It’s okay for brands to pay bloggers for their time
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n this guest post, Hannah Demilta draws the line between “cash for comment” and paid blogger reviews and asks why brands think they should get free advertising on blogs.
We’ve seen a lot in the media lately around paid reviews and cash for comment. I have an issue with bloggers being rounded up and placed in this same group. What articles like this recent piece in SMH imply is that bloggers are choosing to not disclose payment.
While there will always be instances of this, I would say that more Australian bloggers are quite aware of the issues with transparency and up-hold a code of personal ethics.
In the US bloggers are required by law to disclose payment for sponsored posts. While this isn’t the case in Australia yet, savvy bloggers know what they risk by not disclosing payment, gifts or product. It’s not only in the bloggers’ best interest, but also the brand’s best interest to be transparent online. We can look to recent examples such as the backlash from South Australia Tourism Council paying celebrities to tweet with no-disclosure to understand this.
However, if both parties are clear and open to their audiences regarding sponsored reviews or paid agreements, it’s my view that this is an acceptable exchange for bloggers and brands who want to work together.
This is very different than the manufactured paid listings littering user review websites. These are not only created to seem organic, but are often from anonymous sources. Bloggers who have their own name and reputation to risk are not willing to make this mistake or deceive their readers.
The next question, beyond the issue of transparency, is the question of ‘Why sponsored?’ I’ve spoken to some marketers who shrug off the words “sponsored content” as if they were almost dirty.
I believe we pay our bloggers for their time, but we don’t buy their opinions. Bloggers still write and share in their own words and in a voice that’s their own. That authenticity is what readers connect with and helps drive engagement. We welcome that genuineness and recognise that it’s part of the reason why a brand may want to work with online influencers in the first place.
I question why marketers think that a blogger should work for free to advertise a brand. While PR professionals can still be a source of information, bloggers don’t necessarily depend on press releases to tell their story.
Bloggers are content creators and online community builders. It’s a privilege to take part in these online conversations with influential opinion leaders and their niche communities. It’s also important to remember that bloggers don’t have an employer paying for their cab rides to events.
The reality is that many of these bloggers brands want to work with are ‘hobby bloggers’ meaning their blog is not their full-time job. Bloggers are looking to be compensated for their time and effort.
It’s worth remembering that brands and bloggers working relationships are still relatively new development to Australia. This specialised segment of marketing is still finding its feet in the media landscape. There is a line to be drawn between cash for comment, and paying bloggers.
As long as bloggers and brands can respect the importance of transparency and disclosure with their audiences, there is certainly a role for sponsored posts.
While some will still shy away from the idea of paying bloggers, I think it’s something worth speaking up for and I see a future for this in Australia.
Hannah Demilta is general manager at Rocketman Media.
“Bloggers still write and share in their own words and in a voice that’s their own.”
So if a blogger write a post filled with stinging criticism against a brand and its products, that brand would still be willing to pay the blogger, right?
I’ve got nothing against advertising, but when someone tries to disguise advertising as opinion, I switch off. How can I trust a writer knowing some of their ‘opinions’ might just be a paid ad?
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“I question why marketers think that a blogger should work for free to advertise a brand.”
Bloggers are not “advertising a brand” when they mention it in a story. When bloggers _or_ journalists mention a brand in a story it is because it is relevant to that story – the story is about a product or service or experience which in some way involves that brand. And the story itself is being written for the benefit of your audience. That’s editorial, it’s not advertising.
If a company “pays a blogger to advertise a brand”, then the blogger stops to be an independent editorial source and becomes part of an advertising campaign, part of a marketing arm. In short, the blogger becomes a shill for that company and that brand.
Not understanding the difference between advertising and editorial, not getting that you are writing stories for your readers and not for advertisers, is one of the first things a blogger needs to learn.
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The line in “traditional” media has been blurry for a long time.
Travel reviews often have a VERY small disclaimer at the bottom saying the author was hosted by the resort, tour (and sometimes even country) of where they’re writing about. Music or movie reviewers get free cds, show tickets, etc – often with catering and hosting at events. Advertisers often have sway to get a story run in a publication they’re advertising in (yes, yes, there’s a line between advertising and editorial but any major advertiser knows it’s not an always firm line).
If a blogger discloses a commercial relationship, and they already have a large audience that trusts them (which is why they’re being paid in the first place), what is the harm?
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I often hear about bloggers who accept payment for a sponsored post (whether it be for their time or otherwise) and then they have a negative experience and the brand asks them not to publish the post and the blogger agrees.
I wholeheartedly believe that this is against the core principles of brands engaging bloggers. If they write a “genuine” and “transparent” post about their experience then it should be published, whether it is negative or not and whether they have received payment or not.
This notion of a “kill fee” should not be endorsed. This is giving the control of content to the brand and is therefore not genuine or transparent at all!
