Blogging for fun and profit

22-11-2006

by The Register

New website ReviewMe.com has just hit the web, offering a unique way for bloggers to make money -- by being paid to review products and services.

Making money out of blogging isn't easy: a few Google ad-words aren't even going to cover the cost of the coffee drunk while typing, let alone the cost of running a website. So bloggers are always looking for an alternative source of income, and ReviewMe offers an intriguing alternative.

Paid reviews must identify themselves as such, but have no obligation to be positive -- though one suspects that repeat bookings will tend to come to those who aren't too negative.

The cost is dependent on the popularity of the blog, as rated by Technorati and Alexa, and ranges from USD50 to USD250 for the really top blogs.

ReviewMe isn't going to get into the distribution and return of samples or products as only soft services can be reviewed, which means websites, which generally means other blogs.

So here we have the perfect Web 2.0 business model -- bloggers paying each other to write about how great their sites are, and the blogosphere finally consumes itself in an orgy of self importance.

You can read a Review of the service, but remember that it was paid for.

The Register and its contents are copyright 2006 Situation Publishing. Reprinted with permission.