I Won’t Be PaidPerPlay
Last weekend I received not one but two pitches for a new service that promised to help site owners make money with their sites. I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m naturally skeptic but I try to remain open minded to any and all offers. You never know when the next big thing will wind up in your inbox. However, when I read an email like the following, my skeptic nature serves me well. Here’s the email with a bit of my own commentary mixed in:
Hi Ben,
I know that you’ve never met me, but I am a reader of your blog – BloggingExperiment.com. I came across a new program that I believe will make everyone loads of cash. I know you’re busy but please take a minute to read on and find out more.
I’m always happy to hear from readers but when you say things like “everyone loads of cash” my BS alarm starts to sound. But, I’ve been wrong before, let’s continue.
I’m sending this email to you both to help you get in early and also (obviously) to help me as well. I know you’re blog has traffic and you have tons of authority in your niche which will help create buzz about this new way to monetize websites. Perhaps it will even put you over the top in meeting your goal for your blog.
I’ve got to be honest, I know this part is buttering me up but I simply don’t care. It’s always nice to hear kind words about a site you work on. Also, the last sentence about meeting my goal lets me know that this person actually took the time to check out my site. So, despite the let’s say “overly optimistic” sentence in the beginning, things are looking up.
This new program will get you a 100% conversion rate on your website traffic.
This is not a sales pitch and there is nothing to buy. There is no squeeze page that is designed to sell you anything later either.
This is an event that you should know about…
100% conversion is good but again, it makes me more than a little skeptical.
First there was Pay Per Click advertising which pays you on the small percentage of website visitors that actually click on an advertisement.
Now there is “Pay Per Play” advertising that will pay you on 100% of your website traffic… NO CLICKS NECESSARY!
Obviously the selling point here is NO CLICKS NECESSARY! The problem is, they don’t explain how that’s possible. We’ll get to that in just a second but remember, NO CLICKS NECESSARY!
This is a new form of contextual advertising that will be huge. It’s free to join and looks ready to explode.
To learn more about Pay Per Play visit:http://www.PaidPerPlay.com
Best regards
Well, you’ll forgive the skepticism but the fact that it “looks ready to explode” to you doesn’t exactly surprise me considering you’re emailing me from an @paidperplay.com email address. In fact, I’d be quite shocked if you didn’t think it was going to be the next big thing.
Being the curious person that I am, I surfed over to PaidPerPlay.com to figure out how this program would monetize each and every visitor to my site. The secret? Audio ads. But not just any audio ads, we’re talkin audio ads that play automatically any time a visitor comes to the site. Now I’m not sure whether PaidPerPlay’s creators have never read a web usability book (all which tell you not to have audio play automatically on your site), or whether they’ve never visited a MySpace page with the obnoxious music but this has got to be the worst idea I’ve heard about since Agloco.
As site owners, we work hard to bring visitors to our sites. We obsess over the design and navigation to make sure each and every visitor has the best possible experience and wants to come back time and time again. We spend hours and hours creating content that visitors will enjoy, again, in the hope that they will want to return. And now, Paid Per Play wants us to allow them to automatically play audio ads to all of those visitors we’ve worked so hard for? Why not save yourself the time and put up a banner across the entire site that says “I don’t care about my visitors and I don’t ever want you to come back!” Whether that’s PaidPerPlay’s intention or not, that’s certainly going to be the result. I’m sure some will try it out, and plenty more will recommend it to make a few referrals, but I for one wouldn’t go near it with 10 foot pole. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for making money but it’s going to be mighty tough to do that when you don’t have any traffic to your site.
Comments
Nick December 13th, 2007
I hate automatic audio and have found it on a few blogs – will never go back as it’s so frustrating and annoying.
Took a trip over to the mentioned site and it really didn’t ‘rock my boat’.
Ruchir December 13th, 2007
But think about it: the service might be a great money maker for music sites and also for MySpacers. I don’t think it’s a terrible idea. It’s a pretty good one in my opinion, the only problem being that it won’t appeal to the majority of us bloggers…
Colin December 13th, 2007
Unsolicited audio is probably my #1 usability peeve on the Web.
