Bad Press Release: The Bloggeries
I subscribe to a press release service that sent me a doozie today - a press release for a Blog review service that is misleading.
Check it out.
Bloggeries is a directory and Blog Review service. From the site, I can see it's not a bad idea, and has some push behind it. The writing for the reviews is okay, but it's nothing special. Don't get me wrong, it's tough to write reviews, so I'm not casting stones - but the site isn't going in my feed.
Then I caught this at the bottom of the press release.
In all fairness, Bloggeries claims they are objective on the reviews. Paying for a review is no guarantee of getting a positive one. I just don't like the idea of having to pay for a review. What is the value to the reader?
Am I wrong here?
Check it out.
Bloggeries is a directory and Blog Review service. From the site, I can see it's not a bad idea, and has some push behind it. The writing for the reviews is okay, but it's nothing special. Don't get me wrong, it's tough to write reviews, so I'm not casting stones - but the site isn't going in my feed.
Then I caught this at the bottom of the press release.
That sounds interesting - who wouldn't want a free review? Except they're not free. You're paying $25 for a review of your blog. There is something to be said for blog reviews, and directories are always good, but I was very surprised to see "Purchase a Blog Review" so blatantly displayed on the site.
Visitors to Bloggeries.com’s blog reviews can see the most recent blog reviews, discover how it rated, read the reviewers comments, read other visitors “bloggeries” and post “bloggeries” of their own. Visit www.bloggeries.com to submit your blog to the directory, or visit www.bloggeries.com/blog to submit your blog for review.
In all fairness, Bloggeries claims they are objective on the reviews. Paying for a review is no guarantee of getting a positive one. I just don't like the idea of having to pay for a review. What is the value to the reader?
Am I wrong here?
posted by James Durbin @ 1:56 PM PERMALINK
4 Comments:
Where did it say it was free? Seems to me that a couple of permanant backlinks is money well spent whether it is good or bad publicity.
The value of the review is not at question. It's the manner in which is it pushed.
The press release suggests that you can submit a blog for review, which is not the same as having to purchase a review.
If customers are paying for a review, there's a different dynamic than if it's an honest, objective review.
The press release doesn't say that, which means it's deceptive.
If this is purely for SEO and traffic, label it as such.
I didn't address the value of a paid review, but I don't think it's that much. A good site is constantly reviewed by others in the community. A good site has no need to pay for a review.
But someone new to the blogosphere, unsure of how it works, might be convinced that paying for links has value. That's their decision.
My problem is with the wording of the press release.
Hi,
As the owner of bloggeries I am not sure where you got the 25$ idea? I purchased the site in April and to the best of my knowledge and as long as I've had the site a review has been free. A fixed price has never been mentioned. There is simply a donation box; we do get some donations and they receive priority over free blogs for the length of time until their review is live.
Just thought I'd clear this up.
Best Regards,
Rob
Rob,
Thank you for the comment, but I can show you where the price tag came from. If you check the link I provided, you can see in the address where it says, "Purchase a Blog Review. The text on your page has been changed to say request a review, but when this blogpost was written, there was a $25 charge for the review.
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