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Blog with Honor
There has been much debate lately about whether or not its acceptable to take money for writing blog posts. Blogging for money without disclosure, along with opportunities like PayPerPost and the like, takes it all to a new level. I don't think we want blog police, but I also believe trust and credibility don't happen by themselves. What do you think?Advertising seems to be the way to generate revenue from a blog. There is nothing wrong with that. However, content and advertising must be distinct. Well, yes I do blog about interesting ads that make me think, but that is not what I mean. Do you see 'Ads by Google' at the bottom of my AdSense links? That is called disclosure. So, if I'm ever offered payment to blog about some product, have no doubt it will be clearly marked as sponsored post. Having said that, if all you do is AdSense, I don’t even consider it a source of income. As far as I can tell from my experience, readers avoid clicking them (20 clicks out of 14,700 page impressions generate a grand total of $4.89)! Its passive and obvious.
I am in favor of any tactic that will enhance and point to a blog's credibility. The Blog Honor Pledge is designed to help bloggers make a statement to be authentic and transparent at all times. Even though its a kind of link bait, I like what it stands for and the ethics it represents. Thus, I adapted the Blog Honor badge on this blog, as you can see in my sidebar, with a little tweak so that it links back to this post where I take the Blog Honor Pledge (there is a link here to the original Blog Honor page anyway).
Do the right thing by the reader and the rewards will eventually come your way.
I have chosen to pledge to you the following:
1. I will endeavor to continue to bring you the highest quality content that I am capable of
2. I promise to attempt to disclose or clearly mark any content or advertisements or other monetization attempts that help me keep my blog operating
3. I pledge to never write "fake" blog content solely for the purpose of trying to generate revenue without complete and clear disclosure.With exception, my blog may exist for business purposes, therefore I use it to talk about products & services that relate to my business, thus assisting me in generating leads & sales for me indirectly
In return, I hope that you will continue to read my blog with the knowledge that I produce my blog out of a passion for the topic I write about, and not because I'm hoping to fool you into making money for myself.
Please note, I have nothing against generating revenue from my blog, in fact, your ongoing support of my sponsors and advertisers (text links, partner ads, etc...) helps me keep my blog operating so that I may endure to create better content for you.
I do appreciate your support. Continued thanks for your readership.
18 thoughts:
I think I'm convinced, will be visiting again and see what you're coming up with ;)
Allen.H
Excellent post , ilker - full disclosure when blogging for a product is the ethical thing to do. Thanks for bringing it up. And your site design is a knockout - keep up the great work!
I do like your blog style. Now I like your attitude. I will check back for your great thinking.
Very refreshing to hear a pledge like yours. I think if you're up front with people, good things will happen, business-wise and otherwise.
WARNING! A lot will be said, little will be meant!
Nice pledge! How long will you hold? ;P The first time I stumbled on PayPerPost I have to admit that I was attracted to the concept! I love marketing!! But it wouldn't fit me or my blogging style. Sponsors would never allow me to blog about my dreams of screwing with a Buddhist nun! And I don't think that I would like the pressure coming from having to write about something, good chance are, that I really don't care about!
Something else that's been on my mind for some time; what's up with all the blogs that talked about how you can make money with your blog?! And why are they so popular right now?! I mean, how stinking poor are bloggers anyway? Everyone seems to want to make extra money with their blog. Talking about how donation keeps them going.. My hosting service cost me $10 bucks a month and my domain names [I have 3] cost me about $20 every 2 years.. That's a big $130 a year.. I don't need donation, I'll just eat Ramen for 2 or 3 months!..
My views about the 'ol thing is not very positive. If I wanted my blog to be one of the top blogs out there it wouldn't be to hard you know, just talk about tech, babes and Youtube.. Should I change my way just to make some extra cash? Should anyone? Look at Terchnorati for example! Sure the first 100 position must all be making a load of extra cash but they are the most boring thing out there! They all talk about the same things! No particular view on anything they all very much go along with each other while more interesting blogs are left in the dark.. Wait?! What was I talking about here??.. Ah yes! My views on advertising! I don't want to lure my readers into clicking on some link so I can make an extra $5 bucks a month! If I want them to click on something I'll post about it and invite them to go visit it! No extra charge!
Wow! Before this post I didn't even know I had a view on blog advertisement?!..
To finish this on a positive note.. I love your blog and if that pic is really you you are freaking cute!
Thank you Edgar! Your comment was very meaningful and constructive. It got me thinking more! (Also made me fill this comment with lots of comics!! :)
I agree with most of what you said but you forgot to mention one thing.. the opportunity cost of blogging - and that is TIME! You know how the saying goes. Time is money. I spend a good 3-4 hours per day for a post. Not to mention the time it took me to design it, get widgets on it to work properly..etc. Blogging is easy, but doing it like a professional requires a lot of "free" time! Instead of blogging, I could be working in a full time job.. that is salary flying out the window! I can't be employed, though, because I'm a student. So when I'm not studying, doing some sports, or hanging out with friends, I prefer to share some information. Blogging gives me a good feeling like no other activity on earth! The reason why the thinking blog exists..
