Crime and Punishment: Are Big Bloggers Taking Dirty Money?
I don’t normally rant on my blog, but after seeing many big name bloggers struggle and make tweets like this I felt it was time for me to have my say. What’s all the hubbub about?
Bloggers are being all but stoned to death for taking money (or products) in exchange for sponsored blog posts. That tweet clearly states that the isn’t a paid post, but at the same time, why should they have to explain things like that? It shouldn’t make a difference whether it’s paid or not, so long as it’s honest.
Sponsored blog posts are yet another advertising/social media marketing practice being used by many companies. These aren’t little companies either; think cameras and cars for starters.
I don’t care whether we are talking about Brian Clark, Darren Rowse, Michel Fortin, or Joe Blow from down the street. When these people post entries in their blogs, they are providing a service. This service includes all kinds of thoughts and information that most readers would not have access to otherwise. The reader takes this information and can apply it to their own writing and blogs and make money with it.
Now, many bloggers sell advertising, have affiliate links, or use Adsense to monetize their service and ensure they can cover costs. I have several affiliate links on this site. I don’t hide the fact they are affiliate links. I have even provided readers with an alternative, non-affiliate link to use if they so choose. The only thing is that I only choose products that I have used and have had a positive experience with. In many instances, they have helped me get to where I am today.
Honesty and transparency is more than my values coming through in my writing. It has become a mainstream marketing trend whether we all like it or not. Consumers demand this out of every company they purchase from.
And they should!
I think, as a whole, we’ve had enough of the sleazy marketing types that could ’sell you the wedding ring from your own finger’. I agree wholeheartedly with this trend. I feel that this is the positive effect of the recession. (Because money has become tighter in most instances, people are a lot more careful about where they’re spending their money.) I also think part of the reason for this change is social media, which is the driving mechanism behind this trend.
What irritates me the most are those who write a sponsored post, and get roasted for it. Now, I could understand if this was kept a secret, but not when they are open and honest from the start. The way I see it, the ones who get these opportunities are all big time names who have been around a long time. Their readers have generally been reading them for a long time, and should have some level of trust there to ensure the honesty of the blogger.
What bothers me is the idea that some people feel offended that the writer would take money to write a post. Hello??? How much do some readers honestly expect to get for free? The money isn’t out of their pockets. No one is forced to read the post. No one is forced to buy. What’s the issue?
I do think there is a reason for this. Michael Martine of Remarkablogger (Michael, I think this was you. If it isn’t please correct me. It sounds like Remarkablogger wisdom to me though.) hit this nail right on the head with a single statement. ‘If you don’t monetize from the start, readers are offended by it when you do decided to recoup some of your loses’ (paraphrasing here, but you get the idea).
Regardless of what anyone tells me, there is a lot of expense tied to blogging, particularly for those who blog or write professionally. The time invested in quality posts costs money. Then, there is hosting and domains. On top of that, there are the expenses associated with the design, development, and upkeep of the site not to mention those last-minute, panicked repairs. Bloggers shouldn’t have to apologize for trying to recoup some of these costs and even make some profit.
Dirty money? IMO, not a chance!
Am I being irrational here? Should bloggers refuse companies who ask for sponsored posts? Should it only be done under certain circumstances?
</rant> 
April 7, 2009 at 10:40 am | For the Writer | 16 comments
Great post, Angie. Hammer meet head.
Writer Dad’s last blog post..I’m Moving!
Thanks Sean! I was starting to wonder if maybe I was the only one who thought that way
Congrats on http://ghostwriterdad.com/ too! Love your stuff, so I’m sure this will blow me away just as much if not more.
I think the problem starts because people can’t tell who is being honest and who is a low down dirty scoundrel. Look at all of the one page sales pages out there. 99% of them push crappy products that are just scams. There are also a lot of bloggers that, to be honest, are just out to make a buck and never actually try or use the service or product they are reviewing. They take the sales copy, expand on it and try to make it sound good. Take a look at some of the products John Chow pushes. 3/4 of them are BS and not worth spending money on but people see his monthly earnings and want a piece so they do the same thing.
I have no problem with people having affiliate links, product reviews etc. People have to make a living, and if the review is good and HONEST then they should make a dollar from it.
LGR’s last blog post..Color Scheme Designer
I couldn’t agree with you more. I don’t generally buy online unless it is someone I have become familiar with through blogging etc and have a certain level of trust/respect for (with the exception of places like iTunes, Amazon, etc). I guess that a lot of the people who buy online don’t use the same tactics.
‘Sleazy’ sales letters are a huge turn off for me. As soon as I see them I instantly think about those infomercials that are on TV at 3AM advertising the next miracle kitchen product. This style of marketing has caused a bit of a problem because it has made me very cautious and almost shy about how I do my marketing. Too much in many instances. The way I see it, however, if I have to resort to using fake yellow highlighter, I don’t need to be selling that product.
