New Pay Per Post feature - PPP Direct

I think everyone knows that I've been a big proponent of several online "pay to blog" services. So long as we're honest about what we do, and only take jobs which we feel are appropriate and that we can ethically promote, I see no reason why the independent blog owner shouldn't be able to make money blogging.

That's why I'm so pleased (tickled, really) about the newest feature added to PayPerPost. PPP Direct allows advertisers to contact small blog owners directly and request an article with that blogger - and allows both sides to negotiate on prices, article size, tone (I only take neutral opportunities, myself - if your service isn't good enough for me to WANT to write positively about it, then why even begin?) until an agreement is reached.

Obviously this is great for independent small bloggers - now we have a vehicle to manage and negotiate directly with advertisers. We can build relationships, one on one, with companies that we like; and advertisers can really decide what blogs they want to work with (not just have a "basket" of random blogs). It gives us a sort of "advertising escrow service" which provides us both some safety and structure over the whole negotiations process.

But it's great for advertisers as well, because PPP Direct cuts out a lot of the overhead other blog advertising services use. Many companies charge a 50%-100% markup on these posts - so if you want to pay a blogger $25, you're going to have to spend $50 on the post (ouch!) But if you use PPP Direct, there's a 10% fee (5% of which covers their credit card processing fees) so for that same $25 post you'd spend $27.50. That's a REALLY good deal and allows advertisers to spend more money on the blogger, for higher quality posts.

Of course, this isn't the only new feature the latest release has added. It is, however, one of the nicest I've seen in a while. The availability of PPP Direct means that I can maintain my standards when it comes to selecting opportunities, and still be able to pay my costs. Which is nice, because lately I hadn't been able to find as much that interested me - now I'm excited about personal opportunities that will really "fit" the style and mood of my blog. So if you're interested in me writing about you - just click that "Hire Me!" button on the right and let's talk :)

So you want to earn money blogging...

...but you're not comfortable writing 'sponsored posts'? Maybe you serve a very narrow niche (for example, my fella writes about movie serials - not exactly a huge audience!) and just want to stick to one topic, so you're afraid that there won't be any good post opportunities for you. After all, there has been controversy surrounding the ethics blogging for pay (even though last time I checked, we all had to eat and pay bills.) One reason I chose PayPerPost was because they have been at the forefront of ethical sponsored blogging - they require disclosure on the blogs that use them so you always know whether you're reading a sponsored post or not, and PayPerPost is selective in the blogs they accept.

Well then, PayPerPost has a new program that's right up your alley! The 'review my post' program helps you increase blog traffic and get paid for writing anything you want! Yup, as in ANYTHING. Here's how it works:

You put a badge like this one at the end of your post:



Maybe your article is about the classic Disney serial 'The Adventures of Spin and Marty'. When you include the 'Review this Post' button at the end of your post, PayPerPost will create a custom paid posting opportunity to write about your post. And if they sign up? You'll get $7.50 - and they'll get paid $7.50 for writing about you. Better yet, you'll get more in links and more traffic, helping your blog become even more successful.

I was a bit skeptical at first but it really does seem to be a win/win situation. More traffic for me, a nice payout for me, and a nice payout for people who sign up to try the service. Why not drop in and check it out?

PayPerPost now offering blogger segmentation

You're probably saying at this point, "Huh? So what, and what is segmentation anyway?" Well it's a good thing - good for bloggers, good for advertisers and good for my wallet :) What it basically means is, if you have a high traffic blog, you're going to get paid more for posting! Rather than $5 or $10 for taking an opportunity, you could get paid in the hundreds (in fact, one opportunity was listed at $1000! Can you imagine?) And since every blog now requires disclosure, you're not going to be misleading your audience and that's important to me - I don't write about ANYTHING I don't like.

So whether you're a low traffic blogger who needs to make money blogging to pay the hosting bill, or a big name blogger who is used to a bit more cash for your opinions, PayPerPost has you covered.

In fact I've been considering signing up with them as an advertiser - since in addition to this blog I also do web design for a living, it only makes sense for me to be able to promote web sites I build, and the service fee is a lot lower than similar 'blog post promotion' programs out there. For example, ReviewMe charges advertisers a 100% markup on every post (Ouch!) where PayPerPost is a much lower and more reasonable 35%. That means more money goes into my pocket, which is a VERY good thing.