Bzzzzzz....

Confession: I LOVE getting mail. Everyday, I make the trip to the mailbox and hope that there's something fun inside for me. Frankly, the days of pen-pals and handwritten letters have more or less gone by the wayside and been replaced with the likes of e-mail and Skype, which means that I've had to take matters into my own hands to ensure I'm not met with disappointment each trip to the mailbox. Sure, I love receiving and reading the five magazines I subscribe to (it would probably be more, but Mr. C saved me from myself on that one...) but what's even more fun is opening your mailbox to packages of free things! Would you also like to receive free gifts in your mailbox? Then read on, faithful reader, as I introduce you to the world of BzzAgent.

BzzAgent is a website where you sign up to participate in word of mouth marketing campaigns sponsored by companies that want to get their product out there and receive honest feedback in return.

Here's an example of a BzzCampaign I'm participating in:

Orbit Gum recently came out with a fun new package designs that consist of bright colors and patterns. They've been marketing through commercials, but they also really want to push for people to check out their new packages and buy them. Enter: me. I signed up to participate in the BzzCampaign, they mailed me five packages of Orbit Gum and a bunch of coupons and now it's my job to chew the gum, hand it and the coupons out to friends, and provide Orbit with feedback of how people like their gum. Not too shabby, eh?

The best part is that all sorts of companies are doing BzzCampaigns. Some of the cooler ones I've seen recently include a "BzzKit" that included hundreds of dollars of haircare products from Sebastian and Nioxin, one that offered a free year of LifeLock to protect your identity and one that offered a free $100 Sonicare Toothbrush!

Ready to sign up? Just go to http://www.bzzagent.com/ and enter your info. I must admit that it took me quite awhile to get into the swing of things and figure out what the buzz was all about. The biggest goal is to gain "honeycombs" and move up your status so you'll be invited to campaigns before everybody else. You get these by doing things like reviewing sponsored websites in the "Frogpond" and also adding reviews to different "BzzScapes," which are like fan pages. You should also hop onto the home page once in awhile to see if you have surveys to fill out, because these will increase your chances of getting matched to a campaign! BzzAgent will send you an email if you're invited to a campaign, but it never hurts to check and see if any are available on your homepage as well! If you hae any questions, please do let me know!

(image courtesy of BzzAgent!)