TurboTax’s Sponsored Blog Posts are … Good
Takeover ads are so two years ago. This is the future, when blogs and websites have figured out that they can get brands to sponsor posts where they write whatever they want around a certain theme. And sometimes you don’t even realize it’s a sponsored post until the end, when you’re had a good few chortles and suddenly you see:
Brought to you by TurboTax Federal Free Edition — Free to prepare, Free to print, Free to efile.
This has happened to me thrice today! Yes, thrice! You see, it is April 14th, so I know that all the little elves in the woods are filing their taxes at the last minute, and all my favorite sites like The Awl and The Hairpin have stories about taxes that I eagerly click on. “Taxes, I know about those! I just got my return yesterday and it was almost immediately taken from my bank account as a loan payment!” is what I think as I click.
I even found a TurboTax sponsored post at Design*Sponge:
Here’s an excerpt, from The Awl’s article:
Okay, but should I be scared of the IRS?
The IRS only wants to hear from you. The answer, surprisingly, is a very firm “no”! Not at all! The IRS has some of the nicest, most understanding people I have ever spoken with in my life. True fact.There’s a lot of TV- and movie-propagated terror about the IRS. (As well, the whole idea of the government and money is anxiety-producing on its own, sure.) And the truth is… well, they kind of used to be a little mean? But that’s actually ancient history. The people at the IRS are some of the funnest people ever! I have had long hilarious conversations with them on the phone. (For real, there are some hilarious ladies down in Atlanta.) IRS employees are like most civil servants; they deal with confused, freaked out and sometimes very dingbatty people (not you, friend!) every day—the kind of people who do not follow directions, particularly. So if you are not a jerk, they will be delighted to speak to you, at length. They will sometimes be like, “Girl, how did you get into this trouble?” and you’ll be like “Oh, haha, I’m a mess! Mistakes happen!” and they’ll be like, “I hear you! I get it!” Do not be afraid. What they want is to hear from you.
Funny, funny.
I think sponsored posts are a good sign. They clearly can still lead to valuable content. They’re shareable (I found the Design*Sponge one after a friend linked to it on Facebook). They can even inspire content around a theme people like reading about: being terrified of tax season.
What do you think?
Want to whine about taxes? You can do it here. I don’t mind.