This is a guest post submitted by Robin Merrill.

With sites like Social Spark and Sponsored Reviews offering money to bloggers simply for blogging, sponsored posts can be a pretty tantalizing option. But is it healthy for blogs?

What’s Right for You?

Those who would reply to that question with an adamant “No!” do so because they feel that bloggers sell out when they accept pay for brand-specific content. Critics insist that bloggers sell their integrity when they sell their posts.

I’m not so sure. It is true that historically, companies have not sponsored editorials in newspapers. It is true that no journalist has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his or her evaluation of Tabasco sauce.

But, can’t we all agree that blogging is a new medium? Or at least, if it’s not quite novel anymore, it’s at least still evolving. Who dares define, and therefore limit, what blogging is? And can’t it be different from one blog to the next?

No one holds the National Enquirer to the same standards as The New York Times, and it is insulting to readers to suggest that they can’t tell the difference. When I land on a blog that is loaded with seemingly indiscriminate advertising and sponsored material, I simply bounce, but I don’t accuse the blog owner for selling out.

Where Disclosure Fits Into It All

This is why God invented disclosure. Yes, if you were getting paid to convince everyone that Oreos cured cancer and you did not tell your readers that you were being paid to do so, that would be a touch unethical, but law now requires that bloggers disclose, and most bloggers, at least at the blogs that I read, were doing so anyway, out of courtesy and common sense.

If you disclose when you are being sponsored, then really, what is the big deal? Are we also suggesting that people refuse to sell advertising on their blogs? Are we suggesting that the only way to behave ethically is to refuse any financial compensation for your blog?

How to Play It Smart

It is still a blogger’s opinion. He or she still has the right to refuse a sponsor. Had Oreo approached me with the aforementioned campaign, I would have passed. But, if I find that a particular website made my life a zillion times easier, wouldn’t I want to share that information with my readers? And is there any crime in being paid to do so?

If anything, sponsorship tells us more about a blogger, not less. What and how they choose to accept sponsorship can tell us a lot about who they are and what their site is really all about.

Now that I’ve zealously defended sponsored posts, let me give a fair warning. Several sources indicate that Google may penalize sponsored content when it comes to Page Rank and search results. It is quite possible that Google is against sponsored posts.

Just as with anything, you have to weigh your pros and cons.

Do you have an established following of readers who trust you? Then the majority of them will likely trust you even when you are sponsored. You will tell them the truth, after all, and disclose your sponsorship. And if you already have an established following, maybe Page Rank isn’t at the top of your priority list.

If you are just getting started and trying to attract readers, be very careful what sponsors you accept, particularly if you are trying to fit your blog into a particular niche. If your blog is titled “All Things Social Media” and you suddenly post a review of Crush Orange Soda, your readers may well bounce.

In short, be practical. Be ethical. Care about your readers more than you care about the money. But don’t slam the door on sponsored content. Don’t bite off your own nose to spite your face.

Robin Merrill blogs at uBaby, an online community that works to help every woman enjoy an active and healthy pregnancy.