Blogging For Money
One of the areas of paid blogging that is often ignored is that of “sponsored” posts. This is where a company or other advertiser pays a blogger to write about their products, services or whatever else they ask, in return for a fee.
There are many bloggers who feel that this is a sell-out, while others promote the practice openly. Funnily enough, the ones who say it’s a sell-out are usually happy to run ads on their page or write opinion pieces.
A lot of this sort of work is becoming available to the freelancer, and not only to those with high-ranked blogs. Obviously, the better-paying gigs will target high-traffic, well-known bloggers, but there are also jobs available for people with relatively new, zero Page Rank sites.
I’ve written several sponsored posts in the past – not here, but on Qwerk and its predecessor, Peanut Butter. I’ve also refused a sponsored post. From this reasonably small amount of experience, I can give the following tips and information:
You don’t need a Page Rank to qualify
Qwerk, the blog formerly known as Peanut Butter, received its first sponsored offering with a Google Page Rank of zero. It had been in existence for three months. The important, qualifying criteria are that the blog is owned by you and that it’s been around for long enough that the sponsor can be sure it won’t evaporate in a matter of days.
You don’t need to compromise your values
All the offerings I have had have either been neutral or as unbiased as possible. Sponsorship should not (and in my opinion must not) compromise your integrity. Thankfully, the majority I have seen simply want extra traffic. They will ask you to include links to their site and write about a general subject.
The pay is pretty good
For a PR0 blog post, it seems to average around $5-$7, for 400 words or so. That’s pretty low pay as far as paid blogging goes, but it’s a nice bonus for a bit of typing. Qwerk is now a PR2 blog and prices are mostly in the $10-$15 range.
Disclosure is always permitted
Anyone saying otherwise is not dealing honestly: though in some case, no disclosure is needed (like a recent one I had where I could write about whatever I liked, provided I pointed to an Awards thing the site was running), it should always be permitted. It’s generally best to mention that it’s a sponsored post, too (if it’s promotional in nature).
You can always refuse
If you don’t like the way the sponsorship is worded, if it isn’t suitable content for your blog or if you just happen to hate the company, you should always be allowed to refuse. I have done this, and it hasn’t affected the offers in any way.
It’s not constant income
The offers appear pretty randomly, to be honest. I don’t keep an eye on the sites themselves, though, where there’s often a “grab-bag” of available work. If you have the time to check back often, I suspect it might be more regular.
Where to find them
I’ve seen several different paid post sites, so here’s a quick pick-list. Remember: always check the terms of service before you sign up!
Blogsvertise – Smorty – SocialSpark – PayPerPost – PayU2Blog – BlogToProfit
Please bear in mind that I’m not endorsing these sites or their reputations personally. I’ve used Blogsvertise and they’ve paid. The others, I have yet to have work from (or I don’t use as they’re US-only, etc.).
Have you used sponsored-post services? Has it worked out?
Footnote: @word_czar tweeted this URL just before I published this post, which looks at how the new FTC regulations may affect sponsored blog posts. Very interesting reading!
I’ve used Social Spark, PayPerPost and Sponsored Reviews with some success. My blog doesn’t have a lot of traffic, so I don’t get as many paid jobs as others could, but it has been enough income to grab a few ‘frills’ that I wouldn’t have gotten myself otherwise.
For the folks who don’t appreciate bloggers who do reviews which favor companies’ products, I suggest to them to research the term ‘copywriter.’ Perhaps we should call them ‘copybloggers’? In any case, the people who complain have a bad attitude. That’s my opinion.
I have been blogging for pay for this year and some of last year. I have done posts for Blogsvertise, Sponsored Reviews and BuyBlogReviews.The money is paid into my Paypal account within a month, and it’s paid in America dollars.
Money for jam as far as I’m concerned. This is the most fun way of making proper money I have come across on the internet. I love writing to a theme, and I love the fun of making my writing as interesting as I can, even if the subject isn’t one that appeals tremendously.
I have refused jobs because I didn’t like what the review was about, or I couldn’t think of a way to maintain my integrity. Now, I am more concerned with making sure I am paid what I now know I am worth.
