If you have ever flown United Airlines you have probably seen the Hemispheres magazine. Usually I only look at it to see what movies are playing on the flight or if I need a quick map of the airport but in the newest issue there is a lengthy article about ‘mommy’ bloggers and how they are complete sell outs. You can read the whole article online here.
Basically the article talks about how these mommy bloggers have earned the trust of their readers then get paid to pitch them products… and no disclosure that they are getting paid to do so.
These mommy bloggers have earned trust with their readers and these companies want to buy it.
If there is one thing I have learned in my many years in marketing its that wherever there is trust, there is someone willing to buy it.
Ted Murphy, CEO of Izea, Pay-Per-Post, and Sponsored Tweets provides a platform for people to sell some of their trust. Essentially he is a trust broker. He will allow companies to buy some of your trust with your readers on your blog or your followers via twitter & Facebook.
I have made a decent amount of money doing sponsored posts and tweets. I even made some money arbitraging other people’s trust, taking money from companies and paying people on twitter to say what the company wanted said about their products.
In 2003 buying Google’s trust (people thought they were clicking on search results when they were actually purchased ads) in their search results was an amazing time for marketers… but it quickly got saturated. The same opportunity existed with Yahoo’s and Microsoft’s search platforms when they launched.
Google also provided one of the easiest methods for a website to sell its trust with its users…. via the Google AdSense content network. Google provided a dead simple way for a user to get paid pennies per click for trust they had built up with their readers, all without any editorial control of the ads being displayed on their website.
In a sense Google was one of the first mainstream brokers of “trust”.
I go over in great detail the negatives of using Google AdSense in the ShoeMoney System (video still free here).
As a purchaser of trust I can tell you that currently the social space is by far where we are getting the biggest bang for the buck right now… and probably will be for a long while. Paying a to 10 digger to get a story to the front page of digg is extremely cheap compared to the results. Paying twitter users on sponsored tweets to say whatever you want them to say about your product for as low as 5 cents per click is an amazing investment.
In the ShoeMoney System we also take you step by step through how to make money with Sponsored Tweets. Ways to find the best people to purchase tweets from and get the most bang for your buck (as well as demonstrate live how to make a few hundred dollars a day). Sponsored Tweets has also agreed to give ShoeMoney System users up to $1,000.00 in free tweets. We also have free money from FaceBook, Google, Microsoft, AOL and others… But more on that later…
So how much is your trust worth? I personally feel its possible to sell trust and still maintain and even grow your trust.
December 21, 2009 at 6:37 am
They went so far as to call mommy bloggers sell outs? That’s just playground behaviour. While it’s true that mommy bloggers are a big driving force in an industry that is cashing in, I have yet to meet a single one that promotes a product that they don’t actually believe in. I for one, would not promote a product if I didn’t think it had some merit. Sell out? Bah.
December 21, 2009 at 8:34 am
Anytime this is discussed around the average joe (non-bloggers etc.) the discussion always seems to revert to jealous temper tantrums.
I’ve seen a lot of people complain about the fairness of the issue. “Why should they get free gifts? I don’t get anything for free.”
However, they seem to have no serious problem with Paris Hilton or z-listers like
Corey Feldman getting their free stuff. Then twittering about how they love [insert product].
It’s just the LITTLE people who they have problem with.
December 21, 2009 at 9:18 am
Its a paternalistic, immature, and probably jealous behavior calling anyone a sell-out for how they make money. Money is oxygen. Its how we survive in society. Anything that’s peaceful.
December 21, 2009 at 9:28 am
Hey Jeremy, where can we find the promo-code for sponsored tweets? Thanks
December 21, 2009 at 9:30 am
They don’t go as far as calling them sell outs but that’s the gist of the article.
Very few times in your life will you ever have the chance to sell out, I think you should take advantage and secure what you can for your family. If that means selling out? Sell out, you won’t have the opportunity to for long.
December 21, 2009 at 9:52 am
In this media blitz era, bloggers are expected to do some promotion, whether for themselves or for partners/affiliates. There’s no shame in it and if people don’t like it, they can unfriend, unfan, etc… There are plenty of others willing to listen to an occasional marketing message.
December 21, 2009 at 10:40 am
This happens every where Jeremy. A shop which earned your trust can sell you same thing with a little higher price.
As a purchaser if you win the trust of a shopkeeper you can buy goods on credit as well.
But in internet world to be a trustworthy you should be aware of the latest happenings around you and to tell the people according to their need.
December 21, 2009 at 1:06 pm
I am just waiting for the shoemoney system, PERIOD!
December 21, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Are you a professional journalist? You write very well.
December 21, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Are you a spammer? You can’t be serious
December 21, 2009 at 4:41 pm
This was a good read. Made you think about who to trust and who not too.
Some people are saying all these people are promoting products they believe in. Thats like telling the local drug peddler that he believes in all the substances he has for sale..Do you think he’s doing them all?? So who ever thinks if your promoting something, doesn’t necessarily mean you BELIEVE in it. In the long run it’s about the money.
