Full disclosure
I have been involved in the “paid to blog industry” for some time now, and one important thing that has been heavily debated from the start is if the bloggers disclose that they get paid to write the reviews they publish. From the start leading companies like PayPerPost did not require this, but after being criticized from a lot of different people involved in the blogosphere they now seem to have adapted this as a requirement, which is the only right thing to do.
In my opinion this is a must, and I personally disclose on a per-post level that a post is sponsored by adding “This blog post is sponsored”. By this I fully disclose that I have been paid to write the review and my readers are not tricked in any way.
Matt Cutts discuss this from time to time on his blog and you can read more about it in his article about, Hidden links.
What is your opinion? Is a line of text enough disclosure? Please add a comment to this.
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4 Responses to “Full disclosure”
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My name is Andreas Bard and I am a web entrepreneur, writer and blogger. On this blog I write motivational articles and aim to help you on your way to success with your business venture.
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Yes I think that simple line is sufficient. Any more than that and you begin to annoy readers. Just put the line at the top of the post and not the bottom. That way people know right away, rather than after. When I see it come at the end, it makes me have to think about reassesing what I have just read.
Your comment make sense Marc.I used to have it on top, I do not know why I changed it.
//Andreas
Yeah, I think it needs to be disclosed at the post level if you’re doing it. And the sooner, the better.
Anything less is a blow to your credibility and your personal brand. And honestly, I think it’s the best way to promote that you do paid reviews, which will bring in more work.
As far as paid posting this is concerned, I think disclosure should be there if ‘paid posting’ is not the theme of your blog, but in case if you’re running an advertising blog or a review blog, there’s no need to disclose using special images, as the theme already discloses it.