Tomorrow is another installment of Mediasphere Radio this time at noon PT/3 PM ET. There’s been a lot going on in the sponsored post-hiring bloggers arena recently. PayPerPost’s new PayPerPost Direct is really something that Jim and I want to talk about (reviews here and here).
While I think both Jim and I are relatively okay with sponsored posts, neither of us have been fans of PPP. I’m working on a special guest for the first 20 minutes only of the show. If it works out, I’ll update this post, if it doesn’t, well we’ll see what we can do.
Update: None other than Shel Israel will be our special guest tomorrow! We’ve only got him for the first 20 minutes so make sure you don’t tune it late!
Tags: Bloggers For Hire, Blogonomics, BlogTalkRadio shows, Jim Turner, Mediasphere Radio, One By One Media, pro blogging, professional blogging, Tris Hussey, Web 2.0
I look forward to talking with you and Tris tomorrow Jim. The PayperPost folk usually evoke strong feelings in me, Jim.
Well, Jim is still enjoying a day off … I actually wrote the post … yeah I’m writing here too.
I am going to try to listen in
Something to think about as I just started haggling over the terms of my first review purchased with the PayPerPost Direct system – it actually allows me to haggle over the terms under which a review will be made on a 3rd party “mediator” site.
I haven’t had the opportunity to do that yet with ReviewMe, mainly because my landing page with them doesn’t convert very well into reviews.
With Sponsored Reviews I have been authorised to get review criteria changed, but that was by email – I much prefer having a 3rd party record.
Hi Andy, Thanks for stopping by. Haggling is an interesting point…I have your post open for review so it can be fresh in my mind for today’s show.
I caught the end of the show and then listened to the recording.
I would love to know what you guys think of
1. People thanking their advertisers with followable links
2. People frequently tell me I undercharge for the amount of time and effort I put into all my reviews, so that would make any links I supply in a review purely editorial (which is what I firmly believe) – I write my reviews partially as a kind of consultancy, but also to demonstrate that compensated reviews can be high quality, whether compensated by affiliate sales or by a direct payment.
3. Free software which is monetized by the links (many notable Open Source Projects)
4. Providing links to people who pay you a retainer as a consultant. When you get someone like Rand Fishkin mentioning a few of his clients in a blog post and deliberately (that is what it seems to me) not including a link to them, then policies on linking really need to be specifically clarified on a blog that doesn’t have a legal disclaimer
5. Links from charities where you donate
6. Other forms of donations to people who decide to give you a link back
Everything about the discussion was very much “black & white” whereas in fact there are so many shades of grey that are perfectly acceptable, and actually in many ways darker than a comprehensive review written for some kind of compensation.
Does a company like Hewlett Packard or Universal Music Group really need to buy links for SEO, or is it really just for Buzz?