The Entrecarder

At midnight Saturday night I completed registering my 20th active Entrecard account...this one. Each one now includes a note in the description that it is a member of the Biz Beacon Advertising Co-op. A search on the Category page for "Biz Beacon" will show all 20 sites that are participating in the Co-op.

So what is the Biz Beacon Advertising Co-op?

It's my solution to some of the challenges that I have found with Entrecard. For example, it's hard to run an efficient ad campaign when you have little control over when your ads will run. While this might not be important for many Entrecarders, there are some who have a contest that they would like to promote, a particularly special post they want read, or some other reason to want a lot of traffic to their site on a specific date. Until now it has been a haphazard venture at best, seeing as how your ad could run immediately or up to 13 days later...if approved at all. All of the sites involved in the Biz Beacon Advertising Co-op will run the same scheduled ad beginning at approx 12:15 am (ET) and ending at approx 11:45 pm that same day.

Q: What happens when your ad is canceled before it has run for a full 24 hours?

A: You get a full refund.

Q: Why am I doing this?

A: Because I am going to charge an appropriate amount of ECs to make up for it.

Let's say that the going rate to advertise on all 20 of the Co-op's sites is 2000 ECs per day. Entrecard gets 1500 and the Co-op gets 500. By canceling the ads before they complete their full 24 hour run the advertiser gets their 2000 ECs back. I'm going to start by charging an amount of ECs that is less than total of the individual ad spots, but if the concept catches on I will likely end up charging a premium.

Q: How do I sign up for a specific day?

A: For now, just send a message to this account's Entrecard message box. Do not submit an ad request via the Category listing as I will be rejecting all ad requests except those that are approved for participation in the Co-op program.

Q: What sites are included in the Biz Beacon Advertising Co-op?

A: Here's The List:
1) The Entrecarder
2) The EntreBank
3) My Internet Marketing Adventures
4) Entrecard Polls
5) Biz Beacon Advertising Co-op
6) Affiliate Ads & Referral Programs
7) Top Blog Communities
8) I've Entered the Contest!
9) Reviewing for Money & Other Remuneration
10) Resources for Entrecarders
11) My Favourite 11 Blogs
12) Intunique: The Art of Smart
13) The Backseat Driver
14) What Do YOU See?
15) Where on Earth am I?
16) New Product Ideas
17) I'm Losing 60 Lbs!
18) Madame Goyin
19) Ready Health Products
20) Double Oh Adventures

Q: Do I have to advertise on all 20?

A: Yes. I'll make an exception to exclude a particular site that you really hate or have other reasons why you don't want to have your ad on it.

Q: Can I get my site included in the Co-op?

A: Not at this time.

Q: What about traffic?

A: None of these blogs have traffic outside of what is generated by Entrecard dropping. Most all of them are newer blogs and don't have a lot of content. (I'm scrambling to add original content as fast as I can.)

Q: So, what traffic am I going to get if I purchase the block of all 20 Co-op sites?

A: My plan is to drop 100 cards a day from each account, although I reserve the right to drop more or less. I am in the process of creating 20 lists of active Entrecarders so that I can drop on as many different cards as possible and increase the exposure for the Co-op's advertisers.

Q: I want to do this but don't have enough Entrecard credits to advertise on each site--even though they will get refunded--and pay the Co-op's fee. What do you suggest?

A: There are a number of Entrecard vendors listed on the EntreBank's site. Also, I might be able to sell you ECs directly, depending on the amount you need and the rate you are willing to pay.

Q: Remind me...why would anyone want to do this?

A: To better control the timing of your Entrecard advertising. If you have a contest or specific event or even a post that you really want people to read, buying a block of ads for a specific day will result in targeted traffic.

Q: What else should I be considering?

A: I have put most of the Co-op sites on "ads disabled" status and have not been dropping recently so that the ad costs would come down. As I start to drop cards again on a daily basis the overall cost of buying the Co-op's block of sites will go up. Also, I expect the fee that the Co-op charges for the right to advertise on all 20 sites will go up as more people seek to use this valuable service.

Q: Wait a minute...what does Entrecard think about this?

A: I submitted my plan to Entrecard and got the following response: