Pay to Post - for Good or Ill?

I know this subject is not strictly on topic. However, I have run across these sites a number of times in my efforts to find work I can do from home. After all, what better way to find time to spend with family than if you work from home? (The work from home search is something I may address more specifically in future posts.)

But lets get back to my question. Pay to post sites seem to be popping up everywhere. So are they here for good or ill? As with a lot of things in life it depends on how they are used. Let me elaborate.

Some of the pay to post sites seem to have no regulation other than what the poster places upon themselves. Anyone can post as often or as little as they want. These sites attract the people whose blogs are composed entirely to make a quick buck. I'm sure you are familiar with what I am talking about. You log onto their blog and are hit in the face with the color and blinking lights or numerous competing ads. I think we can agree that these sites are an ill brought about by pay to post sites.

On the flip side there are pay to post sites that regulate the posts. I looked into one of these sights and they required the blogs to be at least a month old and to have at least 10 current posts. They further stipulated that an ad must be proceeded and followed by non-ad posts--guaranteeing that at least two-thirds of the site is non ad content. Beyond those regulations they also asked about the site content so that the ads would be relevant to what is already being discussed in the blog.

The other complaint that I have seen about these sites is that they would lead to dishonesty on the part of the poster. That claim is easily addressed. If it does lead a poster to dishonest claims the reader of that blog will quickly realize the posters lack of credibility and quit reading there site (or at the least quit listening to the ads). Whereas posters who honestly endorse a product they are familiar with (or admit to any lack of knowledge) will continue to have readers and will likely sell more of the product they endorsed.

In conclusion, regulated pay to post sites can be a good thing. Notable personalities are often paid to endorse products. It is nice to see the average man can be paid to endorse a product as well. As long as the site is not an ad site, the ad is relevant to the site and non-ad content is the majority of the content I believe these sites have something to offer us.