My friend Tracy pulled me aside last week and said “You know, your blog was just a whole bunch of sponsored posts last week. I think it was too much.”
“I knnnnoooooowwwwwww!!!! Trust me, I KNOW…it drove me crazy too!!!”
I’ve mentioned before how bloggers get review items/sponsored posts/etc. But a quick re-cap, particularly in regards to working with blogger networks, is that you are part of a network…they send out mass emails to their thousands of bloggers…this is the program, this is what you need to do, this is what it pays, etc…if you’re interested, you fill out a little form and hope for the best.
SOMETIMES they tell you within that first email what the dates you’d be required to post are. Sometimes they just say “in February-March”.
SOME agencies will tell you that they will select bloggers for the campaign by such and such date. But most of them do not tell you when they’ll be notifying bloggers. And none of them contact you if you haven’t been selected. (I understand this, no bigs.)
So, here’s an imperfect illustration of what that can look like:
Say you see a drawing for a Caribbean cruise to be taken sometime in March. Because there are literally thousands of little tickets in that big drum, and you want to increase your chances of being selected for a week of coconut suntan lotion and white sands, you put your ten tickets in the big spinny thingy and walk away. But…you don’t know when they are having the drawing. You guess soon. Right? They tell you at the ticket counter that they’ll call you if you win. So you go home hoping your phone rings sometime…soon. One week? Two weeks? You don’t know. The next day, you see another drawing with a prize for a weekend at a Ski Resort. That sounds fun, so you buy some raffle tickets. In this case, they tell you that the Ski Resort vacation must be taken on March 9th, and they’ll be pulling a winner on March 1st. You put your tickets in the drum and walk away hoping your phone rings on March 1st.
Now imagine your surprise when your phone rings on February 28th…you won the CRUISE!!!!! WOOHOOOO!!!! The raffle organizers inform you that you must go on the trip on March 7th. Alright, cool. It’s not ideal with other stuff you have going on, but hello?! Caribbean cruise!!! Now imagine that your phone rings on March 1st…you won the Ski Resort vacation too!!!!! The one that’s on March 9th. So, you’ll be packing for a beach trip and a snow trip all within one week.
Now obviously this analogy totally sucks in lots of ways. Firstly, because being selected to blog about kids clothes at Old Navy is fun, but it ain’t no cruise. Also, because this silly example really only affects you and your family…and not your sweet readers that you love dearly. No one is going to accuse you of selling out because you take two vacations back to back. (No one has said that to me either, but I worry every time!) But I think it helps make sense of all of this.
Typically, I’m used to tossing my name in the hat for a variety of opportunities…and being selected for maybe one of them. Maybe. I’m a part of 3 blogger networks. Emails came through with different post options and I applied for any that sounded interesting and that would make sense for what I blog about anyway. No one, and I mean NO ONE, was more surprised than I was when email after email came in telling me I was selected. The groan heard round the world came next when I looked at a calendar and realized that they were all required to be posted within the same two week period (most with specific ‘you must post on this date by 9am’).
Now, I could have emailed a couple of them back and politely declined a few of them now that I had seen it all on a calendar…but the people pleaser in me felt bad. Here I was all “PICK ME! PICK ME! MeeeeeeeEEEEE!!!!” And then, they pick me as one of however many bloggers out of likely hundreds/thousands of bloggers, and I’m all “Oh, just kidding. I don’t want it anymore.” I just feel like that’s kinda rude, and I’m secretly worried that they’ll blacklist me or something. I can imagine it’s a ton of work to go through all of the interested bloggers and cherry pick the ones that are the best fit for the campaign, and I don’t want to be annoying.
Anyway, all of that to say a few things:
- I have two more sponsored posts coming up in the next week or so from that same round of campaigns (!), but after that, I’ll be much more careful about what I apply for. Believe it or not, they are a lot of work, and I in no way intended to bombard you guys with so much all at once.
- I will continue to do sponsored posts because this…but I promise to always try to write in such a way that keeps with my typical style of writing and hopefully doesn’t feel super forced and like a giant commercial. (I hope you guys see that!)
- And honestly, I really do try to write about stuff that I love and believe in…so even if I am being paid for it, know that I turn down and/or don’t apply for campaigns that aren’t a good fit. You know, like the sweet folks who offered that I review their new workout gear. Bahahahahaha!!!!
I hope that makes sense and that you’ll hang tight as this blog evolves a bit and I learn how to best balance all of the different aspects of it. It’s a process.
Happy Saturday!!!
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I think you explained everything really well. As a blog reader and not a blogger I did not realize that was how things happened with sponsored posts. I truly enjoy all of your posts…keep em coming !
I think there is a lot of mystery surrounding how bloggers work with companies/brands, and it’s really not as fancy as it seems. When I was first starting, I could never figure out how it all worked, so I like to explain to my readers so they see how it works too. :)
Very interesting! That’s kinda how I imagined it all worked, but love reading about the finer details. As a reader, I don’t feel it is “forced” and I do like how you always put the disclaimer at the beginning of your blog posts. I was wondering about the contests you ran, did I miss the announcement of winners or are you doing that off line?
