I’d like to take a moment out of our regularly scheduled programming and thank some of the sponsors of the Reader Appreciation Project. Oh wait, we don’t have any. So how about we work out a deal? You sponsor us, and I’ll write a post about you at least once a month telling the readers how great you are and what you can do for them. Not only do you get groovy ad space, but you also get a post written about you. Oh, and if you pay a little bit more, I’ll include you at the top of that post.

On a more serious note, I have a hard time finding value in such sponsor posts coming from a reader’s point of view. However, in the blogging world, there are no absolutes. I can see some reasons why to thank sponsors from time to time. I asked the readers in a previous post if they liked ‘Thank You Sponsor‘ posts. The responses were mixed, so I’d like to go into that advantages and disadvantages of thanking sponsors publicly.

The Benefits of Thanking Sponsors

1. The target audience may be interested in how to find sponsors for their own blog.

   On Daniel’s July sponsorship post mentioned above, there were several commenters who provided feedback on the quality of the sponsor, and/or whether a sponsor was worthy to have on a blog.

   In the case where the target audience may consist of readers trying to find sponsors for their own blog, I can definitely see the value in updating the readers on sponsors.

2. The target audience might find value in one of the sponsors.

   To be honest, I view sponsor posts kind of like infomercials. However, every now and then, one of those infomercials strikes some kind of interest and I just watch amazed and am even tempted to pick up the phone.

   I imagine that every now and then, there will be a sponsor mentioned that some reader finds valuable.

3. Allows disclosure to the readers that ads and/or links are sponsored.

   Simonne mentioned that she doesn’t mind sponsor posts because she herself is interested in finding sponsors (see reason #1). She also mentions that such posts help with disclosing that some of the links in the sidebar are indeed sponsored.

   Sephyroth agrees:

   To me, it’s a way for them to be open and honest (especially in the case of LH were they have rotating ads) about their sponsors. On my blog, I would just make mention of them when they signed on, or just a generic post that I’ve added sponsorship to my blog. Read the full comment.

The Drawbacks of Thanking Sponsors

1. Readers make those sponsors possible, not the other way around.

   One of the big misconceptions around the blogosphere is that sponsors help keep the content coming for the readers. Although this is somewhat true, it is a bad way of looking at the readers. If readers didn’t come to a blog to read the content, a blogger wouldn’t be able to monetize his/her blog because the traffic figures wouldn’t justify having ads.

   Other bloggers have talked about how TV has “premium” channels, which I would liken to cable TV. Even in the case of TV, however, advertisers are based on viewers. If nobody is watching the show, advertising revenue plummets and the show is canceled.

   In the blogosphere, it is the readers that make advertising possible. So why not thank them from time to time for making the sponsors possible? After all, it is the readers that click on the ads.

2. Thanking sponsors publicly is impersonal.

   Jan pointed out that if sponsors really want to be thanked, perhaps it’s better to e-mail or call the sponsor personally.

3. Uninterested readers will move on.

   LGR said:

   … I usually don’t read those posts. I see the title and move on. I am sure people know that those posts are not the real content of a blog and they certainly don’t bring in any traffic. Read the full comment.

   First Page Fitness adds onto LGR’s point:
   

   Personally I don’t like them. It’s like watching your favorite show on cable when a commercial comes on. Wasn’t “paid programming” supposed to get rid of that? Read the full comment.

Conclusion

I am for full disclosure of sponsors, however I think a post once a month is overkill depending on the target audience. If I were to post a post once a month here, I don’t think the readers would find much value. This is not a “how to make money” blog. I can foresee a post that talks about products/sponsors that are valuable to the readers, but that is a stretch.

Vivien from InspirationBit said:

I think that a link below those sponsor ads saying something like “find advertising rules here” should be sufficient in attracting new sponsors and laying out all the rules on a separate page. Read the full comment.

I’m with Vivien on this point. Have a dedicated page that lays out all the sponsors. Perhaps on the sidebar have a link that says, “Sponsorship slots available.” If anything, have a separate sponsorship feed so that readers who are interested can subscribe to it and keep the posts off the homepage and out of the regular feed.

I find no value in ‘Thank You Sponsor’ posts, but that is my personal preference. I’m not interested in somebody’s sponsors and I skip past them. In the case of the readers, I think it is a case-by-case basis. If the target audience might be interested in sponsors, so be it. If you feel it provides more disclosure, so be it. But if it’s a post just to please the sponsors at the expense of the readers, I think one should seriously reconsider the motivations for providing such posts.

Thank you for reading.

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