BlogToProfit: Scum
I know you all know why I hate sponsored posting so very, very much and why I want to see it stopped. If you don’t and can’t be bothered to read the post I linked above, well, it’s all a scam. Shady companies pay people to post poorly worded blogs about their services, link them x number of times and in this case they try to make it appear as though the author is actually recommending their product. I say shady companies because we have yet to see Nike, Pizza Hut, Canadian Tire or Betty Crocker turning to bloggers for advertising. Arguably that could be because they are huge and have loads of money at their disposal for advertising, but large companies are greedy, they want more, more, more and even more. If they had the slightest chance of increasing their profits from unknowns on the internet linking their sites and advertising their products, wouldn’t they be on that like white on rice?
Of course they would. Everyone is money-hungry and there’s no limit to what people will go to make money. And until the day I see this someone linking stuffed crust pizza 5 or 6 times in one blog, I won’t believe it’s in the least bit profitable for any reputable company. I can’t even believe it’s profitable for disreputable companies. Well no, it probably is profitable for them, there’s no end to the stream of web users that don’t understand what a scam this is.
What brought this on? Sarai just linked me to BlogToProfit another sponsored posting website that makes PayPerPost look shiny and squeaky clean. She pointed me towards their FAQ which has the following to say about disclosing sponsored posts (emphasis my own):
My blog has personal content. Can I disclose the links as paid or sponsored?
We prefer that posts do not disclose the links we pay for. Blogs with Disclosure Policies that clearly state that post will be identified as paid or sponsored may not be approved for link assignments but may continue earning through referral.
So not only do they say you shouldn’t disclose the post as being sponsored (thus duping more people into believing it is a legitimate post and a real recommendation) if you don’t comply then they put a stop to your money making abilities. Great incentive to do the right thing there, eh? The thing about doing sponsored posting is, even if you have a huge number of blogs and you do massive amounts of post each day, the money isn’t steady and you could probably earn more working part-time at McDonald’s (based on the minimum wage in Canada). You can definitely earn a lot more doing quality freelance assignments slicing up templates and if that’s not your cup of tea then you can design websites. Can’t design to save your life? Wish more people realised that before offering their services. Try legitimate writing assignments instead, check out Elance for plenty of legitimate writing, programming and designing opportunities (and no, that’s not a sponsored link).
Please, if you must do sponsored posting at least disclose every single sponsored post. There’s a reason that Google dropped your PageRanks, it’s a shady practice to present content as being anything other than what it is. If the company you’re using won’t allow you to disclose the posts then leave them, they’re probably not on the up-and-up anyway. I would definitely be leery of anything that tells you that you cannot disclose your visitors that the content of the post is sponsored. And no, a sitewide disclosure does not make things right, people who are Googling reviews of a certain product certainly aren’t going to read every single page on your website.
Am I the only one who has stopped Googling for reviews on products simply because I can’t be sure what is a real review and what isn’t? I was looking for reviews on the PedEgg thing advertised on television and to be quite honest even I’m not sure whether some of the posts are sponsored or not. Usually I end up going to a large website like Amazon and reading the reviews there. If they don’t have the product then I guess I’m just out of luck.
^ That’s true, they dropped their PRs because leik omgz G00gle r jelus.
Paid posting makes me angry. Not just because it’s a scam, but because there is absolutely no difference between that and spam. When I see people posting about how much spam they get and how woeful it is that Akismet or whatever isn’t keeping up with it and then follow that up with a paid post about how I really should check out drug rehab centres, I end up thinking these people deserve it.
Paid posting = spam. End of.
Allow me to add that the PedEgg thing is AMAZING and my mom swears by it. I’m about to go order my own :)
What I really don’t understand is what kind of psychological assessment of a company’s potential outreach audience is held before a company decides to advertise via PPP – I mean, let’s assume I need a rehab clinic. Will I a) Google it? or b) go talk to the narcologist who professionally assessed the patient to see what clinic he or she would recommend given all the specifics of the patient’s situation?
I’m actually thinking of buying a PedEgg. :3 The first time I saw it I decided that I wanted to go ahead and get it. I wear flip flops majority of the time and/or walk around barefoot, so the heels of my feet are usually really dry (especially right after winter.)
If I get it before you do, I’ll let you know how it goes for me ;)
We sell the pedegg at work, and it grosses me out :( (the part in the commercial where the shavings are poured out, ick) My mom actually has one, I can ask her if it actually works if you’re considering getting one. I always check amazon as well, or store’s websites for reviews too.
As for sponsored posts when I actually did do them (which was maybe 3-5 total over a span of a year?) I clearly stated that it was in fact one. When I go to a site now and I can clearly tell it’s a sponsored post, I scroll past it.
I don’t do PPP because I hate advertisement on sites (or TV actually, but that’s another story) and I feel that in general I know too little about certain things to give a valid opinion on it or recommend it to people. It’s not my position to recommend surgeries or ‘medication’ to others, that’s what doctors are for. Doing PPP is just not my thing, besides I believe no one can make enough money off it to make a living so why bother to put time and energy in something that isn’t helping much (besides the part where it’s dangerous to
recommend certain things you don’t know about)
And people that are ‘smart’ enough to make money off of this should realize that when they can’t disclose certain things as sponsored, something is not right!
I don’t see what would possess a person to use a BlogToProfit or PayPerPost program. There are plenty of more respectable means with which people can get money—even a small part-time job at a local fast food joint would be better, and it would probably even pay more too.
I’m curious to know how much these things pay, though—not because I’m interested in using them, of course, but rather because I’m wondering how much money is enough to cause people to sell themselves out and destroy their own credibility. For their own sakes, it had better be a good amount.
I think it all just boils down to laziness, really…
I’ve never considered making money off my site from doing anything like this, and now, having read these, I definitely never will be. Not to mention the fact that reading sponsored posts (especially hidden, subtle ones) on hordes of blogs drives me absolutely up the wall! goes insane
you’re so right. i usually just go to amazon to look at reviews nowadays because they’re at least legit. i’m tired of internet scams and such. i applied for a paypal-like site to buy something and they asked me for my W-2. are you kidding? who would give ANYONE they’re w-2 information? that’s completely uncalled for. i love how they think i’m actually going to provide them my work papers.
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Hi I'm Becky, often referred to as The Knitting Hillbilly and Pussybear, owner of this site and general nuisance. I'm a knitter, serial complainer, known whistle blower and I run the ever popular
Get it right Becky, Google dropped their PageRanks because it has a personal vendetta against each and every one of them.
#1 Jem May 27, 03:31 Permalink