Very high on my list of offenders is Canadian franchise Pizza Pizza. They have an online ordering system which is pretty handy, but their site plays their theme song on the front page. Occasionally, I’ll forget about it and visit their site when I have my volume up or headphones on. If no music is already playing, it’s quite startling.
David December 13th, 2007
Nothing annoys me more than having sound play when I visit a site. I have to agree with you that it would be a bad thing to play the sound when they leave for every visitor.
Now if I had a sales page and detection set for those clicking away without buying to play for those, that would be different. But not for normal visitors who we want to frequent and read posts.
David December 13th, 2007
Ruchir, you have a point. I am registered for the payperplay, but am going to be selective about where I deploy it. Most definately it will not be firing off when people leave my blog
C. Mac December 13th, 2007
Maybe pure coincidence, but yesterday I ran into a site with an audio ad. Very first time, and I clicked away as fast as possible. I can’t think of any better way to drive away readers. But I’m sure this company will have a profitable (and hopefully, short) run from bloggers and site owners who don’t give a damn about their readers, just about the money they can make.
Christine December 13th, 2007
The typo in the second section of the email would have been the first red flag for me – using “you’re” instead of “your” is one of my pet peeves.
Ben Cook December 13th, 2007
@ Ruchir, I guess there could be some applications that it would be ok for but for the most part, automated audio is a HUGE turn off for me and for most users I know. The music related sites I go to don’t have audio playing automatically and the noise on MySpace is part of the reason I never go there anymore. However, there are some sites that are less user oriented that could probably do well with it I suppose.
However, keep in mind both of these people were pitching ME the service for this blog. That’s just foolish.
@ Christine, I hope you forgive me when you come across those here. I try but I’m sure some of them have slipped through.
@ C. Mac, you’re probably right. There are plenty of spammy sites out there that would love this. Imagine, now instead of Made For Adsense we’ll have Made for PaidPerPlay sites! Fantastic!
Tay - Super Blogging December 13th, 2007
Haha, I got SIX of those emails – and one person who commented and told me about it. I told them that that kind of advertising would not be good for my site, as it would annoy the readers – my site is supposed to be professional. A gaming or arcade site (or something of the sort) might be able to get away with it, but definitely not sites in this niche! I still think it’s a good idea, but it wouldn’t work out for most sites. But if you have a Myspace profile, etc. – adding it to one of those might earn you some money.
bmunch December 13th, 2007
I wonder why they don’t just go for PayPerPlay.com instead of PaidPerPlay.com.
Robert December 14th, 2007
Audio is bad enough at the best of times — it’s so jarring! — but adding the additional element of advertising doubles the pain. If I wasn’t sure to close out a website because of audio, that it would be an ad would be worse. Can you imagine that used car salesmen that will think this is just the greatest thing?
Still the old saw goes — if it sounds to good to be true, it is. Now their pitch for audio definitely doesn’t fit there, but the “100% conversion!” and “you don’t have to do a thing!” certainly do.
PayPerPlay: The Next Generation of Intrusive Internet Marketing | Scam Alert December 14th, 2007
[...] in a recent podcast at WebmasterRadio.fm . and Ben Cook has also stated he would not support this at his blog due to some of the things we have mentioned [...]
Angel December 14th, 2007
Similar to The News Room. I detest The News Room ads that start up when you visit a blog.
Larry December 14th, 2007
I agree. Personally I hate clicking on a website and someone starts talking. Then you search the website and can’t find the audio player. That is even more frustrating. But on the other hand, I think that if this wasn’t on the main page of the website that this could be useful. First of all having a special page for sponsers and this being on there. Or maybe when they click on the “Who Is Ben Page” They’ll get a thirty second ad. Figure, how many times are people constantly reading the same thing about you? For the most part though I agree with you Ben. I wouldn’t use this unless I could find some way to not annoy people and that is going to be the biggest problem. My favorite part thought is on their website that they say “Complaints have been rare!” It helps if you have someone to complain to!
