Buzzlord was conceived after a long line of disappointing attempts at trying to use other free advertising services.  We tried every free advertising network we could find, and all of the other free advertising networks we had tried had serious problems, such as:

• Scams being allowed to advertise
• False Advertising
• Malicious sites within the ad network
• Bad ad design and misspelled words
• Only text ads allowed
• Zero real content on sites within the ad network
• Only one advertisement allowed per user
• Must advertise for the same site you host ads on
• Offensive content on network sites and ads
• Ad windows malfunctioning

In creating Buzzlord, our goal was to create a free advertising network free from these issues because they can actually detract from the credibility of your web site.  When a user visits your site and sees an advertisement that contains misspelled words or is of very poor quality, that reflects poorly on your web site.  Likewise, if a user clicks a link and finds themselves at a site that is a scam, offends the person, has no actual content other than links and ads, or much worse a malicious site that infects them with a virus, the credibility of your web site is marginalized.  Buzzlord also strictly regulates the quality of the advertisements accepted into our network.  Each advertisement is evaluated to ensure that it meets our design standards.  We don’t require every ad to be a professional masterpiece, but we do reject ads that do not meet minimum quality or content standards in order to preserve the professional appearance of our network.

We feel that maintaining professionalism in a free advertising network is a lofty but attainable goal.  A visitor to your web site who looks at an image advertisement being displayed in the Buzzlord Ad Window should assume that the ad is no different from the many pay per click and pay per impression ads that they are accustomed to seeing every day on highly reputable sites.

Why would a customer choose to pay more money for the same product?  That question may sound slightly crazy, but it happens millions of times every day.    The answer is, quite simply, branding.  The truth is that millions of competing products are exactly the same and even made in the exact same factory as the products they compete with – the only real difference between them is the branding.  Remember the contaminated pet food scare of 2007?  101 brands, same factory.  It isn’t just pet food, it’s treadmills, DVD players, you name it.

What are the goals of Branding?

Simply put, the main goal of branding is to create perceptions in the mind of the consumer that benefit your company, site or blog.  These perceptions should cause the consumer to be emotionally stimulated in a positive way, and associate that positive feeling with your product or service.   The ultimate goal in creating these associations in the mind of the consumer is to create the perception that there is no substitute for your brand — even if there is.   A consumer not only recognizes a successful brand, but they demand it as if all competing products did not exist.

Ideally, you would like to drive your customers towards the path of Brand Advocacy.  Brand Advocates are extremely satisfied customers who act collectively as a grass roots marketing campaign that comes free of charge.  A Brand Advocate tells their friends, family members, and others who already trust them about how great your brand is.  Brand Advocates are incredibly powerful because the buzz they generate bypasses natural initial skepticism because of the preexisting trust relationship between them and the consumer.

What are the  Benefits of Branding?

Branding has many benefits, some of which are more easily measured than others.

1. Recognition and Memorability – A very important benefit of branding is that customers recognize your brand immediately.  Your brand also “lives” in the mind of the consumer, subconsciously attaching itself to thoughts and feelings and influencing purchase decisions.
2. Image of Credibility and Reliability – A strong brand carries with it the image of credibility.  Consumers associate strong brands with large, successful companies.  If a consumer recognizes your brand, there is a good chance that they view you as a reliable company who has been around long enough to forge positive relationships in their mind.
3. Focus and Consistency – Setting clear brand identity goals allows your organization to act with consistency.   This can help bring clarity and unity to marketing efforts, as well as guide the company culture.
4. Differentiation and Premium Pricing – Branding allows you to differentiate your products and services from those of your competitors.  Branding is so powerful that a successful brand can create the perception of a totally different product, when in reality it is exactly the same as a competing product.  A premium brand image can allow you to sell your product at a premium price – even though in reality it is no different from an unbranded product.
5. Unity – Branding can effectively tie together otherwise separate products or services in a way that benefits them all.
6. Loyalty – If customers are happy with a product, they will be more likely to buy another product of the same brand.  Extremely loyal customers will even advocate for your brand, acting almost as if you were paying them to promote your product.
7. Increased Sales – A very tangible benefit of successful branding is an increase in sales.

Why is Branding  So Powerful?