I have put up my price on one of my blogs, and it still attracts the most ad offers. I think people who refuse to give it a try are silly. If you don’t feel you can write about a subject and maintain integrity, you can refuse to do the post, it is entirely up to you.
Tryphyna: Thanks for dropping in! Nice to know they are all reasonably legit. I believe PPP and SS are actually sister-sites, run by the same company or something, so it’s interesting to hear that they both provide possibilities. Must look into why there are two separate “brands” one day.
Steven: Agreed, absolutely. As Gardendog says – if you don’t feel you can retain your integrity, say “no”. And getting a few extra bucks for a post on something interesting is just gravy, really (or jam, for that matter).
Gardendog: Thanks for the info – always good to have data and opinion from someone who’s been doing it regularly. I’m intrigued by the idea of posting a “going rate”.
What is integrity when it comes to feeding the family, Spike? Do you think Jean Claude Van Dam really gives a damn whether or not he’s making another crappy movie, or do you suppose he’s just happy that he’s making a living that pays well enough to support a high end life style?
What about folks who do plastic surgery when there are doctors badly needed for real problems? (Some folks need plastic surgery, but I’m not referring to them).
In the world of doing what you can to survive, the paid copyblogger is to me not even on my radar. I don’t care if they push a product they don’t believe in. If doing so feeds their family, then all the power to them.
You know what pisses me off? Tiger Woods pisses me off. There’s an ahole wearing the ahole crown as far as I can tell. The guy gets paid more money to wear a pair of shoes than all the under-aged kids combined do that put the Nikes together. That’s what makes me sick, and no one seems to bat an eye about that.
Steven: Actually, yes – I do think most people care about what they’re doing. Most people. van Damme might be a bad example here, but most actors, sportsmen and so on have to care – if they don’t, their viewers quickly drop them, they get less work and they earn less money.
Having said that, I remember a brilliant quote from Michael Caine once (about a crappy film), where he said something like “Sometimes, to maintain a very high standard of living, you have to do a very low standard of film.”
They say everyone has a price. Apparently a lot of celebrities and sportsmen are quite cheap (relatively) when it comes down to it. Personally, I’ve never understood sponsorship – I’ve never bought anything just because a certain famous person wears it, uses it or says its great. Not even when I was a kid or a teenager.
I have yet to find the price of my integrity – and I’m glad.
“I have yet to find the price of my integrity – and I’m glad.”
Wouldn’t it be interesting to find out how much that is worth. Did you ever see that Twilight Zone (BW episode 1959) where a mysterious man comes to the door of a couple and he says to them, giving a box, that if they push the button, some person somewhere that they did not know would die and they would receive a million dollars? After examining it for awhile, they come to a conclusion of disbelief, and then push the button. The next day, a million dollars is on the front step.
And isn’t it also amazing, that the best Twilight Zone series was shot in the 50s-60s?
I’ve not seen that episode – very, very good indeed! It would be really interesting to know what my integrity is worth. I’d like to think it was priceless, but if someone offered me mountains of cash, I know I’d be tempted and tortured.
Dead right about the 50s and 60s – same goes for the Outer Limits episodes of the time!
Were we more easily amazed but in the good old days, or has TV gone downhill? Those old Twilight Zone shows were totally amazing. Of course I was fairly young back then, so I was ready to be amazed.
The music at the start of the show set us up to be wonderstruck/frightened or whatever. I’ve got a feeling lots of the really good SciFi writers were involved in the show. I’m sure someone out there know a lot more about that.
I’d really like to look into this, Spike…but my only problem is that I think my blog (E.I) is so specific, that it would be very difficult to fit a paid post into the scheme without it looking totally out of place, you know? Unless someone is trying to sell ghost repellent or healing crystals
Carolyn: I really must watch all the old ones some time. Maybe the local rental place has the DVDs… hmmm…
Nat: I know what you mean. It’s almost worth having a separate, general blog, just to get the work! Entertainment and gambling seem to be the big marketers…