Glad you don’t feel like it’s forced. I try! Really, I do! With the contests, I personally email the winner, and I usually update the post with the winner name, or if it’s sponsored, sometimes they want you to announce the winner in a follow up post (like the one for PEOPLE mag I did last week…I’ll announce officially on Monday per their request.)
i really hadn’t noticed anything Jeannett. i enjoy reading your writing, and i do feel that you do a great job of keeping it real and sounding like you, no matter the topic.
“i really hadn’t noticed anything…” BEST. COMPLIMENT. EVER. :)
Thanks! :)
I don’t mind your sponsored posts. If I don’t feel like reading a sponsored post when I check out your blog, then I just keep moving and come back to it later. I think you balance things quite well.
Cheers,
Caryl
Thanks, Caryl. And that’s part of it…you can always skip those if you don’t care about the topic…although I do always try to be funny or say something of value…try being the key word there!
I’m a moth to a flame when it comes to Cost Plus or Old Navy. Flicker flicker zap. And with sponsored posts, where I know nothing about the company you’re writing about, it’s a great way to learn something new.
Cheers,
Caryl
I have to say – I absolutely love the candid style of your writing, and I feel that it is seamless from post to post. I didn’t even notice that you wrote sponsored posts last week! I appreciate that you choose to work with companies that share your same vision. Thanks for explaining the details!
Thanks! Love that you didn’t even notice! That makes me happy. And you know, I’ve written about stores and brands and products that I just love withOUT any affiliation…so I try to pick campaigns that I would conceivably write about for free anyway…but shhhhh…don’t tell them that! Ha!
(also wanted to note that this is my first time commenting, and I love that you responded! thanks for being awesome!) :)
i like you. and anything you post :)
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I agree with previous comments. I hadn’t noticed anything different, but it’s your blog, and you can post what you want! If it’s not something that interests me, I don’t have to take the time to read it. And I would have no right to “complain” to you that you’re not writing something I want to read! I enjoy keeping up with your little family. I have almost 4 yr old twin girls and an 8 month old tomorrow little boy (who is not pulling up or crawling yet, and I’m perfectly fine with that!)
It’s okay. I finally just gave up on the whole sponsored post thing. I’m in a couple networks that send me opportunities. I fill out the forms, but I never get chosen! It really does take a while to fill out the forms, and I don’t want to just apply for everything, so I try to think about it. After thinking about it and applying, not being chosen is frustrating, so I just gave up. I’ll second others that I didn’t even notice back to back sponsored posts. Most people probably don’t notice.
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Oh, Goodness Gracious, you are fine. I agree with the other commenters: you keep it real, informative, and funny and only for products you believe in. Am I jealous of your Barn Lights? Maybe, but here’s what I get about it. The shopping isn’t just shopping – it’s analyzing, researching, purchasing and then trying to remember exactly what it was you wanted to convey about the company and its product. It actually reminds me a lot of when I may or may not have been a secret shopper after Sedona was born. It was a lot of work invested with less return than what would be ideal, but hey, they were paying me to shop, so that’s pretty cool.
So keep on enjoying the perks of maintaing this blog. We know your life involves so much more than this little window into your life. And blogs do take up a lot of time – we can’t do it all, so some of it very conceivably could be considered a sacrifice. I know I feel that way these days. “If I choose to blog, I reap the benefit of having documented more of my daughters’ lives, BUT I might have to pass up this other chance to get some gardening done, etc.” I realize that it’s that way for you too, and the effort you put into AND doing good for others blesses us. If you’re getting blessed through it too, that’s a great bonus!
As an avid reader of Life Rearranged, I love reading your posts, sponsored or not. I don’t feel the sponsored posts are forced or fake. If it helps bring in the income to continue the blog and support your family, I am in full support. I have checked out products you’ve suggested and even bought a couple. You don’t use any high pressure tactics and if I’m not interested, I’ll just skim over those parts. Keep up the great work and thanks for explaining the sponsored posts to the non-blogging world.
Always wondered how those blog networks worked – didn’t realize you applied for opportunities and then had to meet certain deadlines. If you belong to 3, I imagine that amounts to a lot of choices. You’ve done an excellent job of explaining how it all works, something that I’m sure many blog owners never think to do for their readers.
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You are doing great. I only knew they were sponsored b/c I joined a network and I see how they work now. I haven’t had to do it yet (I doubt they will ever choose me, I’m way too small), but I think it would be really hard to write a sponsored post in a way that doesn’t seem like a commercial. The thing is, you are doing a great job of writing authentic sponsored posts. You really are. And if you happen to have a bunch come due all at once, enjoy your free cruise and your free ski trip without worrying what other people think about how much you paid for your vacations. Honestly. xo, ab
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