While reading some of the blogs listed on the “Great Wall of Blogs” at FuelMyBlog this morning, I kept tripping over the same money making scheme again and again - PayPerPost.
At first glance, it would appear that PayPerPost is a very good idea - people pay them to promote products or services, and in turn they pay you to write posts about them. You can pick and choose between the available offers at a given time, and once you’ve written a post they will verify it, and pay you after it has been “live” for a given amount of time (30 days at the time of writing).
While reading about PayPerPost, I could feel my heckles rising. I’m not sure if it’s just me, but being paid to write about specific subjects feels like selling out. It feels like prostituting your blog. I wandered back through some of the blogs I had spotted the advertisement in, and started looking at their posts - my worst fears turned out to be true.
I discovered a “Truman Show” comedy of posts, where one day people would be writing about their life - their hopes - their dreams, and the next day they would be informing everybody that they should head on down to SunglassShack(TM) where there is an offer this season on some great new shades…
I nearly laughed out loud.
Is writing on paid subjects not a betrayal of the people who read your blog? People read personal blogs to follow your life - people are interested in people.
How would you feel if you discovered your best friend had been employed since before you knew them to target you in a sales campaign? What if the shoes she wore to that party were targeted for you to notice? What if that new car that he brought to show you was intended to make you change your car?
Sure, peer pressure is one thing, but at least your real friends aren’t being paid to shove products and services under your nose.