Friday, April 17, 2009

Buy & sell blog advertising through 3rd party - Blogsvertise


Blogsvertise is an interesting blog advertising platform for advertisers who wants options and assistance such as:
  • Be able to post blog reviews, homepage text link, and homepage banner opportunities.

  • Purchase campaigns on a fix rate of US$20 per blog. Blogsvertise will match up the requirement to bloggers and do the necessary placement.

  • Advertisers who wants more control and choose where to place ads can request their account to be upgraded to power user. Cost per blog can vary from US$4 to US$50 per post.

  • Advertisers can pay through credit card and Paypal.
Bloggers on the other hand are given 5 days to accept or decline an ad assignment. If accepted, the completed work must be given during the same period.

Payment is also given 30 days after the assignment is completed. Of all the blog advertising networks I have joined, my highest decline rate is with this one. (5 reasons why I decline blog post assignments) Despite the challenge, I still find this network very much worthy to be in.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

My Casino Filipino Internet gaming station experience


Last April 12, I decided to start playing badminton again and realized that there is actually an online casino in our area. Since I've been doing a lot of web reviews of various casino sites, decided to visit one of these gaming station and have a feel of the game.

I asked for a recommendation and the slot game PayDirt was suggested. Minimum playing fund is five hundred pesos (P500). Based on what I read so far, realized that:
  • Playing small, like the minimum bet or line, will likely not yield you any winnings. You must go all the way, maximum possibilities for winning, to increase your chances.

  • Have a good capital so that you can stay long enough and increase your chances.
As I resumed with my site reviews again after, admittedly, it changed the way I looked at the site and analyzed the write-ups more.

So we'll see how I'm going to perform next time.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Buy & sell Twitter post through 3rd party: Magpie

Last year, I made a blog post about an April Fool's Joke - PayPerTweet. Its possibility as a service was inevitable. Today, Magpie offers an opportunity for Twitter users to monetize their accounts by allowing the site to post an ad tweet.


Advertisers can sign up with Magpie and do the following:
  • can create a conversational-tone campaign that gets twitted (in an automated manner) by Twitter users who are part of the network.

  • based on keywords used by the advertiser, the system automatically matches the twitter users who also post based on those keyword topics.

  • set a budget. By default, campaigns on a per view basis although other arrangements can be made like per sale, per lead, among others.
Twitter users can either automatically approve all ads or manually approve them. Fees are earned through per view, per click, per sale, per lead, among others. In my case, I prefer per view.

Once your earned fees reached 50 euros, this can now be transferred to your Paypal account. Another option is to re-purpose the credits and place ads.

When joining this service, I kept the following as setting:
  • Ads only appear after the 10th post. Since I don't twit extensively, I avoid the scenario where my account displays an ad on a daily basis.

  • Don't remove the prefix declaring the twit as an advertisement.

  • Be relevant in one's twitter post and interact with others. Otherwise your twitter account will lose value and may even lose followers.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Make Facebook Fluff work for you

With Easter just around the corner, Facebook Fluff users are busy again visiting friends to look for Easter eggs. If you are an active marketer, you can take this opportunity to make your Fluff work for you.


I dressed up my Toitoi fluff to actively pitch the upcoming Social Networking & eBusiness Conference this April 23 & 24 so that those whom we get to pet, give gifts, and harvest Easter eggs from will get to see it.

I first tried this out last year as Toitoi promoted my book Blogging from Home.

So if you have a Fluff, make it work for you like promoting your blog or any other project.

Buy & sell blog reviews through 3rd party - Sponsored Reviews

Late last year, after releasing the book Blogging from Home, I often receive questions on how can blog sites be monetized. I decided to join several programs and participate actively to have enough personal experience whenever information sharing is required. One of those programs is Sponsored Reviews.


For advertisers, Sponsored Reviews uniquely allows you to:
  • Place opportunity directly to bloggers or put them in the marketplace. Interested bloggers will have to bid for them giving you the chance to screen and approve.

  • An advertisement is not limited to one link. You can have several and require bloggers to link them all up.
Although in the process, the only risk for advertisers in going through the bidding process is that it must recognize that not all are active participants in it. Personally, I tried posting a few bids and when none have replied, I just got contented waiting for opportunities to come to me.

For bloggers, Sponsored Reviews gives a higher payout which is 65% and releases them twice a month.

