Paying for Bad PR

After my initial revulsion at http://www.payperpost.com, the new service that connects bloggers who want to shill with companies in need of shilling, I created an account to get a look at the terms of the offers. After some very bad PR, PayPerPost is not surprising PAYING bloggers to drum up some more PR — and, one would assume, BETTER PR. But that’s not the case. Here’s the offer of $100 to give “your honest opinion, good bad or otherwise.”


So here’s a more sober reflection on PayPerPost — I can’t blame them for trying. I don’t think this is evil. I do think this will be a tremendous hassle for blogging because it because it blurs the line between marketing and non-marketing content.

I’m also deeply skeptical that companies will pay for a post if the entire concept is in general disrepute — it’s like paying for bad PR. And speaking of which, I don’t think companies will pay unless they can ensure a positive result, which seems like a logistical impossibility.

So that’s what I think in more than 100 words. And the money shot is in the traced link to PayPerPost above.

Now let’s see if I can get paid for providing bad PR — that would be truly bizarre. Some people say there’s no such thing as bad PR — don’t you believe it.

PRE-POST UPDATE: Right before posting this, I went to confirm my interest in the offer and it was gone! Fortunately, I had already captured the screen shot. I guess this one is a freebie.

Seems like PayPerPost realized themselves how dumb it is to pay for bad PR.