Bloggers: Why You Must Disclose Sponsorship, and Readers: Why Not All Sponsored Posts Are Bad

Lately there’s been a lot of talk in the blogosphere about bloggers that don’t disclose when they’ve been gifted items or paid for sponsored posts and the effect it has for themselves – and for their readers.

If you’re a blogger accepting freebies or payment (cash or vouchers) and not making it clear in your blog and social media posts that you’ve accepted payment, then you could fall seriously foul of Google’s most recent crackdown on non-disclosure. Not only that but it’s not fair to your readers if you’re not being open and honest with them.

I’m also addressing why bloggers often don’t disclose (it’s often for fear of putting their readers off) and why sponsored posts are NOT all bad (and this is for both bloggers and readers) if they are written – and disclosed – properly. But first – bloggers:

1. As a blogger, are you up to date with Google’s best practices on reviewing free products?

Google Webmasters blog, March 2016:

“As a form of online marketing, some companies today will send bloggers free products to review or give away in return for a mention in a blogpost. Whether you’re the company supplying the product or the blogger writing the post, below are a few best practices to ensure that this content is both useful to users and compliant with Google Webmaster Guidelines.

1. Use the nofollow tag where appropriate. Links that pass PageRank in exchange for goods or services are against Google guidelines on link schemes.
2. Disclose the relationship. Users want to know when they’re viewing sponsored content. Also, there are laws in some countries that make disclosure of sponsorship mandatory.
3. Create compelling, unique content. The most successful blogs offer their visitors a compelling reason to come back.”

Read in full: Best practices for bloggers reviewing free products they receive from companies

If the points above are news to you, read it in full right now. Then make sure you read it and re read it again – it is VITAL that you are complying with this. By failing to disclose clearly when goods have been gifted or you have received any kind of payment for your posts or links included, you are risking annoying Google and the visibility of your site.

What are no-follow links and do I have to use them?

If you are a blogger you have to be aware of no-follow links and know how to use them. (I answered the “what are no follow links” question and explained how and when to use them here.)

In a nutshell, it stops the companies who have paid you (with goods or payment) trying to bypass PageRank (how far up your site appears in Google search results). They’ve effectively “paid” to have their SEO boosted via the links you provide and therefore (in Google’s eyes) shouldn’t have an unfair advantage over sites that are grown organically.

And I mention it in the post when talking about the fact that some unscrupulous companies still insist on do-follow links, but it’s worth saying again…

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IF A COMPANY WANTS TO WORK WITH YOU BUT INSISTS ON A DO-FOLLOW LINK THEN MY ADVICE IS SIMPLE: DO NOT WORK WITH THEM. THEY ARE EITHER TERRIBLY INEXPERIENCED OR THEY KNOW THE RISKS – AND ARE IGNORING THEM.

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Why do I need to disclose what I’ve been gifted and when I’ve received payment?

For two reasons.

Firstly, it may well be the law in your country to disclose clearly what you have received. An asterisk* at the end of the gifted item and an explanation on your PR page may well not be at all sufficient depending on where you live. Find out what the laws are and abide by them.

Don’t forget about social media, where linking to a brand (or tagging them in) was part of the agreement. Use the hashtags #sponsored, #ad or #promotion.

The clearer you make it, the better. I do several things in relation to disclosure:

All gifted products are marked “c/o”
My blog’s footer has my disclosure policy so it can be seen on every page
Sponsored posts – where I have received any form of cash payment for the post – have a “Sponsored content” image immediately after the first image in the post. Therefore no “sponsored” keyword is included (keeps brands happy) but my readers are clearly informed (keeps them happy)
I include a link to my disclosure policy in every sponsored post where it is clearly explained what “written in collaboration with” or “was sponsored by” X brand means, and what affiliate links are.

Secondly, it’s only fair to your readers. The more open and honest you are, the more they will trust you. By writing an interesting, informative, useful and engaging post that is also clearly marked as sponsored content, you’re proving that just because you received payment to write it doesn’t mean it’s less worthy than the rest of your output.

