For as long as I’ve written on this blog, I’ve always approached it with the perspective that this is my content all based on my experience. And given that the blog tied to my name in the domain, it seemed to make sense.
However, the longer I’ve worked within the WordPress economy, the more people I’ve met who are doing some really incredible things with it. Some people are building some really cool plugins and themes for it while others are building tools specifically for those building said plugins and themes.
And as I’ve mentioned numerous times throughout the year, there are some changes coming to this blog – all for the better, of course (at least that’s the goal) – and the first change I’m looking to introduce is to begin offering sponsored posts.
Sponsored Posts (And How To Do It)
As an avid reader of a number of other blogs, sponsored posts often seem spammy.
- they ooze with language that doesn’t feel natural,
- the products that are offered don’t provide utility to any of the audience,
- the goal of the post is not to provide value to the reader.
And that last point is what I really can’t stand about sponsored posts. No, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with an author wanting to promote a tool to his or her audience. However, if they have an audience, I think it’s important to respect their time that said readers are voluntarily giving to the site.
To do that, I believe that sponsored posts must be something that’s useful to the readers. A healthy percentage of the readers should:
- find the sponsored post interesting,
- have no trouble reading the post as it fits in nicely with the rest of the site’s content,
- see how whatever the content that’s being promoted works within their workflow.
Ultimately, if you’re not catering to your audience, then you’re not doing a good job of actually sponsoring content. You’re essentially running meaningless posts.
So What About This Site?
Starting in the coming months, I’m going to be allowing sponsored posts but there are going to be some very strict rules around it. For example:
For example:
- each post will be written by me so the tone of the post fits with how I write,
- the products, services, or whatever else I opt to cover will be useful to those who read this blog,
- there will be a vetting process in place (it’s not just pay-to-player).
Above all else, readers come first.
If you’re someone who’s interested in having a sponsored post run on this site, I’m going to have what’s essentially the same thing as a press kit for you.
Instead of being all about this site, it’ll be about what a sponsorship offers, how I expect content to be provided, and the usual analytical data along with options for promotions via social media.
There will be some other information included all of which should help make the process that much easier when preparing the content to be sponsored.
But, as previously mentioned, the readers come first so if you’re looking to promote infographic or tools for designers, this is really not the site for it (though I’m sure I’m still going to get this despite this sentence 😏).
Interested (Or Not?)
With that said, I’m interested to hear if you’re interested. If so, feel free to contact me. If not, feel free to contact me.
This is something I’m looking to roll out within the next month or so (along with some other changes). I’m closing the comments on this particular post because I don’t want the conversation to devolve into something that’s not productive.
Instead, I’m more eager to hear directly from you in my inbox. With that said, I look forward to seeing what kinds of things we can work together to bring to the rest of those who are involved in WordPress especially as developers (though no fully excluding anyone else).