What he said:
There’s been a marked recent increase in the number of people asking me to write about their organization, campaign, or client. Whether it’s a non-profit with some new-fangled incredibly-esoteric project, a politician promoting their latest highly-interesting-to-them but-kind-of-boring-to-you policy proposal, or a public relations firm being paid big bucks to push the lame ideas of yet another client, the volume of “give me free publicity” requests has skyrocketed of late.
Interestingly, at the same time, the number of ads these same groups are running on blogs has plummeted.
Now, you don’t have to pay to get me to write about your story. (And the corollary, even if you paid me I still wouldn’t write about a non-story.) You simply have to have a real story, and it has to be news. And by news, I mean that it has to be novel and interesting, and it has to matter. … [I]n essence, these non-profits, political campaigns and PR firms are not asking me to write about a big news story, which IS what we write about, they’re asking me to do them a favor by writing about something that might not interest my readers. And therein lies the problem. Why should I do them a favor when they’ve never lifted a finger to support my blog or the blogosphere at large?
[…] My point isn’t that the blogs should be bought, or can be bought. My point is that the blogs should be supported by the larger progressive community, and they’re not. Liberal non-profits, political operations, and companies interested in reaching either a progressive audience or an inside-the-beltway crowd wouldn’t think twice about spending $60,000 on a Washington Post ad, spending a good chunk of change on an ad in The Hill or Roll Call, or paying a PR firm a $20,000+ a month retainer to get their news on the blogs, among other venues (NOTE: the very best way to get me NOT to cover a story is to have a PR firm contact me). But the notion of spending $800 (or hopefully, several thousand dollars) on a blog ad gives them serious pause. Then they turn around and expect favors.
There’s an old trite saying: “Why buy the cow when you get the milk for free?” Well, the milk just dried up.
There’s an election six weeks away, a ton of candidates and ballot measures vying for attention, and the usual progressive organizations with their usual agendas… not to mention progressive business owners who wouldn’t be hurt by supporting progressive media once in a while. And yet my BlogAds are surprisingly empty. Hmm.
O)h, shit, Golden One. While I agree totally with what you say, put on your asbestos longjohns, because every vile, hate-spewing wingnut from here to Betelgeuse will be hissing about you soliciting money. You’re supposed to present yourself as a target for abuse GRATIS, just like all the Republicans do.
snort.
Best wishes, though, and if I were a busyness, I’d advertise. As it is, I’ll just have to use the Donate button more often.
WANTED TO HIRE: Fiscally and morally responsible President of the United States. Please apply ASAP. (References required)
The references will be examined meticulously.
–ml
Are blogad revenues drying up?
IF that’s true, are there performance-based reasons for it?
I thought John Aravosis came across as an asshole in that post, even though the substance was clear and correct.
mirror @5,
I think the larger issue is one that isn’t new at all… that a lot of organizations and individuals benefit greatly (and in some cases, profit greatly) from the progressive media infrastructure us bloggers are helping to create… and yet we don’t get the financial support necessary to make this infrastructure viable.
I have all but impoverished myself over the past few years, and hope to eventually leverage my efforts into a decent white collar living on the media side of things. But I can’t go on like this indefinitely. I’ve got a 14-month horizon right now, and after November 2008 I’m going to have to sit down and reevaluate my future.
And in that, I think I’m typical.
Its called a “REAL” job. Try it, you might like it !!!!
7
* pffffft * Like YOU would know …
LOL @ 8
You are still up at midnight……Must be a swinger, if you have a job at all.
I worked in private sector for 24 years, before I became a state maggot 3 months ago. I love it !!!!!!
I work for Queen Christine now, or better yet, you ALL contribute to my wages…… hehehehehehehe
Now for the best part. I get paid to go on interviews for other jobs, but I can’t use a state vehicle.