I got an email offering me an "e award". Apparently the editor of some website in America thinks I "have a really great site", and if I want they will make me a personalised button for this e-award that I can put on my site.
In other words, they want me to put an advertisement for them on my blog, for free, and then be grateful for the opportunity! I got cranky*. I am not some naive sucker who is going to fall for that flattery, but I bet people do.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how I was getting a few offers to try products etc, and I wasn't sure how to handle them. I really wonder how much (if any) thought went into selecting my blog.
I hate that so many companies seem to see bloggers and blogs as cheap/ free advertising for their products. It seems to me that there is often little thought going into whether the product is actually suited to the blog or readers, or whether it is going to add something of quality to the blog. Country Boy calls it the shot gun approach. For those of you not familiar with country analogies, a shot gun sprays out lots of little pellets in the hope that something hits. It is not particularly precise, but you will usually hit something if you point it in the right direction because of the quantity of pellets.
I have read some truly excellent sponsored posts on the blogosphere, whilst others seem just to be regurgitating a press release. Generally in the better posts, I can actually see the link between the product and the blog.
All this has been floating around in my head. After much thought, and discussion with Country Boy, I have come to several conclusions:
1. I will not be accepting offers of free products etc for reviews or sponsored posts. If I do write about a product I love, you can be sure that it is because I love it.
2. Any 'buttons' I do display are there because I like the site, and because it is good 'karma' (not that I believe in karma, but you get the idea) to display the buttons of blogs whose linkups you participate in. I'm not going to be accepting 'awards' from websites I have never heard of.
3. I will not (at this stage anyway) be putting advertisements on my blog either. This blog is just a hobby for me right now. I don't want to turn it into a business, and deal with all those issues. I like that I can choose what I write about with out having to think about search engine optimization, or ensuring that I put out a post every day to drive traffic to my site. My stats after 8 months continue to grow, but are erratic, and I couldn't care less. I don't know if they compare favourably to other sites or not, and it does not matter.
For a while I was considering signing up with an agency and putting some ads on. I wouldn't mind being able to go to an occasional conference on blogging, and the ads could help subsidise that. Also having this blog costs me a little bit of money for domain registration and other administrative stuff. After talking about this with Country Boy, I have decided that if I want to go to conferences, then I will just pay for them myself. Country Boy supports this - he doesn't really understand why I like to blog, but he is an ever patient husband and doesn't query how I spend our money. We are fortunate that we have enough money to meet all our needs and some of our wants. I am not going down blog to business path right now.
What will I do you ask? I am just going to sit, relax and continue to write, and enjoy the view. Problem solved.
* I didn't get cranky enough to write a cranky pants email back though, I just wrote that I wasn't interested and thanked them - wuss!
P.S. This is what I have decided for my blog, if you have different thoughts/ have ads/ do sponsored posts, that is entirely up to you. Please don't get all offended by what I have written. I may well change my mind in the future.
In other words, they want me to put an advertisement for them on my blog, for free, and then be grateful for the opportunity! I got cranky*. I am not some naive sucker who is going to fall for that flattery, but I bet people do.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how I was getting a few offers to try products etc, and I wasn't sure how to handle them. I really wonder how much (if any) thought went into selecting my blog.
I hate that so many companies seem to see bloggers and blogs as cheap/ free advertising for their products. It seems to me that there is often little thought going into whether the product is actually suited to the blog or readers, or whether it is going to add something of quality to the blog. Country Boy calls it the shot gun approach. For those of you not familiar with country analogies, a shot gun sprays out lots of little pellets in the hope that something hits. It is not particularly precise, but you will usually hit something if you point it in the right direction because of the quantity of pellets.
I have read some truly excellent sponsored posts on the blogosphere, whilst others seem just to be regurgitating a press release. Generally in the better posts, I can actually see the link between the product and the blog.
All this has been floating around in my head. After much thought, and discussion with Country Boy, I have come to several conclusions:
1. I will not be accepting offers of free products etc for reviews or sponsored posts. If I do write about a product I love, you can be sure that it is because I love it.
2. Any 'buttons' I do display are there because I like the site, and because it is good 'karma' (not that I believe in karma, but you get the idea) to display the buttons of blogs whose linkups you participate in. I'm not going to be accepting 'awards' from websites I have never heard of.
3. I will not (at this stage anyway) be putting advertisements on my blog either. This blog is just a hobby for me right now. I don't want to turn it into a business, and deal with all those issues. I like that I can choose what I write about with out having to think about search engine optimization, or ensuring that I put out a post every day to drive traffic to my site. My stats after 8 months continue to grow, but are erratic, and I couldn't care less. I don't know if they compare favourably to other sites or not, and it does not matter.
For a while I was considering signing up with an agency and putting some ads on. I wouldn't mind being able to go to an occasional conference on blogging, and the ads could help subsidise that. Also having this blog costs me a little bit of money for domain registration and other administrative stuff. After talking about this with Country Boy, I have decided that if I want to go to conferences, then I will just pay for them myself. Country Boy supports this - he doesn't really understand why I like to blog, but he is an ever patient husband and doesn't query how I spend our money. We are fortunate that we have enough money to meet all our needs and some of our wants. I am not going down blog to business path right now.
What will I do you ask? I am just going to sit, relax and continue to write, and enjoy the view. Problem solved.
* I didn't get cranky enough to write a cranky pants email back though, I just wrote that I wasn't interested and thanked them - wuss!
P.S. This is what I have decided for my blog, if you have different thoughts/ have ads/ do sponsored posts, that is entirely up to you. Please don't get all offended by what I have written. I may well change my mind in the future.
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