Buy & sell blog reviews through 3rd party - ReviewMe

ReviewMe is the first blog review site I joined last November 2006. What makes the service unique, of all other sites offering similar services, is that ReviewMe requires a disclosure. This means all blog reviews must state one way or another that the said post is paid for.

Advertisers can place a campaign in 3 ways.
  • Marketplace.
    Choose and place targeted ads on a per blog basis.

  • Advertiser-offered reviews
    Offer a campaign that contains your requirements, budget, and category or theme of blogs relevant to you. Minimum amount per post is ten dollars (US$10).

  • Advertorials
    Full control of the advertisement text and click tracking for performance measurement.
Half or 50% of what advertisers pay is given to bloggers.

Bloggers can earn from ReviewMe through acceptance and participation of the campaigns listed above. I also observed the following:
  • The advertiser-offered reviews or campaigns area has a lot of opportunities listed in it where minimum pay-out is five dollars (US$5). One must constantly monitor it if you are eager in getting high payout opportunities.

  • ReviewMe allows bloggers to accept 40 campaign offers a month. This means that those who are aggressive in monitoring and getting opportunities can earn a minimum of two hundred dollars (US$200) from it (@US$5 each). If you only get those that pay at least ten dollars (US$10), then your monthly earning potential doubles to four hundred dollars (US$400).

  • Payouts are done monthly so this requires also budgeting on your part.
Marketplace and advertorial opportunities are a bit limited. I guess this is partly because most advertisers are in a position to contact the blogger directly if they want to negotiate the rates further.

Tough to break-in

I heard feedback from fellow bloggers on how their blogs did not qualify to join ReviewMe for several reasons. This means that one has to really work hard in building their site and get the approval desired.

This funnel process benefits advertisers knowing the bloggers they are dealing with are serious enough.

Thursday, April 09, 2009

Facebook as the new e-mail service

I'll be teaching search engine marketing, seo copywriting, and search engine optimization 101 training for a public relations and web development firm this April 13 and 14.

This activity was made possible thanks to Facebook. I often use my status updates to alert friends of the activity I was doing or preparing for.

At that time, shared about an seo copywriting briefing I was doing then via status update. Shortly thereafter, a contact was already asking for a meeting on how this can be done for their own company. We met, exchange further e-mail via Facebook, and the training was set.


With a clear purpose in mind, a Facebook or any other social networking account can be a powerful marketing tool. Use it wisely and don't abuse it!

Buy & sell banner image ads through 3rd party - Project Wonderful

As an ad buyer and seller, experimenting with various online advertising programs allowed me to offer options to clients regardless of budget and with reasonable expectations.


One site that caught my attention last year is Project Wonderful. I used the service to advertise my Blogging from Home book last year to create awareness about its launch. Advertisers are able to:
  • Search for ad spaces based on size and categories you are interested in.
  • Bid a rate and compete. If you win, your ad appears for one day and can let it continuously appear.
  • Fund an account by loading it from Paypal in the amount of US$5. If you also sell ad space, revenues generated can also be used to fund your campaigns.
For blog and website owners, you can create an account and submit a site for consideration. I prefer submitting sites one at a time. Once it starts to have advertisers, I add another site and the cycle continues. This way, you won't be adding too much too soon.

Once approved, you'll be able to:
  • Pick the size of ads that you want to appear in your site. Each site can have 5 ad boxes. So far, I've configured my sites with one box each.
  • Set a bid rate.
  • Approve or disapprove ads. In my case, ads I've previously approved will automatically appear. I also add the advertiser as a friend to auto-approve future placements. This makes the administration easy as well.
How about you? What is your Project Wonderful experience like?

Friday, April 03, 2009

Deal sealed with Puto Maya at Via Mare


I was at Via Mare last February 13 to meet with two owners of a PR firm. What I like about the place is you can try popular Filipino delicacies like Puto Maya.

Like most Asian delicacies, Puto Maya is all about sticky rice and coconut milk. If you are adventurous enough, you can even make your own Puto Maya.

In addition, the deal that was discussed during that meeting was for me to do a search engine marketing, seo copywriting, and search engine optimization 101 training for their firm. It is pushing through this April 13 and 14. I look forward in blogging about it soon!

Foot spa in a movie theater experience

Last January 29, I received an e-mail from Francis Simisim of Blue Water Day Spa who asked help to broadcast their spa movie theater promo contest. Twenty (20) bloggers won and got together last February 18 to try the experience.