Christine December 14th, 2007
Ben, I actually haven’t noticed any typos in here. Then again, when the content is original and informative, the minor typos are easily overlooked.
It’s situations like yours – where someone is soliciting for your time for business purposes – that you would think they would take the time to proofread thoroughly.
Koka Sexton December 16th, 2007
Ben, I am surprised that your SPAM filter doesn’t catch that garbage.
Charles Heflin December 17th, 2007
The audio ads are 5 seconds in length and are not appropriate for blogs with real readers.
They are meant for websites that monetize by sending people away… Like AdSense sites.
They are also meant for sites that are heavy into games, jokes, videos, etc.
Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water… Nobody ever said you had to place 5 second audio ads on your blog… This is just an assumption.
The biggest opportunity in this is referring websites that are a good fit for audio ads.
Revolutionary Ad Revenue Exposed December 25th, 2007
Think you guys are missing on the point of PPP. It’s been tested to cause very little visitor complaints.
It’s just a 5-second audio ad. Very quickly it’s over and will not play again for that same visitor. Unless she refreshed the page. Or jumped to another page which has the ad code embedded.
All in all, it’ll only play upon entrance and won’t repeat. As more sites get onboard for its monetization power, soon people may just develop adjusting tolerance for this quick audio – a kind of blindness (or deafness) to it not unlike to banner ads…
In the case of audios, it’s even better, as there’s a subliminal value to it. In the end, visitors are not turned off, advertisers are happy, and publishers are paid.
Ben Cook December 25th, 2007
@ Rev, we’re not missing the point. If anything it looks like you didn’t even read my post. A 5-second audio ad would turn me and most of your visitors off to your site. Don’t give me this BS about causing little visitor complaints. It would be tough for visitors to complain when they’ve already left your site, never to return!
Revolutionary Ad Revenue Exposed December 25th, 2007
Ben,
If you knew your visitors won’t stand for the tiniest bit
of audios, then these ads should not be played for them.
After all you know best what they like.
But it’s NetAudioAds’ testing results that you’re calling a “BS”.
I’m just saying it for your knowledge.
If you’re for money-making then you know there are other
forms of websites where such audios are less perceived
as intrusive or irritating, eg. minisites, one-page salessites, etc.
PayPerPlay might not be for certain blogs, or for most blogs
for that matter. But if you’ve got a page that recommends
products, you could use it – for just one page. Where’s the
harm in that? Anyhow, to each publisher his own standards…
We still don’t know yet how a massive adoption of PPP ads
will affect visitor experience, just have to wait and see
about that.
On the web usability book’s advice of not using audios
that play automatically, guess it’s been violated countless
times already – by highly profitable websites that you’ve
probably encountered – using not just audios but videos
that play automatically… You don’t see those turning
off visitors, at least not those in the IM market.
Ben Cook December 25th, 2007
Rev, we do know how the adoption of automatic audio affects users. That’s been proven time and time again. Just because some high profile sites get away with it doesn’t mean other sites would. Also, I’d argue that we have seen countless examples of it turning visitors off to the sites. On some sites it’s an annoyance that we put up with but there’s no doubt that it’s obnoxious.
Take MySpace for example, one of the reasons facebook has become more popular is that they don’t have the obnoxious audio playing every time you come across a site.
Also, I would NEVER put automatic audio ads on a sales site. I mean talk about shooting yourself in the foot. On a sales site, you don’t want any distractions at all, not to mention audio ads for some other product or service. Every thing on the page should be directing someone to the sales message and to buy, why distract them?
Here are a couple of links to other posts that illustrate even more of why I’m not going to be using this service any time soon:
http://the449.com/paidperplay-no-good-if-youre-blind/
http://imscamalert.com/2007/12/14/payperplay-the-next-generation-of-intrusive-internet-marketing/lead-story
Pay-Per-Play: What's Their Agenda? | Web Marketing HowTo December 27th, 2007
[...] I Won’t Be PaidPerPlay by Ben Cook over at The Blogging Experiment [...]
Andrew December 27th, 2007
Why is that as soon as someone starts listing all the negative things they don’t do, I start imagining what they do do, but are trying to cover up?
