It takes a lot to make me spontaneously burst into tears. Last Friday, I had to get up and leave the State of the Momosphere session at BlogHer because I felt the tears coming, and come they did, before I even left the room. Why? Because when I feel as passionate about something as I do about this topic, it hurts me to hear it put down by people who don’t have actual experience with it at all. That’s right, I’m talking about PayPerPost. PayPerPost was the only paid blogging site invited to be a sponsor at BlogHer ‘07, and do you know why? To paraphrase Lisa Stone, it’s because they are the only one who pays bloggers what they are worth, pays them on time, provides excellent customer support, and provides exceptional community support. But the words PayPerPost spoken at BlogHer were the equivalent of admitting that you enjoy poking yourself in the eyes with sharp needles. The topic of monetization was brought up at the session, and the moderator (Jory Des Jardins, one of the BlogHer founders) asked a question along the lines of “so, what shouldn’t you do for money?” Chris Jordan-a blogger whom I feel a friendship with and whose writing I really enjoy-said “you shouldn’t write for PayPerPost!”. I felt like I had been stabbed in the chest. I turned around in my seat because I knew my roommate Liz was standing behind me, and I just looked at her, and she looked at me, and then I turned back around, folded my hands, and concentrated on breathing deeply. Meanwhile, the session was continuing with more discussion about how bloggers of color do not generally get approached to place ads or write reviews, and a woman standing behind me made a joke about how she would be happy to accept laundry detergent. Jory asked something along the lines of “what products wouldn’t you accept?” and someone yelled out “Swiffers!” It’s well-known here on this blog that I got started writing product reviews after I wrote a post titled “I Love Swiffer, yes I do”, and was contacted by a P.R. firm in nearby Ann Arbor who was doing an online campaign for a new design of the Swiffer Sweeper. They asked me if they could send me one in exchange for my writing about it on my blog, and I was thrilled. Someone read something I wrote, and liked it enough to want to hear my opinion on something else? That was pretty damn cool. So. I’m already feeling the pressure of three months of trying not to apologize for becoming a paid blogger- actually, the term at BlogHer was “professional blogger”, then I’m hearing someone make a negative comment about them. Because I had been to Speaker Training, I knew that the “rules” for panel discussions said that if someone made a negative comment, the moderator was supposed to ask for the opposite opinion. Hands were flying up all over the room and I was in the very back, and it wasn’t likely that I was going to be able to get called on. The discussion was continuing, and I was sitting there feeling this big bubble of emotion rising in my chest, and I suddenly knew I had to get up and go call my husband. I was walking to the door and the wonderful Busy Mom was standing there, and she asked me if I was okay. As soon as I opened my mouth to say “no, and I need to call my husband”, the tears burst forth. I walked out into the hallway and started shaking with sobs. And then I got his voicemail and had to leave him a sobby message, which just made him worry. I walked down into the Sponsors Exhibit Hall, and Liz called me and said “stay right there, we’re coming to you”. Having her and Dana want to come find me and make sure I was okay made me feel so much better. They wanted me to go right back and talk to Jory, but she had already left. I was able to speak to Lisa Stone on Saturday, and that’s when she reminded me that Chris had the right to her opinion, and that panelists are free to speak on any subject related to their session, and I totally agree. I’m not angry with Chris Jordan, if she doesn’t like PayPerPost, that is her opinion. What upset me is that the comment was made, and about a sponsor no less, and no one stood up and made a positive comment in response. Including me. I wish I had just jumped up and said “hey, wait a minute”, but I couldn’t. Liz from Mom-101 also mentioned PayPerPost in her panel session on Saturday, and here’s what I think bloggers at her level don’t understand- she might be selling BlogAds, she might be getting paid for focus groups, and to write on other sites, but bloggers at my level generally are not. In a year, I might be at that level and then I might not be writing for PayPerPost any more, I don’t know. But to say that I am devaluing myself as a blogger because I will take $15.00 to write 200 words is just plain wrong in my opinion. I am not so high up in the Blogosphere that I can say no to $15.00. In a post today, Liz mentions getting small items in exchange for reviews, like when Hass MS&L sent me a free roll of Bounty Paper Towel when they were doing the One-sheet challenge. I had a LOT of fun writing that paper towel review over on MomReviews, and I always need paper towel. Plus, sometimes it’s paper towel, and sometimes it’s a free 10.5 inch portable DVD player. You take the reviews for the products that interest you, and you say no thank you to the ones that don’t. Also, no one was saying anything about Parent Blogger Network, for whom I also work, and that probably would have made me cry too! Those are free samples, although there is often compensation in the form of cash or an Amazon gift certificate as well, for which I am VERY GRATEFUL. I have bought CDs, DVDs, and a cool Dora the Explorer toy for Kaitlyn with my PBN money. I LIKE doing reviews, and I LIKE getting stuff in exchange! That being said, I did do a lot of hard thinking this weekend about what kinds of reviews I will do. To raise the money I needed for BlogHer, I pretty much took any opp I could get through PayPerPost as long as it paid well (by “well”, I mean it paid $8-$20). I wrote about whatever the topic was, and I did it for the money. After spending a lot of time at BlogHer talking to two of PPP’s sales directors, Joe Vaughn and Robb Leeland, I realized that PPP doesn’t WANT me to take opps just for the money. When they say “Get Paid to blog about the Things You Love”, they mean it. They want you to only take the opps that are for something you think your readers will want to learn more about. With that in mind, I will be trying to only take opps that relate to parenting and to helping us all with our blogging. That’s not to say that you might not see something different once in a while, but I am definitely NOT too good to take a $25.00 opp or more, that is a LOT of money in our household. I also cried Saturday night when I found out that I had missed getting my photo taken with Elizabeth Edwards at the cocktail party. She had to leave to catch a plane while I was sitting in the shuttle bus on Illinois Ave, stuck in traffic. I had run back to the hotel to drop off the twenty million tons of sponsor gifts I was carrying, and I thought it would be a quick trip there and back. I was wrong. Her assistant Tracy said to me “oh, she wanted to meet you!”, and I burst into tears. Again. Next year, I’m skipping the Mommyblogger session, and shipping all the sponsor stuff home via Fedex. There’s only so much stress I can handle.
Chris, on her personal site, made a valid reason for why she doesn’t like PPP. She, like many of us, believe that our writing is worth more than what many of these sites are paying.
