racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

We’ve read about horror stories all too often. AdSense checks get delayed, and before you know it, the check has already been deposited and the funds have cleared (the AdSense control panel gives you information on clearing date). In short, someone has stolen your AdSense check. They’re either from the postal service, or someone who was able to intercept your check en route to your mailbox. Chances are, they’re in cahoots with bank employees, or are able to create fake documents to impersonate you, in order to deposit these checks, which are crossed (marked for deposit to payee’s account only).

That was before, when Google sent checks directly from an office offshore. The alternative was courier service. You get the checks 3 days after being issued, but you have to pay $24 (about PhP 1,200). It sucks. I know—I’ve tried it, but that was after asking for a re-issue, when I suspected my check was lost or stolen. This is a good idea for those who put their checks on hold until the account accumulates money, or for those who get big amounts regularly.

When I got my check in the mailbox yesterday, though, I was surprised to see a local return address attached to the envelope: APCEI Logistics, Inc. It was printed on sticker paper, and slapped on top of the Google Mountain View, CA address. Also, the postmark says April 23, 2007—just two days from the date of my receipt (and almost a full month after my check was issued by Google). This indicates that Google is likely sending checks to the Philippines in bulk, and then someone here is handling the mailing for them.

Here’s the return address.

And here’s the postmark.

I’ve sent an email to Aileen Apolo, Google’s country consultant here, to ask whether there are changes in how Google handles AdSense checks here. Hopefully this will mean we can have more options soon, like cheaper courier service (anything cheaper than $24 a pop would be great) or even electronic funds transfer like what they have in the US.

Heck, even receiving the checks via regsitered mail would be okay with me. At least this way, your check doesn’t have to be carried by the postman and left at your door/mailbox/gate. Instead, you would have to claim it at the post office by presenting a valid ID. I know this is still not as secure as EFT or DHL. Even having a courier service handle your packages/letters/checks isn’t a 100% surefire way to be safe. But at least these add a few more layers of protection.

I also emailed APCEI, and I’m waiting for their response as I type this. I do hope this is good news for AdSense publishers in the Philippines who are worried about the safety of their checks. And I do hope there’s more in store for us.

Later this week, I’ll be launching a team blog focused on lifestyle matters (announcement to be made this Friday). It’s not a niche blog, but rather a blog about the bigger picture (for some reason, niche blogs aren’t working well for me, and I think big blogs are a better business model in some cases). One of the come-ons for my writers is a revenue-share scheme, on top of a fixed monthly salary, their own AdSense channel, and ad sales commissions. However, it will not be like what other networks may offer, which are revenue shares out of gross revenues/proceeds of the blog. Revenue share will be net of costs—which are mostly blogger wages, and not much of hosting fees.

When I started problogging, one of the first groups I joined paid their writers by revenue share. There was no base salary, so you’d better wish the blog started to earn soon so you get your share of the pie. But being new blogs, we were made to understand that we couldn’t expect revenue to be good in the first few months. But still, it was interesting since all the blog’s ad revenues are to be distributed among bloggers up to a certain ceiling, after which, the blog network and the bloggers will split the revenues 50-50.

Sounds like a pipe dream, doesn’t it? I wondered how the network would be earning money if all the proceeds below a certain amount go to the bloggers. Factor in hosting fees and other incidental costs, and surely the network would be in the red. This meant they were probably optimistic that each blog would be earning in the thousands of dollars, so they can get a decent share.

However, it was a pipe dream indeed, as one of the owners of another network that took me in told me. The first few months, the blogs didn’t earn much. AdSense revenues were dismal, and other link/ad sales were nil. Maybe it was because of the niche. Or maybe it was because the sites weren’t marketed well.

So was I still worried I wasn’t earning anything from those blogs? Well, by that time I had already joined another blog network—smaller, but with more focused efforts (and bigger pay, too). But I was still wondering if I could get a share from the blogs, and if the owners are earning from these at all.

