A few days ago I posted about experimenting with new ways of increasing my blog income. One of those strategies was experimenting with paid/sponsored posts. So after some research I decided to sign up with a company called “social spark.” So I went to the trouble of adding my blog, joining the site, and all that jazz.
I then waited for them to approve (or “verify”) my blog. This is a manual review process that the social spark employees perform to make sure your blog is up to standards. I was hoping to get approved quickly, because I was interested in making a post and seeing how the service worked. I also wanted to give an in-depth review of how the service worked. So I waited and waited. I signed up on March 7th, and I didn’t hear a response until March 11th. A little long for a review, but I dealt with it.
Unfortunately, my blog was REJECTED! What?! I was a little surprised. Then I read the reasoning:
Your blog does not contain at least 20 posts within the past 90 days
I remembered it saying something about 90 days in their terms and conditions, but I assumed it meant your blog must have a total of 20 posts, and be at least 90 days old. I didn’t think twice about it because this site is nearly 3 years old, with almost 300 posts. So I just skimmed over that part, assuming it was a rule to filter out brand new blogs. I was wrong.
I didn’t realize it meant you had to post 20 times within the past 90 days of them reviewing it. That works out to nearly 7 posts per month. Not very many, but it does add up when you run several blogs (like me), and write other stuff on the side. Oh well.
So it looks like I may be able to make a few more posts, and then resubmit my blog for review, and apparently wait another week for them to approve or reject it. I have read a lot of mixed feedback about this company so far, but I am still willing to give them a shot because they seem to be the leader in paid post programs right now. Therefore, I will try one more time to submit my blog(s) to see if they get approved (after I ensure 20 posts have been made on each within the last 90 days).
I guess it goes to show you that you really have to read those terms and conditions with a microscope.