Text-Link-Ads, a popular web site and blog advertising company, recently launched Review Me, a site that pays web site authors to write product reviews. Several other companies have recently begun offering similar services with mixed reactions from web site owners. Some believe that it crosses the line between content and advertising, others believe that as long as paid reviews are marked as such, paid reviews are just another form of advertising.
Almost everyone agrees that the most important aspect of paid reviews is that they clearly state that the author has been compensated for featuring a product or service. While some of the paid-to-post services on the web do not require a clear disclosure, Review Me does.
Having spent a number of years in positions in which I have been exposed to the relationship between large corporations and big media, I know that much of what we read in newspapers, in magazines, see on TV, hear on the radio, and read on the web is in fact undisclosed “indirectly paid” advertising. The relationship between big media and big is a shady one.
In view of this fact, I think that the Review Me model makes sense. It protects readers by clearly disclosing the relationship between advertiser and web publisher, and it gives smaller advertisers the chance to create buzz around their products and services at a price point commensurate with their ad budgets.
How does Review Me work? Web publishers submit their sites for review by Review Me. If the site submitted has sufficient traffic, links, and authority, it is approved. Once approved, sites are available for review by advertisers who can select sites and request that the publishers write paid reviews.
Reviews need not be positive, and advertisers do not have the ability to edit reviews. Review Me encourages publishers to write balanced reviews.
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