Let me start by saying I’ve enjoyed Zulie’s insights. As someone who also evaluate new blogging /digital publishing platforms, I know first hand how hard it is to present new platforms that are privately owned in a truly transparent way.

That said, I saw all this because writers have been reaching out to me asking if these sites are legit and the short answer usually is they may not be overt scams but they seek to exploit inexperienced writers.

This is why I largely create https://www.bloggingguide.com. We offer digital publishing platform reviews. We take our time to do the proper due diligence because real writers are depending on our information.

Some of these companies seem like they are using writers as shills for their pyramid-scheme. Some are just creators with no practical ideas so they have to eventually rely upon predatory terms to make any money themselves.

As a general rule, you should only promote products you have used personally, and for a reasonable amount of time. If you are being paid to promote them you are not only legally required to disclose this relationship. In several places, but the bar is generally higher when you start corroborating questionable testimonials despite never having used these platforms.

I get probabaly 10 offers to promote platforms like this per week for reference. Very few past the sniff test and even fewer can meet the standards of due diligence I require.

Your relationship with your audience should always be #1 and willful ignorance is just as bad as knowingly making misleading or false statements.

Perhaps she should stick to personal essays since it takes an enormous amount of time to check out these companies. I just vetted 2 new ones this week for Deloitte and if they are reaching out to me, it is not possible for someone churning out so many articles to do enough research and evaluate new platforms critically.