History:

Branding has been a part of the human experience from the beginning and is deeply ingrained in our brains.  The survival of our ancestors depended on a form of branding in that early humans had to be adept at quickly making life or death decisions.  Take the example of our ancestors deciding whether or not to eat a particular unfamiliar berry, which may be either poisonous or nutritious.  Instead of a modern brand, berries would be categorized and identified by other properties, such as color, size and shape.  The earliest form of “brand loyalty” as we know it today could be explained as a tendency to eat berries that can be identified by their “brand” and have already been categorized as safe to eat.   It comes as no surprise that branding significantly influences human decision making when we understand this.

Science:

Several recent studies have confirmed the amazing power of branding using functional MRI data to show how the human brain responds to certain stimuli. One recent study covered by the New York Times found the following:

“When researchers monitored brain scans of 67 people who were given a blind taste test of Coca-Cola and Pepsi, each soft drink lit up the brain’s reward system, and the participants were evenly split as to which drink they preferred. But when the same people were told what they were drinking, activity in a different set of brain regions linked to brand loyalty overrode their original preferences. Three out of four said that they preferred Coca-Cola.”

Branding consultant and author Martin Lindstrom also conducted a study of his own in which he scanned the brains of several devout Christians.  What Lindstrom found is a meaningful correlation between mainstream religions and corporate brands that possess a very loyal customer base.  Lindstrom also uncovered that many of the same factors that lead to religious loyalty also lead to brand loyalty.

The power of branding is undeniable and understated.  As modern neuroscience studies the impact of branding on the human brain,  branding will continue to grow more and more powerful.   Branding is everything.

Getting a new web site, product, or service off the ground and reaching critical mass can be a difficult thing to do.  At Buzzlord, we help make taking that critical first step easier and cheaper by providing our free advertising service.  The Buzzlord Free Advertising Network provides members with several benefits, some of which are more obvious than others.

Please take a moment to review the many benefits of Buzzlord Free Advertising:

• Gain brand exposure (Branding is everything!)
• Integrity — all sites within our network are vetted for quality, content, and safety.
• Buzzlord is completely free!
• Test the difference in effectiveness between several different versions of advertisements before placing them with a paid service.
• Drive legitimately interested traffic to your site.
• Build credibility with a high quality image ad.
• Create multiple ads for multiple sites.  You can also display ads on as many sites as you would like to build credits.
• Buzzlord is easy to use with an intuitive ad management interface.
• Your ads are targeted to the audience you specify.
• New users currently start with 10,000 bonus credits

As Buzzlord continues to grow, it will become increasingly effective at providing you with high quality targeted advertisements.

Sign up now!

Using Buzzlord Free Advertising with your Blogger blog is extremely easy.  It is also a terrific way to start building brand recognition for your blog, as well as bringing in some extra traffic to those users who see your advertisements and are interested in what you have to say.  The only thing you need to do to host a Buzzlord Ad Window on Blogger is add an HTML Gadget to the side bar and paste your Buzzlord Ad Code in that Gadget.  Once your Ad Window is installed and displaying  advertisements, you will begin earning Buzzlord credits.

Step by step instructions:

1. Log into Buzzlord
2. In your Buzzlord Account Manager, click the Get Code button for Host Site in which the Ad Window will be hosted*
3. Copy the Buzzlord Ad Code to your clipboard
4. Log into your Blogger Blog’s Dashboard by going to http://<yourblogname>.blogspot.com/
5. Click the “Customize” in the top right hand corner of the screen**
6. Choose the Layout tab
7. Click “Add A Gadget” in the location you choose to place your Buzzlord Ad Window*
8. Choose HTML/JavaScript
9. Paste the Buzzlord Ad Code from your clipboard into the “Content” section of the window (title is optional)***
10. Click Save

* Make sure that the Ad Window size will fit into your sidebar.  If not, edit the Host Site and choose a smaller Ad Window.

** Make sure you are logged in.

*** You may want to enclose the Buzzlord Ad Code in a centered div to ensure that it is centered properly in your sidebar.

Writing and designing a successful advertisements can be a very challenging task, especially for entrepreneurs who don’t have the luxury of an internal marketing department or the budget to hire an expensive advertising agency.    It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the number of factors involved, so when designing an ad we like to begin by asking ourselves some preliminary questions before beginning on an ad design.  We like to write down our answers to these questions and continuously refer back to them as we design our advertisement.

• 1.  What is the goal of your message?

Why are you advertising?  Are you looking for to generate readers for your new blog?  Are you looking for customers to fill orders for a particular product?  What action do you want the customer to take after reading the message?

• 2.  Who is your audience?

