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Approached for guest post collaboration

by hfbadvertising
24 replies
We were approached by a writing company to post articles on our website for x amount per article.

So my question is what is the going rate per article if we do choose to post articles on out site for them.

Or this is just a bad idea and we will be penalized by the search engines for posting sponsored articles.
#approached #collaboration #guest #post
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  • Profile picture of the author savidge4
    Originally Posted by hfbadvertising View Post

    We were approached by a writing company to post articles on our website for x amount per article.

    So my question is what is the going rate per article if we do choose to post articles on out site for them.

    Or this is just a bad idea and we will be penalized by the search engines for posting guest articles.
    Just to clarify.... are they paying you? or is it they are wanting you to pay?
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    • Profile picture of the author hfbadvertising
      Originally Posted by savidge4 View Post

      Just to clarify.... are they paying you? or is it they are wanting you to pay?
      They will be paying us $20 per article.
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      Harris Brown
      HFB Advertising

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  • Profile picture of the author seangugerty
    Are you buying content from them? Because if your buying it then you of coarse you will be able to take credit for it as though it was your own. If that is the case cheap Wal mart quality is about $22 $40 a post, and the high end Nordstrom type blog posts, $250 a post.

    IF the individual is going to get a backlink out of the exchange and be able to put their name on the article, then they're the one paying. Sometimes guest bloggers get lucky and the cost is just a high quality post.
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    • Profile picture of the author hfbadvertising
      Originally Posted by seangugerty View Post

      Are you buying content from them? Because if your buying it then you of coarse you will be able to take credit for it as though it was your own. If that is the case cheap Wal mart quality is about $22 $40 a post, and the high end Nordstrom type blog posts, $250 a post.

      IF the individual is going to get a backlink out of the exchange and be able to put their name on the article, then they're the one paying. Sometimes guest bloggers get lucky and the cost is just a high quality post.
      Thanks. They are asking for a link back to them in the article. I think they are offering a low cost per article $20 pay out to post on our site. I think that's way to low especially our site DA is getting higher.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Harris,

    Obviously, this is a decision you'll have to make for your business. I just want to caution that there is something called "guilty by association" that happens online that you should at least consider.

    I'm sure you can guess what I'm talking about. If the articles they send you are sub-standard, without purpose or expertise, stolen content, copyright infringing, or any other type of content that won't help your site ... then it's going to be a negative for you. If the articles draw or push people away from your site, that's not a good thing either.

    So while the short-term benefit of the money seems enticing, if the articles you post hurt you be association, that's not a good thing.

    Just saying ...

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author hfbadvertising
      Originally Posted by Steve B View Post

      Harris,

      Obviously, this is a decision you'll have to make for your business. I just want to caution that there is something called "guilty by association" that happens online that you should at least consider.

      I'm sure you can guess what I'm talking about. If the articles they send you are sub-standard, without purpose or expertise, stolen content, copyright infringing, or any other type of content that won't help your site ... then it's going to be a negative for you. If the articles draw or push people away from your site, that's not a good thing either.

      So while the short-term benefit of the money seems enticing, if the articles you post hurt you be association, that's not a good thing.

      Just saying ...

      Steve
      Thanks for your thoughts. I hear you loud and clear. We don't know if I want to go in this direction either. We will be the decision maker what article gets cleared.
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by hfbadvertising View Post

        Thanks for your thoughts. I hear you loud and clear. We don't know if I want to go in this direction either. We will be the decision maker what article gets cleared.
        Want to find out how serious they are? Add a zero to that offer and see what they say.

        You do not want to be in the position of having to prove that you aren't just selling backlinks. Or facilitating the sale of backlinks by providing an outlet.
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        • Profile picture of the author hfbadvertising
          Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

          Want to find out how serious they are? Add a zero to that offer and see what they say.

          You do not want to be in the position of having to prove that you aren't just selling backlinks. Or facilitating the sale of backlinks by providing an outlet.
          Definitely. 2 zeros are better than one. But I get you. I'm sure plenty of people make a living like this having sponsored articles on their site and calling it a guest post instead.
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    Hi Harris,

    It depends on a few things:

    - the quality of the articles the company would provide to you
    - the alignment - or non-alignment of said articles with your blog niche
    - the reputation of the company; linked to article quality

    I would not focus on money. Think of it this way: would you be elated to publish the articles to your blog? If yes, and if the topics match your niche, go for it. If not, then nope.

    My hunch; if a writing company cold pitches you the article quality will be terrible LOL. Even if you've an up and coming site, good, quality content ain't churned out by these companies, but by established, pro freelance writers charging $100 or more per article.

    Definite potential penalties too; you're in essence getting paid for links, and this needs to be disclosed along with making links No Follow, or you'll run into disclosure and search engine issues.

