Bloggers - PAID or UNPAID Advertising

There have already been too many talks about the bloggers nowadays. They talk about their influences, their posts, their daily lifestyle, and the list goes on. My past week has been my first experience with contacting the bloggers. My group and I were trying hard to get five minutes of their time for an interview. The whole purpose of it was only for a school project. Who could have thought five minutes could be so hard to spare? Well, only when we received the kind of answer "Sorry, I don't normally do interview for schools", the terms "Paid" and "Unpaid" struck me.


So what's the "Paid"?

"Paid" advertising happens when bloggers receive something in return for the blog posts. It could be money that they are going to get. Or free products, free travelling or huge discount in certain services.

Whoever has read Xiaxue's blog entries could easily realize that she is paid to write about certain products/ services.

Or let's talk about Ladyironchef. Being the number 1 food blogger in Singapore, he enjoys media food tasting in the finest restaurants across the island. That's the kind of "Paid" advertising I'm talking about.

The more popular the blogger is, the more likely they are paid by marketers to promote products/ services. It is very ironic when people tend not to trust unknown bloggers. Has it ever occurred to them that those unknowns are those actually give reviews based on their true experiences?

My group was to ask the bloggers about their daily lifestyle and relationship with marketers. Yet, in my opinion, the term "Paid" has already described that relationship. If you could not get along with marketers, you are less likely to accept any jobs offered by them. Thus, there should be less paid advertising posts on your blog.

I'm not saying "paid" advertising is not good and not trustworthy. "Paid" blog entry has, at least, been effective in raising ones' awareness about brands. Thousands of people are exposed to your brand name in a day because they are reading some popular blog. In marketers' point of view, it worth the money paid.

However, should bloggers bombard readers with paid advertisements? Will their credibility increase or decrease over time? That I have to leave for you all to decide.


And the "Unpaid".

Pardon my narrow knowledge, I have known too few bloggers who do unpaid advertising/ interviews. Perhaps, that's why I could not find the right person to approach for my school project.

Basically, "unpaid" is the opposite of "paid". Bloggers, by doing unpaid advertising, are going to get nothing in return for whatever amount of time they spend on the blog post.

I did not know much about bloggers and how or in what circumstances they are willing and voluntarily write about something. But it seems "Unpaid" are getting extinct. Ask yourself, when was the last time your favorite blogger write about a brand that she truly loves and no one has given her anything for the post?


In Conclusion,

Like I have said before, not all "paid" are bad and not all "unpaid" are trustworthy. But perhaps readers deserve the truest reviews when they need it. Bloggers, with their huge influences, should be the right opinion-leaders. Should money and rewards win over honest feedbacks about brands?

N-O. NO!

Money and gifts could be the motivating factors. Yet, at the end of the day, if a blogger has tried a product and does not like it, he/ she should let us all know. Like a Pop idol who is famous because of the fans, bloggers are popular because of the loyal readers. Staying true to your blog and being friendly with others could be the very first step for he/ she remain on top of the blogging competition. My experience with bloggers has been sour. Let me share with you a question that has always been on my mind since the moment my group was rejected:

"Must money/ gift/ rewards come first when we are asking bloggers a favor?

I will leave it for someone to answer it for me.