BzzAgent.com Review

It is said that the best form of advertisement is the one given through word of mouth. BzzAgent, a word-of-mouth media network providing consumers with free products for them to try out, believes this philosophy as well. Free products? Is there such a thing? What's the catch? Ah yes, the proverbial catch is this: people receive products in order to test them out and spread the word to other people. In return, they report their findings back to BzzAgent through written reports. The object is to use the power of WOM (word of mouth) to essentially advertise the product and hopefully generate lasting impressions and interest. This is the oldest form of advertising but it is still one of the most effective ways of doing it.

My wife joined in early 2008 and was receiving products from BzzAgent. I couldn't believe some of the things that she was getting such as the Ziploc Twist 'N Loc Containers and the Harmony One universal remote control (a $200 retail value!) for free. She had to use these items, share her discovery with other people, spread the word, and then report her findings back to BzzAgent. This was enough for me to join a month later and experience the fun.

Once a person signs up on the website -- www.buzzagent.com -- and fill out all the necessary information, it just becomes a matter of time before you are invited to experience your first campaign selected to your interests and location. A campaign varies from product to product but the bottom line is that a kit is sent to your house with all the pertinent information pertaining to the selected campaign. These are the campaigns I have been involved in to date:

• Fruit2Day (most recent)
• Diet Mountain Dew
• 2009 Dodge Ram 1500
• Boston Market
• Science Diet Nature's Best
• Word of Mouth Manual II

Most of these kits include coupons with a certain dollar amount off the purchase price and a couple for free products. You can give these away or use for yourself if you want to be greedy. I've noticed lately that less and less of the actual product is actually given to people now (perhaps these trying economic times don't make it too feasible anymore). But any sort of freebie is welcomed in my household especially when it makes me aware of a product that I haven't heard of before at all.

There are a few campaigns that require you to pay for it because not everything can be given away for pro bono. I've actually passed over a few offers because of the cost factor (though I'm kicking myself for not jumping all over the Philips Norelco electric shaver when I had the opportunity). But that's the beauty of a campaign--it's optional to participate especially if it doesn't interest you. For the most part, I try and take whatever I can get, unlike my wife, who gets double the amount of campaign invitations because of all the makeup invites she receives.

BzzAgents receive more campaigns as their status increases. The higher the status, the more invitations and perks follow suit. A certain number of "honeycombs" are needed in order to elevate your status. There are three basic ways to do this:

Bzz Reports

Each campaign that you join requires you to write and submit two Bzz reports to be completed within the timeframe allotted for that particular campaign. I shouldn't say "required" because it is an optional thing but there are a couple of perks from doing a Bzz report. First, by completing the two required Bzz reports for a particular campaign before it is over will earn a BzzAgent one honeycomb. Each honeycomb will move you closer to achieving the next level. And second, each Bzz report will earn you points that will transfer over to your MyPoints account. Yes, you can double dip in the honey jar! On average, I get 50 MyPoints for every Bzz report I submit. I usually do a total of five or six if I can. So even though the first two Bzz reports help me earn my honeycomb and MyPoints, I can continue to write reports and earn MyPoints. There is an application linked to FaceBook that makes it easier to submit reports for those always on that social network site.

Frogponds

BzzAgents submit websites of interest for other agents to check out. It's one way to generate interest to these sites by browsing, reviewing and share them with others. For each site that is clicked through the Frogpond, a short questionnaire is followed getting your thoughts on the site. These are really small snippets of your thoughts. By reviewing three Frogponds a month, an agent will receive one honeycomb.

BzzScape

This is a new feature that allows BzzAgents to promote their favourite brands. It's really promoting your unique point of view about these brands that you want to share with others. There is no limit as to the contents that can be featured. For example, let's use Viewpoints as the starting basis. One would create a section called Viewpoints and then add positive information about this popular brand, like community, review writing, badges, V.I.P. program, and so on. Adding ten BzzScapes a month will earn an agent one honeycomb.

A minimum of two honeycombs can be earned a month by doing both the Frogponds and BzzScapes. Depending on your campaigns, at least one more honeycomb will be added if you complete your two reports for the campaign. There are usually follow-up surveys after each campaign that can earn you another honeycomb. And then there are the random surveys that reward you with one honeycomb or some MyPoints. Just doing these things will ensure that you climb up the ranks and earn early invites to upcoming campaigns or "Golden Keys" to join campaigns that you want.

BzzAgent is a wonderful way to try out products and earn small rewards. Like everything in life, it really depends how much you put into it but I don't find myself putting too much overtime into the program. I try to be busy as a bee getting the word out, doing what I feel is comfortable and letting the rewards flow wherever and whenever it can.