Whenever I feel tired, going to a spa is an option explored when schedule permits. On first visit to any spa, the foot massage experience will be my barometer if the place is good or not.

The spa movie theater concept of Blue Water Day Spa (along Ortigas Avenue, Greenhills, San Juan) is designed for special booking arrangement. It can be used for birthdays, special presentation, among others.

(thanks Ada for the photo!)

We were treated to a movie while being given a foot spa. As I was dealing with a spammer issue at that time, was online as well in the process.

If there's anything that didn't turn out right for me was the multitasking part. My tolerance to deep massage pain is usually high. But in this case, I was quick to react whenever pain is felt. I wasn't relaxing at all due to watching the movie and online anxious about the spammer issue concurrently. So the next time, I should really relax and turn that computer off.

If you want to have your own Blue Water Day Spa experience, Francis is having another promo for their Capitol Hills branch. Check it out!

Dining for one at a Japanese restaurant - Teriyaki Boy

Being a freelancer, I sometimes find myself alone after a workshop or class. Before, I would call a friend or sister and invite one for dinner especially on the last day. But during my blogging workshop series last February, got tied up over chat about the search engine marketing seminar in Urdaneta City University and decided to dine alone after.

There is something about a Japanese restaurant that makes it an attractive hang-out to dine alone. At that time, the nearest one, that was also quiet, was Teriyaki Boy (Paseo de Roxas corner Legaspi St., beside Starbucks, Makati City).

My typical dining for one food choices would include any of the following:
  • Mixed sashimi (if none available, tuna or salmon will do)
  • Japanese fried rice
  • Gyoza
  • House tea
  • Plum wine (only get to try this abroad. Rarely available in local ones.)
  • Fruit shakes
When I was at Teriyaki Boy, had gyoza, Japanese fried rice, and avocado shake. I actually ordered for tuna sashimi also but it wasn't processed. Good thing it was't included in my billing either. That saved me on a diet and money perspective. I usually keep quiet when a food ordered was not served and check if it gets included in the bill after I'm done. lol!

I must admit though that the sashimis served in local Japanese restaurants no longer excite me, even at the more expensive spots. Whenever in Australia, I get my Japanese food fix at Cherry Blossom. This is a small eatery oftentimes found outside a supermarket and really enjoy their servings.

My 1st Plurkfiesta Experience & Mini Cooper glimpse


Last February 21, I got my first taste of Plurkfiesta at Tranquilo Bar & Grill. A Plurkfiesta is simply an eyeball event that can be organized by anyone. Read about it a few days before through Tiffy and expressed my interest.

I had a great time catching up with fellow Plurk users that night as we talked about blogging developments, politics, old Pinoy movies, among others.

Tranquilo Bar & Grill (103 Eagle Street Bgy. Ugong Pasig across c-5.) is actually inside a car maintenance shop. But don't let the look of the place deceive you. It serves one of the best meals in town at very reasonable cost. If I recall correctly, we ate like 5 to 6 various food that night and paid only 250 pesos each, inclusive of drinks. It was one of the best food deals I ever had.

Later that evening, I also saw a Mini Cooper, that car used in the movie "The Italian Job". Glad the owner allowed me to take a photo of it. I was even offered to be taken a photo inside the car but don't want to abuse the hospitality of the car owner. Although the day after, I regret not doing it. lol!

Until the next Plurkfiesta!

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Buy & sell text link ads through 3rd party - AdHocAds

Nowadays, site owners and advertisers buy text link ads and consider it as an attractive low-cost investment as keywords can be used as the primary text of the ad. As this gets crawled by search engines, it can help in pushing a product or service identity be associated to the keyword defined.


Some bloggers accept images or text link ads to make their site income-generating. These are often placed on the sidebar of a blog. One way of getting this done is by joining sites that sell text link advertisements such as AdHocAds. This is where you:
  • Join (which is free).

  • Add your site, select the category you are in, and set the rate.
    If you have several blogs, I suggest getting your blogs identified in distinct categories. Check out also the listing to see how others have priced their blogs.

  • Wait for ads notice.
Some 3rd party advertising networks requires you to put a code in your site to start letting visitors know that you sell text link ads. I noticed that AdHocAds doesn't have one which members may find convenient.