do you ramp your organic post inspirations? Sparks. I particularly like the potential for spreading your favorite posts or charities via free Sparks.
  

What else?

Well, I can share that advertiser appetite from the private alpha is already gobbling up sponsorship of the best tech, mommy and daddy blogs. If you are a tech blogger, a mommy blogger or a daddy blogger -- the sooner you signup, the more likely you are to be added to relevant advertiser street teams. As the marketplace grows, competition will be tougher and getting noticed by your favorite brands could take more effort.

I've shared plenty here, but I probably also prompted some questions -- let me have 'em...

Oh, and given my post title, I'll leave you with a video montage of Method Man's tribute to The Rock -- "Do you Smell What the Rock is Cooking?" He reminds me of Ted Murphy, but with muscles, good looks and personality ;-)

Entrepreneurs Never Sleep...

or do they:


It seems Ted got a little of his own medicine after abusing Travis once too often:

Beatbox, SXSW Style

Most of the SXSW wrap-up posts have trickled in by now, but I noticed this when I was checking IZEA's latest video antics. It's a beatbox mashup from the SXSW Bloghaus, including beats from Guy Kawasaki (How to Change the World), Darren Rouse (Problogger), Stephanie Agresta (Internet Geek Girl), Wendy Piersall (eMom) and many others...plus an opening by Loren Feldman (1938 Media) and a closing Britney Spears move by Aaron Brazell (Technosailor).

There are a lot of great bloggers in this vid I didn't name, can you name them -- via comment here or post at your blog?

Related images: guy kawasaki, darren rouse, stephanie agresta, wendy piersall, loren feldman, aaron brazell, sxsw