Hey folks,
It’s been a crazy week. I just returned from a weekend trip to Switzerland. Yep, I loved the last one so much that I decided to do another one. I’m delighted to report that once again, Switzerland delivered big time. So expect an article about it on the blog in the coming weeks.
But today, I’d like to tell you a different story from this week that I thought was interesting. A story that I think will be of use to any creators among you and especially so to bloggers. But even if you’re not, the lessons coming out of it are pretty universal.
And so, it all begins with…
A Mysterious Email
A few days ago I woke up to a rather unusual email in my inbox. Signed by one Colton Davis from Colton Davis Consulting, here’s what it read.
“Hi Aleksandrs, I’m dropping you a line to see if you’re accepting new content. We write about travel topics and thought one would be a good fit for your blog. The post will be 100% original, written just for your blog, and will not be posted elsewhere”.
I can imagine a lot of people being quite excited about an email like this. Wow, somebody actually wants to write for my blog! All the hours, all the hard work I’ve been putting in is finally paying off!
But because of my IT background, I couldn’t help but feel suspicious. The gut feeling was telling me that something is off. Still, I couldn’t notice any apparent foul play. A quick Google search didn’t produce anything either. Could it be legitimate?
I decided to find out.
The Plot Thickens
I played along and replied to the email asking for examples of their work. The response came quickly, containing a link to a blog article on the internet. They also added the following:
Wordcount: 350-500 words
Disclosure: Post must not contain any sponsored or paid label/disclosure.
Price: 90USD which will be sent to your PayPal email address no more than 48 hours after article publication.
Hold on, what? Someone wants to write an article for my blog and even pay me for publishing it? Isn’t that awesome?! Finally, I can start making some money with my blog!
Unfortunately, if that’s what you think in a situation like this, you can get yourself in a lot of trouble. Instead, you should always ask yourself what’s the catch?
The Only Free Cheese is in the Mousetrap
I’ll spare you the rest of the exchange. The way this and similar schemes operate is that they send you an article containing a link to a site of their choosing. You publish that article and get paid while the site behind the link gets exposure on the internet. It’s a win-win, right?
Well, not exactly. First of all, there’s a moral dilemma. The only way to be successful as a content creator is to be trustworthy. Your audience trusts you, so even something as innocuous as a link in the article might be viewed as an implicit recommendation.
But morality aspect aside, this could also get you in some very hot water with Google. Unless you explicitly mark this link as “sponsored” (and the email stated clearly I’m not to do that), Google will consider this a link scheme and penalize your site’s SEO.
But surely, Google won’t know I got paid for it? Trust me, Google is ridiculously smart, so there’s a very high possibility they’ll figure it out. And if they do, months of your work would potentially be undone. Is that risk really worth a measly USD 90?
The Moral of the Story?
That’s all great, but why am I telling you all this? Well, two reasons.
Firstly, as a warning. See, you don’t even have to be an aspiring creator to have people try and take advantage of you and your hard work. In fact, if you’re good at whatever you do, that is almost guaranteed to happen at some point. Sadly, that’s just the nature of humanity.
Thanks to my work in IT, I was able to notice the trap before stepping right into it. But how many people wouldn’t? The consequences of one careless action could be devastating. What’s especially tragic, many won’t even know what hit them.
The second reason is that there are a few simple lessons to learn (or at least repeat) from this example:
If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Always trust your gut feeling even if you can’t logically see the problem.
Stay skeptical when dealing with strangers. Be sure to examine any proposition you get thoroughly so that you know exactly what you’re dealing with.
Be extremely careful whenever somebody offers you money. Chances are, you are being scammed.
Above all, always do your homework. We live in an age where information is literally at our fingertips. So spend some time and do the research. Yes, time is valuable. But trust me, it’s better to invest some now that to deal with the consequences of an ill-conceived decision later.
Also, I’d like to mention that yes, I do accept new content for SunsetObsession. If you’re willing to write an article for the blog – an honest and thorough one – do reach out to me for details.
With that, stay vigilant, stay safe, and if you enjoy the blog or this newsletter, be sure to share it with your friends.
Cheers,
- Alex
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Sunset Obsession Image of the Week
An image of a blue hour above Saxer Lücke rock formation in the Appenzell region of Switzerland that I took last Saturday. The weather was perfect for hiking, but unfortunately, the sky was too clear for an epic sunset.
Still, a really cool place that I enjoyed visiting.
Quote of the Week
“Dreams are difficult to build and easy to destroy.”
― Seth Godin