I hear you talking about how you lost all those people to the Shoemoney Tools? Don’t you think there was trust issue there? Why am I going to give all my site info to you? So you can go back look through all your logs and “Cya later little guy” if something interested you more.
Simple…
December 21, 2009 at 4:41 pm
And why did this go up here? I click on the wayyyy bottom reply..hmm
December 21, 2009 at 11:11 pm
I have no idea what the heck you just said.
December 22, 2009 at 10:47 am
Let’s first start off by me asking you if you can read?
December 22, 2009 at 12:18 am
lol….to funny! I think that trust s very hard to gain and easy to lose! One thing that I have learned in my business is that you can not trust anyone unless it is on paper! Sad bu true!
December 22, 2009 at 4:23 am
Ask to Akismet.
December 30, 2009 at 11:30 pm
What do you expect, its Shoemoney
December 21, 2009 at 3:26 pm
I think that it is definitely possible to sell your trust while still maintaining it without looking like a sell out.
I have grown very distant from a few blogs I use to follow such as John Chow for the simple fact that it feels as though he has abused the trust his users instill in him, and has become a sell out to the products that pay his bills.
December 21, 2009 at 3:28 pm
that article was a little harsh towards mommy bloggers i think.
i agree selling just about anything is selling some trust.
when i use to have a 9-5 and sold over the phone marketing packages, i had to spend the first 15-20 minutes of the call just chatting and building trust.
otherwise no one would buy and i don’t blame them i’m the same way if i don’t have trust in someone or a company i’m not buying.
we all sell part of our trust value if we sell anything. those who don’t probably aren’t selling much.
Also Shoemoney LOL for your comment above:
“Are you a spammer? You can’t be serious”
I think that’s the first time i’ve seen someone on here call you a “professional journalist”
I for one am glad you don’t write like a professional journalist. That would be too boring!
December 21, 2009 at 3:44 pm
You can spend years to get someones trust yet you can lose it in seconds. Weird concept.
December 21, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Stephen M.K. Covey discusses the subject of trust in his book, “The Speed of Trust”. A great read for those who have the time.
Great post Jeremy
Regards
Paul
December 21, 2009 at 5:38 pm
digg is an abomination. Their content is rubbish as a direct consequence of giving power and influence to the top diggers and not to the most interesting/worthwhile/amusing/engaging/whatever stories.
They’re destroying their readers’ trust by running the algorithm that they do. If they don’t change then eventually they’re going to get owned by a similar social bookmarking site that puts its readers first, such as reddit.
December 21, 2009 at 8:37 pm
There is a lot of hatred towards this kind of thing. I don’t see a problem wwith it as logn as you let your readers know it is a paid review or paid post.
December 21, 2009 at 11:26 pm
The words are rather harsh. After all, many bloggers want to make money but they also want their readers to benefit as well. “selling trust” is a really bad way to put it, as if selling their souls to the devil.
December 22, 2009 at 10:27 am
sorry but I am a realist.
December 22, 2009 at 12:01 am
Great post and nicely put together. Thanks for this wonderful article. One of the best things had happened to me is to discover this website.
December 22, 2009 at 12:52 am
Trust is usually expensive to buy.
December 22, 2009 at 1:54 am
Look where Tiger’s trust got him… just saying.
December 22, 2009 at 1:55 am
I enjoyed reading your post including the comments above.
You said -
“So how much is your trust worth? I personally feel its possible to sell trust and still maintain and even grow your trust. ”
It’s a challenge but yes it can be done.
Many months ago, I was in traditional network marketing. I knew there were many foolish things uplines would tell you to do in order to sell to and recruit people who trust you. But I did none of them. I eventually left network marketing and am just glad I still maintain the trust of my family and friends after that stint.
Thanks Jeremy for this interesting post.
Jose
December 22, 2009 at 5:11 am
There’s only problem I can see… that whole FTC blogger disclosure thingy… does it apply here?
December 22, 2009 at 7:56 am
Buying and selling trust has been depend upon the quality and quantity of the product. If we want more business then we need to concentrate on the product. Then automatically we will get a good response from the market.
December 22, 2009 at 11:50 am
But isint disclosure important?
December 22, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Another of the “why didn’t I think of that” sooner articles I seem to encounter a great deal of these days.
December 23, 2009 at 6:25 am
i think trust is to be sold if there is great sum of money ha ha ha it seems a different logic but it is true..for money we can do many things. iSn’t it
December 23, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Do your homework before you put your name behind something. There’s a fine line between selling and selling out.
December 24, 2009 at 4:20 am
Everytime I read this blog I feel the need to take a shower afterwards to clean the scum off me.
December 24, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Whatever keeps you coming back
December 26, 2009 at 1:48 pm
for me it’s fine
selling a good stuff to followers is a good thing to maintain trust.
December 26, 2009 at 4:09 pm
great post, give my site a look and let me in on a little info…im sure it needs work
December 27, 2009 at 2:42 pm
The selling of thrust is the best deal at all. Quite hard to make it working, but I know quite much people selling thrust in real life (not internet)