Get Paid To Blog
Thursday, May 31st, 2007
Too good to be true you say? That’s what I thought initially too. Just another one of those “get rich quick” scams that we have all become accustomed to on the internet is what I thought. But then I started to see these graphics showing up in some established blogs and I decided it was worth at least checking into.
I’ve been on line for what seems like forever, well actually only since 1996, but that’s like 100 years in internet time. Anyway, I’ve seen just about every conceivable scam, con or fraud at least two dozen times each. So I’ve come up with a quick checklist of red flags to check for.
- What’s the upfront cost?
A good tip off is when they ask for a fee to get their marketing material or access to their super secret members only website. I always look for the cost first. I looked and found no where on the PayPerPost.com site that request money from bloggers anywhere.
- So easy a caveman could do it.
You’ve seen the pitch. It’s the same as the late night infomercials. Just a few hours a week and you can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars. If it was THAT easy and ANYONE could do it then NOBODY will be making that kind of money for long if at all. Looking at PayPerPost.com it’s very evident that in order to get paid, certain standards and qualifications must be met. Don’t start a blog today and expect to be paid tomorrow. Your blog must be at least 90 days old without any breaks of more than 30 days to even be considered. Your writing must also meet the standards and approval of the paying sponsor. So get your blog and start posting today.
- No payments until you earn X dollars.
The way this one works is you have to build up so much money in your account before they give you YOUR money. Now some legitmate companies, do that for legitimate reasons, but if you’re doing your job then you should get your money. PayPerPost.com pays by PayPal.com thirty days after your sponsored post is published.
- No public forum or online help.
One of the best ways to evaluate an online company is to vist their forums or test their help desk. What I found at PayPerPost.com is a very active community of ‘Posties’ (that’s what they are called) with a very involved and supportive staff. I was a little disappointed in the speed of the response of my trouble ticket, (2 days for a non-critical response) it was still quicker than most, it was courteous and complete.
- No or limited ways to contact.
In general I’ve seen that the more information online businesses are willing to give for people to contact them, the more trustworthy and reliable they are. PayPerPost.com doesn’t rank high in this regard. They do give a snail mail address which is a plus, but I couldn’t find a phone, fax or even email address other than on the Press Contact page for their PR agency. But given the other positves or lack of other red flags, this isn’t a huge concern even though I would prefer more ways to contact them.
No major red flag items, so now it’s time to see how I can make money.
The primary way is by posting about different products, services, companies or web sites. These are presented as ‘opportunities’ that detail the price and terms of the job. In addition to the basic requirements required for your blog to be accepted their may be additional qualifications that are spelled out in the opportunity. They pay anything from $5 to $300 for 100 to 300 words. Unfortunately, I’m one of those that is going to have to wait until my blog meets the 90 days without a 30 day break before my blog will qualify. So what to do in the mean time? I’m glad you asked.
- Referal Program
Earn $15 dollars by referring a blogger when the first blog posting is reviewed, approved and then finally accepted 30 days later. So yes, all those links to PayPerPost.com above include my affiliate link.
- Review My Post Program.
I absolutely LOVE this one. When someone clicks on this badge and signs up with PayPerPost, a special opportunity is created JUST FOR THEM! The $7.50 opportunity asks them to write a post in their blog reviewing a post on YOUR blog.
- Host Sign up forms on your web site.
You can allow visitors to your blog to sign up to be ‘Postie’ right using a form from your site and earn the $15 dollar referral fee or $25 for referring Advertisers.
- PayPerPost Direct
This is something unique to PayPerPost.com as far as I know. Using their system they act as an escrow company of sorts between you and your sponsor. You post a link like Hire Me via PayPerPost Direct! or one of the graphics like one to the right. You set your minimum price.
Advertisers that come across your blog and love what you do can then click on the image in your blog and create an opportunity just for you. You’ll get an email with the opportunity details and offer amount and can then log into PayPerPost.com to actually negotiate terms with the advertiser to get the very best deal for you both.
So what’s not to like about the deal? If you are spending any amount of time online and are interested in blogging what could be better than getting paid for what you enjoy and would do for free anyway. If nothing else, it will motivate you to post to your blog more regularly. How many times have you said to yourself or to others “I’m going to post every day” only to have life rudely interupt those plans. Now your blog will get the attention it deserves from you. Or when your significant other asks what you are doing online “All the time” you will be able to honestly say “I’m working”.
You can start right now by clicking on this image and getting paid.