Please share!
How would you like to receive incredible, brand-name products of all kinds for free . . . food, beverages, books, toys, games, appliances, craft items, household goods and so forth . . . in return for sharing them and your experiences with your friends and family? Does this sound like fun to you? If it does, then please allow me to introduce you to the world of word-of-mouth marketing!
How Word-of-Mouth Marketing (WOMM) Has Blessed My Family
If you’re not familiar with word-of-mouth marketing, or WOMM, it’s defined by Wikipedia as
. . . an unpaid form of promotion—oral or written—in which satisfied customers tell other people how much they like a business, product, service, or event.
I can tell you that you probably engage in word-of-mouth marketing, even if you don’t know it! If you share your opinions, whether good or bad, about products or services with others, you’re already doing it.
I discovered word-of-mouth marketing about 5 years ago. Because of my involvement with WOMM, our family has been exposed to and blessed with amazing products….a myriad of new things that have been not only enormous fun to discover and try, but many of which have become staples for us. My whole family is excited when I tell them that we’ve scored a new BzzCampaign or a new House Party, or another WOMM freebie!
BzzAgent
BzzAgent boasts hundreds of thousands of members, all who (like the company itself) are called BzzAgents. Major corporations like Redbox, Kellogg’s, Fage Yogurt, CoverGirl (to name a few current ones) and others hire BzzAgent to connect its members with their products and brands in programs called BzzCampaigns. Each company is generally looking for a specific demographic, and BzzAgent matches those metrics with the members who fit them. These members are sent BzzCampaign invites to try out the products, and they may choose to participate in the campaigns or not. Since July 2009, I’ve participated in 45 campaigns! Here are a few of my favorites:
- Starbucks
- CoverGirl LashBlast Fusion mascara
- Elmer’s Crafters glue
- Thomas Bagel Thins
- Tonka XT Ricochet Tricksters
- Nerf Cyber Hoop
When a BzzAgent is selected for a campaign, he receives a BzzKit full of free product or full-price coupons, plus additional coupons to share. All BzzAgent asks is that the member tries the product and then shares her honest opinion with others….also known as creating Bzz. BzzAgents then report what they shared and what others thought of the product via the BzzAgent website in BzzReports. (You also gain MyPoints for each BzzReport you do, and those points can garner you free gift cards from the MyPoints website over time! I’ve gotten free Walmart, Visa and Kohl’s cards over the years from this nice extra.)
We’ve received some products that we loved….some that we thought were okay….and others that just weren’t a fit for our family. But the process has been fun and exciting all the way round. BzzAgent values its members and each interaction is handled with good-natured humor.
It’s just plain fun!
Houseparty
Houseparty is another favorite WOMM company. The main difference between it and BzzAgent is that with this one, you apply to host parties where new products are introduced and shared with your guests. Depending on the party, there can be a lot of competition for hosting spots…and while I’ve been selected for fewer House Parties than BzzCampaigns, the ones I’ve hosted have been just incredible. Here’s a sampling of my House Parties and the goodies I received free, to share:
Nerf Super Soaker Block Party, where my son’s friends came over for an afternoon of water gun fun:
“Discover You Can” with Jarden and Ball Home Canning Products, where we canned strawberry jam and experimented with different flavors:
SodaStream, where we made and sampled 20 different soda flavors:
I’ve also hosted House Parties for Martha Stewart Crafts, HP Wall Photos, Velveeta and others. Friends and family have joined me for wonderful evenings filled with fun, food and neat activities. Best of all, no one has to buy anything….all the products for each party are gifts to the host and partygoers (actual products, samples and favors). I usually ask guests to bring a snack to share while I provide the drinks, but that’s completely optional!
I’d love to encourage you to check out these WOMM organizations, and others like SheSpeaks and Vocalpoint. Membership in them is completely free, and while you never receive a paycheck, you can get GREAT freebies. Just click on the links above, read a little more about them to discover whether or not they’re a good fit for you and your family, and join! With each of these groups, the more active you are, the more campaigns or programs or parties you’ll be asked to join. I hope they bless you as they’ve blessed me!
Wren is a homeschooling mama of one awesome boy, Jackson, married to Murphy, the best husband and dad ever. They’ve homeschooled together for 8+ years and LOVE it! Their family favorites include superheroes (Marvel, if at all possible), reading, LEGO, Galaga and space . . . and they’d spend all their vacations at the beach if it were possible!
Please share!
