Sponsored Content, Paid Posts and Guest blogs

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Sponsored Content, Paid Posts and Guest blogs

September 13, 2017 - 23:50
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Blogging, one of the most popular forms of written content, is highly effective for companies that are doing it right.

A sponsored blog post is a post/article on one of our websites which is written or provided by the client – or created by one of our in-house copy writers for and on behalf of clients.

Relevance

X-Ray Mag accepts guest blogs where subject matters are of reasonable relevance to our niche and target audience. 

Outlandish topics i.e. just for the sake of back linking we'll have to give a pass.

Specifically excluded are:

  • Adult sites
  • Alcohol and Tobacco
  • Gambling
  • Content inappropriate for minors

Required bylines

Posts will be listed under our 'Paid Content' banner.

To comply with prevailing regulations a sponsored blog post must be designated at such, usually at the beginning of the post with a byline such as: "Third party content", "in collaboration with X, brought to you by X"; "Sponsored content" or "This blog post or article was sponsored by [company or brand name]."  

Such disclosures are a legal requirement so please observe and respect that this requirement is non-negotiable.

Back link compatibility

Link targets must be compatible with our editorial profile and readership which comprise of many age groups, including under-18s, and various cultures. This precludes any references to adult sites, gambling, betting, alcohol, tobacco and other subject matters which can be deemed unsuitable for this forum.

Link attributes / observing Google Guidelines

“Not all paid links violate our guidelines. Buying and selling links is a normal part of the economy of the web when done for advertising purposes, and not for manipulation of search results. Links purchased for advertising should be designated as such."   (Google guidelines)

Applying dofollow or nofollow attributes to links is at the discretion of the editors.

Rates pr. post

  First post w./setup Subsequent posts      
Euro

€115

€100

     
USD

$125

$110

   

 

Payment

Rates payable by PayPal unless other arrangementts are made.

 

Note: Our campaign packages already include a number of sponsored blog posts at no additional charge in as follows:

Campaign package: Full Service Premium Mid-size Standard Basic
Blog posts pr month included 4 3 2 1 -

You may also want to consider

Contextual advertising and links

Contextual advertising campaigns place banners and links on webpages that have a contextual relationship to the product or service being sold.

Good contextual links are directly related to the theme of an article.

More info



Process / workflow

Option 1: Advertiser provided content

Materials:

  • One main image.
  • Up to five secondary images, to be displayed in a gallery below main image.
  • Body text, max 600 words.
  • Description of sender.

Notes and provisos:

  • Supply captions and credits to all photos and illustrations provided.
  • By supplying images you acknowledge that you either own or have cleared the copyright with the rightful owner.
  • No fancy formatting or overly complicated mark-up. Text embedded links allowed.

Process:

  1. Submit content elements by email;
  2. Blog post uploaded to test-site ; (test.xray-mag.com)
  3. Changes made if requested by client;
  4. Final copy approved;
  5. Payment taken;
  6. Blog post moved to live website;
  7. Blog post published.
     

Option 2:  Created content

In the short-term, it may seem cost-effective to write your content in-house, or outsource it to marketers without a background in journalism. However, in the long run, your content will be stronger if you invest in solid journalists who have experience and the cache to ensure that your content is top notch.

Rates for web copywriting: $130 / €110 per hour.  Flat rate offers can be provided on request.

Process:

  1. Payment taken;
  2. Headline approved;
  3. Blog post written and posted on test website;
  4. Changes made if requested by client;
  5. Final copy approved;
  6. Blog post scheduled;
  7. Blog post published.

 

 
 
 


Examples
Post on test site pending approval and payment:
   http://test.xray-mag.com/content/5-best-european-diving-sites

Same post moved to live site once payment cleared the bank:
   http://www.xray-mag.com/content/5-best-european-diving-sites