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Advertising Redux
I love advertisements and advertisers. Mostly I love to mock them, but sometimes they do something clever and make me feel good about my consumeristic self. Ego boost = good.
And although I am not against advertising on all of my sites, or on anyone else’s blog, I am vehemently against advertising on this blog. As we know. I assume that any advertiser who solicits the blog deserves what they get.
So, the latest solicitation (it sounds like I get so many… I don’t, I promise. It’s just the ones I get are doozies) was an email offering to write a post for my blog on an incredibly random topic because the sender was sure my readers would find it useful. I thought that was bizarre in itself, because this blog is clearly a self-absorbed public journal, so I couldn’t figure out what about the “me, me, me” posts would encourage someone to suggest a guest blog, much less one on the incredibly random topic.
And then I saw the email address of the sender and things clicked. Sender works for a company that happens to be in the business of the incredibly random topic they were recommending for this guest post. Well, now I’m convinced: clearly it’s total coincidence that they read my blog and thought, “Hey, this blog needs a post about X! And I just happen to know all about X, thanks to the company I work for! I’ll write them a post out of the goodness of my heart!“
Those of you who are more tied in to advertising trends than I am, is this a new thing? Are companies abandoning pay-per-post and trying post-our-post instead? Is there some inherent value for the blogger in this? (I know the inherent value for the company, but what about the person displaying these “guest” posts?)
I thought I was brilliant when I wrote back and said “Sure, send me the post and if I think it’s relevant, I’ll post it.“ See, I wanted to Google the article when it arrived to find out if it had been tailor-written just for me or if the same article was being spammed across multiple blogs. I was also curious about whether the article would be an honest article about various options or if it would only recommend the company. I might even have posted bits and pieces of it if I thought they were relevant, but the odds of the incredibly random topic being relevant to this particular blog are, well, not very good to be honest.
But it’s been four days, and I’m not patient enough to keep waiting for an article that may never come, especially with my curiosity bursting about this apparent new advertising technique.
Is this the “it” thing? Those of you who advertise, would you consider this sort of post? Why or why not?
Even more intriguing: is this better or worse than pay-per-post? Pay-per-post bothers me a lot, and not just on blogs. I am about ready to quit listening to my favorite morning radio show because it seems like they can’t go five minutes without the hosts saying “And I just love random product! Let me tell you why, in a way that sounds totally stupid but is meant to make you think I’m saying this spontaneously and have not been given a year’s supply of the product and a hefty check to sell my soul.“ At this point, I don’t even believe the hosts when they tell me what the traffic is like (“Did the City pay you to say traffic is good? Do you get free access to the HOV lane for putting a rosy spin on the morning commute?“).
Sorry. It’s just that this blurring the line between independent and paid content really does bother me, because I think it does (or should) raise questions about credibility in all areas where it is used. Bloggers have it easier, because they can (and some do) indicate which posts are sponsored and which are their own words, which means I can (and do) take what’s being said in the sponsored posts with a grain of salt. Radio hosts, not so much. (“Gosh, guest of the day, our conversation has made me so thirsty! Have you ever tried product-placed drink? We have a whole fridge of it and it’s awesome!“ Bleh.)
So we know where I stand: I want to know where you stand, especially if you see some sort of value in this new-to-me tactic.
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Comments
Actually, that’s sort of fascinating. They read enough of your blog to leave a comment with a tailored advertisement link? I wonder how that campaign is working for them, because it seems labor intensive.
Interesting. Received another of these “we want to send you an article” emails, from a different (and definitely horse-related) company.
This time I flat out asked them what the benefit for me was. I am not very hopeful they will respond, to be honest, but it will be interesting if they do.
On Aug 7, 2008, greyhorsematters said:
While I have never gotten an offer to write an article from an advertiser, this morning I received what I thought was a comment with a link to a site. I opened the site and it was an advertisement with material concerning some topics in my post. It’s a sneaky way to get someone to go to the site and buy CD’s. I deleted it. I have also had someone leave comments on my blog directing others to their blog which I think is tacky. I published it anyway in the spirit of fairness. If you want someone to read your blog that bad then okay you can direct them from me if you’re that desperate for readers.