I understand the need to get paid (really, I do) but shilling out for a product you don’t know much about seems a bit like increasing their Google rankings. I’d be interested to know how much these “advertising” people pay for other forms of advertising. I’m sure it is much more than you are making.
In regards to Swiffer, there’s no way that ALL the women in that room knew you blogged about swiffer once. Come on, think of the rationality of that! It is as if you say “well, I prefer blogs with blue headers” and I get upset because mine is not blue.
Just because someone is a paid sponsor doesn’t mean that we don’t have the right to speak our minds, our truth. (Note I said “our truth.” We each have a different truth.) I heard many say that they thought some of the pins handed out by Butterball (I think that’s who it was) were in bad taste. Not being able to say something because someone is a “paid sponsor” means that the honesty in those sessions wouldn’t happen.
To me, paid sponsor means they pay money to help make the conference for just a different form of “advertising.” Just, instead of ads on TV or in a magazine, it is in person advertising.
I don’t have ads on my blog yet I didn’t cry when people went on and on about putting ads on and making money. Because, as I said, what works for them does not work for me. Their truth is different.
I feel that this has gone from an anthill to a mountain.
SJ- I absolutely agree with you that my writing NOW is worth more than it was when I started with PayPerPost, which is why I no longer accept a job to write 200 words for $5.00. But back when we were so broke that we had maxed out our credit card just to buy groceries, there was no one else offering me $60.00 a week to write anything.
As I said in the post, I am not saying that everyone should have been upset. I’m not even saying that I should have been upset! The panel sessions were meant for open discussion of all view points, and I’m unhappy with myself for letting a comment that wasn’t even directed at me make me so upset that I couldn’t raise my hand and offer a different opinion. If someone had said “Don’t use Google, they suck”, I would have hoped that someone else would have had a chance to say why they do like Google, that’s all I’m saying. Point, counterpoint. It was a missed opportunity on my part.
I appreciate you reading the whole post and leaving a comment. We met only briefly while waiting for the shuttle bus, but I have known of you and your blog for some time. You are very talented.
I wish someone out there would take me seriously, take my writing skills seriously, and hire me to do some real writing that provides value to the Internets as a whole. I certainly hope that day comes soon.
I wasn’t at that session. And I am glad I wasn’t. I got the feeling that people left unfulfilled, angry, and sad.
I definitely have mixed feelings. After all, I do Parent Blogger Network reviews and have been very happy with the products that I have reviewed. But even so, I wonder if my opinion is taken seriously. I usually bore of reviews written by others, so I understand why mine get zero comments! If I am interested in a particular product, however, I’ll definitely seek out another blogger’s opinion via their review.
Kari- And wasn’t it interesting that no one was or is now complaining about Parent Blogger Network? How is a free package of Nozin NASAL SWABS any different than a free roll of paper towel? Ooooh, that is such a good point!! I’m adding it to the post right now.
I attended your wordpress workshop with Vicki and loved it!
Thank you so much for your generosity of spirit.
Michelle- I’m so glad you got in touch with me! It was a thrill to lead that lab session, truly. I had no idea I could teach people to create blogs, and it was so exciting to see it happening! If you are in touch with Vicki, please tell her I would love to her from her, I want to help her get her Wordpress blog going when she is ready. And if you decide to leave Blogger, let me know
Great to meet you!
(((HUGS))) I think you’re an awesome individual! Bursting out in tears just shows what a passionate person you are. PPP is lucky to have you as one of their faithful!
Wow! Certainly, anyone should put a great value on your works. You’re such a priceless writer! Keep it up!
Don’t let that stuff get to you. People are always going to be out there who have differing opinions. As long as you are comfortable with what you do and how you do it, that is all that matters.
Keep your head up, keep a big smile on your face, and review whatever you want to review.
If people don’t like it, they don’t have to read it.
Leigh- Thank you for your support, fellow Postie! But my readers have a point, writing about drug rehab and student loan consolidation is taking away from what made this blog unique in the first place. I still need to earn enough to get to BlogWorld in November, but I can be more smart about it.
You know what would really help? If everyone would search Google for MomReviews! I desperately need PageRank on it.
Full disclosure: in case anyone doesn’t already know, I am one of those marketing/pr types. And a mom.
There is nothing wrong with paid reviews, as long as there is disclosure. And it’s nothing new to the blogosphere — existed way before blogging. Difference is, more people can now participate and that can be a very good thing.
IMO, the main problem with PayPerPost is that it just doesn’t pay writers enough for their work. As a result, in general, the quality of what clients get for their money is pretty spotty, usually superficial and probably doesn’t do what they thought it would for their brands. And not just in the momosphere.
Elizabeth, you plan on taking a different approach, and make sure that the assignments you take fit organically with your blog. I respect you for making your decision and sticking to your guns. I just wish PPP was paying you more for the higher caliber work you intend to do for them.
I’m going to write some more about this on my marketing blog later this week, so won’t bore everyone with more marketing biz analysis here.
If you’re interested in other paid blogging ops, they are out there. While some people have the company come to them, most have to market themselves to get the job. I did.
If you’re interested in that, there are spots. Just have to look and be persistent.
I make no apologies for who I am, what I write and what I do or don’t get paid for. I don’t judge people on what they make on their “real” job, nor would I make them feel bad about what they make so why do it about people’s “blogging job”. It’s a personal decision and that’s why I only dropped in and out of the Momosphere session. I love hearing different opinions but that’s all they are…opinions. The only that really matters is what works for me.
I wish I’d had more time to visit with you!
I’ve posted a few times for PayPerPost. While I do not use it as a means to pay my mortage, I do use it to help with the little extras in life. If you were working a part-time minimum wage job you would be making, well here in the state of Indiana, $5.75 per hour. To be honest these posts only take maybe an hour or two of my time at the most. So all it all it averages out to me. Don’t take it personally what Chris said, I think she was just expressing her veiwpoint on the site. Wish I could have been there to give you a little nudge to stand up and express your’s.
I agree with Sarcastic Journalist. Just keep searching and you’ll find better. Stay strong and you’ll do fine!
Marrakech- Thank you for the compliment
But honestly, this is NOT my best writing. I can do so much better.
RWA- I’m afraid that I’ve never going to be good at letting stuff go. My skin is not very thick. But my readers here are right, what made Table for Five it’s own unique blog was the way I wrote about things, the stories I told, and I have stopped doing that. I was writing non-paid posts just because I was required to, and not because I had something interesting to say. I’m lucky that my blog readers care enough about me to tell me that they miss the “old” me, instead of just leaving and never coming back. You’ll be seeing a big change around here, I’ll tell you that much.
