My partner Tris has been serving up softballs all week with his recent posts about the PayPerView and ReviewMe models of online marketing. I actually get the purpose behind these models and although I think they are skewed and largely off track with relation to online marketing for companies, I have been following them closely for obvious reasons. Our model at Bloggers For Hire is not far from that model and I want not to have to deal with “guilt by association” or suffer collateral damage as a result of their bad publicity and unpopular way of promoting companies through the use of blogs.

Since the PayPerPost model and ReviewMe models launched, I have kept very close track of the buzz surrounding the businesses and what is being said both good and bad. In fact, I think I may be more versed in their companies than many of their own people and many of their customers. Those customers I have found for the most part, understand exactly what these services offer, and the benefit of paying for “reviews” or mentions of their products and services. In fact we have had many potential customers come to us and ask when they can begin the review process and get bloggers to begin “viral campaigns” on their behalf. I have to cringe and merely give them my elevator pitch about what business blogging is and how blog marketing is really not a shortcut to online marketing success. They move along and open their wallet for the quick fix.

I have noticed that the client’s using the PayPerPost model and that of ReviewMe are of the early adopter style. By that I mean these companies are the first on the wagon to tout the benefits of online marketing, but for whatever reason, they have decided to go about it in the easy and cheap ( not necessarily inexpensive) way of doing business. You already know these types. These are the companies that are being sent directly to the spam folder in your email application. The people selling that saving grace mortgage, and those stock deals, and that perfect gift for that loved one. Many of them are the people involved in the tech industry and they know the value of links. They have spent a fortune on SEO and understand all their is to know about SEM. These are the people that are paying bloggers for their reviews. I have visited each of the advertisers for quite some time and have come to the bitter conclusion that all of these advertisers lack is one thing, a blog of their own. Of course, their is an exception, I did go to Stockwise.com (sorry you didnt earn a link here unless you are actually listening and can come and ask for one) and they had a blog! My excitement was soon curbed because in order to read the blog I needed to sign up for their blog and provide private information. A tactic that spells disaster for me. If I wanted to give you my private information, I would have opened my wallet and told you to take what you needed.

These companies are like those that are out for the quick fix, that band aid that will show some return on their marketing investment right up front. This tactic allows them to go to the people that have the purse strings and can show some immediate benefit through links gained and people talking about their product. Talking about their product and linking based upon the amount of money they want to spend to accomplish the task. To me this is all backwards, but then again my father always taught me that their was the right way and a wrong way to do something, and if you did not do it right the first time, you’ll have to eventually do it again. He of course was a craftsman and took pride in his work, and believed that shortcutting only cheapened the end result.

I think this is a great service for the little blogger. It circumvents the need for a large volume of your traffic to make money. I can see the way the business works, and they have customers lined up as well as consumer generated content waiting to be bought. If these companies really had an idea about the power of blogging, the amount that they are spending now would only be the investment in long term results. Obviously, the power of blogging escapes them as they don’t have their own blogs. Do they understand the power? Sure they do, but it’s always easier to get a quick fix than earning it and doing it the proper way.

Tags: PayPerPost, ReviewMe, SEO, SEM, Links, Blog Marketing, Business Blogging, Blogging Campaigns, Blog Advertising, Blog Revenue, Bloggers For Hire