Then surprise of surprises, the blogs were sold, one by one. I hear they fetched quite high prices in the market, too.

And I hear that the network had been divesting itself of blog properties time and again. They built them up, and they sold for a profit.

So that’s how they earned. And that’s how they could afford to give too big a revenue share to their bloggers. I guess they weren’t rooting for monthly revenue earnings much, because they know they could sell the sites for 10, 50 or even 100 times the monthly revenue.

So then, if you ask me why I’m only sharing net profits with bloggers instead of gross? That’s because I intend to run the blogs long-term, and I’m not in the business of build-and-sell. I want to grow with the blogs, and I want my writers to grow with the blogs, too.

But still, a revenue share is a good idea to entice bloggers to write for you. That’s why I’m also allowing my bloggers their own AdSense channel on their posts, and even commissions on direct link/ad sales.

I reported on the Blog Herald how Blogging Pro has released its latest InSense theme under a sponsored scheme. This means a sponsor paid for a link at the footer of the theme. The benefits? Users get a great DesignDisease-designed theme, the designer gets paid good money, and the sponsor gets inbound links.

I know several designers who give away WordPress themes to blog hosting services for free, so long as they get a link back to their sites. Now this seems to be a great business model for people who want to monetize their theme creations. Not all bloggers can afford to pay for your themes. But there are companies and businesses that would be willing to foot the bill. In the end, everyone’s happy: users get great themes, designers get good money, companies get inbound links.

There are some who aren’t too happy with such an arrangement, and view sponsorship as a sneaky way to get backlinks. However, Blogging Pro is quite candid with the fact that their theme is sponsored, and the theme license even allows for the removal of the sponsor link if a user chooses so.

Fellow Blog Herald writer Lorelle VanFossen has this to say about sponsored themes:

Actually, this was brought up over a month ago and was seriously slammed. People were digging into their WordPress Themes to remove these. There was a huge backlash against Theme designers and sites which sponsor such links.

A link back is considered appropriate. A link to a “sponsor”, aka advertising, is very much frowned upon by serious bloggers and WordPress fans. The average blogger won’t care or even notice, as you say, but the ones who do have spoken loudly that they find this bad manners, poor taste, and, for some, criminal.

Personally, I would think there is no harm in having themes sponsored, as long as this is stated explicitly outright, and not done in a sneaky manner. Even better if the user can opt to remove the link.

What do you think?

A friend who runs a US-based design firm is looking for web developers/designers. Requirements are:

• Proficient in coding CSS/XHTML (proficient at getting it compatible with IE, FireFox, Safari, etc)
• Proficient in PHP

This is a full time, telecommute/home-based position. The compensation scheme is very attractive, in my opinion.

Contact me so I can forward your application/credentials.

A lot of bloggers are going against the idea of Pay Per Post type of schemes. For one, it’s considered a hit against one’s credibility to write material that endorses commercial products or services for compensation. And then there’s the problem of losing Google juice because of linking to these commercial material.

But then again to many—especially those who are just starting to enjoy the benefits of monetization—this is the only viable way to earn a few bucks off the blogosphere. Some think blogging for money this way is akin to prostituting oneself. But some think that the blogosphere should give credence to blue-collar blogging.

This has brought up a lot of arguments, notable among which is the recent undying does the A-List exist? question, which I posted about at the Blog Herald.

Personally, I don’t think there’s harm in trying out pay per post. For one, aren’t the big time blogs also selling direct links and ads on their sites? Some even do reviews, and some are not clearly marked as paid.

For me, as long as you clearly state that a post is sponsored, then there should be no reason to worry about credibility. It’s when you write in a misleading manner, and if your intentions are not clear, that you’re fooling yourself and your readers.

I for one, would like to try my hand at paid reviews. You can sign up for a review at ReviewMe. The service has rated reviews on my site at $100 each. Of course, you can always get in touch with me directly if you’d like to buy my soul get me to check out your stuff.