Check Out TalkAhead – Sponsored Comments – Win $25 of Advertising Credit

BY Ben Lang Oct. 05, 2009 19 Comments

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I had a stroke of good fortune recently. A new start-up, called TalkAhead, invited me to beta test their new service, which is a network for Sponsored Comments. I think it has the potential to really take off, and I’m excited to be an early adopter. It could be a great cash generator for anyone who publishes on the Web, which is why I’m putting it on my own blog.

So what’s a Sponsored Comment? In TalkAhead’s own words they’re “paid messages in response to an article or blog post” that are “prominently displayed” in the readers’ comments section. Check out the bottom of this post to see how one looks.

How will that work in the real world? Let’s say you’re a blogger who reviews gadgets and you post a review of a new Logitech game controller. After you publish, people start writing in your comment section, some telling you that your review is absolutely right, others swearing you have no idea what you’re talking about.

Now let’s say your post is read by John Doe, a Marketing VP at GreatGames (not a real company), manufacturers of a competitive

Sponsored Comment - Talkahead

product. Prior to TalkAhead, John Doe might have (as many before him have) posed as a game-loving consumer and written a response trashing the new Logitech game controller. And of course, within moments of posting his bogus comment, others would have written in, pushing his comment way down in the list.

But now TalkAhead gives you a chance to legitimize John Doe. He can use a Sponsored Comment to leave a brief but targeted comment explaining why GreatGames is a better alternative. Perhaps he’d emphasis the cooler games or the lower cost. Mr. Doe’s comment will be clearly marked as “sponsored” and will always appear at the top of the comment section.

By the way, this applies to more than just product or service reviews. I think that for pretty much every post or even news article, there’s someone out there ready to pay just to get his or her words on top.

The TalkAhead system is pretty flexible for the publishers. You get to set the price for your Sponsored Comments, and you have a lot of flexibility on how you charge. For instance, you can charge by CPM, CPC, CPT (cost per time), flat rate, or bid. You can also review and the comments before they go live. TalkAhead takes care of all the billing and customer service. They make money by taking a small cut of the revenue.

How does this benefit your readers? Let’s face it, as every blogger knows, a good portion of the posts in our readers’ comments section are Astroturf (messages written by advertisers posing as consumers). But Sponsored Comments are transparent, because they’re clearly labeled as such.

Want to try it out for free on my blog? I will give a $25 coupon to the first 10 people who leave a comment about this post (comment needs to be meaningful.)

And to all the bloggers interested in a new revenue opportunity: you can sign up for it on the TalkAhead website. Just click here.

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19 Responses to “Check Out TalkAhead – Sponsored Comments – Win $25 of Advertising Credit”

  1. Benjamin Lang Reply Oct. 05, 2009 at 11:29 pm

    Hey,
    First ten people to post will receive $25 of Talkahead advertising credit.
    Which means you will have up to 5 weeks of free sponsored comments.

    Good luck!

  2. Rocky Reichman Reply Oct. 05, 2009 at 11:41 pm

    Smart. Another revenue stream for media companies to profit from their online properties. The Sponsored Comments are like "Stickies," right? From what you've written, it seems the Sponsored Comments will appear more legitimate than text ads. That could be a Very strong draw for companies that want to sponsor.

  3. Alex Reply Oct. 05, 2009 at 11:55 pm

    Cool! Sponsored comments is a great idea for a new way to make money for blogs and newspapers. Especially since papers are going bankrupt. How does it work exactly?

  4. Roland Reply Oct. 06, 2009 at 9:17 am

    This sounds a really good idea as long as the sponsored comments are limited per post.

  5. Shonika Proctor Reply Oct. 07, 2009 at 3:17 am

    Hi Ben,

    Great concept and it looks clean and part of your blog. I am sure this will be a good alternative for people who don't want to run adsense on their site because of the presentation. I also like that they write in the bubble that the comments are sponsored. That was my concern if you couldn't differentiate between a sponsored comment and a 'regular one'. I see how it can be a benefit to a commenter if it is a timeless post that gets a lot of traffic over time or a high visibility/traffic blog. I am curious to see some feedback and insight from the top bloggers in the industry and what they think of the service.

  6. Marshall Reply Oct. 07, 2009 at 4:10 am

    Hey Ben,

    It's a pretty interesting concept. So is the phrase just above these comments the "sponsored comment" ?
    I'd like to try this out

  7. Brian Smith Reply Oct. 08, 2009 at 9:03 pm

    This is an awesome concept, but do you fear it will diminish the legitimacy of your blog?

    • Benjamin Lang Reply Oct. 08, 2009 at 10:31 pm

      I think its a great way to generate revenue, and as long as you limit the number of sponsored comments it will not diminish the legitimacy. Thanks, I will email you soon with the coupon.

  8. Maria Boggiano Reply Oct. 09, 2009 at 2:34 pm

    Ben, do you think there is any way I could get a coupon for sponsored comments? I am working on a campaign to help get the word out about the new Blastoff Network, which launches October 12th, and could really use the coupon since I've run out of advertising money…..it would be a HUGE help to me. Thanks, Maria Boggiano

  9. Tony Ramirez Reply Oct. 13, 2009 at 11:32 pm

    This is a great idea, not just for companies but for those who have credibility to inform the general public. This will only help to get legitimate information across!

  10. TechChunks Reply Nov. 22, 2009 at 11:38 pm

    Is this offer still available? ;)

    I would love to get one :D

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