    Ryan
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    • Profile picture of the author hfbadvertising
      Originally Posted by ryanbiddulph View Post

      Hi Harris,

      It depends on a few things:

      - the quality of the articles the company would provide to you
      - the alignment - or non-alignment of said articles with your blog niche
      - the reputation of the company; linked to article quality

      I would not focus on money. Think of it this way: would you be elated to publish the articles to your blog? If yes, and if the topics match your niche, go for it. If not, then nope.

      My hunch; if a writing company cold pitches you the article quality will be terrible LOL. Even if you've an up and coming site, good, quality content ain't churned out by these companies, but by established, pro freelance writers charging $100 or more per article.

      Definite potential penalties too; you're in essence getting paid for links, and this needs to be disclosed along with making links No Follow, or you'll run into disclosure and search engine issues.

      Ryan
      Thanks. They definitely asked for dofollow links. I'm just curious on the whole thing for sponsored articles. They did send me some samples. I know there is the FTC issue you have to disclose it.

      But here's the thing if you can make your articles look like they are coming from you how can you get penalized. If there is no guest author. We all put external links on our site and search engines like that we do that.

      What I just said is deceiving but I'm sure plenty of people do it like that to avoid such a penalty.

      You definitely need to edit the article to your style and make sure it's error free.
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      • Profile picture of the author agmccall
        Originally Posted by hfbadvertising View Post

        Thanks. They definitely asked for dofollow links. I'm just curious on the whole thing for sponsored articles. They did send me some samples. I know there is the FTC issue you have to disclose it.

        .
        Did you run those articles through copyscape?

        I would personally not put someone else's content on my page. I would rather pay someone $20.00 for an article that is uniquely mine than someone pay me $20.00 to post one of their articles that will probably be re-written plr anyway.

        Plus you will have to monitor the link all the time to make sure they do not start re-directing to a site that could get you penalized.

        If your site is generating the kind of traffic that would inspire someone to want to post on your site, then you probably do not need their articles anyway

        al
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        • Profile picture of the author hfbadvertising
          Originally Posted by agmccall View Post

          Did you run those articles through copyscape?

          I would personally not put someone else's content on my page. I would rather pay someone $20.00 for an article that is uniquely mine than someone pay me $20.00 to post one of their articles that will probably be re-written plr anyway.

          Plus you will have to monitor the link all the time to make sure they do not start re-directing to a site that could get you penalized.

          If your site is generating the kind of traffic that would inspire someone to want to post on your site, then you probably do not need their articles anyway

          al
          Exactly. But we will be controlling the content. What gets posted and linked. They won't have access to post freely. So they won't be able to change content or links only we will.
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          • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
            Originally Posted by hfbadvertising View Post

            Exactly. But we will be controlling the content. What gets posted and linked. They won't have access to post freely. So they won't be able to change content or links only we will.

            Essentially you have been approached with a very common technique in SEO link building called link outreach. The raw truth is that despite the search engines hating it a good amount of links on the internet are in fact paid links. They are paid in cash or in return for something of monetary value. Search engines prefer if a site is linked to based on merit alone but I'd say most webmasters have no incentive to link to other sites in any meaningful way in today's online world.

            The cost is dependent on the amount of traffic or the amount of SEO authority your page has to refer to other sites (and increase their search results). Its hard for me to judge the price not knowing your site but if Ihad to I would say $20 is low.

            That might be because there is not that much value in posting to your site or it could be that the outfit is two bit and cheap. Personally on cash alone I would not approach a webmaster for $20 so (again just a guess not knowing the details of your site) I am leaning toward it just being a second rate SEO firm who has a client that isn't paying much.

            They are probably going to want a link with anchor text for the search term their clients want to rank for and if its an inferior site (or if the content doesn't match your regular niche) it could be spotted as a purchased link. Be warned such an identification CAN be cause for a search engine to penalize your own site.

            Its up to you and the content but $20 to me isn't worth the bother (and if they wish to compensate for that with many articles then your chance of getting penalized with all those links goes up - relative to the number of pages on your site). I'd say in my experience ( SEO thats been at it for a decade) the average is about $40-$70. $200 is waay too high unless yours is a major site. Basically in regard to SEO a link for $200 would be one that by itself stands to affect ranking on its own (as opposed to just one of many).
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  • Profile picture of the author kushalshah
    Originally Posted by hfbadvertising View Post

    We were approached by a writing company to post articles on our website for x amount per article.

    So my question is what is the going rate per article if we do choose to post articles on out site for them.

    Or this is just a bad idea and we will be penalized by the search engines for posting sponsored articles.
    What's your blog URL?

    Price totally depends on authority (DA & PA) of your blog, total # of visitors you're getting, will you be allowing a dofollow / nofollow link to their website, your social media followings etc.

    If they are offering $20 then I'm assuming the article will not be that good.

    Aim to publish guides or tutorials type of articles such that your visitors can actually implement or experiment the strategy in real life.
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    • Profile picture of the author DABK
      No, value to a typical site owner depends on that.
      Price depends on the smallest amount the seller is willing to accept and the highest amount the buyer is willing to pay.