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BY WRITING AN INTERESTING, INFORMATIVE, USEFUL AND ENGAGING POST THAT IS ALSO CLEARLY MARKED AS SPONSORED CONTENT, YOU’RE PROVING THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU RECEIVED PAYMENT TO WRITE IT DOESN’T MEAN IT’S LESS WORTHY THAN THE REST OF YOUR OUTPUT.

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Which brings me to part two – why do readers think that sponsored content is “bad”?

2. Readers: Sponsored posts are not “bad” if they’re written well

I’ve heard this many times from other bloggers: Their readers have told them they “don’t like” sponsored posts. Somehow they think they’re a sell out by accepting payment to feature a product, or write about a brand.

My take on it is this: If a blogger produces content that is interesting, informative, useful and engaging (yes, all the same qualities mentioned above!) – should it matter whether it was sponsored or not?

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“SPONSORED” SIMPLY MEANS SOME SORT OF PAYMENT HAS EXCHANGED HANDS BETWEEN BRAND AND BLOGGER. IT DOES NOT HAVE TO MEAN THAT THE BLOGGER HAS REGURGITATED PRE-WRITTEN CONTENT, USED IMAGES FROM A RETAILER’S WEBSITE AND THROWN IN SOME LINKS.

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“Sponsored” simply means some sort of payment has exchanged hands between brand and blogger in either cash, product or services. It does not have to mean that the blogger has regurgitated pre-written content, used images from a retailer’s website and thrown in some links. It is true that some bloggers do do this, but not every blogger and not every “sponsored post”.

When I collaborate with a brand, I always make sure that my readers come first, and the brand second. As long as I am meeting the criteria of the agreement I have in place with the brand, I make sure what I produce and write for a sponsored post is just as high-quality and interesting as all my other posts. In other words, bloggers with integrity and a desire for quality will produce sponsored posts that you probably wouldn’t even realise were sponsored unless they disclosed the fact.

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SPONSORED POSTS ARE NOT A BAD THING BECAUSE GOOD BLOGGERS WILL ONLY PRODUCE QUALITY CONTENT THAT THEIR READERS WILL ENJOY, WHETHER IT IS SPONSORED OR NOT.

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And if a blogger is churning out low-quality content just for the money, it will be all-too obvious to you as a reader. Sponsored posts are not a bad thing because good bloggers will only produce quality content that their readers will enjoy, whether it is sponsored or not.

Judge for yourself with these two recent posts on my blog:

How to Style Culottes for SS16 | The Archive by Alexa Range

White Maxi Skirt and Layered Blouse (With Blue and Orange) | The Jacques Vert Group Style Edit

Do you think there is much of a difference in the quality of these two posts? One was sponsored, the other wasn’t, but I still write the same quality copy and publish the same quality images in both. I would like to think that the pride I take in my blog and what I produce is evident to both readers and brands. Brands have to trust me to write high-quality content – and so do my readers.

Blogging as a profession

Full-time professional bloggers are becoming more and more common. The days of writing a “web log” as a little hobby have long gone. It remains a hobby for many; however, it is now possible to make it a viable day job (especially for women, who can enjoy the freedom of being self-employed) due to the fact that clever brands know that it is another form of advertising for them.

It is a flexible profession that lends itself to women who have, or want to have, a family.

It lends itself to women who want to supplement their existing income.

It lends itself to women (like me) who want to have a complete change of career at a later stage in life.

In other words, blogging should not be seen as a lesser profession than any other – it is a fantastic profession in fact – and wanting to be paid for something you love doing should not be vilified. If you’re not doing it with heart and soul and your clients/readers/audience in mind, then (like any other profession) your clients/readers/audience will simply vote with their feet.

It’s up to readers to make informed choices, and it’s up to bloggers to make that choice an easy one.

ARE YOU A BLOGGER WHO NEEDS TO SORT OUT THEIR DISCLOSURE – WERE YOU AWARE OF GOOGLE’S NEW GUIDELINES? AND IF YOU’RE A NON-BLOGGING READER WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON SPONSORED POSTS (HAVE I CHANGED YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THEM)? COMMENT BELOW, OR TAKE IT TO TWITTER @NOTLAMB!