Here’s a great guest post from Eddy E of Luke 16.10. This post will share some of his experiences and tips for using sponsored reviews on his blog. Thanks for your post, Eddy!

Using Sponsored Reviews

I’ve been blogging for about a year now, and in the past six months, there have been a plethora of sites that have come online that pay people money to post an advertisement. Whether it is blogitive.com or payperpost or reviewme, these sites allow advertisers to promote their ideas or products through blogs, and it gives bloggers a chance to make an extra buck.

For example, John at johnchow.com charges close to $400 to review a website or product. Most of us would probably be content at getting paid a fraction of that. I am content getting paid just a fraction of that.

The etiquette on sponsored reviews is still being written because it is such a new medium. So there are a few things that I try to do to make sure that people know that it is a sponsored review:

1. As much as I can, I try to never make a sponsored review be the first post on my blog. Just like we don’t watch TV for the commercials, most of my readers don’t come to my blog for the ads. What this means is that whenever I write a sponsored review, I immediately follow it up with a real post.
2. I always identify sponsored reviews as that. In my headline, I make sure to post it as “Sponsored Review.” Newspapers do this when ads look too close to the font of the newspaper.
3. I give honest feedback on the post. Most of the sponsored review sites do not ask for positive reviews, just a review. I will give honest feedback. For example, I recently had an offer to review a website promoting “Russian Brides.” I am against such a website on ethical and moral grounds, and I had no problem letting my views known on the website.

Why do I do sponsored reviews?

1. I like earning extra cash. I am not going to pay for my child’s education through these reviews, but the revenue does cover my expenses (domain and hosting) of my blog.
2. Sometimes I run out of ideas, and sponsored reviews increase my post ideas. It gives me a chance to think about topics that I want to talk about.
3. It is an easy way to earn money. Right now, blogitive (which I am using regularly) pays me $5 per post. It takes me about 15 minutes to do a post. Is my time worth $20/hour—yes it is!

For those who do not mind monetizing their blog, a sponsored review is an excellent source of additional income. Be honest when writing them, because you do not have to compromise your morals.