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Blogging For Dollar$ — Part One

So, it’s been two weeks (13 days) since I signed on to paid blogging.  Am I rich yet? No.  However …

My very first Sponsored Conversation (that’s what the advertisers call the posts they pay for when they Advertise On Blogs) was about PayPerPost v4.0 (PPP), so you’d all know what I was up to.  That ad, and most of the others I have taken, are Cost Per Click (CPC) campaigns.  That means I get a set amount for every viable click.  I received two viable  $0.27 clicks and earned a whole $0.54 for them.  (In order for a click to be viable, the reader has to actually scroll through the site and spend however many seconds it has been determined it would take to actually read the offer.)

It didn’t take me but that one ad to figure out a person could wait a long time for a decent paycheck doing things that way and it would be a long time before I could afford my dream ROKU Digital Video Player, let alone one of those Typically Swiss Hotels, so I wrote a few paid posts.  A paid post is where the advertiser says, “Okay, I want you to write about XYZ at the set rate of $7.00 plus a penny per word for 200 words”;  which means they’re offering you $9.00 to write their post and they expect it to have at least 200 words.  To date I have written $32.25 worth of ads for Pay Per Post.

The PPP service offers only paid posts.  The payout is in whole dollar amounts rather than nickels and dimes.  That’s a good thing.  Plus, the writer has control over setting his or her own base price, which is another good thing — sort of.  You see, at PPP, advertisers are shopping for writers.  If they like your blog and your writing style, they contact you through your PPP dashboard — providing they don’t like someone else just as well who’s cheaper.  After you’ve been contacted, you have 3 days to write the post and contact the advertiser.  The advertiser then has three days to review the post.  If the post fits all advertiser criteria (listed up front on the ad) then it passes inspection and goes into the pay pending queue.

If the post does not pass inspection — this hasn’t happened to me yet — the advertiser must give an explanation of what needs to be fixed.  The blogger then has 3 days to comply.  Once the post is fixed as requested, then the agreed upon dollar amount goes into the pay pending queue.  If the advertiser and the blogger cannot come to terms over the post, moderation — under set criteria — is provided by PPP.  This is a rare thing.  PPP has proven procedures which help advertisers and bloggers come to terms before the post is written.  PPP also keeps stats which both bloggers and advertisers can use to judge the other’s reliability.

On the not so plus side, if a blogger does not write every PPP article he or she is offered, the refusal counts against his or her credibility (as far as the advertisers are concerned).  However, my first concern is for my readers.  I will not write a post for a product just to get money.  If the product isn’t something I would be willing to use or think my readers might be interested in, I won’t accept the offer.  (I have my ratings set to “no adult content” so I won’t even receive ad offers that aren’t suitable for a general audience.)  I have turned down two offers — not because I didn’t approve them, but because I received too many at once and I do want there to still be some ME here, or I know there won’t be any YOU!

Also on the not so plus side, there’s the pay pending queue:  PPP doesn’t pay out until earnings reach $50.00 and the post has been up — all links functional — for 30 days (which means they wish the posts to be permanent).  It means, among other things, your first payday is 30+ days out.  So I figure it’s going to be awhile before I can take advantage of any of those hot stock picks!

Stay Tuned for Part Two — Tweeting For Dollars
and
Part Three — Sparking For Dollars

DO NOT go to O’Ceallaigh & The Quill and read Amoeba’s takes on my paid blogging! The Delphic Keyboard or Dude & Dude: Post Office

This was a paid post.  The links were removed on 10.12.09

Code Of Ethics

21 Comments

  1. you really need to learn the open in new window html command so people can click those links and not loose your blog page too…

    1. Doug — I have yet to work out the dollars per hour, but at this point I think it is pennies per hour. I spend a lot of time reading “how-to” and FAQ pages. However, knowledge, if used properly, generally pays for itself.

      1. Sure, but I have to think you can write 200 words in 10 minutes. Pennies per hour is in line with what I was expecting (due to the commercial value of blogging, not your much more valuable talent.)
        .-= Doug´s last blog ..The Reformation of Wolfshausen =-.

    1. Dr. John — less competition for me!

      Seriously, don’t click on any links you aren’t interested in, and don’t worry, you’ll still find plenty of me between the posts!

  5. Well, it’s not a bad amount, but like you say, you spent a lot of time researching stuff.
    I think, I stick with making my cards and gifts.
    It’s only nickles and dimes too, but at least I don’t have to wreck my brain, trying to make a paid post still look good 🙂
    Best wishes for great results!!
    .-= Nicole´s last blog ..The forest is mine, said the tree =-.

    1. Nicole — yes, but my research isn’t for the posts, it is for my own knowledge. I likely would have spent that time anyway had I decided against doing the paid blogging, because I needed that info to decide.

  6. This seems like a awful lot of work. I know I don’t have the patience to do this, but I I am sure you will be successful at it. It always seems like a long time before the first cheque comes in.
    .-= Bill´s last blog ..To My Friends =-.

    1. Bill — it really isn’t hard — except for the learning. And yeah, there won’t be any “get rich quick” or even “pay the rent with this” type of paycheck for me, but that does have to do with how much effort I’m willing to expend.

  7. I read once on a couple’s blog that they gave up their jobs because they made enough money with blogging. They were talking about 2000 $ per months. Now this was 3 years ago and I didn’t even know that you could earn money with blogging, lol ! what you write doesn’t sound as 2000 $ per month lol !
    Google asked me to put an ad on my blog which I did, and there I am payed according the clicks. Apparently there are not so many clicks because I am far from 1000 $ !
    But that’s all I do, except when a company asks me to put their link discretely in my sidebar and pay 200 € for that. Always family friendly of course !
    If you have an answer to my comment, plse email, I never come back to the same post, that takes too much time. (I see it’s like a forum on your blog)
    .-= Gattina´s last blog .. =-.

  8. Well, it does sound like you COULD make a bit more than I expected… but I don’t think a body is ever going to support oneself doing this… I would say more like a little extra “play money”… which is always a good thing. (just not for MY blog!) Like Dr. John, I will be LESS competition for you!
    .-= Melli´s last blog ..Life’s a Beach! =-.

  9. Melli — there are people who support themselves doing this, but I bet they work a lot harder than I want to! AND it takes time to set it up – -like two or three years. I’ll probably find a job before then and run out of time. :p

  10. Pingback: Quintessentially Quilly » Blogging For Dollar$ — Part Two

  11. That’s still less than the $100 Google AdSense takes before they cut you a check. Congrats on your new enterprise. I like how you are tinkering with the system to make it work for you. On the other hand, adult ads really bring in the money, right? (Or so I’m told.)

    And I should’ve spent more time on that other post. I’ll read slower next time.
    .-= Capsun (@exbor)´s last blog ..3 More Chances to Meet Neil Abercrombie =-.

  12. Pingback: Quintessentially Quilly » Blogging for Dollar$ — Part Three

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