About blogging and making money on the side.. I don't know about other blogs but for me money is not my motivation as I mentioned before. That is also the reason why I'm not interested in traffic or search engine optimization.. I'm not selling anything here! I'm only interested in gaining readers. Similarly, I don't care about Alexa or Technorati ranks.. I just use Technorati to find articles that link to my blog (like this one) so I can read, comment and leave my regards. While I'm there, I also check the rest of the blog.. if you find what I wrote interesting then perhaps your posts will make me think as well! ;)
About advertisements.. I am planning to make a post about my views on advertisement in general, not just online but also real world, sometime soon. In terms of Google Ads, I don't really care! All this blog ever got from it was 20 clicks and made me 5$ anyway! But I'm not going to hide any AdSense within content like other kids to fool my readers. Quick note here, please don't click ad links unless you really find them interesting. Also let me know if it starts to display unrelative junk.
About donations.. I'm not in need of money. Thanks to my parents I have a roof above my head and food in the fridge to say the least. The only thing I cannot do is spend money, that I didn't earn, on things that are not absolute necessities like buying a domain name or hosting service. So, that is why I accept donations.. Also, it is another way people show their gratitude, appreciate what I do, or support my efforts when they find a post useful. At least I don't do this in my blog!
For example, Brian (surname not disclosed because I didn't ask his permission for publishing) was kind enough to send me this email after he made a $20 donation: "i was surprised to see so few donations, people take the internet for granted." Indeed.. isn't that the reason why we get annoying pop-ups everywhere?
Wow! [I erase the intro for this comment about 3 times already!] This is an amazing reply I don't know where to start? Should I debate or confess my love?!.. First let me thank you for the bLaugh tour! I never took the time to surf around that site! [Do people still say surf? It sounds a little to much 1995 or something?]. So Thank You!
Next I have to query, do you really break dance?
Now that that's done [Why yes! I am very good at filling the space!] I never thought about Pro-Bloogers because, for one thing I consider myself more of a Booger then a blogger. I also do put a lot of time on my blog, I have the habit of changing layout every 3 months! [But this time I think that I might have found the one that will last..], the posting part usually doesn't take me more then 10 to 20 minutes to come up with.. It's the unthinking blog principal! Type first ask question later!..
Was I going some where? YES! I completely agree with you, and not only because you are extremely cute but, mostly, because you made an excellent point! And if I wasn't completely broke [I also work part time and I also am a student!] it would have been a pleasure for me to participate in your fund raising!!.. Give me your address and I'll send you a box of Ramen! ;)
For the rest.. Stupid pop-ups and crappy blogs with adsence!..
I think [therefore I read this blog! ;)] that when people are being shown that they can make a buck with something they will instinctively go for it! Money is always good right?! And I think that this can hurt very badly the blogging community, what will happen [Lets pretend that it is not happening right now!] when the major part of the blogoshpere will be filled with bloggers working harder at finding ways to make there blog lucrative then at coming up with good content?!
I also agree with you on the blog needs for readers! I also don't care much about the number of hit my blog gets! [Ok! I'm completely lying here!] But it takes a lot of reader just to get a few comments and it is very difficult to get a discussion started! Most people are just ghost roaming the web. They never leave comments anywhere and, unless you make the front page on Digg, you'll probably never get more then 2 or 3 intelligent comments on a post!..
Virtual\Life is hard for all the bloggers out there!!
23 Ideas for Finding New Readers for Your Blog by Problogger Darren Roswe. Check out suggestion number 15! :)
I always try to click on Adsense for bloggers that I want to support because it is hard to upkeep a good blog. As you said, a lot goes into it! :)
As for paid posts, I did try it before and it wasn't working for me or my blogs (and there wasn't disclosure allowed then), so I no longer do them. But, I can fully understand why people do, and as long as there is disclosure, I see no problem with it.
Hi Ilker
Damn nice blog. I did the same link edit, even though profesionally I'm a distant colegue of Jim's :-)
Just to mention you are welcome to grab the version of the bloghonour badge on my site, tink the colour scheme would go better with your site styling. Have you guys looked at blogkits? Early days yet but I believe it is taking off nicely.
There's a reason why I belong to your MyBlogLog. Ya gots moxy kid!
I wish more bloggers out there had the same integrity you do. I don't think there is a thing wrong with blogging for money if you have some value or decent content to add.
It can be a haven for spammers and content theives alike, but it's just like anything else. Why should the blogging community be punished because of a few bad apples?
Good post by the way sweet pea! Kudos!!
That's a great post. It's very clear as to where you stand from a reader's perspective.
Keeping things like that crystal clear is important to fostering confidence in the readership.
hello
I love your attitute
Yes, I just found out about the pay per post and while I don't agree with it personally and wouldn't fit with my niche.. I think it's ok if you disclose that it's a pay per post. I signed up for the honor blog. Thanks for the link.
You did'nt mention a price to reviews people's blogs. How much and do you take payapl?What about how many links back to the blog and what about deep links? Are the reviews permenant?
You can email me regarding the price. I take Paypal, give you all the links you want and the reviews are permanent.
Genial dispatch and this mail helped me alot in my college assignement. Thank you for your information.
What do you think? Post your thoughts..