My posts may include paid links for which I earn a commission.
A lot has been argued and written lately about bloggers being paid per blog post when they are also using affiliate links. Greg Hoffman wrote a great post (Affiliate Education for Bloggers) on the heels of ShareASale Think Tank. Roger Snow also wrote about how bloggers should consider affiliate links for long-term revenue as opposed to paid posts (Bloggers CAN Make Money in Affiliate Marketing). Joe Sousa wrote about “What Makes a Motivated Blogger.” Clearly it is a hot topic amongst affiliate managers. But what do AFFILIATES think?
This post is specifically about bloggers who are using affiliate links…not bloggers who are being paid only on a per post basis. That’s a completely different pot.
I don’t generally charge for any of my blog posts because I tend to use affiliate marketing links in them. I don’t expect merchants to pay me for placement on any of my sites with the exception of increased commissions for added exposure or things that take more work than standard reviews (like video reviews).
That said, I do love when merchants offer bonus opportunities either to get you active (or re-active) in a program or if they have specific things that they are trying to get out to the public.
Today I had two very different experience with this.
Merchant 1: Offered me $1 to write a blog post about a particular product that they want promoted. I could also get 50 cents for Tweeting about it. That’s not a typo. ONE DOLLAR.
Merchant 2: Offered me $10 to post about a new deal the merchant was running.
My responses
Merchant 1: I was so completely floored that they would think my time was only worth $1. I tried to politely respond without saying “I’m worth more than your stupid dollar.” But I was actually offended by it. I couldn’t believe that they would think that $1 would in any way motivate it.
Merchant 2: I knew it was a perfect fit for my audience anyway so the $10 was like a little icing on the cake to do something I should have been doing anyway. I wrote the post. And I plan on submitting it to get my $10!
Why did I respond so differently over $9? Neither bonus was going to make or break my day–or even my hour. But one was offensive to me and the other was kind of fun.
Merchants offer these types of bonuses all the time from $1 up to over $100 a post. They may be for initial placement, preferential placement, or promoting something with a known low conversion rate. As long as everyone comes out a little ahead, I don’t see a harm to it. I just don’t think it should be EXPECTED either that 1) blogger affiliates always get paid for posting on top of the affiliate commission, or 2) that blogger affiliates are willing to work for $1.
What do you think? I’ve started a little poll below. What is the lowest amount that is acceptable to even offer an affiliate to write a blog post on top of their commission rate? Weigh in in the comments section as well and be sure to mention if you are 1) a merchant, 2) an affiliate manager, 3) a blogger who doesn’t use affiliate links, or 4) a blogger affiliate. I am anxious to see if it makes a difference.
[poll id=”3″]
We’ve been toying with the concept of “bribing” publishers to push our latest offers. The results have been generally positive. It seems to get some affiliates’ attention when they ordinarily don’t seem to notice the usual offers.
I agree with Shawn that temporary commission increases show that both sides are really serious about generating revenue and cultivating a true partnership. But I just haven’t had great response from publishers when I offered a commission increase.
Actually these kinds of emails are send through automated bots, and merchants does that on occasional basis. Even if few bloggers agreed to post article for just 5 dollars, it can still be cheaper than the CPC campaign, which drain your pocket like anything. Even if they don’t make any sale, they still be getting backlink.
This one was actually a personal email directly to me with my name and other details in it from an affiliate manager who knows me. And after I responded, her response back was very nice about it.
I voted $10-$25, but I’d like to put an asterisk next to it: If it’s a product or brand that is awesome and converts, I’ll do it for $5. But, it has to be something I’d be stoked about anyway. I think “go live” bonuses can be kind of silly if they’re across the board, because it only benefits one party. Obviously I have a better impetus to do something if the bonus offered is better or if there is more guaranteed money, but I’ll also totally take a challenge whenevs.
Cindy – I would consider this in a league with slotting fees paid to an affiliate to get on a site that is very desirable. There are no guarantees, aside from the placement.
Affiliate Marketing is just that…using affiliate links, not being paid for a post. That is an entirely different type of marketing. In my experience, most of the bloggers that request money for a blog really give nothing in return. Just because you blog about a product and have 50,000 visitors a month does not guarantee any sales or even hits for the merchant, especially if your audience is just those that come to you looking for freebies/deals/contests to enter. So in essence, paying for a blog in this scenario is not a good ROI for a merchant. Niche bloggers on the other hand are different, and while I still don’t see paying them for a blog, sending free products and even a commission increase is a great way to engage them in affiliate marketing. Giving them a good promotion for their readers also helps them make sales and makes the merchant, affiliate manager and blogger happy. great site, strong blogging and a good knowledge of affiliate marketing and the tools offered by the networks far outweighs lifetime commissions from a post with affiliate links over an initial posting fee.
I agree with Shawn.
I still have trouble thinking of myself as a blogger……Now….I work for commission..and occasional bonus…not for my writing ability. Things change rapidly and I need the freedom to change. If I take payment for a post then I would feel more obligated to that merchant over other merchants…maybe to the detriment of other commissions.
If I were to pay out some sort of “Go Live” bonus I don’t think I would offer anything under $25. If it was less than that the blogger probably wouldn’t be worth the time and effort. If they wanted over $100 they would really, really need to convince me they could drive enough sales to justify that. If it was someone who had generated sales in the past or someone I knew could drive sales I would think about it but would rather just do a commission bump or something along those lines.
Also with many of the new tools for adjusting commission rates there are some very creative ways to work offers like this. For example, if a blogger wanted $200 up front and I knew they could drive a lot of sales I could structure do something like “OK, here is your $200 but for the first $2000 of sales your commission is 0 but everything after that is a normal commission”. An offer like that gives some protection for both parties assuming the blogger is worth $200.
Great post Tricia! It is important to recognize that different bloggers will be able to demand different payment opportunities. In addition, merchants have unique thresholds as well. I hate to say “This is what a blogger is worth” because it depends on influence, SEO and what my merchant can sustain. HOWEVER, I would never offer anyone a $1 lol
I’d rather post for free with affiliate links than be offered anything less than $25.
Better yet, I’d prefer an increase in commission, which I think shows good faith on both sides.