Susan- It’s not that PPP doesn’t pay it’s bloggers enough, because they don’t pay us, the advertisers do. And the advertisers would rather create a campaign where they pay 100 bloggers $5.00 each rather than two $250.00 campaigns. I don’t know why, because the level of blogger that would qualify for the $250.00 would generally be a much better writer with a wider reach of audience.
For example, right now an advertiser called SquareTrade is offering $235.00 for 300 words, plus links and an image, to a blogger who writes about consumer electronics, has a Page Rank of 6, and an Alexa of no more than 9,999. And there is at least two of those jobs available, because it still shows up and someone has already rated it. But mostly, it’s $5.00 jobs that are listed.
Also, what dilutes the quality of the writing is that you can take 2 jobs (or “opps”) a day, as long as you put a personal post in between. Which means four posts a day, which is too many for most people to handle. The average person spends just 30 seconds looking at the front page of a blog!
I’ll be adding your blog to my feed reader so I can pick up some marketing tips. I appreciate all this time you are taking to give me your opinions and feedback, and thank you!
SJ- I’d appreciate any leads you could pass my way! Or tips on how to approach the sites. I think I could write for Dot Moms or iVillage or one of the community blog sites, if not right now then definitely within the year, it’s just a matter of standing out from the crowd. Thanks for the tip.
Jenny- Thanks for that pat on the back, I appreciate it. If the feedback I was getting had to do with my writing on another site, that would be one thing. But these kind bloggers are the ones who have been reading me for a year or more, and they want me to know that they miss the way I used to write before I started monetizing. I completely respect their opinions in the matter, and they make a lot of valid points.
On the other hand, I want to go to the BlogWorld Expo in Las Vegas in November, and I need money for that, and school is starting which means fees and clothes and supplies, etc. etc. It would be so easy to dive headfirst into PayPerPost and just start raking in the cash in a whorish kind of way. It’s hard to step away from that.
I’m so glad we happened to rotate past each other during Speed Dating at BlogHer! I was so excited when I looked at your nametag and realized it was you! If we both go next year, I hope we can at least sit and talk over coffee or something!
I think everything is going to be okay. I understand your point very much and I was sad that you were sad that day.
It’s so easy for bloggers with a lot of traffic to forget how hard it is to get paid blogging gigs and how difficult it is to market ourselves when we have no direction in that area.
Perhaps we’ll have to start our own organization to get this to work in our favor!
There is no doubt that PPP is one of the most divisive subjects in the blog community, with people either in one camp or the other, with no room for compromise. If PPP people highlight items they genuinely believe is all right, then it is ok, but not anything at all.
First of all, I think it’s great that you can make money blogging. No one is saying everyone has to read all the posts put up by every blogger! If I see something is a sponsored post and it’s not interesting to me, I won’t read it… same if it isn’t sponsored!
And, secondly, what is the difference between adds on your site, writing for money and writing for Pay per post? It’s all the same, just different forms of income!
I know there is a big deal about “add free blogging” but let’s face it — we all got into blogging for different reasons and we all have different needs and wants. If you choose to write paid posts, whether for PPP or for an online community that pays you, it’s all the same!
And I like getting free stuff too! I want to do more reviews! I just did one for a book and have another one in the works! Me likey freebies!
I think it’s horrible that they would let someone ridicule a sponsor of the event. That’s not good business. To be quite honest, I’ve seen a few things out of BlogHer that I do NOT like at all and thus I declined their ad program and won’t put them on my blogs or sites.
I’d rather earn in a way I can be proud of then to partner with people who’ve gotten so big they forgot what it’s like to be small.
If you make money from PPP and YOU are proud of what you do, that’s all that matters!
I’m sorry you had to endure such childish and unprofessional experiences and what’s worse, that you had to pay for it too.
Jess and Mimi:
The difference between ppp and “getting paid to write” is that you are not only the writer, you are the publisher. Your blog is the media buy. Your audience are your friends. Those things have value beyond the time you’ve spent on the post. So basically, you may get $5.75 for 2 hours of writing (eek) but you are also spending time maintaining your site, upping your stats, drawing an audience, and keeping them there.
Mimi: The difference between ads on your site and advertorial is huge. If the food editor of the NY Times says “I love CoolWhip! I use it all the time!” that means something very different than seeing a CoolWhip ad in the paper.
If you look at advertising research on endorsers like Ed McMahon, people don’t take his recommendations seriously. They feel he’s doing it for the money. He becomes a joke. Do you want to be a joke? The fastest way to do that is to just write “I love this product!” for any company that offers you five bucks to do it. If you’re okay with that, then more power to you. But it’s not “all the same.”
I think Elizabeth’s readers are delighted that she’s going to refocus her efforts on her writing, and start choosing only those reviews that have personal significance to her.
We are all behind her!
(And psst…try Family.com for writing gigs)
Hi Elizabeth,
You and I hashed this whole issue out on the way to Chicago and then on the way back, after you had had the tears. And I can see why you cried (and you also told me that if you had not been so utterly exhausted and overwhelmed, then it probably would not have happened–I hear you on that one).
I must be hard to not take this personally, and because I have spoken to you about this so much at length, I know what this money means to you and your family. I have to say I would not sniff at 15 or 25 bucks either for a pretty easy writing gig (how hard can it be, right? SORRY LIZ;-)) But not on my personal blog.
You and I talked about this–that doing this type of writing (”advertorials”) comes with a risk, and you need to be willing to be at peace with that. Table4Five came alive as a mommyblog–your “brand” was your authentic and personal voice. People felt they were talking you personally. The fact is, when you write PPP, even though many of us might be cheering you on to financial benefits, you will often lose that broader audience/community. The voice is not the same, the sense of authenticity can be lost. The trust you build up can be compromised. It’s a very tall order to ask your readers to bear with you, and you know this. You’ve seen the effects, and we’ve talked about what that means.
Like I said to you on the train, it’s a tradeoff. If you want to earn money this way (and more power to you sister) you have to be at peace with what that will do to your readership, and you also have to be at peace with the fact that many people do not enjoy reading PPPs. When someone asks “what’s Elizabeth up today?” and comes and reads an ad instead of a personal post (and I know they are still there, but a little buried) it can be disappointing, and frankly people can feel a little exploited–that they have established a relationship with you, and now they are being directly marketed to.