I’m definitely with the majority here. Automatic audio separates the professional from the unprofessional. Those of us who remember the 90s internet know exactly why it stopped in the first place.
Mike January 6th, 2008
I like the idea of Pay-Per-Play NetAudioAds. I am looking for eveyway possible to make more money with my websites. Nobody likes salesmans. Nevertheless, nothing would be sold without them. Audio ads are just another way to generate cash!!! Without working around the clock… I’ll add the audio advertismentrs and watch my wallet fillup. As for my visitors… They don’t pay me anyway… so they can listen while I get paid.
Ben Cook January 6th, 2008
Mike, I’m not usually this rude to people on this blog but you are, quite simply, an idiot. Your last sentence is a perfect case study of the fact that some bloggers just never GET it.
Charles Heflin January 7th, 2008
Ben… Dude lighten up… There is nothing to “get”
PPP is a newer form of media and people ALWAYS attack new media but then there are the zaggers (while everyone else zigs)… These are the cracks where fortunes are made… You can’t blame Mike for getting excited about the possibilities.
New forms of media will come and go… If PPP works then Mike will be right… If PPP doesn’t work then you will be right. The future cannot be foretold on this matter.
Everyone should test it… Maybe not on their prized blog but on another website just to see if bounce rates increase and do those that didn’t bounce make up in revenue what may have been lost from the bouncers?
This thing has to be tested before anyone can pass judgment.
People say they will turn away and run if they hear a 5 second audio ad. I say that if a loyal reader is ready to forget your content because you play a 5 second ad then they were going to leave anyways or your content sucks (not saying yours sucks Ben)
There are no studies or substantiated proof of any kind supporting the fact that people will sacrifice leaving good content (your blog) just because of a 5 second audio ad.
Would you miss your favorite TV show just because of 2.2 minutes of annoyance?
Some would say, “that’s why I have a DVR”… I say, well that’s why PPP was created… People are leaving television commercials behind.
Audio ads give televisions former advertising dollars to website owners in exchange for new reach. Advertising is good for the economy and it needs new places to express itself.
There are 2 sides to this track and I am laying squarely in the middle.
If PPP fails then it fails… If it succeeds then it succeeds
I don’t care either way because I will continue forward no matter what happens.
Ben Cook January 7th, 2008
Charles, here’s what you’re forgetting. If you play a 5 second audio ad on your site, NEW visitors will never get a chance to find out whether or not you have quality content that they’d be willing to be annoyed to read. They’ll just leave. You might keep your current readers, but you will be sacrificing new ones.
And really, it’s not Mike’s support of PPP that makes me think he doesn’t get blogging. It’s his statement of “As for my visitors… They don’t pay me anyway… so they can listen while I get paid.” that prompted that response. That tells me he doesn’t value his visitors and doesn’t realize that without them, he won’t be getting paid anything.
Christine January 7th, 2008
@ Charles – No, loyal readers of Ben’s blog won’t abandon it at the first sign of a five second audio ad. However, we are loyal readers in part because he doesn’t use obnoxious ad tactics, and we have come to expect that. As you can see from his monthly income updates, he’s doing just fine without the audio ads or popups that web users have grown to hate.
That being said, if a webmaster or blogger is comfortable with audio ads, they should absolutely test their effectiveness. Your point about watching the bounce rate is right on. The key there is that the blogger/webmaster has to be comfortable with audio ads.
Icemanandy August 30th, 2008
By the time the webpage has loaded the ads over and gone forever anyway – and no-ones any the wiser. The ads just simply can’t work anyway so why not use them on some unimportant pages (Like as people click to go to another persons site from yours (Cos they don’t tend to reverse the click anyway)) and take what you can? Chances are you’ll find theres not enough ads to make the minimum amount that you have to earn before they will pay out to you and they go bust before you actually earn anything. Specially since they claim to make it so only ads relevant to your site play on your sites. As for on a sales page, this means that theres no question about you getting an ad for a competitor playing on your site so this would be a bad idea! If you want audio on a sales site, record your own so it’s for your own product, it’s the only way!