There is always one thing you can always count on Chris Brogan to do. You can always count on him to write posts that make you sit back and do some serious thinking; and some times soul searching, when it comes to ethics for bloggers. Not only our own ethics but how that drives the kind of readership we end up getting. today was no different as his post titled Differentiating Between Blogger Relations ad Sponsored Content in which he looked at a couple of things, among which was Blogger Relations, Advertorials and Sponsored posts.
It was the last two items that got me thinking especially in how as bloggers we deal with them and how honest we are with our readership over it. Sure there’s a whole bunch of bloggers out there who would scratch their eyes out before despoiling their pristine pages of ego stroking with even the smell of a text or display ad. This post isn’t for them so don’t even bother going down the road of bloggers shouldn’t be running advertising because I really couldn’t give a shit if that is all you have to spout off.
The realities of advertising
For those other bloggers who do use advertising either as a way to pay for their hosting costs and maybe a few toys for themselves; or to try and create a new income producing career this post might be of interest. At least I hope it will because these two things are really an important consideration when you are mapping out your advertising strategy. It’s one thing to slap a few AdSense blocks up on your blog but that won’t pay for that trip to Mexico next winter. Mind you if you are expecting to be able to do that in the first few years of blogging then I suggest you stick with your day job.
The simple fact is that you would have to have half a dozen horseshoes stuck up your ass to be lucky enough to even pay for your hosting in the first year of blogging. Anyone who tells you otherwise is blow smoke up your ass because unless you know of a specific niche that you can exploit to its fullest your first year is going to be a Mac & Cheese year. the problem that arises out of this is that because of these stupid expectations many bloggers after checking the pennies they have earned from AdSense start feeling desperate.
Often as not this desperation to prove to both themselves and people they’ve bragged to will lead them to trying just about anything to bring in some money. This is the emotional marketplace that companies promoting Sponsored Posts or Advertorials swim like sharks in a bay of chum. I can understand the allure of this so-called easy money but here’s the thing – how much is your integrity worth? Do you want people to be able to trust your word on your area of subjects?
Relinquishing control and reputation
Trust me when I say that I have rolled all these thoughts over in my own head many times. whether or not to do a sponsored post or whether to give up my valuable page space so some company can try and convince you to buy their product. However together lets look at these two different types of ways to create income on your blog and understand what the costs are and whether or not those costs are something that is worth taking on.
For a blogger no matter how well they write or how many great posts they crank out when it comes right down to it you have only one thing of value to your readers – your integrity and your word. Okay that’s two but really they are so closely intertwined that they might as well be one. with that in mind lets try and understand what value; if any, advertorials bring to the table.
Just to clarify advertorials are nothing more than some press hack writing up a post and handing to you to post verbatim. whether or not you put a disclaimer on it is up to you but I will tell you this. If you don’t and you are found out you might as well close up your domain there and then. At least with the disclaimer you can have some modicum of editorial integrity but in reality it is small consolation. the fact is when you post an advertorial; with or without a disclaimer, you are giving up total control of your blog. Once you publish that advertorial you show your readers just how little worth you put in your own integrity and they will slowly drift away.
Now in my mind sponsored posts are only slightly better but depending on how you relate to your readers you can actually come out on top – regardless of what the blogging purity patrol might say. The thing with sponsored posts is that you dictate whether or not you want to even write them, how honest you are in them and in some cases they might even increase your readers respect in you and the value of your word. It is a fine line though because if you do too many of them your readers will begin to doubt your integrity. If you write about things that are outside of your normal subject range your readers will call you a sell-out and leave. Properly done and in moderation you can survive any fallout that might come from doing them.
Where to turn and what to write
I have to say right off the bat that even though I have thought about it when it comes to advertorials I would run so fast in the other direction your head would spin. No amount of money is worth me giving up any kind of control of what goes on my pages here at WinExtra. For me the act of giving up that kind of control would be the same as saying my word isn’t worth anything.
With sponsor posts though it does get a little harder I will admit and I can understand why some bloggers will go that route. After all it is up to the blogger if they even want to write about whatever it is that the company wants to try and sell. I believe that as long as you are honest with your readers and you are writing about something that fits with your normal subject range; and is something that you could have written about anyway then you are in safer territory. As with all things though this is something that one should really exercise moderation in.
This is a very sensitive subject for the majority of bloggers out there that want to be considered as responsible writers of new and opinion. It is a subject that I have thought about a lot as have people like Chris but there are no hard and fast rules. the only rule you can go by in the end is this
How much is your integrity worth?
[pictures courtesy of LOLcats]
Similar Posts:
- Blog sponsorship is a case of wearing a ‘Kick Me’ sign
- Digg to do sponsored post ads – where’s the Blogging Purity Patrol?
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- GReader Shared Links - the new territory of self-promotion
- Maybe we should get the FTC to change our diapers as well
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