Home > Blog > Ireland For Visitors > Selling the Dublin Pass - or Not
DoChara's Ireland Blog
Random Writings about Ireland and the Irish
Tuesday
April 10 2007
Sell out? I'll pass on that thanks
Success, even in a small way, brings strange things in its wake and not just nasty emails. This site isn't exactly a world beater, but it has certainly grown far more popular than I ever imagined it would. Which occasionally raises interesting issues.
Remaining independent of the tourism industry is a big priority for DoChara, and will remain one. In spite of some quite lucrative offers I simply will not, ever, write or publish puff pieces for any place, product or service in return for pay. I have no problem with that and am not even tempted when asked.
But now and again there is a simple and obvious way to earn a little money which seems to tick all the ethical boxes:
- It's something I am writing an article about anyway
- I believe I can provide a different/more useful take on it than any already available
- It may well be something visitors to the article (and Ireland) will want to buy
- Selling it alongside the article is both possible and offers a small commission.
Such a situation arose with the Dublin Pass.
For those unfamiliar with it, the Pass gives its holder free access to the major Dublin attractions, along with some other benefits. Passes can be purchased for periods of between 1 and 6 days.
I wrote quite a pretty detailed series of articles about the Dublin Pass, the pros and cons, how to decide if it's good value for you and how to get the best use from it. So far, so normal.
As I finished writing the articles, I went to the Dublin Pass website and applied for their affiliate programme which would allow me to sell passes through this site with a small commision on each sale. They replyed in a very positive manner, they would be very pleased to have the Dublin Pass sold on my site, "delighted" in fact. They attached contracts.
I took it as a Yes.
Then I showed them the articles and things became a little frosty. There was a short exchange of emails in which they described the articles as "interesting" and pointed out some parts that they weren't "comfortable with". I actually did make some minor edits, based on additional information they provided me with which I had not seen on their website. Then they just stopped replying.
I took it as a No.
What I wrote remains as it was, but I can't sell you a pass. If you want to buy one, you can do so at their website.
But read the articles first.
Comments on "Sell out? I'll pass on that thanks"
Please note: To prevent spam all comments are moderated. Promotional or advertising comments will not be published. If you want to ask a question or start a discussion rather than post a comment, please so so in the forum. Thank you!
TrackBacks
Powered By: TrackBackr
