Toronto man’s ‘Sponsored Life’ a social media experiment

A Toronto man is putting his love of social media to the test, spending one year living off of fundraising exclusively through online activities.

“Late last year I was thinking about, ‘Is there a better way that I could get involved in the charitable side of blogging?’” Zack Bussey told CityNews.ca.

Bussey, 27, a writer and SEO consultant, is hoping there is. He’s trying to see if he can survive on a social media experiment of selling daily advertising on his “A Sponsored Life ” website and offering mentions on social media – including Twitter and daily podcasts – in exchange for goods and services.

He’s keeping only a few clients to pay for essentials like food and heat as he devotes a year to the project.

When Bussey spoke to CityNews.ca, he said he was sitting in a largely empty apartment on his bed – two foam mattresses – and typing on his laptop, which is propped up on an old suitcase.

He hopes that by the end of the year, he’ll have reached enough social media donations and sponsorships for some furniture.

“If Ikea wants to donate a desk and chair – that would be great,” Bussey said.

However, he doesn’t plan to keep any money from the project. Instead, he’ll donate the money and any other goods to non-profits at the end of the year.

One option for potential advertisers is to be a daily sponsor for the website. It costs $1 to sponsor the site on Jan. 1, 2013, but that cost will increase by $1 every day – the rate for Dec. 31 will be $365.

His goal by the end of the year is to earn $60,000. Realistically, he hopes to make $15,000-$20,000.

In return, sponsors get access to his readers. At the end of January, 8,200 people had visited his site, viewing 25,000 pages, according to Bussey.

“People have really come to the site and been interested. People are commenting, they’re sending emails. The big ’get’ is that people are as genuinely interested in this as I am.

“I’m not intending to make any money off this yet,” he said, adding he’s still making some money from his day job.

Bussey said he rejected some offers but accepted an early deal with BuzzBuzzHomes, which sponsored the site for seven days.

“Lolita’s Lust on the Danforth said I can come in anytime during Winterlicious,” Bussey said, adding that food will likely be his main concern. He has a budget of $100 a month for immediate needs, but otherwise, his income is from his day job.

“So far, I’ve lost money,” Bussey admitted.

The most expensive day to sponsor on his site was Jan. 31 and with PayPal fees and server upgrades, “I haven’t made any money yet,” he explained

“At the end of the year, I hope my apartment is filled with things I can bring to the Red Door Shelter and Toy Mountain and The Daily Bread Food Bank. I want to come out of this feeling like I’ve done a lot of social good. That’s what this project has the legs to do,” he said.

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