How do bloggers get gear/review/giveaway items?

I very rarely blog about blogging here.  It’s not my niche, and frankly, if you want blogging advice, there are a million places whose niche it is.

But in this case, I thought it was an important topic to cover for my readers.  You see, I feel this incredible sense of responsibility to keep things open, honest, and completely “above board”…not because I’m so fancy and ethical, but because I regularly host fundraisers and because I host the soul stories of so many others…and I don’t want to mess that up.  So, as my blog grows, I want readers to have a handle on how some of the back end stuff works.  Or maybe I’m neurotic and none of you care.

As for giveaways, this is probably totally silly but I like to give you guys free stuff.  I am forever and ever and ever humbled that anyone (okay, besides my mom and some close friends) reads what I have to write.  I honestly can’t believe any of y’all care.  And keep coming back.  So every once in a while I want to kinda give you a present.  I mean, I’d love to be all Oprah about it and give every single one of you whatever item it is…but I’m not Oprah, so you’ll have to settle for being happy for the one lucky winner.

I simply ask.  The vast majority of giveaways/reviews you see going on in this space are because I approached the company myself.  Unsolicited.  Sometimes I will see something that reminds me of you, dear reader, and I just think “you know, I think my peeps would like that…let me see if Company X will give them one.”  So, with a twelve second google search, I’ll shoot the company an email and…sometimes it’s crickets and I never hear back.  Sometimes I get the “thanks but no thanks” response.  But lots of times, I get “Sure!  Let’s do it!”  This is what happened with Postal Pix: I saw their service, knew that they were a perfect fit for my content (um, hello, InstaFriday?!), and thought it would be fun.  Now, I will be honest and tell you that I typically request an item for myself for review…partially because I’m just greedy like that, but mostly because I believe that the best, most honest blog posts include firsthand knowledge of a product.  I don’t feel comfortable telling you all about a product that I haven’t the slightest idea about.  Plus, I try to keep reviews still feeling like blog posts, and not as much like a giant billboard ad.  Nester is the master of writing entire posts where you have no idea it is a giveaway/review until the very last paragraph.  I like that.  Because it means the content made sense and wasn’t super random…it’s something you would have totally expected her to write about anyway.  That’s what I’m trying to do.  Although I’m still learning.  (And don’t worry, you’ll always know if it’s sponsored or I got the gear for free.  The FCC kinda has a little rule about that.)

The Company asks me.  I’ve been lucky so far and don’t have an overflowing inbox of requests, but it does happen from time to time.  A company will send me an email asking if I’d like to review or give something away.  Truthfully, I hardly ever do these…they don’t often make sense for my content…or it’s not something I would ever buy with my own money.  Anything I write about must ALWAYS be something I would actually pay for myself.  Always.  And I’ve ignored or turned down most of these queries.  For example, I got an email a month ago from a clothing company who offered to let me pick out $100 worth of product in exchange for a review/blog post.  I was STOKED.  Mini shopping spree!!!  Sign a girl up!  The problem was that a) the clothes weren’t really my style.  They weren’t ugly, but I wouldn’t ever spend $100 of my own money on it.  b) I was 7 months pregnant.  I mean, sure I could find a scarf or maybe some accessories and make it work…or buy stuff I like in my pre-pregnancy size…and trust me…$100 worth of free gear?  I can make that happen.  Don’t twist my arm.  But…it wasn’t worth it to me to have to stretch my comfort zone and write a super random blog post for $100 worth of bangles and scarves.  See how much I love you? Now you owe me $100.

It’s an opportunity through a blogger network.  Bloggers have the opportunity to sign up to be a part of various Blogger Networks (Blogher, Clever Girls, One to One, etc.)  In this case, you fill out an application asking to be considered for their network.  If approved, you start getting emails every week or two with a list of available opportunities.  If one of them strikes your fancy, you respond letting them know you’d like to be considered.  The brand and/or network then reviews the interested bloggers, selects who they want to work with, and you get an email back saying you’ve been selected.  This is how my Toyota TWIN partnership happened.  In fact, I wasn’t selected the first go around three months ago.  Totally not bitter.  I’ve thrown my name in the hat for a few others and never heard back.  I’ve ignored LOTS of them.  It all just depends.  Would I blog about bagels on a regular day of my own regard?  Probably not.  I mean, I’ve blogged about some random stuff, but…  Is it tempting if said bagel company wants to pay me a decent amount to do it?  Totally.  But not worth it at the end of the day to compromise the overall integrity of the blog and the trust capital I have with y’all.  (I don’t say y’all in real life.  But it seems to make sense when I blog.  I have no idea why this is.)

As you can see, I’m pretty picky.  I realize I’m not a review blog.  I’m not a giveaway blog.  I’m not a big brand sponsored blog.

I’m a lifestyle blog.  I tell you about my life.  What we do.  The simple.  The silly.  The important.  And with that, I sometimes blog about the products that keep me a little more sane…because that’s part of life right?  When you find something you want to marry and then you tell all your friends?  Same thing.  I’ve actually reviewed LOTS of products over the years…with absolutely no affiliation whatsoever.  I just wanted you to know that the Roomba is my boyfriend.  That a Swiffer Vac is the only reason I haven’t murdered my shedding Golden Retrievers.  That the Little Tikes 3 in 1 Trike brought tears to my eyes.  That the Benik Compression Vest is made of unicorn tears and glitter.  My family’s undying love and devotion of Toyotas.  Not only were those completely on my own with no compensation, no free product, nuthin’…but the company often finds those posts and then emails asking if they can link to them on their Facebook pages.  Sure.  Free advertising.  It’s cool.  Ahem.

So, there you have it.  How I get free gear.  How I get gear to give away to you.  How I end up with collaborations with brands/companies.  Tomorrow I’ll tell you what my super secret hidden agenda for all of this is and why I do it.

Muahahahahaha…

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jeannett

I'm a mom to four. A wife to one. I believe in story. I love telling you about mine and would love to hear yours. There's really no sense in wasting our suffering and not sharing in each other's joy. We're all in this together...even if it doesn't always feel like it.

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