Do You Know How To Thank A Blogger?

August 22, 2008 · Filed Under Blogging as a HR Guy 

I’ll give you a hint: it isn’t clicking on ads on my site because you appreciate the content. And this advice isn’t from some random dude with a blog, it is from an author of several books on my personal bookshelf (Mr. Seth Godin).

Chris over at 1 Good Reason lays it out pretty simply:

Seth today proposes that we should simply click on ads on blogs that we like.  This will pay the website owner for the free content they have provided.  This way only the advertisers will have to pay for the useless clicks they receive. Seth even goes on to say that, “Pretty simple, but not an accepted online protocol, at least not yet.”

For a big picture guy like Seth this a really stupid idea. For an experienced online marketing expert like Seth- this borders on criminal conspiracy.

I worked for a company that did quite a bit of pay-per-click advertising so I understand the irritation completely. Click fraud hurts real companies with real employees. It is the epitome of nickle and diming a thousand times over.

Being on both the advertising and content side of the equation helps though. I want to make sure that anyone advertising on my site gets value from it. High click through rates with no sales means I lose revenue in the long run. People at these real companies do the smart thing and track results of their paid advertisements. If a source isn’t paying for itself, it goes away.

If you want to check out one of the few advertisers on my sites, you should do so. You shouldn’t do it as a “tip jar” though, you should do it out of genuine interest in the product. The point of these advertisements is to be targeted and relevant enough so that you are compelled to click through without any goading from me. That’s best for both the advertiser and myself.

If you want to thank me, here are a few ways:

  1. Read regularly. You can get updated through RSS feed, e-mail or just stop by every once in awhile.
  2. Comment if something is interesting.
  3. E-mail me and say hey.
  4. Link to me on your blog or website.
  5. Tell people about my blog.

Those are the things I love about blogging. If you are looking for ways to thank your favorite bloggers, those five will be more than most people do.


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Comments

6 Responses to “Do You Know How To Thank A Blogger?”

  1. Controversy: Seth Godin Asks Blog Readers to Treat Ads as the New Online Tip Jar and Click | Gauravonomics Blog on August 22nd, 2008 12:53 pm

    [...] – hell broke loose in internet marketing circles – That’s all fine and good, except that it screws the advertisers who end up paying for empty clicks and get a poor ROI. Ultimately, those advertisers get priced out of PPC advertising and there is less demand to run ads on the sites with great content that are getting all the thank you clicks. Yes, “the economics of the web would change immediately,” as Godin states. We’d go from a system that works to one where everybody would lose. (Shawn Collins) For a big picture guy like Seth this a really stupid idea. For an experienced online marketing expert like Seth- this borders on criminal conspiracy. On successful sites people start clicking all sorts of ads. Good advertisers leave these sites in droves because the ROI drops out the bottom. Click Fraud becomes the accepted Standard Operational Procedure for people to do business on the web, if this becomes “an accepted online protocol.” (Chris Kieff) As an advertiser I don’t like the idea of people who have no intention of buying a product clicking on my ads (or my clients ads). We set our prices according to ROI and we reduce prices when we stop making as much money - simple economics. We also ban ads from showing on websites that get lots of clicks but not a lot of sales. (Patrick Altoft) I want to make sure that anyone advertising on my site gets value from it. High click through rates with no sales means I lose revenue in the long run. People at these real companies do the smart thing and track results of their paid advertisements. If a source isn’t paying for itself, it goes away. (The HR Guy) [...]

  2. Gaurav Mishra on August 22nd, 2008 12:55 pm

    Even though I love the delicious subversiveness of the idea, I agree with the SEM folks. I have done CPC advertising both as a blogger and a brand manager and I have always had zero tolerance for websites (or keywords) with high clicks and low conversions. If clickthrough rates go up and conversion rates drop, marketers would shift ad dollars to search, away from content/ placement, and ad budgets available to bloggers would drop, instead of going up.

    Seth Godin’s “more clicks -> lower conversions -> better landing pages -> higher conversions -> higher budgets” hypothesis assumes that marketers can learn to design significantly better landing pages to convert disinterested (or mildly interested) leads. I’m not sure if I share his confidence.

    [Reply]

  3. Lance Haun on August 22nd, 2008 1:36 pm

    Gaurav - Great point. There is no sense in breaking something that works for such a wide variety of companies (from Fortune 50 to mom and pops).

    [Reply]

  4. Erika with Qvisory on August 22nd, 2008 5:55 pm

    I really appreciate this view of the issue. There’s no such thing as free money and companies already have a hard enough time surviving without people taking advantage of a system just because they think it’s fine.

    [Reply]

  5. hrtopher on August 26th, 2008 11:15 am

    I am also a huge fan of seth and am rather surprised to see him take this position. He always tends to emphasize the need for quality content, quality leads, and professionalism in the blogging world, this point goes against all of that. Part of it may be his background dealing with big companies throwing unlimited budgets into advertising, however you would think his work with start-ups would allow him to see that there are more businesses struggling . Good post

    [Reply]

  6. The Flurry around Seth’s “Ads, Tip Jar” Meme on August 27th, 2008 6:46 am

    [...] Do You Know How To Thank A Blogger? (from: [...]

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