You said you were not going to apologize any more, and I say amen to that. But like I say, this does mean you have to be at peace with the consequences. It also means that you can’t take it personally when people voice opinions about PPP. They have a point, not so much about it not being enough money (I’d shill for $25, easily–but not on my personal blog) but certainly about what it can do to a blogger/audience relationship.
I am rooting for you, E. Seriously. xoxox
Ditto what Liz said. And, the whole issue of criticizing sponsors of BlogHer? We MUST be able to criticize sponsors. There is absolutely no point in having a conference where no real, substantive discussion and mutual empowerment can occur – which is what WOULD happen if if we were censored. We must be able to speak openly about PPP, AOL, Google if we’re going to be able to really be meaningfully empowered as individuals and as a community. If I, as a panellist, had been told that I mustn’t be critical of sponsors, I would have withdrawn, and probably launched a boycott.
I’m biased, because I was a panellist, but I thought that the panel was excellent, and that the discussion was excellent, and that we covered about as much as we could in a limited period of time. Perhaps there was a missed opportunity with PPP talking points, but that’s the point of having so much out-of-panel time at the conference.
I’m a fan of yours, Elizabeth, you know that, so I support whatever choices you think are best for you. But the momosphere just wouldn’t be the momosphere if we couldn’t speak openly to each other about such choices, and the reasons we make them. Just like you’re doing here, right now.
xo
**please don’t get upset at this, i just want to be REALLY honest with you**
personally, since you started writing ppp daily- no matter how clever, your blog isn’t the same. and i love you tons and tons, but it’s true. i want to read about what is on your mind…. what is going on with you and your life.. not how you’re going to creatively fit a topic into a PPP post.
i am very happy to hear that you’re going to write more for and about you. it’s what keeps a blog personal, and likeable. it’s how a reader discovers that she can relate to/with you. and once you meet that person (like you and i have) you almost feel a greater stake in their blog. you care more. you WANT to read what is going on with them because you have a kinship, you know? and even though i know and realize and UNDERSTAND your reasons for writing pay per post posts- it still doesn’t change what your blog had become- which was a blog full of ppp content and not a blog full of personal posts.
i realize that you have to do what is right for you. none of us are paying your bills, or helping you get to blogher, so if PPP is helping you do that- more power to you. i just wanted you to know that there has to be a balance there. and what had started to happen was that your blog lost the personal, likeable part of it- and just became a clever way to advertise. personally, i like the likeable and personal posts way better.
still love me? cause i still love you.
We’re not all going to agree all the time on what course of action we should take. We each have to make our own choices based on our own circumstances, and live with those choices regardless of what others may say. We can’t expect others to validate our choices, nor can we expect them to refrain from criticism – especially when it’s not directed specifically at us.
You do what’s right for you. But like Liz said, I hope you are going to focus on the posts that you can relate to personally. Because your authenticity is too valuable to give up.
I really think that what you do with your time and your blog is what is most important. You could not afford BlogHer but you worked your ass of to get there. And while you are there, the company that helped you is bashed? I understand your frustrations. PPP helped get you there. Of course you feel a loyalty. I’m sure that most of the women there that bashed PPP could afford the trip to Chicago, no problem. ::sigh:: This is just another thing that happens when people open their mouth without thinking, in the quest to be quirky and cute and get some laughs. You are a great blogger, hands down. I’m sorry you had this experience. I hope that next time people will think before they speak. Think about the things that others had to do to get to the same place they are at already. Its not always easy and you prove that a little hard work and dedication will get you far.
Jess- I do agree that in can be a very helpful source of income, I think the problem that I have is that I am not a tech blogger. If I was, my readers would be used to reading posts about websites and more business-oriented topics. If I was a Health blogger, the drug rehab and Liposuction posts would make more sense. What PayPerPost needs to do is find advertisers that have products that appeal to parents. If I could write about baby strollers or children’s clothing or educational toys, it wouldn’t seem so out of place.
Joelle- Thank you for your kind words of support
Dana- We need to start the “Bloggers who want to get paid but not sell out Network”! I feel so much better now that I have worked things out with Chris Jordan, and spoken to Mom-101 and others who HAVE been there, who know how hard it is and how patient you have to be. That’s my flaw-impatience. I want the money and the writing gigs NOW
I have a feeling that this is just never going to end. We have exchanged several emails now and you know clearly my position, and yet here is another post rehashing the same thing.
What I spoke was the truth, that $5 is a ridiculously low number. If no one accepted those terms the pay rate would go up. I think you were most upset because deep down YOU know that your are worth more than that. PPP is using you.
But even moreso than that, you have lost your blog doing back to back posts for them. You have lost what made you unique.
You dropped out of the BlogHer Ad Network, which is the only ad network of it’s kind that allows people with blogs of any size to join. AND also works hard at networking blogs and thereby increasing traffic for everyone.
I had absolutely no idea that you wrote a swiffer post. I said that I would not accept something like a swiffer in exchange for a review. It irks me that PR people think all of us should be jumping for joy over the chance to write about their product. And I believe it was Oh The Joys who stood up and said that she tells PR people that she charges a substantial fee to review their products.
I’m not trying to be mean, Elizabeth.
Chris, I wasn’t rehashing, I promise! I had already written this post when you left me the comment on the previous one! The topic just seems to keep snowballing along, which is why I am currently writing a series of posts about all the other POSITIVE things that happened at BlogHer!
You are correct that Table for Five got “lost”. I was so torn between how to make the money to get to BlogHer and watching more and more of my long-time readers, like you, slip away. Now that I have been to BlogHer, I am going to stop the mad PayPerPosting, I promise.
I dropped out of BlogHer Ad Network not just because of PayPerPost, but because I wasn’t making what I thought was enough money with it. I don’t know about you, but my biggest check was for $40.00 for a month, to run that huge ad that takes up so much sidebar space. Don’t you agree that we should earn more money from BlogHer Ad Network to run those ads? If we shouldn’t write one post for $5.00, then why should we give away a big chunk of sidebar space for less than that per day? I’m not trying to start an argument about BlogHer Ad Network, I’m just pointing out that for someone who needs to earn money, it’s not as lucrative as a per post paid blogging situation.
I am happy that we are continuing this conversation with each other, because we agree on some points and disagree on others, and that is absolutely okay. What works for you isn’t necessarily what works for me, and that’s okay too. But I agree, I lost what made me unique, and I am setting out to find it again. I hope you will continue to be there for me! I do not think you are mean, I think you are smart, professional, and PRETTY!
