El Valle de Anton Panama
(Updated 4-24-2023)
Some bloggers boost their income through sponsored content.
Other bloggers warn against the dangers of publishing sponsored posts.
Should bloggers accept sponsored content?
I intend to share pros and cons for you to make an informed decision.
Bloggers often struggle to generate sponsored post revenue for a general lack of clarity regarding the income stream.
Think about your objective. Build a monetizing plan based on the needs of your readers. Dwelling on your reader’s needs first and foremost gives you greater clarity concerning sponsored posts.
Will your readers benefit from learning about the businesses reviewed on your blog? Do your readers express a keen interest in these ventures? Or do you just want to net a quick $100? Be honest in assessing your motive. Every blogger has a right to profit but seeking a quick pay day may be an expensive mistake over the long haul. Both Google and your readership may tire of your frequently published sponsored content.
In some cases though, communities deeply appreciate uncovering beneficial businesses that meet their pressing needs. Happy readers and blogging profits make for a delightful duo.
Bloggers have driven steady income through sponsored posts but some have been burned by publishing sponsored posts. Understanding your audience and deciding on your prime sources of blog traffic nudges you in the proper direction. For example, if your readers largely find your blog through channels other than Google you may want to explore sponsored post opportunities. However, if most of your blog traffic comes from Google exercise caution before publishing sponsored posts.
Weigh the risk-reward scenario on your:
- objectives
- readership
- traffic sources
as you process both pros and cons below.
Pros
Profit Per Transaction
Most bloggers who publish sponsored content receive $50 to $200 or more per blog post.
Generating $50 to $200 per post makes for a strong blogging income stream in terms of payment per transaction if you blog prolifically.
Sponsored content is not a big ticket revenue channel per se but greatly exceeds pennies per click or dollars per eBook on a transactional basis. Publishing a volume of sponsored posts can net a decent blogging income through this channel on a short term basis.
Predominantly Passive Income
Sponsored post revenue is largely passive income.
Bloggers accept and publish sponsored content to receive payment.
Little time or work commitment goes into accepting, publishing and receiving income for sponsored posts.
Generating passive blogging income frees your schedule. Instead of trading time for money you enjoy more time offline.
Passive income flows to you around the clock whether you work, sleep or spend time offline enjoying life away from the laptop.
Note
Bloggers who insist on writing sponsored content go the active income route.
I never did this because I preferred the post to be the client’s words since the individuals wished to promote their business from their viewpoint.
However, I did review all sponsored posts before publishing for quality control.
Powerful Referral Marketing
Placing one sponsored post tends to magnetize your blog to businesses keen on placing sponsored posts.
Sponsored post revenue grows heavily based on referral marketing. Seeing a post sponsored on your blog attracts people with advertising budgets and a willingness to choose your blog as a marketing destination
Versus proactively advertising sponsored post opportunities you simply allow interested advertisers to find you based on prior sponsored content published to your blog.
Cons
Advanced Income Strategy
Advanced bloggers with a high volume of targeted traffic earn sponsored post revenue.
The amount of time, energy and work required to generate steady sponsored content profits is immense.
Businesses invest only in maximum exposure in front of a highly targeted audience. Driving a high volume of hyper-targeted traffic requires years of generous, patient and persistent work.
Sponsored post opportunities are hard to come by because persistent bloggers are rare individuals.
Most new bloggers have unrealistic expectations regarding generating ad revenue through sponsored channels. Advertisers do not pay for access to 100 untargeted visitors daily to an unproven blog. Even intermediate bloggers struggle to generate sponsored profits because businesses want to advertise in front of large, highly targeted audiences flocking around trusted bloggers.
Minimizes Search Traffic
Google demands that all sponsored posts:
- be fully disclosed
- contain No Follow links
However, most businesses who submit sponsored posts demand a Do Follow link because these individuals intend to “buy Google traffic” through the sponsored post.
What happens if you place Do Follow links in your sponsored content? Google penalizes your blog. For all intents and purposes, Do Follow sponsored content kills a source of high volume, highly targeted, passive search traffic.
The question to ask yourself: is $100 today worth 100,000’s of highly targeted, passive individuals finding my blog through Google over months and years?
Visit Anil at Bloggers Passion to understand how much money you can make driving a high volume of targeted traffic through Google to your blog by publishing SEO-optimized, in-depth, long-form posts virtually 100% of the time. Following his blog may alert you to what you’re sacrificing over the long term for $100 payments now versus turning down the 100 bucks and writing a rich content asset that pays you exponential returns over the long haul.
I don’t want to convince you to reject sponsored post revenue but being clear on the potential problems of publishing sponsored posts frequently gives you an honest idea of the upsides and downsides of this approach.
Low Quality Content
Sponsored post content rarely delivers in-depth, detailed, high quality content.
Most sponsored posts serve as running advertisements for a business touting it wares.
Publishing low-quality content:
- damages your reputation
- injures your search engine traffic potential
- lessens your credibility
Publishing an in-depth, detailed, thorough post simultaneously promoting a business thoroughly is virtually impossible because how-to content and advertising copy are diametrically-opposed.
Earning blogging income through multiple streams depends on readers trusting you and your content. Publishing a steady volume of sponsored content may net you advertising income through that channel but erodes profits you earn through other income streams.
Free, in-depth, highly-detailed content is your most profitable blogging asset.
Readers:
- buy products
- hire you
- click ads
based on the thorough, valuable nature of your blog posts.
Receiving $150 for a 1000 word sponsored post seems like a good trade but sponsored content ages poorly because its purpose does not generate multiple streams of income. Readers tend to click the business link if the post meets their needs but few if any buy products, hire you or click on ads based on sponsored content solely because business ads do not show off your:
- knowledge
- skills
- experience
- credibility
like an SEO-optimized, 1500 word, highly practical post dripping with details does.
SEO-optimized, long-form, practical posts heavy on details potentially generate profits through multiple income channels based on the merit of the post itself. Observing your know-how through the post goads readers to buy your eBook or to hire you. Sponsored content does not show off your know-how, experience or expertise. Never mind the fact that businesses can and do dissolve for many reasons quite quickly in a world of entrepreneurial instability. Sponsored content becomes irrelevant the moment the business folds.
Potential Legal Issues
In the United States, the FTC demands full disclosure for sponsored content. Less posturing bloggers may give in to a client’s demands to publish sponsored post sans disclosure; business owners often fear that disclosing the post diminishes clicks for the blogger admits to publishing the post for pay.
Not disclosing sponsored content as a US-based blogger can lead to legal problems. Disclosing covers you legally but dramatically lessens sponsored content opportunities.
Conclusion
Make a decision based on your goals, your blog traffic sources and your reader needs.
Assessing both pros and cons gives you clarity in deciding whether or not to publish sponsored posts.