Who is your message targeted towards?  Knowing who your message is intended for will help you design your advertisement.  Be aware of the different buyer personas in your target market.

• 3.  What does the audience want?

Knowing your audience and what they want is essential to writing a successful advertisement.  Your goal is to connect with your customer on a personal level — make them think that the ad was written specifically with them in mind.  The more personalized the message, the better your results will be.

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Once we have answered those questions, we have a foundation for the design and copy of our advertisement.  Checking back with these original questions as we develop the ad will ensure that we are talking to our audience and driving towards the goal of our message at all times.

Building on the foundation, we will begin to think about what kind of language we want to use in our ad.  We know that we need to speak on a personal level to our target audience and to do our best to tailor our advertisement specifically for each reader, but there is more to it than that.  It is important that we keep the following things in mind when writing our advertisement copy:

• Grab Attention – This is the most important factor of any advertisement.  If it doesn’t grab the attention of your reader, it will never be read in the first place.  Keep this in mind at all times.
• Use A Call To Action – Tell your customers what they must do to get your product.  Do they have to click on something?  Ask them to click the link.  Do they call a number?  Ask them to call the number.
• Create A Sense of Urgency – Offer some sort of incentive (real or perceived) for the customer to act immediately.  Customers may intend to come back, but without incentive to act immediately they may procrastinate and will never return, despite their intentions.
• Clearly Make Your  Offer – Your offer is the reason you are advertising and it’s also the reason that customers will respond to your ads.  Make your offer as clear and strong as it can possibly because the response to your ad will depend on the quality and clarity of your offer.  If your offer is not clear, you may get unwanted responses that will only waste your time and advertising budget.
• Appeal to Emotion – Neuroscience has proven to us that humans depend on emotions to make decisions.  Attempt to influence the emotions of your reader using stories, pictures and anything you can dramatize to draw the customer in.   The popularity of  “reality TV” is a great example demonstrating how powerful this simple principal is.
• Appeal to Self Interest – The only thing your customer is concerned with is themselves.  Focus on how your product or service directly benefits them, they don’t care about anything else.  Demonstrate as clearly as possible how your product or service benefits the customer.

It is often beneficial to come up with several similar but slightly different versions of your ad copy for the purposes of testing.  The idea is to run all of the ads and then look back at the results to see which ads had the best response rate.  Keep the ads with the best response rate and remove the rest.  The more times you repeat this process, the more effective your advertisements become.

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After you have established a foundation for your advertisement and have decided upon a few versions (or one version) of ad copy, you can begin to think about the visual appeal of the advertisement.  Advertisements consisting of images and multimedia are more likely to grab the attention of the reader in most cases, so we definitely want to use some visual elements and avoid using text-only ads — unless of course our target market wants to see only text.  Keep the following considerations in mind when designing the visual elements of your ad:

• Don’t try to cram too much into a small space – leaving some white space may actually guide your reader to the important information.  Don’t overwhelm them with too much noise.
• Users will notice visuals first - before a reader bothers to read your copy, they will glance at your visuals and instantly decide whether or not to read.  Keep this in mind.
• Put important information where the user will expect it – don’t put anything important in the fine print.  Make it easy for the user to read the ad and instantly understand what the offer is and how to get it.
• Stay consistent in your layout and design elements – keep your visual elements consistent, including colors, borders, graphics  and fonts.
• Draw a border – in most cases you should make sure that there is a clear line between the beginning  and end of your advertisement.
• Include your logo – Always include your logo to improve the visibility of your brand.  The more customers see your brand, the more trust they will place in it.  Building a brand will be crucial to your success, so you should be constantly engaged in it.

After designing the visual elements of your ad, you should check back to the original 3 questions and ensure that you are still communicating your intended message to your intended audience in the way that they want to receive it.  Making sure that you optimize each element of the ad will contribute greatly to its eventual success.

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You should have a pretty good framework for creating an advertisement design at this point, but there are still a few things we think you should watch out for.  These are things we strongly recommend avoiding:

AVOID:

• All capital letters in ad copy – this gives the appearance of  “shouting.”  It’s a common misconception that this is a good way to grab attention.   Readers may glance over small letters and derive full meaning from the text, whereas they are not conditioned to do so with all capital letters.
• Offering too many choices – offering too many choices can paralyze your user and cause them to not act when they would have otherwise acted on your offer.  Choice can be good, but be careful when offering choices in any advertised offer.
• Talking about yourself  or your company - don’t talk about yourself or your company too much in your advertising — the customer cares only about helping themselves.  Don’t describe your company — describe your offer.
• Misleading ads – do not mislead your customer in any way.  This may get them interested in your ad, but the last thing any advertising budget needs is customers who are interested in the ads but not in the products.  Obviously it will also negatively impact your credibility.
• Rushing to print – don’t rush to get your advertisement to print.  Take your time to thoroughly  and carefully create a quality advertisement.

