The Indiepub Blog

BlogBurst: Where's the Incentive for Bloggers?

May 2, 2006 12:45 AM Posted by mac

The BlogBurst service aims to take select blog content and "publish" it on mainstream media sites like SF Gate and The Washington Post. Sounds great, right? Traditional publishers get loads of blog content and that "hey, we've got blogs!" credibility and bloggers get ... uh ... hmm ... a link?

No really, that's it. Bloggers write and compile and create and in return they get a couple of poorly placed, poorly constructed links and some bad formatting (see for yourself here and here).

Now, I don't think BlogBurst is out to screw the blogger. In fact, I think the basic concept is quite good and could, with refinement, actually benefit bloggers down the road. But what bothers me is the assumption that bloggers are going to just serve up their stuff and revel in the small joy of having their content featured 200 levels down on a news site. Worse still, many bloggers will go for this simply because it seems like a good idea.

But let's look a little closer ...

The BlogBurst FAQ lists the following items under the "What do bloggers get out of this?" heading:

BlogBurst Point 1: "Visibility and exposure on major news and portal sites."

Counterpoint: Take a look at the BlogBurst box on the SF Gate travel section. It's on the left, below the fold, below the Hot Travel Deals, and outfitted in a box that looks quite similar to the Sponsored Links boxes that adorn many mainstream media sites. Heads and decks and sources are included and that's all very nice, but this BlogBurst module doesn't really scream "Click Me!"

BlogBurst Point 2: "Traffic through attribution and links back to your blog."

Counterpoint: This point left out a few key words. It should read: "You might get traffic back to your site through attribution and links if people bother to click on the links." As it's written, it sounds like traffic is a given. That's not the case. People need to see your story, then click on your story, then click on the links back to your site. You might get traffic.

BlogBurst Point 3: "Performance based compensation (after our beta period)."

Counterpoint: I'm going to withhold comment on this until the beta period expires.

BlogBurst Point 4: "Authority and credibility within your topic area."

Counterpoint: Like the traffic point (No. 2), this is an assumption, not a fact. Sure, it looks good to have your stuff under the banner of a major news organization, but there's a big difference between writing for that organization and having your stuff appear on the organization's Web site. Savvy folks (editors, writers, hiring managers) will spot the difference. BlogBurst bloggers should not assume that posts appearing on SF Gate or The Washington Post count as clips in a portfolio. At best, these are sorta-clips.

BlogBurst Point 5: "New readers who wouldn't normally find out about your blog."

Counterpoint: Yes, it's possible that new readers will read your stuff. But it's also possible they'll read your stuff on SF Gate and never know anything about you or your blog or all the hard work you do.

Bitching and moaning aside, I actually do believe a few key improvements could turn BlogBurst into a legitimate blogger resource:

• Increase the publicity for bloggers. Let bloggers create a 25-word bio that includes links and publicity information, then append this bio to the end of each story. This would give bloggers a small and simple way to craft their own messages and refine their grassroots publicity efforts.

• Improve the formatting. I know BlogBurst is still getting its act together, but bad formatting is going to undermine the credibility of the service and the individual bloggers. It's imperative that bloggers' stories look professional. Photos need to line up and text needs to wrap properly. In addition, the onus should be on BlogBurst to find ways of formatting this material, not the blogger.

• Make it equitable. I'll be interested to see how BlogBurst's revenue share works, but I hope they build in a way for excellent bloggers to get their just rewards. If a blogger creates phenomenal content and the major media outlets benefit from increased audience, page views and user sessions because of that content, then the blogger deserves a reasonable cut of the revenue. Moreover, if BlogBurst wants to attract top-tier bloggers -- the type of people who know their content has worth -- they need to sweeten the pot.

• Treat the bloggers like royalty. BlogBurst's entire system depends on blog content, yet the current incarnation of the service clearly favors the major publishers (media outlets can tweak the display of the blog posts while bloggers appear to have little control on their end). Granted, BlogBurst knows where the revenue will eventually come from (the major publishers), so it's wisely genuflecting before the altar of big media. But BlogBurst can't forget the bloggers in this equation. Blogger publicity and incentive elements are key, but there are additional ways to keep the blogger constituency happy: account managers, newsletters, tip lists, and help forums staffed by people who actually help are just a few ideas.

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