Seriously, I value your opinion.
Wow. Lots of great discussion here. I totally understand the need and/or desire to make money from your blog and if I were in the same boat, I would be really confused as to how to do that while still maintaining my unique voice and artistic integrity.
It seems you are in the middle of figuring all that out – not an easy thing to do. And it also seems that a lot of people are here to support you in your endeavor, me included because I’ve been reading you since before Kaitlyn was born and I think you are an awesome person!
So good luck moving forward Elizabeth. I hope you get everything you want out of your blogging experience.
It’s your blog and you need to do what’s best for you. You have lots of readers who come to your site because we truly love it. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again—if you’re reviewing something that doesn’t apply to me, I just skip right over it. Everyone else can do the same. I don’t understand what the argument is with all these other women—why don’t they just worry about their own blog and how I can tell from their writing that they’re all hoity-toity and shit? At least you’re genuine, Elizabeth, and in the grand scheme of things, that’s what matters most.
And here I am back again. With more marketing crap.
PayPerPost *enables* companies to pay low wages for blog posts. When what they really should be doing, IMO, is developing strong relationships with bloggers who care about the same things they do, whether it’s dirt, baby food, democratic politics or whatever.
In fact, what I’d really like to see is companies stepping up and sponsoring blogs that match their values, without thinking they can then control the posts. Quite frankly, I think that could be the most powerful thing of all.
And I definitely don’t want it to go too cheaply.
I am hoity toity and shit!
You heard it here first.
Hi, there. I didn’t attend this session but I heard about it and have thought long and hard about this subject.
I just want you to know this:
When marketing companies hold focus groups, they pay the participants anywhere from $100 – $300 for 1-2 hours of their time and opinions.
Marketing writers–pro writers who write marketing copy–charge anywhere from $60 – $125 per hour (less if they’re freelance, more if they’re with an agency, due to the overhead).
There is no reason bloggers should be making much less than this. It’s hard to be the first to demand higher wages–Norma Ray, anyone?–but someone’s got to take stand.
I’m not saying you’re that someone, Elizabeth, but I really wish someone would do it.
Graham- I had no idea how divisive until BlogHer, and now this. Because I do not have a thick skin at all, because I find it hard to stand alone from the crowd, I’m having a really hard time with this. My readers are right, I had lost the unique “voice” of the blog, but the feedback I’m getting seems to be saying that I “can’t” do any paid blogging at all unless I am making a professional salary for it. Which just makes me feel worse because the fact is, if I could make even $50.00 a WEEK, it would ease the strain of our financial situation so much. Am I supposed to wait and hope that a website offers me a writing job in a year or two? Or can I take some writing jobs that pay just enough, and run the risk of being the blogger who “devalues” all the other bloggers? Yes, we should take a stand and tell advertisers that we are worth more than five dollars, absolutely. But I should also be able to afford groceries and tanks of gas for my van.
God, this is just never going to end, is it? I’m going to continue to doubt myself FOREVER.
I agree with *all* sides of this debate. Except that Mom-101 is hoity toity.
Although.. at dictionary.com it says –
hoi·ty-toi·ty
1. assuming airs; pretentious; haughty.
2. giddy; flighty.
You may be #2.
At least giddy, I’m not so sure about flighty. I’ll let that debate start once I’ve posted this.. hehe
Pay Per Post is a fantastic way to earn a set amount for posting on something. You as the blogger can choose whether or not you want to write on that topic, and it is up to the blogger to make sure they’re choosing posts that are right for their blog and right for them. I agree with what the guy (can’t find where you mentioned his name now) from PPP said to you. Write what you know, as someone once said.
I also do not think pay per posts have to sound like a breathless TV advert – I’m not saying yours did but I have seen some posts around the place where the enthusiasm for the product seemed fake and forced. Your voice has to come through on these things, and it’s hard when it isn’t something you know well. It is easy to write a great blog post on something you love, and lets face it, we do that all the time.
Being Australian, I know how to spell the names of our capital cities, and I have seen clearly paid posts (not sure they were PPP) where Sydney was “Sidney” and Melbourne was “Melborne”. I don’t think the advertiser got their moneys worth there.
I also agree we bloggers are worth more than we’re paid – but at the same time I don’t think we work as hard as we can to seek out our own opportunities. We can contact companies whose products we love, and offer them the chance to pay for us to tell people we love something and use it all the time, but how many of us actually take that step?
Good on you for working so hard to get to Blogher, and good on you for being able to have this discussion so calmly and rationally.
I wasn’t a reader of your blog before but now that I’ve heard *your* voice I like the sound of it. I’m reading you via the Do Follow RSS feed, I’m in the process of adding a new section to my blog sidebar with links to my favourite reads. You’re now one of them.
Whenever I add someone to my sidebar, I Stumble their blog, add them to my Technorati favourites, and link to the blog in my weekly wrap up which is done on Sundays. I hope the stumble brings you a bit of traffic and a few new readers.
Snoskred
http://www.snoskred.org/
Mimi- The difference between sidebar ads and paid blogging is that sidebar ads don’t change the content of the blog, the writing stays the same. I suppose. I just want to be able to buy a few nice things for myself once in a while, and the fact is, BlogHer Ads just don’t pay that well unless you have a very high traffic blog, which this one is not.
But I suppose the flip side of that argument is that if I improve the quality of the writing, more traffic will come, which will mean more money from the BlogHer ads. Oh, and I had a bid approved on Sponsored Reviews, a bid I made a week ago before BlogHer, to write about a website that sells Waterford Crystal and China. I approved it, and I’m going to write about it too. I’m going to research the site and the product, and I’m going to do a thorough and well written product review, for which I will be paid $19.50. And that is fine with me!
Gayla- I want to be careful to say that Chris’ comment was not intended as ridicule of a sponsor. She just said that she wouldn’t write for PayPerPost, and it brought up all those feelings of conflict I have been storing up for months. And being a sponsor did not give anyone immunity from being part of any discussion.
You make a good point about earning money in a way you can be proud of. I will admit, I wasn’t always proud of my PPP posts, I was writing them for the money. I’m lucky that I have such kind readers who are also friends, and who didn’t just turn their back on me and walk away. Do I wish that some of them had emailed me directly to ask me why my writing had changed? Sure I do. But we all have busy lives, most of us have families and children, and there are 77 million blogs! I’m lucky anyone is reading this one at all!
