A Note to Netscape

Posted by Karoli in News October 6th, 2006

Actually, a note to Jason Calacanis, who I ordinarily agree with:

In response to your post/rant about what bloggers are saying about PayPerPost, I think you missed a few links. So I thought maybe it would be worth enlightening you.

Start here since you’re here already. And by the way, I’m up for collecting a few bucks on this one because I’m sick of making comments on the incredibly nasty blog posts that are written about PPP, so I’m going to write it here and let them pay me to take the time to explain this again. I’ve already explained my own approach to PayPerPost. Any post which I receive payment for is either tagged, categorized or has a declaration in the text that it is a paid post. And this is one. Consider it disclosed.

So that we’re clear:

  1. I am limited three paid posts per day. They cannot be consecutive and should be part of the context of the blog. Unlike the slimy spammers who daily try to pull Google juice out of my blog with their stupid comments and link spam, I am allowed three — count them, THREE — opportunities per day to be paid for a blog post.
  2. I can choose whether or not to disclose that my posts have sponsored links in them. I choose to do it for three reasons. First, because I feel it’s ethical to tell the folks who are good enough to take their time to read what I write that I was, in fact, paid to drop a link to that product in my post. Sort of a “word from the sponsor” thing. And second, because I am careful to only choose opportunities from advertisers that have products I would use myself. If I am going to engage in blog advertising, that site had better be one that I would be comfortable using myself. Third, I would hope that [my disclosure] would carry more weight that way and bring value to the folks reading as well as the folks paying me to write.
  3. I do not choose to write about anything where I am instructed to take a certain tone. I will only choose opportunities that I support, and write about them in my own tone and context.
  4. If you go back through my “reviews” category, you’ll find posts that review products on and offline. I believe in word of mouth. I will continue to believe in it and write about products, sites and experiences that interest me. I will write the majority of them for free. I will write some for pay. The tone, voice, and opinion will not differ whether money is involved or not.

So why am I doing this? I have a kid going to college, another one heading in that direction, and I love photography and my Nikon D70. I want a new lens. One of the nice ones with vibration reduction and a long zoom so when the osprey comes to visit my lake I can capture her in all her glory. I’m already self-employed and have a second job for benefits. If I want that lens, I have to find a way to earn it outside of the budget we already have. This is one way to try and get there. At the rate I am going I will be able to order it in March, 2007.

I don’t see anyone breaking down my doors begging me to test and review their coolest new Nikon lens. Wouldja like to buy me away and let me review photo equipment?

I can be bought, but I’m not seeing a whole lot of offers. In the meantime, at least maybe you have a slightly different perspective about why people use PPP. Create an opportunity for me to buy my new lens. Make it fit into my current life and passions. I’ll be all yours.

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And if I could get the HTML right once in awhile I wouldn’t have to republish this…I’ve edited twice to correct mangled HTML, and once for clarity. The ones for clarity are enclosed in brackets []

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Viewing 5 Comments

    • ^
    • v
    Amen.. Couldn't have said it better myself!
    • ^
    • v
    Everyone needs to make a living, trust me I understand that. I grew up living month to month, heck week to week, for most of my life.

    The problem I have with PayPerPost is that they will not take a stand against deception. No one wants to be tricked--do you!??!

    However, I would implore you to be 100% transparent about you blog posts that are really advertisements. You should put in the first sentence a clear statement:

    "I am being paid by PayPerPost and INSERT-ADVERTISER-NAME-HERE to write this post."

    If you do that I can live with it... however, I'm not happy about it because I think you're selling yourself short. It takes more time to build an audience and advertising base without covert marketing, but you'll have much more respect from your readers.

    If you want that lens so much write more blog posts about photography and put google adsense up. Google adsense makes a lot of money from photography clicks!

    best,

    Jason
    • ^
    • v
    Hi Jason, and welcome to the blog.

    My PPP all disclose that they are paid posts, either via tagging them as PayPerPost posts, disclosure within the text of the post, or both.

    Here's my problem with AdSense -- my metrics show that most of my readers read via RSS readers; therefore, few clicks into ads.

    I'm actually considering PPP as an alternative fundraising model for our marching band and dance school sites, because the revenue derived from AdSense has been so dismal.

    Yes, I do want the lens and I'm willing to earn it. Earn it, not sell my soul.
    • ^
    • v
    Adsense is really not a big money maker, unless you have tons and tons of readers. I'm not sure what Drums' stats are like, but mine are in the hundreds per day. A Google ad with two or three clicks on it might get me a dollar or two. Writing posts for pay gets a lot more than that, on average.
    • ^
    • v
    I agree with ya completely DnW, I feel that we should have control over our blogs and earn money the way we want to earn it. We shouldn't have to sell our souls and do posts for no reason. I won't endorse a product I wouldn't use or have tested out, nor would I take any more posts that require me to hide the fact that I use payperpost, even if it's evident in my blog. Adsense took me 2000 hits, linking on huge technology websites to even earn 5$, and that was never given to me as I never made over 100$, so Adsens is useless for the little guys.
 

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