If you are like me you love to write. And if you love to write, you probably love to blog. There are enough pros and cons when it comes to blogs and blogging. Today I’ll talk about paid blogging. Blogs are no longer the tools of those who want to share their private thoughts with the world. Nowadays the most renowned businesses understand the importance of blogs as perfect online communication means that (when used properly) boost brand reputation and sales. Practically a blog is whatever you want it to be. It’s your world and you should be able to do with it whatever you want.

I read too often negative comments on paid blogging. I wonder what makes those people judge the way a blogger decides to make a living. After all, writing is a job. Some bloggers get paid to post a short commentary about site x or site y with two or three links pointing to that site. I find this kind of advertising perfectly acceptable, as long as the blog is not filled with paid postings. After all, printed newspapers are full of advertisements and no one complains about them! Getting paid to blog is not such a bad practice, as long as the blogger provides a disclosure at the end of the advertisement. Personally I only blog about things I like and I would never accept financial compensation to advertise a site that is not in accordance with my ethic standards. There are probably bloggers that post on their blogs advertisements for practically anything. But, as I’ve said, the Web is a free world. If they choose to blog for money, what’s the problem? After all the users can also choose whether to read a blog or not. No one can force you to buy a magazine if you don’t like it. And in the magazines you do like, you see often advertisements: some for cosmetic products, some for cars and so on. Do you go on buying everything you see? I doubt it! That’s exactly what happens with a blog. So what if I decide to accept $ 5-10 to post a short advertisement on my blog? For example I like jewelry anyway and I gladly advertise for Danforth. Why not? They do have a quality website and the jewels displayed online look amazing. And I am glad to advertise for anyone else that provides a quality product and quality content.

There are also other ways to make money with a blog: AdSense, affiliate programs and so on. Advertising in blogs is extremely effective and when you can get a blogger to link to your website that’s even better. Blogs are perfect to generate buzz and spread the news about your company and products. For example Google is indexing my posts daily. Literally.

So I am pro paid blogging, but I have to say that my blog is first serving its main purpose: to inform the readers on SEO, web development and online PR trends. And since blogging is a part of the Web, this post makes sense.