Oh, and I was also lucky that I did not have to pay for BlogHer; because I was invited to lead a workshop, my fees were paid. But I understand what you meant.
Hi, Elizabeth! I’m pretty sure I met you in the elevator. I wanted to meet you again after the coffee and it never happened.
First, what I heard about Swiffer was not what you heard. When the ad exec askes, “As bloggers, what do you NOT want from the company?” Someone (I think Chris) said, “Here’s your Swiffer, now write about it.” Meaning, she wants to be paid, not expected to write in exchange for a low-dollar item. I didn’t take it as a slam against Swiffer per-se, but her using Swiffer as an example to make her point.
I would compare PPP to real estate. If you sell your house for less than it’s worth, it will bring down the value of the rest of the houses in the neighborhood. Now obviously, there are extenuating circumstances and sometimes the owner, for whatever reason, has to take less. They are the owners, and its their right to do so. But when that happens you can’t expect the neighbors to be happy about it. Even if they understand the circumstance and think you did the right thing, they’re going to wish it were different because it affected the value of their own property. I would compare PPP to the real estate investors who mail out super-low offers to homeowners. Some of those homeowners will jump at the offer out of desperation when they might realistically get much more if they were to list and wait a bit.
Similarly, just as it benefits the potential buyer of real estate to know if the property is in a poorly-performing school system and that might make resell difficult, it benefits you to know what the general reputation of PPP is, especially with your readers.
I know emotionally it’s difficult hearing these thing, but knowing where PPP stands with readers and bloggers is beneficial knowledge for you to have, so you can make the best decision on whether to work with them and on how you will proceed. In fact, it looks like you have already made some changes based on this information, which will probably improve the quality of your blog.
The bottom line is, it’s your blog and you can do what you want. But I would think it would be helpful to know in advance that a lot of people don’t like PPP and you may lose some readers over it. And the thing is, they have a right not to like it, just as much as you have a right to use it.
This is so sad. I’ve only been with ppp for about six months now and have to say that it is my favorite company to work for. The way I look at it is readers don’t want to read my blogs because I work for ppp then I’ll just get more readers. I would rather someone read my blogs because they like what I write not because of who I write for.
Keep your chin up, your among friends.
Thank you for sharing this. I have been considering paid blogging for a while. I have heard all the great and wonderful things about paid blogging, but I knew there was another side to it. And I could never quite find it. Thanks to you, I finally have. And thanks to you, I know what I suspected was correct. BUT that hasn’t change my undecided thoughts on it. You have given me what no one else would- the other side. With that in mind, I believe I will be ready to make the decision of whether or not I will start doing paid blogging. (I had to wait until my blog was at least three months, so I didn’t have to really make a decision until beginning of September.) Thank you, Elizabeth, for sharing these feelings, and helping me out. I now feel that I can make an EDUCATED decision, instead of a one sided and biased decision. Thank you.
There are a lot of people making idiot statements about PPP. My reaction…though sometimes tempted to be rude is quite simple…TO EACH THEIR OWN!
BTW the whole do PPP and lose readers meme is a load of bollocks. Yes, its not terribly wise to spam your site with loads of PPP posts and non stuff as filler. But if you continue to write the same amount of content as you always have an sprinkle PPP posts between them you won’t lose readers.
You never would have met a lot us, like me, if you didn’t do PPP. Everyone has their own opinion on it. My readers understood when I started paid blogging that I need the money. If anyone else just wants to start paying me, great. Till then, I am a paid blogger and proud of it.
I don’t get why anyone else besides me should determine how much a spot on my blog is worth. Great if you get $60 for a post. I am happy with $10.
And I hate to admit it, but I agree with everything Andrew just said.
Liz- Do you have an “in” with someone at Family.com? Because I would be ALL OVER that writing gig! Thanks for continuing to stop by and leave thoughtful comments. I count you in that small group of my oldest and dearest blog friends, and I do want you to be happy with what you read when you come here. I also want to be able to buy my boys some nice school clothes and shoes, and then Ryan’s birthday is October, Kaitlyn’s is November, Nathan’s is December (apparently I only conceive from January to March-ha!)
To me, writing carefully researched and well-written reviews of websites, earning anywhere from $20 to $50 a day, seems like a good way to get at least some of the money. I’m working on getting a plugin installed that will keep my review posts out of my feed, which I think does not violate the TOS for the sites I write for. I will start giving each post the title “Sponsored Review” or something similar, so that it is easier to know which ones to skip. And I promise that I will work much harder to write the way I used to, about my kids and my life, which is why you became a reader in the first place
Joy- It was a great pleasure to have you as a travelling companion both there and back, you are so knowledgeable about so many things, and you were so helpful on the way home. I ended up putting a hole in the bottom of that cute GM messenger bag from dragging it across the platform to the train!
I do have a separate blog just for reviews, and therefore for paid blogging, but it is only four months old and has no Page Rank, so there are very few jobs I can take both on Pay Per Post as well as for other paid blogging sites. Because I do need the money, I have to use the blog that qualifies, and that is this one. I just did my first Sponsored Review since getting home, the assignment paid $19.50 for 50 words, but I wrote much more than that because I related the products to my personal situation as well. I have also, however, had complaints from readers who don’t like reading a personal post and then coming across a link to a product. Why not? Can I not link to anything at all, because it might seem like it’s been paid for by someone else, even if it hasn’t?
Yes, this is my personal blog, and yes, it is a Mommyblog, but I think it can also be a way to earn much-needed income if I do it correctly. I have internalized every single comment I have received on the subject, and am going to try to please everyone, hard as that is going to be. I don’t want to lose anyone as a reader, and I am also happy to have picked up new readers through the Pay Per Post community. This blog will continue to be open to everyone, and all comments and view points will be welcome. It’s the best I can do right now.
I meant what I said on the train, call me if you need any help at all getting ready for the move! I can watch the boys (yes, even the baby!) if that will help. Or if you want to take a break from packing and have coffee or anything, give me a ring. I am really going to miss you when you move!
Catherine- You are so right about the BlogHer panels being open discussions with no censorship of any kind. I just missed an opportunity to make a case for how paid blogging can be beneficial, whether it is with Pay Per Post or someone else. I suggested to Elisa that Monetization be it’s own panel topic next year, because obviously it is a subject that many people have strong opinions about, and we can all learn from each other.
