Blog Training and How-To Guide for Business Blogging

I published a review of Bingr at Business Blog Wire as that sponsored post I told you about.  The posting process went well, although I can't say I didn't worry about what to say.  I wanted to make sure that my readers knew that Know More Media was getting paid via ReviewMe for me to write the review, and also that I could say whatever I wanted (I wasn't required to say only positive things).

The post is kind of a pilot test for our network as we open the doors for our authors to do similar sponsored posts from time to time.  I hope it set a good precedent!

At first I was very wary of what might happen, but as I got into the writing of the post I realized that it was a completely fair and honest way to do business.  Someone wanted to promote their service, and we were willing to talk about them for a reasonable fee and in a setting where the discussion would be relevant and open.

Ben Yoskovitz is right: blog sponsorship can be a powerful way to make money online.  Yeah, you don't want to go to the extreme that Jim Turner pokes fun at, because then you would lose your blog's focus and usefulness in a sea of irrelevant advertising.  Robyn Tippins offers three excellent rules for publishing sponsored blog posts (disclosure, sincerity, relevance).

I think we'll see a lot of evolution of blog monetization over the next few months and years.  Models will grow more and more complex and varied, and networks of all kinds will work to connect people and businesses.  Let's all keep our eyes open as we read and write and publish in this new era of the nearly all-pervasive Web.

Do you think sponsored posts are good or bad - or, under what circumstances do you think writing sponsored blog posts is ethical or unethical?