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After you’ve finished your ad design, there is one more thing you might want to ask yourself one last question.

Can I simplify this at all?

Is there anything you can do to make the ad more simple?  The better you can simplify your ad, the better response it will get.

This article should help you design effective advertisements for your blogs, web sites and businesses.  For software and other tools that can be used in the creation of  advertisements, see our post located here.

Setting up a Buzzlord Ad Window on your WordPress blog is a very simple process.  All you need to do is copy your Buzzlord Ad Code, create a Text widget in your WordPress sidebar, and paste the Buzzlord Ad Code into the sidebar.  That is all!  Once your Buzzlord Ad Window is displaying ads in your WordPress sidebar you will begin earning credits.

Step by step instructions:

1. Log into Buzzlord
2. In your Buzzlord Account Manager, click the Get Code button for Host Site in which the Ad Window will be hosted*
3. Copy the Buzzlord Ad Code to your clipboard.
4. Log into your WordPress Weblog’s Dashboard at http://yourblog/wp-admin/
5. Click Appearance
6. Choose Widgets
7. Click Text and drag it into the Sidebar
8. Click the arrow to the right of your newly created Sidebar item
9. Paste the Buzzlord Ad Code into the main body of the Text Widget, a title is optional**
10. Click Save

* Make sure that the Ad Window size will fit into your sidebar.  If not, edit the Host Site and choose a smaller Ad Window.

** You may want to enclose the Buzzlord Ad Code in a centered div to ensure that it is centered properly in your sidebar.

Having a professionally designed logo and image advertisement adds credibility to a web site.  It gives the impression that the web site is successful and shows that it is important to it’s creators.  Paying for a professionally designed logo or image advertisement can be very expensive, but it doesn’t have to be.  This article will show you 10 ways that you can create an image advertisement or logo on your own for free, all you need to do is supply the creativity.

There are a variety of different ways to create an advertisement that looks like it was professionally designed.  Many of these tools are free for use online or can be downloaded for free to your computer.  Most of them have a relatively easy learning curve with adequete support channels if you are having trouble.

1. GIMP (Download)

GIMP is a graphics program that you can install on your computer.  It is Open Source Software, meaning it is completely free of charge.  GIMP is very similar to Adobe Photoshop, and includes almost all of the most basic features of any graphics manipulation programs including many advanced features.  GIMP is also available for most Operating Systems.  If you want to edit graphics from a program on your computer, GIMP is the way to go.

Download here:  http://www.gimp.org/

2. PIXLR (Online)

PIXLR is an online image editor that allows you to create and edit images as if you were using an image editing program from your computer.  It works very well, and the interface is extremely untuitive and user friendly, especially if you have used graphics programs in the past.  This great web 2.0 tool is highly recommended for creating and modifying images.

Try It:  http://pixlr.com/

3.  Splashup (Online)

Splashup is another fantastic online tool that allows you to create graphics and manipulate images.  Splashup is extremely similar to PIXLR in it’s user interface, options, and and features.  This is another extremely good online graphics editor.

Try it:  http://splashup.com/

4.  Gimpshop (Download)

Gimpshop is an image editing tool build using GIMP.  Gimpshop basically takes the interface of GIMP and attempts to emluate Adobe Photoshop.  This software is excellent for users who would like to use the excellent free GIMP software while being able to apply their existing Photoshop knowledge almost immediately.  Highly recommended for Gimp users with Photoshop experience.

Download here:  http://www.gimpshop.com/

5.  Sumo Paint (Online)

Very similar to PIXLR and Splashup, Sumo Paint is an excellent online graphics program.  It allows you to create new graphics and has a variety of features.  Sumo Paint’s layout is very similar to a traditional graphics program and is highly recommended.

Try it:  http://www.sumopaint.com

6.  Picnik (Online)

Picnik is another excellent online graphics manipulation tool.  Picnik is great of modifying existing photos, or applying cool special effects that other online graphics programs don’t offer.  Picnik is not a good tool for creating graphics from scratch, but it is excellent for implementing special effects or final touches.

