An age old blogging question is rearing its head again following the news that web start up, Flattr has launched the first ever 'pay a blogger day' on November 29th.
I realise this may cause some controversy in the old 'blogosphere', but should bloggers be paid?
I'll be honest, as a blogger myself I've accepted paid-for adverts on my site, as well as signing up to various ad networks. I'm of the opinion that blogging, while it is undoubtedly a very fun hobby, is also a job in itself.
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| Picture credit: We Heart It |
And while I don't devote anywhere near as many hours to my blog as some do, I still spend a fair amount of time researching, writing, editing, sourcing and taking pictures for ALTH. And 9 times out of 10 I'll do a full day at work before coming home, switching on my laptop and updating my blog.
Being paid is undoubtedly a nice bonus to doing something we love, but should we receive income - however small - for blogging? After all, as the above article states, people are reading our content for free.
What do you think? I realise everyone will have their own thoughts on this, but I don't think it should be a touchy subject and I'd love to hear your views.
Personally I dont think bloggers should expect to get paid.
ReplyDeleteit was your choice at the end of the day to start a blog (which I throughly enjoy reading btw, to take the time out of your day to do something you enjoy, write about something you love.
If you are to get an opportunity to earn money whilst doing this this that you love then great. For example if I was sent something to review (for free) and I wouldn't review it because I wasn't getting paid to do it - that kind of defeats the purpose of being a 'blogger' doesn't it?
If people are willing to donate money to bloggers, as that news article suggests they might be, and might therefore be contributing to the aspiring writer's career or some shiz, I don't see the problem.
ReplyDeleteWhen bloggers are sent free things (paid in freebies), paid to mention something, etc, I think that's also fine. As long as there is 100% honesty about the nature of it. I don't think it shouldn't be allowed and I'm not against it.
Personally, however, the sight of adverts (if garish, irrelevant and numerous) on a blog, can just work to the detriment of the blogger. I think the affiliations can often dent the blogger's trustworthy image. It's a fact. It becomes a question of: Are you one of us; or one of them? And, sometimes it just puts me off reading altogether - I come to Blogger and check out my reading list as a form of escapism, and I can't really escape if I'm being attacked by the heavy commercialisation I get violated by during the day. You need to appear as an independent, strong-minded and interesting individual, not a bizarre and murky collage of all the companies that dart around the margins of your life and your blog. So whilst I'm not against getting paid in various forms for various purposes or people wishing to make money from advertisements, I guess there are these psychological repercussions to bear in mind.
I'm not sure how relevant this actually is to your post now, but I've been thinking about it a bit during my excessive blogosphere browsing! xx
I think getting paid for adverts and the like is perfectly well within a blogger's rights. It's their space so to speak, so they can do what they wish with it. However, as Amy pointed out, having a page full of mostly ads, and little content, will often dissuade visitors from following a blog, much less returning for later posts.
ReplyDeleteI also see a problem with bloggers who start a blog for this sole purpose. If people want to feed into this, that's their choice, but I personally stop following blogs that get to bent to companies and advertising. In fact, I will stop following if a post seems too scripted or ingenuous. I just don't like being told it's their unbiased opinion if it's actually being propelled by a paycheck.
Hmm, I'm on the fence a bit. I started my blog because I liked doing it, I spent time and effort on it as you would any hobby. And that's what blogging is to me reall, a hobby and something I enjoy doing. However, I do have paid ads and have received samples/payment for posts before - I see it as a nice little Brucie bonus (and it's not even enough to keep me in mascara what I make) but it isn't the sole reason why I write my blog and I'd keep doing it even if there was no money in it whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteI also wouldn't promote or advertise anything I wouldn't/haven't use/d myself (hence the affiliate marketing rather than using Adsense or whatever that just advertises anything) and I think it's pretty obvious when someone is just writing/blogging for freebies or to make some cash. I think as well, to come to blogs - at least fashion and beauty blogs - to get away from commercialism is a bit redundant as it's all about shiny things and "ooh look what I bought/look what you can buy/don't you want this?"
I get why people get annoyed when they're asked to write specific content for free to promote a product, but if you want paid then don't do it. The whole writing world is based on freebies, internships and work experience so chances are someone WILL do it for free. And the more established you are, the more income starts to come in. It's like starting at the bottom of an office junior and ending up the big boss.
ps. My hourly rate for commenting on blog posts is £100....you owe me about a fiver here :-)
I'm a full-time magazine journo and started my blog to write about all the stuff I like and no-one would pay me to cover. I don't think people would pay for my blog! That said, if people want to blog and be paid for it, and for it to be their profession, I have no problem with that. The blog is a medium, just like print or music, and some people will want to be paid for it, some will want to distribute for free and make money off adverts and some will do it for free. It's their choice.
ReplyDeleteI think market forces should dictate whether bloggers get paid. If you are providing incredibly useful content then you might get away with charging people to read it (however this won't apply for most). I get paid through advertising but whether and how much you will get paid for this depends on how much traffic/ sales you will drive. If you are able to provide something useful to brands/ retailers then yes you should get paid. But even so, they will try and get this for free if they can. I guess as with any business, it is up to each individual to put a policy/pricing structure in place to try and get paid what they think they are worth.
ReplyDeleteIt's a personal choice I think. Personally, I enjoy reading blogs for the very reason that they are not being paid to review productsor have a million adverts everywhere. I like the fact that I can read and share opinions about things that I love.
ReplyDeleteHowever, a few well chosen adverts on your blog can also help to give readers a sense of who you are and what your all about. And,as long as the adverts are relevant to the content of the blog, I do like being directed to new places to shop! Especially if they sell cheap,fashionable clothes and make up!!
xx
http://myprettymummy.blogspot.com
I think there's a difference between putting ads on your site and being paid to give something a good review. I think perhaps blog readers are worried that the lines will be blurred and maybe the reviews won't be honest. What is lovely about bloggers is that they are just real people writing about things honestly.
ReplyDeleteI think people are overly tetchy about the whole thing because they are probably worried this will get lost.
If my blog became popular enough, I would place ads on my site, for the reasons you gave above. It takes a lot of time to write a post and content is there for free for the readers. Why shouldn't a blogger receive a bit of compensation?