I appreciate you as a reader, as a blogger, as a friend. I want you to come here and enjoy the posts you read. I will be labelling paid posts as such right in the title, so that you know which ones to skip if you want. I’m also going to be much, much more selective about what paid blogging jobs I take. I just did a Sponsored Review for a website that sells top brand China and Crystal, and I wrote about my own bridal registry and the patterns we chose. I tried to make it as personal as possible. It’s the best I can do at this point! Thanks again for your feedback and for your support!!
xoxo
Elizabeth
Jennster- You are absolutely right, and I appreciate your honesty! Of course I’m not upset with you- I welcome all opinions and comments,especially from friends
I KNOW the blog had become all about the paid posts. I KNOW I was slacking off on the non-paid posts, just writing enough to fill in between them, and I wasn’t happy about it either. I was doing it just for the money and for no other reason. Believe me, my eyes are OPEN now. Not only do my readers not want to read bizarre paid posts about topics that are so off-topic, but even Pay Per Post doesn’t want me to take the assignments that don’t fit the blog.
I wrote my first Sponsored Review today since getting back, about a website that sells China and Crystal. I talked about registering for my wedding, and the patterns we chose, so I made it as personal as I could. I am grateful that you haven’t abandoned me as a reader, that you are still here reading and giving me your opinions. It matters to me, it really does!
By the way, have you seen all the boob and ass-grabbing photos posted on Flickr, taken at BlogHer JUST FOR YOU? You see how much we all love you??!
Julie- Thank you, especially for continuing to stick by me even through everything. I know the blog changed, and I didn’t like it either, I was just doing it for the money, and now I know that the money I made wasn’t worth the stress and anxiety I went through, and what it put my readers through.
I’m wondering how you feel about all this discussion going on, in light of Parent Bloggers Network. No one has mentioned them yet, or said that a free product plus an Amazon Gift Certificate is too little pay for the review. I certainly don’t feel that way, but if so many people think bloggers shouldn’t do product reviews, or shouldn’t take “small” amounts of money to write them, then where does that leave PBN? PBN might send me a free travel pack of Nozin Nasal Swabs plus a $20 GC, how is that different from getting paid $25.00 for a 200 word post reviewing a website?
I hope you know I’m not criticizing PBN, I joined it because I saw the caliber of bloggers that were in the network and it was a point of pride for me to be accepted. If someone had made a comment at BlogHer about PBN, I would have been just as upset, and I probably would have coming running up to you or Kristen crying. We all have to choose what is right for us, and accept the terms and conditions and even the consequences of those choices. Right? And I agree with what you said that we can’t expect to never hear criticism, because that is just the way it is. No one can please everyone, unfortunately.
Thank you for continuing to support me, as a blogger, as a PBN’er, as a friend. I appreciate the fact that you are still hear, reading and sharing your thoughts, and I promise not to make the blog into a billboard. You are one of my oldest and dearest blog friends, and your opinion is important to me!
xoxo
Elizabeth
thisKat said: “When marketing companies hold focus groups, they pay the participants anywhere from $100 – $300 for 1-2 hours of their time and opinions.
Marketing writers–pro writers who write marketing copy–charge anywhere from $60 – $125 per hour (less if they’re freelance, more if they’re with an agency, due to the overhead).
There is no reason bloggers should be making much less than this. It’s hard to be the first to demand higher wages–Norma Ray, anyone?–but someone’s got to take stand.”
You seem to be missing an important point here, thisKat. Most of us who write for PPP and other paid-to-blog services are not “Marketing writers–pro writers.” We do not have degrees in marketing or journalism. That’s okay, because the advertisers who elect to use our services are looking for persoanl voices, not a resume. Yes, we need to choke off the cheap offers by not accepting them, but the mere act of accepting sponsored placements does not devalue us or our blogs. Many of us are now getting offers for more lucrative writing jobs. We get those offers because our sponsored writing has shown the marketplace what we have to offer. If we do it well, bigger jobs come our way. If we don’t, the rewards won’t come. PayPerPost openend that door for us and gave us a platform to make money while improving and exhibiting our skills. Which marketing firms are out there offering such opportunities to mombloggers and other non-professionals? None that I’ve heard of. This is the marketplace that works for us. I don’t apologize for writing sponsored posts because I don’t need to. I’ve had a steady increase in readership and the quality of my blog has improved because I’ve concentrated my efforts on making it more attractive to readers and potential advertisers.
To those of you who have a problem with sponsored posting on blogs, that’s your personal baggage. The rest of us are working amicably, making money, building our “portfolios” and quite happy.
I am really glad to have read your post. I didn’t go to BlogHer, but I’ve read some nasty posts about PPP ads and why we shouldn’t write for them. I hate that some bloggers have basically called us whores for working for PPP. If that’s the case, my sugar daddy pimp has paid me almost $200 and he can go on lovin’ me because I sure am lovin’ on him.
Liz- Are you feeling giddy? or flighty? Then yep, hoity toity all right
NO NAME CALLING ON MY BLOG, PEOPLE
You mentioned your new blog and the lack of PR and therein lies a large part of the problem IMO.
PPP has established and perpetuated a system that rewards not your quality of writing and not your page views or the size of your community of regular readers–but simply your Page Rank. Most of the sponsors don’t care about your writing at all. They just want a link from your blog.
On your blog you can do whatever you want and I really don’t think less of you for using PPP to make some money. I have been tempted to throw a few up on one of my higher PR blogs and the thing that stops me is mainly that (1) It just doesn’t sit well with me, personally and (2) I make more money with my offline gigs.
I think of it in some respects like those old-school commercials way back at the dawn of the sitcom where the star would stop and step into a separate area and hawk some item you just know she never tried.
But, hey–that sort of sponsorship got some great tv.
I do agree also that there is a “value” issue and a “race to the bottom” in terms of pricing…but I also can’t fault someone for setting his or her own prices. However, I do applaud you if you set a higher basement for prices and seek out people who are more interested in your writing and audience and less so in your Page Rank.
Now what did I tell you last time girl? Hmmm? You have nothing to apologize for at all!
“what I think bloggers at her level don’t understand- she might be selling BlogAds, she might be getting paid for focus groups, and to write on other sites, but bloggers at my level generally are not.”
That is exactly it. Alot of the high up “mommybloggers” can turn up their noses now because they can make good money. Sometimes it works out great and they are an inspiration. Other times they are the same snotty bitches you couldn’t stand in high school and like nothing better than to make anyone they feel is “beneath” them like crap.
Could you have just been prideful and refused to do PPP? Yes. Could you have just put the burden all on your hubby to pay for everything? Yes you could have. Did you use up precious time to write those PPP posts? Yes you did.