Thanks so much for stopping by Lee!
Angie
Angie,
Awesome post. And thank you for sharing this.
I believe the same wholeheartedly. In fact, my wife Sylvie and I dealt with a very similar debate quite a while ago when the social media elite were burning companies like PayPerPost.com and ReviewMe.com at the stake for heresy. Companies who pay bloggers for… blogging!
We thought it was rubbish. We still do. And in line with what you said, the social media who accuse bloggers of lacking journalistic integrity by making sponsored posts had blogs where they themselves were donning sponsored ads, links, and yes, blog posts. Ugh.
By the way, you seem to be using my tweet as an example. And it may be somewhat misleading because the purpose of my tweet wasn’t to be transparent (although that was part of it). It was to ensure people didn’t think I’d go against my word.
Just to clarify, the reason I made that specific tweet was because it was specifically and directly tied to my previous post on forced continuity, to the idea of transparency (or lack thereof), how much I despise dishonest, sneaky marketing tactics, and why I approved of Ryan’s report and recommended it. Without any ulterior motives.
I wanted people to read the report, whether they buy the product or not. The pitch Ryan Deiss made was irrelevant to the specific goal I had in mind when I blogged about it. In short, my tweet was directly relevant to the topic at hand.
A little history: when I got the report in my inbox earlier that morning, I read it immediately, loved it, and decided to post about it. Then a few hours later, everyone and their neighbor’s pet rock started promoting it. I thought to myself, “Wow, I guess this report is really newsworthy and making the rounds virally, I suppose.” That is, until I noticed most of them were affiliate links (unlike my post).
To this point, I was OK with that, too. I did it without Ryan’s knowledge and never heard about such an affiliate program. In fact, a few hours later, Ryan Deiss, after reading my blog post, contacted me personally asking me if I wanted to become an affiliate and switch my blog post to my include my affiliate link. “After all,” he said, “I’m already sending a lot of traffic.”
I refused.
It wasn’t a matter that I did or did not want to insert my affiliate link. (I probably would have if I did it from the onset.) It’s that I didn’t want to switch it AFTER I told everyone that there was nothing to buy (in my post) and I was not getting a penny. This would be similar to, or perceived as, a “bait and switch” scheme. I wanted to avoid that by changing something I had already promised.
Ultimately, I didn’t want to be accused of the very thing I was speaking out against (i.e., the lack of transparency, namely with “hidden” forced continuity). If it was any other post, it would have been different. But with this post specifically, I wanted to be as transparent as possible.
So as inboxes became flooded with people pitching the same report, some people started to question my motives. I realized people would naturally think that I had an ulterior motive and was going against my word if I decided to switch it midstream.
So my sole purpose in pointing this out was to make it absolutely clear. That’s all, really.
Michel Fortin ’s last blog post..The 10-Point Ethics Checklist
Hi Michel,
First of all, thanks for weighing in on this. I understood the context of the tweet, but I have to say that your tweet kind of initiated the whole thought process (in a positive way). I should apologize and state that I should have made the context of the tweet clear. However, as you mentioned in your comment, it does seem to open all sides of the discussion. I have also tweeted a link to a paid product of some kind and added that it was a non-affiliate link only to ask myself why later.
In the last few years, this type of openness become a main stream thing. As a reader of your work, having already heard of your reputation, and as a follower, I am aware of your honesty. Your comment here only enhances my previous opinion and respect. Had I of been in your shoes, I’d have made the same choice.
I guess my whole point was that the subject interests me as a whole. Why do readers/followers etc seem to make such an issue out of affiliate/non-affiliate links? After all, if they already read and respect the writer’s point of view and honesty, should they care whether or not you (or I) happen to get a few extra dollars off the top? If they don’t know you well enough, would the content of the post (or tweet) make a difference?
In terms of a paid review, I would be willing to say that if you are putting your name behind something, it will either be a) completely honest and include the good and bad, b) you wouldn’t post it on your blog (or feed) without some kind of disclaimer. or c) you wouldn’t post it.
On the other side of the coin, new bloggers don’t do as well as the big names because they have yet to establish themselves as being trustworthy, show their quality, and lack the reader following. For them, I can see this as being a necessity in order to demonstrate honesty and start to build that following.
In the end, I guess I forget that not everyone goes through the same thought process when running their business or doing their job. I also find it fascinating that it seems like the honest ones are the only ones who instinctively feel the need to be open. Those who are trying to be shady don’t want to reveal more than they have to in case they forget what they said to who and get caught. Real life magnified?