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When you engage a blogger you head into that relationship with trust and belief in your own product or that of the brand you are marketing. Bloggers are no different to the general public who form opinions and criticism about your brand if you pump thousands of bucks into a deadbeat ad campaign.
Their honesty is often what moves that product or brand through commerce channels. Successful bloggers have their own communities, who have their own communities and so on – it’s a powerful world ‘out there’. Get on board!
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Completely agree. The purpose of a blog is for people to offer their opinion to the general public or to subscribers. As a marketer using a blogger I would not seek out to manipulate the content on their blog simply because I would be paying them. Neither would I want to pay a blogger for them to turn around and produce negative insights on the brand I represent. If bloggers want to earn money, either ask readers for a membership fee or include paid advertising space in your blog. Neither of which bloggers would agree to doing as it dilutes their blog and the intentions of the blog. It’s a tough debate as the purpose of a blog is to review and offer a genuine opinion. But if you want to get paid for your time and opinion, I would suggest you use a blog as a gateway to a journalism career, where you get paid for your time.. As harsh as it may sound.. There is a reason why there are bloggers that make a point of not having any sponsored posts, to keep their content genuine. If a blogger is getting paid for a post, they need to be 100% transparent about it so readers can decide for themselves whether or not to really trust the review. Regardless, still defeats the purpose of a blog. A blog is meant to be genuine content, that’s where the value proposition is for your readers.
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@Kimberly: And that’s why I take all individual reviews with a grain of salt, unless I know the writer has a reputation for objectivity. And that’s why more people are going to sites like Tripadvisor, Amazon or forums, where the sheer volume of reviews makes it harder for paid bias.
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You can’t view ‘paid’ posts as paying a blogger for their time. You are paying the blogger to expose a message to their community. If you were really paying for their time you’d be paying vastly more.
I’m a hobby blogger and happily accept that I don’t make money from my hobby. I have been approached by a number of companies and happily turned them down.
I fiercely guard my editorial integrity. Other bloggers should consider this when they take money from companies.
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Great piece, Hannah.
Full disclosure – I’m a blogger, but just for fun and personal enjoyment.
Bloggers should absolutely be paid for their time & words if commissioned by a brand. However disclosure should always be given and I find most bloggers within the beauty and “mummy” blogs spheres are great at this – it’s the fashion bloggers who get clothes for free and shoot them, that fail to mention the freebies.
You will get a far more honest opinion from a blog than a magazine or newspaper where the products or brand are very rarely tested anyway. The brands I’ve worked with even encourage the pros/cons dialogue I use, because I only work with brands that understand my style and honesty manifesto.
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As a journo about to turn full-time blogger, I’m probably biased! That said, provided the blogger is transparent about the payment and genuine and honest in their comments, I really cannot see the problem. Also, it is less a case of paying bloggers for their time and effort and more a case of paying for the privilege of accessing the usually very engaged and niche audience which they have built up over time. I haven’t accepted sponsored posts yet but I do intend to. It will be really important to me to only work with brands I believe in and think my readers are likely to have an affinity with.
i always thought that a blog was a type of online diary, the concept has moved far away from that now. I have been reading blogs since their inception and there are so many blogs out there now, yet my reading list is reduced. Why? The lack of scruples, lack of integrity and the desperate need to be recogonised in the bloggersphere (I am talking predominantly mummy bloggers)
Would I be inclined to use a product a mummy blogger recommended…….NO For the reason that I think they would sell out their own grandmother for payment. I doubt if their opinion is actually honest. Once I see sponsored post I hit back the back button fast.
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I’ll second Jen Bishop’s comment – as a journo turned professional blogger I am more transparent than was ever required of me as a journalist. And brands are paying for a blogger’s influence and reach as well as time. Because of this influence, it’s very important that I only work with brands that sit well with my readership. I’m ok with saying no!
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I’m a blogger too. My readership, my brand, and my integrity are worth way, WAY more to me than anything a brand could pay me. My readers know they will get the truth from me. A brand can buy my “airtime” but they certainly can’t buy my opinion.
Any blogger whose opinion can truly be “bought” is unlikely to have a readership that’s worth the price.. there is absolutely a way to forge win/win/win (blogger/reader/brand) relationships with blog content.
Those brands that “get it” are reaping the rewards – there’s a reason that bloggers are on the rise, and despite the weeping and moaning of traditional media, we’re here to stay.
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Nikki makes a good point. Blogs are very wrapped up in your own personal brand which makes integrity all the more important than if you’re working for a media company that’s less than transparent.
As someone who has worked as a paid journalist & has been specifically told by several magazine and newspaper editors (in the naughty nineties) on a number of occasions to write good things about specific products and rate them higher in comparisons (by comparing products based on the ‘right’ characteristics), as those brands were advertising in the edition, I have concerns about bloggers being paid to write about products.
Where it is done it should be clearly differentiated as advertorials rather than appear in the normal flow of blog posts, with the fact there was a payment disclosed.