Don’t let anyone belittle what you do. You know how I feel from my post a few months ago too. Just repeat to yourself over and over….. BITE ME! BITE ME!! BITE ME!!!
Big hugz girl and if you ever need to talk you know where I am.
BTW- I wanted to go to BlogHer for a little while but then I realized that I wouldn’t fit in and probably would have told someone to piss off so it wasn’t worth me wasting the money. LOL.
I agree with Gayla as well. I got the invitation to do the BlogHer ads again this year (I passed last year too) and didn’t even bother replying. Just alot I’m not comfortable with you know?
I’m buried in old blogging posts (my fault for not keeping up with them), so I’m very late to the game but I just wanted to say how sorry I am that you felt so ganged up on with regards to this subject.
Personally, I think this is your blog and you should be allowed to do with it what you want. I was feeling tons of stress to write a new post a week (yes, I’m so lame I can barely do one post a week!), but then I decided to forget about this and just enjoy writing when I can. If you enjoy PPP, just go ahead and do it.
thisKat- In your comment, you said “Marketing writers–pro writers who write marketing copy–charge anywhere from $60 – $125 per hour (less if they’re freelance, more if they’re with an agency, due to the overhead).”
The difference I assume between writing a blog and being a professional marketing writer is that more than likely (and again, I’m assuming, because I don’t know for sure) the marketing writer has a college degree in marketing, or at least a minor in it, is that correct? I have a Bachelor’s in English and a lot of experience writing papers about imagery in The Great Gatsy or comparing Shakespeare’s plays, but as for actual marketing experience, no.
PayPerPost, LoudLaunch, Smorty, PayU2Blog, BlogtoProfit–these are the companies who will give bloggers a chance to earn money by writing about specific topics. The pay does not equal what a marketing writer can earn, because bloggers are not marketing writers, do you see what I mean?
I have a post in the works about the new class structure that is arising among bloggers, how bloggers who write for PayPerPost seem to be perceived as less dedicated to their writing than someone who writes five posts a week for ClubMom in exchange for FIFTY DOLLARS A MONTH. No one is talking about how THAT devalues the blogging community!
Last comment- In my own way, I have taken that stand you wrote about. Before I went to BlogHer, my rate for PayPerPost Direct was $25.00 a post. PPP Direct is a directory of bloggers that advertisers can hire directly to write just for them, as opposed to offering their job to the whole group in the Marketplace. When I came home from BlogHer, I raised my price for a post here on Table for Five to $60.00, and have already been hired at that rate. I will no longer take $5.00 for anything, unless I can really relate to it. I’m doing what’s right for me. Thanks again for your comment.
You know, I haven’t done PayPerPost, but I’ve done Smorty and Blogsvertise and I’ve had really good luck with them.
I’m going to look into PayPerPost after I get done writing this.
Anyway, back to the point…I swear there is one.
I am getting tired of reading about how people who blog for $ are somehow bad. Let’s be honest. They are on the cusp of calling us whores.
I’m a stay-at-home-mom. If I can bring in an extra $400 a month writing about something that I would write about for free then how is that a bad thing?
Tastes Like Crazy- Oooh! If you haven’t already signed up with PayPerPost, would you please do me a favor? Would you come back and sign up using the “Get Paid to Blog About the Things You Love” badge on my right sidebar? I get paid a referral fee after you sign up, get accepted, write a post, and get your first payment! It’s not much, but it’s exciting anyway :0
AND, you earn $20.00 for your first post, which is I think 100 words (maybe 200) about PayPerPost! Thank you for the support. I am NOT a whore, of any kind. I am a WORK AT HOME MOM. I made $571.00 in July writing paid posts (all paid blogging sites combined), and I didn’t have to put my kids in daycare to do it, or stress myself out doing a job I didn’t love. I LOVE blogging, and I pink puffy heart LOVE getting PAID to blog!
Make sure to check out the PayPerPost forums (click the Community Tab). There are people on the boards almost 24 hours a day, they will answer any question you have. It’s a great group of terrific bloggers who are EMPOWERING and SUPPORTIVE, and I can’t think of anything better than that. So go on and GET PAID!!
Listen — don’t you EVER let anyone tell you that you, as a paid blogger, have somehow affected the integrity of writing professionals all over the world. Baloney! There is no shame in accepting PPP opportunities. Who’s to tell you how much is too little? $25 is $25… right? It’s more $ than you had before you posted.
Equitable pay for writers? That’s been a bone of contention ever since Gutenberg. Don’t get caught up in that debate, you won’t win.
You are an Excellent Writer! And if you get some ad revenue, as a bonus for doing something you enjoy and do quite well, then good for you. There is no sin in being a professional blogger. But toughen up and be on the offense, not the defense. You do not need to justify what you do/write to anyone, especially not some stranger at a convention!
I’ve been a writer for over 30 years and let me tell ya’ — no one pays writers what they’re worth — so take what you can get. Print literary journals offer two (wow! TWO!) copies of their journal as payment. Writers who’ve had short stories published by accepting this kind of payment are considered successful. Online journals offer “exposure” in exchange for a 10,000 word story. My husband said he’d take $50 over “exposure” any day. Even my literary journal, The Dead Mule, is guilty of such things… but the site has no ads and no sponsors, just my husband and me, so the “no pay thing” is justified — whooops! There I go! Now I’m justifying writer pay or the lack of it. See how easy it is to get caught in the debate, go defense and take it personally?
PayPerPost has not created a new breed of wordwhores. They ask for sincere ad copy. Believe me, readers will eventually spot the bogus bloggers. You provide real content.
My husband looked at a lot of ad revenue brokers and thinks PayPerPost has it all over the 2cents-a-click guys. Magazines like Woman’s Day, Glamour, Time — almost every magazine (except The Nation and a rare few others) — are over 65% advertising. Check the stats! Often the reader can’t tell the ad from the copy. At least with PPP you guys are upfront about the ads.
So now my husband writes for PPP. He’s a very good writer, and works hard — wants to be interesting and readable. We think he should receive at least $25 for 100 words but since he’s jonesing for a new iMac, he’ll write 300 words for $20 just to build up his savings. If people/readers don’t like PPP, then they don’t have to read your blog. Or my husband’s.
Don’t let someone else’s idea of worth affect your self-worth. You hang in there and keep writing!
Oh, and Rob’s blog is macewan.org btw.
-Valerie MacEwan