Comments on: On Endorsements, Sponsored Posts, Advertising and Trust

By: The Secret to a Great Blog and a Great Business

The Secret to a Great Blog and a Great Business — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:52:30 +0000

[...] here to read my interview with Gary, the man behind The Baseball Cube. Also check out this post about advertising and trust first got me thinking about this subject, so I figured I’d share [...]

By: asithi

asithi — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:21:33 +0000

Just like it is the same group of people who thinks that music, books, etc should be free. No matter passionate someone is for their niche, they still have to pay for the overhead of domain registration and hosting.

For people that chose not to run ads, good for you. But it does not mean that everyone has to follow your path.

By: Damaria Senne

Damaria Senne — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:48:51 +0000

Unless my favourite blogger suddenly changes editorial direction/their views to agree with a sponsor when they previously hold the same position, I have no problem with ads or sponsored posts, and I think it’s not realistic to expect a blogger to forego earning revenue on their hard work. Sometimes I wonder who set the policy that bloggers are not allowed to make a living from their blogs? Where was I when the issue was being voted on?

By: Freelance Writing Jobs for December 10, 2009 : Freelance Writing Jobs for Web and Print

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:49:27 +0000

[...] On Endorsements, Sponsored Posts, Advertising and Trust [...]

By: JulieF

JulieF — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:31:31 +0000

This is an important conversation. Often it seems that the same people that say blogs should have no ads are the same individuals that get angry over writers working for free.

Ads are not a guaranteed source of income, so doesn’t it stand to reason that by not placing any ads you’re working for free? Sorry, but I need to be paid in one form or the other.

I’m going through affiliate programs now trying to find the least spammy ads and most relevant to my readers- not all bloggers go with the highest paying. I wish these folks that have problem with others not making money AND making money would make up their minds.

By: Allison

Allison — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 02:35:14 +0000

It’s kind of like getting mad at your favorite TV show for having commercials or your favorite magazine for having print ads. Unless you’re willing to write a big check to say “thanks for providing me with all of this content/entertainment,” it’s really low to criticize a blogger for making money with advertising, as long as it is done so in a transparent way, not a spammy or sneaky way.

By: lornadoone

lornadoone — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:35:36 +0000

How funny that this should be the topic of the day, as I found an advertising request in my email this morning for my Something Good blog. I feel that integrity is extremely important for the kind of stuff I do on that blog, but I’m also of the mind that it is not inappropriate to earn money with a blog. That said, I know I’m going to need to do a lot of research into the company doing the inquiring so that I can decide if it’s a good fit or not. I feel like I do have a level of trust with the readers there, and I would be making a terrible mistake and not living up to my own values if I just sold them out for a few bucks. Here’s to hoping other bloggers take the same stance!

By: Deb

Deb — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:09:29 +0000

Absolutely. Again, that trust thing.

By: Dorothy

Dorothy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:07:59 +0000

It all depends on how much the advertiser affects the blog contents. Any blogger that allows his or her integrity to be bought… well, that’s the dealbreaker.