Okay, so I sold out a bit perhaps. Or maybe not. It certainly doesn’t feel that way to me.
“Ummm, Jerry, you’re not making any sense.”
“Hmmm? Oh, yeah, sorry… I guess I was thinking and typing at the same time.”
I’ve been hearing about all of these “pay to blog” opportunities for a while now. Most involve blogging for someone else and then receiving a few pennies here and there based on reads. I decided the first time I saw these services that they weren’t for me.
Then there is the new breed in monetizing your blog. This usually involves choosing opportunities from a list and blogging about whatever the topic happens to be. OK… Far more appealing, since this is a food blog, and I have no interest in blogging about life insurance, unless I end up collecting some. (Which would be a horribly bad thing!) I signed up for two of these the other day, and am still trying to find something that’s related to food, cooking or household stuff that might actually be of interest to those of you who stop by.
I just stumbled on a third option. It’s called blogsvertise. This option is kind of unique. Instead of hunting through listings, they send them to me via email as an assignment. Then within 48 hours, I have to post an article on the topic here and after a grace period, they pay me…
Why do I think this is a good thing?
Simply, I put a lot of effort into what I write here. I aspire to make sure that it’s on topic, relevant to food, cooking and family, and that it’s something that people looking to read about those things might actually be interested in. If someone is willing to gimme a few dollars to write about what I’m already writing about, I’m all over it.
What I’m not all over is plastering this blog with anything that isn’t related to the topic. So please bear with me while I give blogvertise (and a few other companies) a try. I promise I’ll stick to the subject at hand. This is all about food, and I aim to keep it as much that way as possible! I’ll never put a sponsored article here that isn’t labeled as such. (Just see the category listing, it’s there!) And if they push me stuff that isn’t on topic, I’ll just reject it. If you need car insurance, I’m sure you know the address for the gecko.
I thought I’d let you know what I was up to, and give everyone a chance to check it out for themselves. It’s just possible that all the time and effort we put into these things could be worth something material, as well as being worth something in terms of personal satisfaction.
Did I sell out? Some people may think so. I’m not one of them. If using these services gives me inspiration to write better posts more often, it’s all worth it to me.
Peace… For now, I’m out. I’ll have something else up a bit later today…
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Category : Personal Ramblings
It’s something I’ve thought about doing myself, so keep us posted on how you find it. Your blog certainly isn’t cluttered with ads like some and that’s the main thing!
Hey Jerry…
Looks like an almost free way for a company to get advertising/copywriting while feigning legitimacy within the masses. It’s falling in line with the deluge of seminars for marketers and PRs about how to get a presence within the blogosphere because the media “ignore” them.
As I’ve told marketers and PRs at a seminar I spoke at (and again in emails): if you think you aren’t getting the media coverage you feel you want, you are probably getting the media attention you deserve.
I’d be very curious as to what happens if you write something the company doesn’t like…or are you expected to only say good things about a given topic?
j
Jerry, we’re all curious to see how this works for you. It’s tempting to pile on advertising in an attempt to make our blogs self-sustaining, but I do hate going to blogs where it’s hard to find the content for all of the advertising. Someone, somewhere, will come up with a better model. Perhaps this is it.
Freya,
I’m not sure how other forms of advertising have worked. For me the adsense banners might have produced enough to buy some coffee. If ther is a way to simply ignore them, I’d be happy. To that end, I could remove them altogether and concentrate on posts that are related, and I would be just tickled by that.
Jasmine,
The service mentioned in this entry does not require a positive review of the products/services. That’s one of the reasons I was drawn to it. The true deciding factor will be whether or not they assign relevant items, or at least assignments that can be “slipped in” in context of this blog.
Lydia,
There is that temptation, yes. I’ve been very actively trying to ignore it. I’d like to make enough from my blogs (all 5 of ‘em) to cover some bills and pay the server space, but I’m a firm believer that readers (yours and mine) are here for the recipes, the tone that each of us sets, and hopefully a giggle or two on the way. The less in the way of “in your face” advertising I do, the happier I am.
I’d rather save the traditional “targeted” ads for the venus they work best in. I work with a few sites that will use them, and I’m sure that they will perform well in that venue.
Here I’d rather advertise cookies!
To all. I’ll keep you posted. ATM I’m waiting on approval status that relates directly to this entry, which is why there’s been a delay on the next post.
Hey Jerry, I’ve been thinking about this, too, and actually just signed up for PayperPost, but was already beginning to wonder. Can’t wait to see how it all works for you. Keep us posted.
Hi Jerry…I can understand what you’re feeling. I too have been thinking about doing the same thing and funnily enough Blogsvertise was the one and only of these services that attracted me. I’m just curious to know whether they accept people from Australia as I imagine a lot of the products/services will be US related (unless we have them here). Anyway let us know how you get on…and keep your delicious recipes coming….Cheers!
kellypea,
Good luck to you as well! Let us know how that goes for you! I’ll definitely keep everyone posted.
Peter,
Check out PayPerPost.com. They have UK/AU only posts up right now, so right p your alley!