I’ve been getting a lot of really great freebies recently in my mailbox, and I mean full-sized items, not simple sample sized sachets of lotions or laundry soap.
But how, do you ask? Word of Mouth Marketing or (WOM). It’s not new. Remember the “I told two friends, and they told two friends” commercial from the 1980′s? That’s word of mouth marketing. Since the invention of the internet, WOM marketing has been amplified, lucky for us consumers!
Here are just a few of my favorites and some of the cool things I’ve gotten lately:
Bzzagent A WOM (word of mouth) website that helps spread the word on tons of great products. Sign up for campaigns when there are products that interest you, use them, and share your opinions (as well as coupons and samples!) with others in person or via the Internet. This sharing is called “buzz”, and the more you buzz and report your buzz, you earn Mypoints points, and chances for early invitations for more campaigns. I’ve been a Bzzagent for eight years, and I receive 2-4 campaigns per year. In the last year, I’ve gotten campaigns for: Glade Atmosphere Collection Purell Hand Sanitizer, Edwards Frozen Pie, Alexia Frozen Potato products, and Spin Master Toys.
Smiley360 is much like BzzAgent, in that it is also a WOM (Word of Mouth) website. Sign up for campaigns and you will receive samples to use, and coupons to share with friends. Report your sharing and earn points! I’ve received Laundry detergent (full sized bottles), vitamins, supplements, tampons, and razors all in the last year.
In the same vein as the two above, MyMagazine Sharing Network, and Generation Good by Seventh Generation both use the same type of interface as Smiley360. I’ve gotten cat treats and cat food from MyMagazine, and Full size laundry and menstruation hygiene products from Generation Good. I have only been using these two WOM companies for less then a year.
Moms Meet I love Moms meet, but I haven’t been getting a lot of stuff from them as of late. Read my post here telling you all about Moms Meet and their awesome sampling programs.
Social Nature is different. Sign up for food or beauty products that you’d like to try (they are in both the US and Canada), and if you are selected, they’ll mail you a full sized product (or a coupon to get the item for free in a local store). Then after you try it, complete a survey and do a few social media shares ( FB, IG, Twitter, etc.). This year I’ve sampled: Vegan Miso Soup, Ocean’s Halo Ramen Broth (it was crazy good), Little Northern Bakehouse bread, Emerald Valley Kitchen Salsa, A. Vogel Herbed Sea Salt, and the biggest family fav: Hip Chick Farms chicken tenders!
Home Tester Club is pretty cool. They are one of my new favorites. You sign up to review items and they send you something. A lot of the time they don’t notify you prior to shipping, you’ll get a package in the mail and a few days later, you’ll get an email notifying you that you were selected and a link to the survey to complete once you have sampled the product. I’ve gotten a Changing Pad Cover, Flushable Wipes, Makeup Remover, and a moisturizer.
And that’s my most up-to-date list of the WOM marketing companies that I use and get free stuff from. I recommend any and all of these companies!
If you’ve got another WOM Marketing company that you’d like to share, leave a comment!