Angie
PS, A timely post on your blog as well
Angie,
I’m 100% behind you on this. I’ve had numerous discussions about this topic in the past and the very recent present (and you kindly commented on one of these recent posts). I encourage bloggers to make money from their passion.
Where it falls down (and where you clearly mention) is the lack of transparency. Your readers, if you like, are YOUR currency. If you’re receiving hard currency for your reviews, make sure it’s not at the expense of your personal currency.
And, of course, be honest. If a brand just wants a positive review, tell them that’s not how you play. They either take a negative review and work on improving the product, or they don’t take a review at all. The good brands will work with you – the bad ones? Well, they weren’t worth working with in the first place.
Danny Brown’s last blog post..Community Spirit and Blog Comments Redux
Hi Danny,
Yes, I agree with you. Marketing these days all seems to be going back to the ‘mom and pop’ type way of thinking and if you blow that, you’re doomed. Your post (http://dannybrown.me/2009/04/09/tipping-the-scales/) brought up a lot of great points from a different angle and a great read for anyone reading this post.
I still can’t believe bloggers would take X amount for a positive review…that’s disgusting, but I guess it was bound to happen eventually.
Thanks Danny!
Angie
This came at just the right time. I have not done any paid blog posts, and in nearly 3 years of running my blog have yet to get a payment of any sorts – some ad networks have earned money, just not enough to get a check yet. I struggled with this, for so long. But hey, I am unemployed right now, have more time to put into blogging and have recently been starting to receive offers of paid posts. I haven’t taken them up yet – but why not? I feel as long as I am transparent and honest, then it shouldn’t matter.
Thanks to Danny for sharing the link to this post on Twitter, and to you Angie, for writing it!
Bill’s last blog post..Three Simple Yet Effective PHP Tips and Tricks
Hi Bill,
Thanks for that
Yeah, I know what you mean. The money kind of makes you really look at what you are doing and why. Believe it or not, I felt almost a guilty feeling the first time I wrote a piece for someone else. It’s odd, but I had to really think it through. IMO, you are right — as long as you are honest, you have nothing to fear.
Angie
Hi Angie. I ate this one up! Swallowed it whole. Amen!
A while back I was looking into signing up as an affiliate for specific self-development products. However, I’m not using them and couldn’t promote them. Recently I did start reading an amazing book called “The Five Things We Cannot Change” by David Richo and am promoting it on my blog. I have a series of posts coming up for the month of May where I will be promoting another product (but not as an affiliate).
I agree with you about where the “recession” is taking us. We are becoming more aware of how and what we are spending our money on
Davina’s last blog post..Letter from a Proofreader with Edits
Amen Angie – I’m right there with you on this one. There’s nothing wrong with monetizing a blog, trying to make money and/or recoup our blogging expenses. As I’ve traveled around the internet, the only place I haven’t seen ads is on the White House site – and maybe they should consider adding them. LOL.
Thank you for bringing this issue to the forefront.
Barbara Swafford’s last blog post..Addicted To Blogging – It’s No Joke
If a blog does some sponsored posts it’s really a very small price to pay for getting free content day after day.
There’s no excuse for people who find it problematic. It’s a free service. Why would anyone feel distress when something they are benefiting from occasionally derives monetary profit? Ludicrous? Yes.
I think that is sad as well, just to advertise to people. But my first professional experiences where all ghost and I just think that is sad how often it happens now. What’s worse is I dated 2 of the men I was writing for and then they turn around and try and blame me for things their company is doing when, I know for a fact they are listed as the owners, so how the heck can they keep giving fake contracts to people and blame me for it, they couldn’t even be bother to give me a proper legal constitutional hearing in town or my choice of representation. I am just sick of it in Big Business in entertainment. So I did this:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ghostandaspiringwritersandadvice/
I hope it at least makes this stop since that does make up a third of Movies, TV, and Big Business Music industries, most of it done online. It’s sad, I know, all of it is.
“Am I being irrational here?”
No, you’re not. For now, I have a less expensive website platform, because that is what I can afford. It has NO advertising options, really, so I support it with my blogger blogs and adsense, and by writing free-lance articles for upfront payment. One step at a time, but I’ll get there. Any bloggers time, efforts, talents, knowledge, and expenses are worth earning them a living.
I’m with you, though. I hate the shady advertisers. Be honest!
Karen
Hi Karen,
No, I agree with you 100%. It just makes you want to scream ‘Enough with the sneaky marketing tactics already!’ My only point is that it doesn’t take long to recognize the nasty ones from the real ones when you read their blog every day. Studies, and even many bloggers I’ve talked to, admit that it takes a long time for blog readers to convert. I honestly feel the amount of slimy marketers out there is one of the biggest reasons for this.
Angie