Try it: http://www.picnik.com/

7.  Serif Photoplus and Drawplus (Download)

Serif Photoplus allows you to modify photos and graphics with text, effects,  etc.  Drawplus enables users to create and modify graphics and offers some cool features not seen in other programs.  Photoplus and Drawplus are available for Mac and PC.  A quality program, but we prefer GIMP and Gimpshop.

Download here:  http://www.freeserifsoftware.com

8.  Paint.net (Download)

Paint.net is an open source graphics program similar to Gimp.  It is completely free and contains most features of standard graphics online programs.  We like this program, but GIMP is the preferred option.  Paint.net also requires the Microsoft.NET framework and only works on Microsoft operating systems.

Download here: http://www.getpaint.net

9.  Lightbox (Download)

Lightbox is a program specializing in photograph manipluation.  It is not a good tool for designing graphics from scratch, but has excellent touch-up features for applying finishing touches and effects.

Download here:  http://www.lightboxeditor.com

10. Online Image Editor

Online Image Editor is similar to PIXLR, Splashup, and Sumo Paint except there are not nearly as many features and the user interface is not as intuitive.  This will get the job done, but it is reminiscent of a Microsoft Paint program from the 90′s.  We reccommend using PIXLR, Splashup, or Sumo Paint for online graphics.

Try it:  http://www.online-image-editor.com

All of these tools are useful in some way for graphics manipulation, especially if you don’t have access to higher end tools such as Adobe Photoshop or Fireworks.

Enjoy!

Buzzlord Free Advertising Network is a free advertising exchange specializing in high quality image advertisements.  Our goal is to provide a targeted, professional-quality advertising exchange to webmasters and bloggers that allows them to promote their sites in an ethical manner.  Unlike many similar efforts, The Buzzlord Free Advertising Network is strictly regulated to keep unwanted spam and scam advertisements from tarnishing the credibility of our members.  Each advertisement and web site must meet quality and content standards in order to preserve the professional appearance and integrity of the network.

The Buzzlord free advertising model is designed to allow webmasters and bloggers to gain brand exposure, establish credibility, and build repeat traffic.  Buzzlord is especially useful to bloggers and smaller webmasters seeking to build returning visitors because it allows them to introduce their sites to new readers/customers/clients without having to pay the high price of traditional pay-per-click ads.  High quality image advertisements help to establish credibility while building a brand identity.  This allows Buzzlord members the same advantages of sites with a much larger marketing budget by leveraging existing empty or underperforming advertising space on their web site(s).

Many similar services, including some of the market leaders in online advertising, seem to allow just about anyone to join their network – so long as they pay for the ads.  This leads to otherwise reputable websites containing advertisements for pyramid schemes, scams, and other disreputable sites.  Buzzlord holds its members to a much higher standard of integrity than most advertising networks, and is dedicated to contributing to the internet community in a positive way.  The following content is strictly prohibited:

• False Advertising
• Pornography/Offensive Content
• Phishing/Scams/Pyramid Schemes
• Portal Sites with no original content
• Copyright Violations

In addition to being moderated for content, advertisements accepted into the Buzzlord Free Advertising Network must also meet a standard of quality.  Many advertising networks freely allow advertisements of very poor quality containing misspelled words and poor grammar to enter their network.  We feel that these poor quality advertisements reflect poorly on the advertisements seen by customers before and after them, as well as the site that is displaying them.  For this reason, Buzzlord requires every advertisement in our network to meet a minimum standard of quality.

To learn more, click here or visit our support page.

Buzzlord is now officially accepting membership.  Please sign up now!

Buzzlord Free Advertising Network will be officially launching on October 20th, 2009!

The first 1,000 users to sign up for the free advertising service will receive an additional 5,000 credits in their accounts upon signing up.  Users may begin signing up RIGHT NOW and can begin using Buzzlord immediately.

Stay tuned for further updates!

Buzzlord allows you to brand your product or web site for free throughout our network.   Our ads are targeted with a sophisticated algorithm which helps direct your free banner ads directly to your target market.

The many advantages of Buzzlord include:

• It’s 100% Free!
• Your ads are targeted to a specific audience.
• Image ads allow you to develop your brand.
• Advertise on and for multiple web sites and/or blogs.
• Buzzlord is easy to signup for and use.  All you need is creativity!

If you’d like to be notified when Buzzlord.com is ready to go, just send an email to prerelease@buzzlord.com and we will notify you as soon as it’s ready to go!