• by Sean Hargrave , Staff Writer, September 23, 2014

Bloggers have been the rage for a long time now, and it's easy to see why. Freed from the constraints of working for a large publishing company, and without the huge print bills and office costs, bloggers can write about their passion -- and to their mind, tell it like it is without editorial influence.

Trouble is, those bloggers have found that this writing lark actually takes up a lot more time than you might imagine, and with so many people churning out so many blogs, advertising rates are pretty low -- usually far too low to make a living. There are notable examples -- and I know ex-journalists who have made, and still make, a good living from well-run blogs focussed on their passions, such as swimming, music, football and technology. However, the vast majority scrape by at best, or have it as a pure hobby.

So it was interesting to see the research released today by the blogger outreach agency Yomego. One of the more revealing findings was that younger bloggers expect to make a living out of blogging. So as middle-aged people writing about hobbies have been joined by first jobbers, the expectation is the site will provide a living. Yet cost per thousands (CPM) are low and making money beyond the site, such as arranging conferences and events, takes a huge investment and pitches the blogger against established publishers seeking to make up for falling print revenues. 

So now we move on to the thorny subject of paying bloggers. Brands that would never think of asking a national to run a business story on their new launch in return for cash in a brown envelope appear to expect to pay bloggers to cover their events. Well, put it this way, roughly half of bloggers don't expect payment all the time -- but would expect to charge depending on the brand and agency involved. Roughly a quarter expect payment as a matter of course.

It's not made clear, but I think we're in really murky waters here. Is the payment for attending events and writing articles about them or reviewing products? If so, one can imagine that he who pays the proverbial piper is calling the tune? So, people looking at a blog might have good reason to wonder if something has been covered or received a favourable reception because money is involved.

At the same time as the blogosphere has taken off, established publishers have been struggling with declining print sales and growing digital figures that have yet to span the gap. Traditionally, most publishers would shy away from brand involvement in anything they print or carry online, but that's changing.

Look at any national online now and you're bound to see promoted articles, suggested articles and features "brought to you" that are "sponsored" by one brand or another. Native advertising is growing rapidly because the ingredients are there. Brands have become accustomed to paying for content to be distributed online and big publishers that would have turned their nose up at such deals, but now need the money because you can have millions of daily unique users and still be broke if you rely on ad revenue alone. 

So what does this all mean? Well, the more easily big publishers make it to work with them direct, the more native advertising budget is going to go their way. And it would be fair to surmise, less will go the way of bloggers -- particularly those without massive reach and status in their niche. It is much easier to pick up the phone to "The Guardian" or "News UK" -- which have dedicated native teams -- and get many thousands of eyeballs than it is to research or hire a blogger outreach company to place content for you with several sites. With the large publisher, you also know this is being done legally, with a note that it is commercial content. With a blogger you can not always be completely sure. 

So as the nationals and established trade titles throughout the land have gone over to native advertising, I think many young bloggers who think they can turn a couple of thousand people a day who read their views on sport, fashion or music will have a rude awakening. If, as the research suggests, they're expecting to make a living from their site, they will now find a relevant section on a national newspaper or magazine is more than willing to accept native advertising to get over a brand's message.

There will be honourable exceptions -- there always are -- but to my mind, I can see top publishers embracing native having only one result: more digital revenue for them and less for the blogger.

If the research from Yomego is correct, and it is appears to be well conducted, the army of young, first jobber bloggers expecting to make a living by being paid by brands to carry content are in for a serious rude awakening.