Shoemoney - Skills To Pay The Bills

Posted: 10 Oct 2013 07:38 AM PDT

Unless the government is still shut down, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plans to go "native" on Dec. 4, hosting a public workshop on the latest – some say disingenuous – innovation in digital advertising: so called "sponsored content," a.k.a. "native advertising."

What, you may ask, is native advertising? It's a fancy label for describing paid advertising that is blended with original – or "native" – content so that it ideally feels less intrusive and will result in more clicks.

One example, discussed previously in this space, is Facebook's "Sponsored Stories" campaign, which incorporate users' "Likes" for a product or brand into a paid ad that runs in the news feeds of their friends. "Sponsored Stories" are popular with advertisers because consumers are more likely to recall and respond to an ad if it came with a plug from someone they know. And, because they blend into the news feeds, they don't seem like traditional ads, which can increase their effectiveness.

Each of the mega stars in the social media firmament – not just Facebook – have embraced the concept (and monetization potential) of native advertising, whether it be "Promoted" tweets, trends or people on Twitter, "Sponsored" search ads on Google, "True View" video ads on YouTube, or "Promoted" posts on Tumblr. Even LinkedIn is now joining the fray, becoming a daily destination not only for professional job opportunities, but also news that can be blended for profit with native ads.

While the term is fresh, "native advertising" is only the most recent in a long list of clever (if not always kosher) ad "disguising" techniques to attempt to overcome consumer aversion to saturated media advertising. Whether it's been an infomercial, an advertorial, "fake" news sites, sponsored product reviews or supposedly unpaid celebrity product plugs in "novel" contexts like talk shows or social media (now addressed in the FTC's Endorsement Guides), the idea has always been the same: attempting to gain the consumer's attention by packaging ad content within a seemingly non-commercial environment. The issue for the FTC, of course, with each of these methods – and surely now with native advertising – is whether the consumer recognizes the content as advertising, and if not, what "alerts" will put the consumer on notice so she is not misled about its true nature and purpose.

Just as the FTC has developed and enforced disclosure guidelines to protect consumers from the potentially misleading effects of these predecessor forms of "sponsored content," so, too, it will for native advertising. First, however, it has to understand it, which is the purpose of the December workshop. You could learn more about the event at www.ftc.gov, but since the site is currently shut down along with the agency (and the author is still open), you can learn here. Topics that may be covered include:

What is the reason for the wall between regular content and advertising? What are the challenges in maintaining that wall in digital media, including mobile?
How are paid ads integrated into, or presented as, regular content, and in what contexts does this occur?
What business models support the monetization and display of native advertising? What entities control how the ads are presented to consumers?
How can ads be distinguished from regular content, such as through labels and visual cues, and how can the differentiation be maintained when, for example, the ad is recirculated through social media?
What does research show about how consumers notice and understand ads that are blended in with news, entertainment, or other native content?

Requests to participate as panelists are due by Oct. 29. For those of you using or considering using sponsored content, the workshop – and the report likely to follow sometime after – will be an opportunity to gain insight into the commercial benefits and compliance risks of native advertising. That insight could pay dividends down the road when the FTC feels it finally knows enough about this new digital advertising practice to begin taking enforcement action against uses of it that mislead consumers.

Five Ways to Connect With Fellow Bloggers - DailyBlogTips

Five Ways to Connect With Fellow Bloggers

Posted: 10 Oct 2013 04:00 AM PDT

How do you build a relationship with other bloggers in your niche?

Whether they're brand new, well established, or A-listers, fellow bloggers are an invaluable source of support.

If you have a strong relationship with them, they may well help you with your promotions, link to your posts, offer you review copies of their products, etc.

You might wonder, though, how to get noticed by a specific blogger – and how to build a real connection. These five ideas should help. I've listed them in order from simplest to most involved (but also most likely to have an impact).

#1: Tweet or Share Their Post

This one takes seconds of your time, and isn't at all scary! Simple find a blogger you'd like to connect with, pick one of their posts, and tweet it out to your followers. Make sure you include the blogger (e.g. I'm @aliventures) so they see your tweet.

Tip: A-list bloggers won't always notice a few retweets and shares, but smaller bloggers probably will.

#2: Leave a Comment

When you leave a comment, you're not just helping out the blogger by adding to the discussion on their site – you're laying the groundwork for a relationship. Try to comment on their posts over the course of a couple of weeks before moving further.

Tip: Make sure your comments are genuinely useful and relevant. You don't have to comment on every single post, so don't push yourself to write something if you have nothing to say.

#3: Send them an Email

In my post Nine Blogging Milestones to Celebrate, DBT reader Shawn Gossman wrote:

I think #9 [Getting a "Thank You" Email from a Reader] is the best milestone out of them all. When my readers contact me to thank me for writing articles, that lets me know that people enjoy what I have to say and it motivates me to continue.

It's a safe bet that other bloggers feel this way too! By sending a simple "thanks" email, you can really make an impact.

Tip: When emailing someone for the first time, keep it short and simple. Most bloggers are busy people, often blogging around a full-time job.

#4: Write a Guest Post for Their Blog

Not all big bloggers read their comments or even their emails. Writing a guest post, though, is generally a sure-fire way to get your content read by them. Make sure you follow all their guidelines and submit the best piece of content you can.

Tip: Although it's a wonderful feeling to have a guest post on a major blog in your niche, you can also get great results from smaller blogs – so don't discount those.

#5: Write About Them on Your Blog

One pretty much certain way to get on someone's radar is to write a post about them. That could be an in-depth review of one of their products, an overview of who they are and what they blog about, or a piece that links to and describes some of your favourite posts on their blog.

Tip: Make your post as useful as possible to them – by linking to their products, for instance, or by encouraging readers to sign up for their newsletter.

Have you used any of these methods? What's worked well for you – and what might you try next? Let us know in the comments!

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