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ReviewMe – Another Controversial Income Stream?

Review MeDisclosure: This is a review of ReviewMe and yes, I am being paid to write this (a whole $30). I was going to write about this service anyway, but I thought I might as well get paid to do so. Only a true entrepreneur would capitalize on this chance, and the opportunity to win $25,000 – so please value my honesty in telling you what Im being paid, and bear in mind that I’ll always tell you if Im being paid to write a post – it will happen only once in a blue moon.

This week yet another income stream was announced to bloggers and entrepreneurs across the world. It’s called ReviewMe and is owned by creators of Text Link Ads, Andy Hagans. Whilst I totally love TLA, Im not sure whether this idea is going to kick off. Here’s why:

A while back a similar service was launched called PayPerPost. In short it caused an amazing amount of controversy as the idea (like ReviewMe), was to get paid to write a blog post. At first, you didnt have to necessarily disclose that the post was a blatant advert, however more recently DisclosurePolicy was launched to help PayPerPost users spread the word more about being paid to advertise.

The main problem with this type of monetization is the obvious bias posts will have. If you’re getting paid to post, then you’re more likely to say positive things about the site or product you’re reviewing. In effect this will make your post sound less credible and will in turn cause your blog to sound less powerful if worded in the wrong way.

ReviewMe has also gone down the path of PPP by offering Bloggers to “Get paid to review services and Web sites that are of interest to your readers, and reap the benefits of conversation with advertisers” and by allowing Advertisers to “Get your service or Web site reviewed by bloggers, gaining your site traffic, invaluable feedback, and word of mouth buzz.

The main difference that this service assumes is that bloggers must tell their readers that they are being paid to post (just like I have done at the top of this post). While this may put off new readers, it would help clear the air of confusion and mystery around the post. Also ReviewMe states that you don’t have to give a good review necessarily. This should make honesty and bias less of a factor hopefully.

But will it still cause controversy? Of course it will. Many bloggers simply don’t believe in being paid to post as writers will still tend to be biased towards the advertiser for giving them a chance to get money.

And will the advertising be effective? If the reviews are displayed to a blog with relatively high amounts of traffic, good RSS subscribership and a friendly audience then the ads should work out well. But be prepared to face the music as a blogger or advertiser as people’s minds have been swayed after the PPP fiasco.

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