Originally posted by Kunzite I don't think we fully agree here... what I'm saying is that Joe Enthusiast is profit-oriented, which means he won't simply support the costs instead of the company.
We're calling him Joe Enthusiast, but what he's really enthusiast about are money
Hmm maybe, maybe not.. Joe Enthusiast (such as yourself) is
really into a certain brand.. Joe Moneymaker is really into all brands that are popular..
These people are
both online and both have large audiences. The beauty of the Enthusiast is he is essentially an employee of that particular brand (just on time and effort spend promoting that brand online), but isn't drawing a paycheck from the company.. Yet the brand can use his published work on their commercial channels (facebook, twitter, wherever else) and that work is largely going to be favorable to your company.
Joe Moneymaker may or may not support your brand, but you (as a company) get the option of linking to his videos/podcasts/articles if they favor your company. And he doesn't mind because the exposure is drawing more audience to himself.. which, in turn, is drawing him more ad revenue.
It is a mutually beneficial relationship, yet it offloads much of the risk and effort onto the Joes.