BYW at the time I was ethically torn by the requests of editors, but needing the money I did as requested (knowing editors would cut me off if I refused), and then stopped writing for these editors and publications as soon as possible.
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Some bloggers are well-known in PR circles as total scabs. Whereas, for example, some journos get sent goods, review them, then send them back, an increasing number of bloggers think it’s some kind of god-given right to keep whatever they get. What the? They seem to think that because they aren’t paid money for their writing, they somehow get dibs on anything and everything that passes their way from PR companis. Well, here’s a wake up call to the scabs: No one asked you to start blogging. No one made you do it. Thinking you have a god-given right to keep goods just because you set up a WordPress and write the odd, short, grammatically-challenged piece every day or two, is laughable.
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@Cameron: Depends on the product’s real (manufacture) value. If it’s some cheapo book that costs less than $2 to print, why bother? Maybe if it’s a car or a $2000 camera, that’s another story. But for anything less, I can’t see the need to ask for it back.
The review alone is probably worth more money than most products. (And if it’s not, why are you bothering to send a sample?)
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It’s the principle, Bob. And especially when bloggers want to be seen in the same light as “real journalists”, they need to start taking cues from those real journalists. So, here’s the thing, bloggers… when a real journalist gets sent a piece of consumer electronics worth $500 and up, they will review it, then send it back. You don’t know how gobsmacked you leave people in the PR profession when you act like these things are “for keeps” when we’ve only just met you and even journalists we’ve worked with for 10-20 years don’t assume the same airs and graces. Some bloggers are totally up themselves about this kind of stuff and are tainting blogging for the majority in a pretty massive and comprehensive way.
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Cameron, a blogger is not the same as a journalist.
And if a blogger gets sent something in the hopes of positive PR to help sell more product, then surely that’s a fair trade, considering the nature of the relationship. Is it in the best interests of the public? No way. But it’s not the bloggers that are to blame
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Brent, tell that to the growing numbers of bloggers who think they are journalists. Blogging has changed A LOT over the last decade. 10 years ago, sure, I would agree that a blogger isn’t a journalist. Those days are long gone, mate.
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I’m with Cameron 100% on this. I’ve worked in the technology & home entertainment space and have been astounded at the grabby grubby hands of some many bloggers.
You have the legit journalists who ply their trade with professional behaviour and ethics, and then you have these bloggers – most of whom don’t even do it full time, it’s just a ‘hobby’ after work or school (!) or on the weekends – who think that review product is all free, it’s all ‘keepers’. They have their little p*ssant WordPress blog with a few posts a week and they think that puts them on par with the big boys but they then want even more than any of the pros.
Sadly, there are a few in the middle – blogs which run full-time – where the policy is to ONLY review product that they are given to keep, which they’ll often sell on eBay because they claim this is the only way they can make money off the blog, so they treat is as their ‘right’.
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Am I missing something, or are you guys ACTUALLY sending products (unsolicited) to bloggers, expecting them to review them for you for free, and then return the products as well?
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PA: it’d be poor form to send expensive kit (indeed, any kit) unsolicited and expect it to be returned, but if you remove ‘unsolicited’ from the equation – well, what’s wrong with that? Why should somebody who chooses to run a blog expect anything different than a journalist?
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I don’t know…
Journalists’ income don’t come from paid or sponsored posts, necessarily – their dollars predominantly come in through ad buy and sponsorships. I have no quarrel with bloggers getting paid, just not through sponsored content, necessarily.
There’s room for clearly marked advertorials, but that’s at the decision of the brand. When you are able to offer bloggers a clear value exchange that its relevant to them as well as their readers, when you do your research and when you can offer a compelling prize for bloggers if they feel that it’s interesting and relevant, I just don’t see the point of a “handling fee” or “payment for the post”. Tech journalists don’t get paid by PR agencies when they review a new laptop, so why should bloggers?
If bloggers want to run competitions in tandem with requiring an ad buy, as magazine publishers sometimes do, then that’s fine as long as they’re clear about it from the beginning – but they must bear in mind that PR agencies often don’t control advertising budget, and that ad agencies aren’t in the business of keeping bloggers updated when there are new products to be reviewed, tested or trialled unless they want to buy an ad. It’s a difficult line, and Hannah is right in that it’s a rapidly changing landscape, but don’t think it’s an “all or nothing” line where bloggers should/not be paid as a party line.
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Then the solution is simple – stop sending your stuff to bloggers, or only send to the bloggers you trust.
As for entitlement…are you referring to the PRs who send you some crappy product sample with an overly excited press release (having gleaned your name from some gigantic contact list put together by a clueless intern), then calling every day to “see if you need anything else” (answer: yes, for you to stop calling), and throwing a hissy fit when you give a bad review (cuz the product sucks), and then “forgetting” to include return postage so you have to either pay $30 to send it back, or dump it in the trash (usually the latter).
The fact is, the entire industry (whether PR, journo, ad man or blogger) is a very grubby place, especially when you include the online element, which is already a rather wild place.
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