PayPerPost Blurs the Line Between Ethical Marketing and Advertising

PayPerPost.com comes under harsh criticism for blurring the lines between personal opinion, public opinion and advertising. With a force of over 15,000 'Posties', as PayPerPost's bloggers are called, PayPerPost can definitely reach a sizeable audience through its various blog networking.

How the system works is this: a blogger is offered monetary compensation for writing a sponsored post in their blog about a product or service, or to create a buzz about an event or whatever else PayPerPost is hired to contract out to the bloggers. The blogger then writes a post that promotes this product, event or service or publishes specific content on their blog from a PayPerPost publisher, and the blogger is paid for creating the post.

When PayPerPost first rolled out its services, there was no mandatory disclosure that required the bloggers to inform readers that the post in the blog was paid for or sponsored. According to the PayPerPost website, in December, all bloggers were required to denote that any PayPerPost blogs posts must be designated as sponsored or paid posts. However, PayPerPost has now, under the criticism of many advertisers and the public, initiated something they call "PayPerPost Disclosure Badges."

These disclosure badges, as indicated by PayPerPost's website, let the reader know the blog post is a sponsored post, while also providing a link to the sponsor as well as other links to information pertaining to the paid blog post itself. (Retrieved from: http://payperpost.com)

This move may well be PayPerPost's response to the recent criticism about PayPerPost in the mainstream news media. This month, the Los Angeles Times, which stated, in part, that PayPerPost and other advertising sites that pay for sponsored blogging, are blurring the lines between advertising and word of mouth outreach.

In a 2006 conference of the Federal Trade Commission, there was talk about mandating disclosure and initiating some regulation on paid to blog activity. (http://www.ftc.gov/)

According to the LA Times article about PayPerPost specifically, the article stated, "...Federal Trade Commission has cautioned that word-of-mouth marketing sponsorships must be clearly disclosed." (Retrieved from: http://www.latimes.com)

TechCrunch.com has some interesting things to say about a not so spectacular launch and strategy used by PayPerPost, so even in the tech world, PayPerPost is being scrutinized as well. (Retrieved from: http://www.techcrunch.com/tag/payperpost)

Again, according to the LA Times articles, Posties, those members who post sponsored and paid blogs for PayPerPost, have boasted earnings of more than $7,000 in less than a year for blog posts. Some have earned considerably more and others considerably less. According to the PayPerPost website, a Postie can post up to three paid or sponsored blog posts per day on one approved blog.

With paid blog posts paying anywhere from a few dollars to around $20 per post, this could be a profitable revenue stream for an active blogger, especially one with more than one blog. Additionally, the PayPerPost Postie community often shares links and promotes each other, providing readers and viewers to the blogs, thus building a readership or following for the bloggers non PayPerPost blog entries.

PayPerPost's website makes clear their terms and conditions for bloggers, including requiring full disclosure of the fact that the Postie may have been paid for some blog posts. The requirement is either on a per post basis or on the main page of the blog site, but it must exist. (Retrieved from: http://payperpost.com/page/terms)

The argument about the ethics of PayPerPost's marketing model will continue, with those receiving money from blogging firmly on the side of PayPerPost and those who believe paid or sponsored blogging pollutes the internet and is deceptive firmly against websites like PayPerPost. A quick search on the internet can provide both sides of the coin so internet users can make up their own minds about the debate.

Sources:

PayPerPost
http://payperpost.com/press/ payperpost_takes_transparency_to_a_new_level
http://payperpost.com/page/terms

Federal Trade Commission
http://www.ftc.gov/

TechCrunch.com
http://www.techcrunch.com/tag/payperpost

Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bloggers9mar09,0,2755971.story?track=ntottext