Sponsored writing with Pay Per Post

A few weeks ago, Melissa at 2PhatGeeks introduced her readers to PayPerPost (They’re paying me–and they’re sane! ) . Her down-to-earth explanation of the network, comparing it to “word of mouth advertising on the internet, except bloggers can be paid for a job well done,” piqued my interest, so I started looking around to see what others had to say about it.   (Even through I trust Melissa’s sanity!)

While I immediately uncovered several rave reviews about payperpost, I also found some hesitancy about the concept of writing “sponsored” posts. Some individuals in the blogosphere have complained that sponsored posts devalue more traditional revenue options, like Google’s adsense program. Others brand the practice as unethical, noting that without full disclosure, sponsored posts shred a blogger’s authenticity and trust.

I found this vehemence startling at first, then a little amusing. Disclosure or not, I don’t see sponsored reviews as anything different than advertisements in a newspaper, product reviews in a magazine, or marketing campaigns in movies. As for “traditional” advertising? Blogs that are cluttered with AdSense banners look like spam pages to me. I have never clicked on an AdSense link and I would certainly rather read the blogger’s own words about what he or she chose to advertise than some link served up from a mostly irrelevant list.

In any event, I found these ethical concerns addressed by Pay Per Post’s own code of ethics , which explains that in order to preserve the reader’s trust and avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, they have a strict policy of full disclosure. I’m not sure what all the hullabaloo is about, then! (Perhaps the nay-sayers went off on their rants before looking into the details?)

Pay Per Post has three methods to provide this disclosure:

• Disclosure Badges: A graphic icon provided with the sponsored post that reads “This Post Sponsored By: ….” You’ll see it at the end of this post. Some advertisers may specifically request the use of the icon.
• In-Post Text Based Disclosure: When a Disclosure Badge hasn’t been requested by the advertiser, bloggers are encouraged to provide a disclosure within the post itself. Pay Per Post suggests a few simple example disclosures: “This Post Sponsored by ACME, This Post Brought to you by AMCE, Thank you to my Sponsor ACME.”
• Site Wide Disclosure Policy: Generate a Disclosure Policy at disclosurepolicy.org and display it in “a prominent place that is easy for your readers to locate.”

Ethical concerns thus assuaged, I pulled together my own Disclosure Policy and submitted life in the garden of eden to Pay Per Post. I received notice of my blog’s acceptance today and wrote this, my virgin sponsored post.  I’m very interested in the writing (and income) opportunities Pay Per Post may present.