Disclosure: This is my first sponsored post … read on to see why

There have been a lot of conversations recently about the pay per post model. While I certainly understand the concerns raised. Specifically, the first entrant into the space Pay Per Post has two conditions that I don’t like:

1. They requires that the reviews are positive
2. They don’t require that Bloggers disclose they are being compensated for writing the review.

I found this frustrating, because I am interested in news forms of commercial communication (advertising) and do believe that currently blogs are underutilized. Therefore, I was very intrigued when today on Tech Crunch a service which appears to be better.

The service is called “Review Me” and deals with both of my issues with Pay Per Post. Specifically, the FAQ includes the following guidelines …

In terms of requirements for the blogger (emphasis mine):

We like to keep the guidelines loose, so bloggers can write in a way that makes sense for their unique niche and audience. We do require that all reviews are at least 200 words long, and that the review post is disclosed as being sponsored in some fashion.

In terms of the advertisers requiring positive posts (emphasis mine again):

We do not allow advertisers to require a positive review. The vast majority of reviews are measuredly positive, although many do contain constructive criticism. We view this as a bonus: how else can you quickly and cheaply get feedback on a product or service from influencers?

So I understand that some will still have concerns about this. However, my current thinking is that I will only review material that is interesting to me and will always disclose I am being compensated for reviewing it.

This is the first example.  (I am getting at least $15 for this review.)  However, I do think this is a product you’d find interesting and I have disclosed it. I’ll write more if other interesting advertisers approach me (through this service or independently.)

Note: I also read on Steve Rubel’s blog that another one of these services will be launching - LoudLaunch.  I’ll probably consider them as well.