      If the OP and the seller agree that da and visitors and all that comes to 20 but they agree to go forward with the transaction at 18 or 41, the price is 18 or 41.

      That said, Op, do you get any rights to the articles?
      Will your prospects be helped by the article topics?
      Will the quality of the thinking evinced by the articles impress your prospects?
      Will the content and quality of writing make visitors to your site mire likely to buy from you?
      How long do you have to keep the articles up?
      How do you know the articles are nit breaking some law?
      Who is responsible if someone sues you over an article?


      Originally Posted by kushalshah View Post

      What's your blog URL?

      Price totally depends on authority (DA & PA) of your blog, total # of visitors you're getting, will you be allowing a dofollow / nofollow link to their website, your social media followings etc.

      If they are offering $20 then I'm assuming the article will not be that good.

      Aim to publish guides or tutorials type of articles such that your visitors can actually implement or experiment the strategy in real life.
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Originally Posted by hfbadvertising View Post

    Definitely. 2 zeros are better than one. But I get you. I'm sure plenty of people make a living like this having sponsored articles on their site and calling it a guest post instead.
    Sounds like you've already decided to take the cash and now you need someone to solve the ethical problem for you.

    A lot of people make a living by kiting checks and various forms of fraud. Like most ethical questions, the only one who can tell you it's okay is the guy staring back at you from the mirror.
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    • Profile picture of the author hfbadvertising
      Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

      Sounds like you've already decided to take the cash and now you need someone to solve the ethical problem for you.

      A lot of people make a living by kiting checks and various forms of fraud. Like most ethical questions, the only one who can tell you it's okay is the guy staring back at you from the mirror.
      Nope. Just seeing what the deal is on this.
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      Harris Brown
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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
      Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

      Sounds like you've already decided to take the cash and now you need someone to solve the ethical problem for you.

      A lot of people make a living by kiting checks and various forms of fraud. Like most ethical questions, the only one who can tell you it's okay is the guy staring back at you from the mirror.

      What in the world are you talking about John? Whats the ethical problem of putting something on your site for cash? Tell us all because we can then approach Google about all those links you can buy in their search results - that they put over organic relevant content.

      kiting checks and fraud?
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by Mike Anthony View Post

        What in the world are you talking about John? Whats the ethical problem of putting something on your site for cash? Tell us all because we can then approach Google about all those links you can buy in their search results - that they put over organic relevant content.

        kiting checks and fraud?
        Go back and read it again, Mike.

        I never said anything about publishing content for cash being wrong in and of itself.

        My problem was a) publishing sponsored content without disclosing the sponsorship and b) justifying it by hiding behind the "but they did it" defense.

        If you look at those Google links you mentioned, every one of them is prominently identified as an ad. If hfb wants to identify sponsored posts as such, my ethical concerns instantly vanish.
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        • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
          Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

          My problem was a) publishing sponsored content without disclosing the sponsorship and b) justifying it by hiding behind the "but they did it" defense.
          My objection stands. Sponsorship is just code word for "paid" - cash . There is no ethical situation. You own a property you put an ad on it and its not ethical because it takes this or that form unless its advertising something unethical in and of itself. In the case of content thats got editorial backing of the webmaster nothing needs to be added. Its an editorially approved piece.

          If you look at those Google links you mentioned, every one of them is prominently identified as an ad.
          utter nonsense. On many screens the ad indication is faded (or microscopic) which many people overlook entirely. I have seen many people click on those links thinking it was Google's recommendation and Google is definitely aware of research that shows many people are thus misled.

          If hfb wants to identify sponsored posts as such, my ethical concerns instantly vanish.
          If you stop pretending like a corporation (Google ) is the one that sets ethical guidelines by fiat then my ethical concerns about your point of view might vanish. I can't think of anything more corrupting to true ethics than fabricating an ethical issue on the basis of a money making corporation's self serving views.

          Again as long as the Op approves and agrees with the content there are ZERO ethical issues. Comparing that to kiting checks is just ridiculous.
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  • Profile picture of the author jennifer ty
    When I first came on board with John at EntrepreneurOnFire I knew I had a lot of studying to do.

    I'm a somewhat smart marketer thanks to my background in the advertising industry, but drawing up marketing plans for a worldwide logistics company and for truckload and freight carriers isn't really the same as a marketing plan for a business podcast. What's this industry all about, and what's it like working for myself instead of someone else?
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    In the interest of civil discourse, I think it's best we agree to disagree. I'm not going to change your mind and you're not going to change mine.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
      Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

      In the interest of civil discourse, I think it's best we agree to disagree. I'm not going to change your mind and you're not going to change mine.
      I didn't have the slightest interest nor considered it even minimally important to change your mind. You imposed an ethical standard into the thread without any logical standard so I objected on logical grounds. The end.
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  • Profile picture of the author kate50
    Obviously, this is a decision you'll have to make for your business. I just want to caution that there is something called "guilty by association" that happens online that you should at least consider.
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