PayPerPost on Your Blog

HRSEO genius Joel Cheesman recently started an ad network for Recruiting blogs called Cheezads, and now he has also spread the word on PayPerPost (see update below for why this link doesn't work). For me personally Cheezads is a good idea. It's HR and Recruiting focused and therefore I hope the ads are relevant to my readers. PayPerPost also looks like a really interesting idea and one that I think could take off. It would also seem to legitimately threaten some aspects of the PR industry.

PayPerPost is a marketplace where Advertisers ask you to blog about their products or services and bloggers can choose which opportunities they want to write about. Once they have posted they get paid. All bloggers like to evangelize the products and services they like so there could be a real chance for them to get some reward for that in the future. Industry specialists would also seem to get a bit of motivation to evaluate new products and services and then share their findings. Without a doubt it will depend on the credibility of the bloggers. You will know I have lost all credibility when I start blogging about the benefits of driving a Ferrari...

This post is my first using the PayPerPost system. You can't buzz a product without using it, and now I am giving it a chance. So far it has looked interesting but I will let you know if it lives up to it's billing.

UPDATE: I can't seem to get the "Custom Link" working above. This is pretty important for the advertiser I would think. Try here for PayPerPost.com, it's not my "Custom Link" though.

UPDATE 2: A couple of people (including Jim Durbin) have already commented on Joel's blog that it will kill Blogger credibility. I don't doubt that if advertisers are paying for positive posts only. But I think there is a fine line. Journalists by definition get paid to write, and there isn't any doubt that they can be influenced.  And just because a Blogger is getting paid does that mean they have to write something positive? I don't think so. Just because a blogger is unpaid that doesn't mean you don't need to use critical reading skills to read their writing either.

Comments

[Yvonne LaRose]

Interesting theories. But many people are put off by positive reviews when they realize the reviewer was paid to say nice things. I look forward to learning more about this as you continue to share your experiences.

[Steven Kempton]

Thanks Yvonne, but one of the problems that has people up in arms is that you probably won't know when someone is getting paid for the review. But it is my opinion that reading critically, no matter what the source (blogger or journalist) is very important. I think it is naive of the blogosphere to think that they really are a group of like-minded people who are somehow "above" journalists and outside influence. We are all individuals after all.