Experiment with Paying Bloggers for Reviews... Selectively
Paying bloggers for reviews is a relatively new, somewhat controversial, and increasingly popular internet-marketing technique. Paying for a review will usually earn you a link from a popular blog, as well as attention from the blogger's audience. But keep in mind, the blogger's only obligation is to give you coverage; the review could be positive or negative.
Critics argue that paying bloggers for coverage biases their opinions. But bloggers argue that objectivity remains in their best interest because no individual review fee is worth losing their loyal readers.
Several agencies broker the relationships between organizations looking to get publicity and the bloggers who have the power to reach their intended audience:
- ReviewMe.com offers the priciest reviews, ranging from $40-$500 each. Reviews must be at least 200 words long. Bloggers are required to display a disclaimer stating that their blog post is a paid review. ReviewMe.com does not require bloggers to link to your website, although most will. Helpful statistics are provided about each blogger so that you can determine whether a review would be worth the fee.
- PayPerPost.com allows advertisers to set their own terms. You can place an offer on PayPerPost's marketplace that specifies the review fee you are willing to pay, the text links you would like bloggers to use, and any other specifications. Interested bloggers may choose to do a review after agreeing to your requirements.
- Blogsvertise.com guarantees three inbound links for every review you purchase. Review fees vary from $4 to $50 each. Bloggers are permitted to write whatever they like about your organization, using at least 60 words. You may select the bloggers yourself, or leave that up to Blogsvertise's editors for a flat fee of $20 per blog. Although the bloggers must link to your website three times in each review, they are not required to use particular keyphrases or text links.
Paying for reviews is a fast way to get inbound referral links without the time and frustration involved in wooing bloggers the old fashioned way (with product samples and friendly emails).
However, if you decide to experiment with paying for reviews, be very selective. The inbound link benefit alone is often not enough to warrant most review fees, so evaluate the blogger's site statistics carefully to ensure that their audience and subscribers are large enough to make the advertising investment worthwhile.
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