One of the most popular ways that personal blogs make money is from sponsored ads. I didn’t mind them too much at first, but they are getting to the stage where they are pretty disruptive. There’s nothing more saddening than going to one of your favourite blogs, happy to read their new post, and end up seeing a title about ‘Home insurance’ or, worse, getting to the bottom of a post and seeing all the keyword links dropped in randomly. I often lose respect for the author and find their blog posts less credible. I mean, if they’re lying about how they really need to research car insurance, then what else are they lying about?
Check out this blog post I'm reading: Bad blogging habits caused by sponsored posts Share on XI get that people want to make money from their blog. I understand that, and I’m fine with it. I monetise blogs myself. But I find the way to do it is to sign up for a good ad program and use ads sparingly and effectively (I’m writing a separate post about this so watch this space), and giveaways are good too. With that in mind, here are some bad blogging habits that sponsored posts cause:
1. Writing for other motives
A lot of personal blogs are interesting because the author has been inspired to write by their mood, by a drive to blog, to get their views and experiences out there. Dropping in advertising links or writing posts about something you have no knowledge of dilutes the whole purpose.
2. Writing about things you’re not interested in
When you write about things you’re not interested in, especially for a blog, your writing quality naturally isn’t as good. Posts are shorter, often hurried and links are often badly integrated into posts. Don’t make the quality of your content suffer – only write about things you’re interested in.
3. Blogging about things your readers aren’t interested in
This is the big one. If your readers have come to read posts on design, or your life, or parenting, then why would an advertising post about bird fountains or expensive jewellery appeal to them? Without an interested readership and return visitors, you’ve got nothing. A tumbleweed site.
4. Letting sponsored posts take over
If you’re part of one of the well-known marketplaces, you’ll know that most of the time, sponsored posts don’t pay very well. You need a lot of them to make decent money. Before you know it, one of two things happens: 1) every other post becomes a sponsored post and your regular blog entries get shorter (or disappear almost completely), or 2) you create four or five more blogs and try to put sponsored posts on all of them. Don’t ruin your blog – if you have to have sponsored posts, use them sparingly and don’t waste your time writing for low pay.
So before you jump on the sponsored posts bandwagon, have a think about whether it’s really the right choice. The blog scene continues to grow in leaps and bounds, and there are plenty of other ways you can make money from your blog without ruining the site experience for your visitors.