Is Incorporating Product Reviews & Advertising Into A Blog ''Selling Out''? ♥

as long as it's relevant & doesn't totally overshadow the content i don't mind ads much. i don't really care if bloggers get products for free either, if they review them honestly.

I agree with you Corrine, I think it can be done tastefully (but often isn't). I enjoy reading product reviews as long as I can tell that the writer is being honest and will tell you about the not so good bits as well as the upsides. Ads themselves don't really bother me as long as they are relevant to the blog itself. xx

Lately I've found a few blogs I read are becoming more like informercials and it puts me off reading them. A few sponsored posts are okay (if they are in keeping with the blog as you say) but when it's more sponsored content than anything else, I lose interest.

Should have gone with the palm trees

thats ice cold

I really love you for posting about this because I receive many offers like this one on an almost-daily basis, and I have so many thoughts on the subject.

Personally, I visit a particular blog because I like the writer's "voice." Their unique take on everything from fashion to food is what inspires me to visit them. That said, I don't take offense when a blogger posts one of these "advertising pieces." However, when you see the very same thing, or similar posts, on other blogs, it becomes tiring and so unoriginal.

I prefer when bloggers stay true to themselves and their blog. If I like a product, I'm going to write about it; if I don't, then I won't. I really don't see the beauty in taking money for posting something that isn't...me. And I guess, in a way, I don't think my readers would appreciate it either. :/

I personally don't accept money or products to review, but that's mostly just because I would rather not have to deal with the whole business side of it. I blog because I love blogging, and I feel like if I started accepting money for what I was writing, it would become about what draws in the most readers, what gets my page the most hits.

I have no problem with blogs that sell advertising or receive products to review, so long as the ads don't get in the way of the content and so longs as the reviews remain honest.

Great article!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah I love you Corinne!

Like you, I think that it can be done tastefully. A link here, an ad there but it really bothers me when all of the sudden blogger place ads all over the place and don't consider how to fit the ads seamlessly into their blog design.

I'd only endorse products that I'm really excited about and I'd be willing to spend my money on.

I think that one of the keys of succeeding with Pr and advertising is to just stick with companies who share the same values as you and who you really trust and like to work with.

Hahahahahahahahaha Palm trees! What the hell? Ahahaha.

I think advertising can be done tastefully on blogs. It just has to be somewhat relevant and not too overwhelming :) xx

one of the things i love about the internet is the abundance of content, and that the vast majority of it - even most of the really fantastic things - are free. i believe very passionately in information- and skill-sharing, for everyone, regardless of financial resources, and the net is by far The most effective method we've ever had to do this. i love that people utilise it so effectively to share their knowledge, abilities, ideas, passions.

but it's also a user-pays system; i don't mean in terms of accessing content in itself, but accessing the net in the first place. having regular internet at all is a privelage; the luxury of blogging about the things you love, moreso, because it requires both time and (at least a little bit of) money. and the best bloggers clearly devote a lot of the former, at the very least, to developing their work.

i don't think money is valuable in itself - but when it's the difference between being able to do what you love (and in the process contribute to the greater sum of thought) and not, it's pretty important. having sponsors allows a blogger to contribute more (previously unpaid) time to their work. i think that's pretty great. plus...if advertisers are contributing financially it lessens the probability of a writer eventually deciding to charge their readers, instead (a phenomonen i dislike for afore-mentioned reasons about freedom of information, which popped up quite a bit some years ago, but is phasing out as advertisers clue on and financial support starts to come from there instead).

i agree absolutely on sticking to advertisers with products in keeping with your blog, but i'm all for people earning money for their intellectual property, too, and i am also very much in favour of it coming from big business rather than those reading and interracting with the blogging community on a personal level. if the financing blogs rested on the shoulders of the readers, the way it does in so many other types of media, i think that would spoil terribly the culture of blogging in general. i think some extra pictures on the side bar are worth avoiding that.

I'm broadminded about it. I agree with you- as long as it is in keeping with the general themes of the blog, and not like a totally blatant attempt at moneymaking for the sake of it, then i think it's fine. If a blogger is putting lots of hard work into their blog, then there is no way I'd begrudge them wanting to earn a few dollars for it, especially if the products/services being endorsed are ones that the blogger genuinely supports.

You make a good point about magazines. So many of us buy fashion mags , which are pretty much 50% ads! We read blogs for free. If there is an endorsement/ad/product placement etc that doesn't interest us once in a while, just skip over it- no biggie!

I think it would only become a problem if, as i mentioned, it's obviously unrelated to the blog content, and/or it really lacks integrity.

Very interesting post! Likely to spark off a bit of debate I'm sure!

I actually just received my first offer for review. I wrote a review of a Genuine Health product a few months back after trying out one of their vitamins, and this week their social media person contacted me to ask if I'd like to do a sponsored post. I like their products, it's something I'm using on my own anyway, and they're sending me new stuff that I haven't tried yet for free. I"m comfortable providing a review on their stuff because I've done it before (for free and of my own free will) and it's something my blog covers (health and nutrition).

Also, it's worth noting that you're not required to write positive reviews - they just want their name out there. There's no such thing as bad press, right? So, if bloggers are writing their honest opinion and not just cowtowing to the people who sent the product, I don't see any harm in it.

Sponsored posts also don't fall into the same category as standard advertising which is ALWAYS positive. A review is your point of view. If you sell it to be positive, regardless of whether you like the product or not, THAT is a problem. But you're more than free to write negative things if you feel/find them.

It's a tricky subject and one that I'm just starting to traverse myself. For example - I have an Ad Free Blog button on Apples and Porsches. Do I have to take that down when I do this sponsored post? Or can it stay because it's a review and I have no ads on my page? Tricky, tricky.

Thanks for the thought-provoking post, dollface! I'll be sure to pass it around. I want to see what other people think. too! <3

Rachael - Yes! Thank-you for reminding me about that, I meant to mention it, but at the same time, can't help but feel a bit skeptical about that whole process: I mean yes, it may be required that you release the fact that you received something free for review, but honestly, who monitors that? With all the blogs and websites in the world, who patrols them and ensures that people actually ARE mentioning whether or not they've received something for free? I don't know, it's a bit of a murky area!

Lauren - Thank-you very much! And I have to agree, while some Google advertisements can be relevant to a blogger's content and useful, Project Wonderful kind of makes me cringe: ''00.1 is all it takes to advertise here!'' $00.1?! Why would anybody give up major space on their website just to obtain $00.1?! Madness!

Holly-Rae - Very true. But even still, unless we try it ourselves, how do we actually know whether or not a reviewed product IS crap-tacular, but is still receiving raving reviews regardless?

I think if you, as the writer, like the product and use it yourself or if you genuinely endorse the product than there's no harm. It's only selling out when people lie and give raving reviews about something that's crap.

Great question as always, Corrine. I don't have a blog of my own but have to be honest and say I hate when I see a blog which is covered in ads. (Especially those awful Google and Project Wonderful ones.) As for product reviews, I don't mind them as long as somebody is honest about the fact that they did get sent them for nothing.

I believe (here) it is required to release the fact that you received something for free to review. As for sponsored advertisement - well, honestly, it's the blogger's decision. It's their responsibility to make sure the products are relevant to their life, their blog and their audience and to keep their integrity intact. If readers are displeased by commercially sponsored reviews & endorsements then they can simply stop reading. Website hits will decline and the blogger will have to realize their error and either regroup or find the audience that doesn't care. I also think that the blogger needs to establish that their integrity will remain intact and if they find any fault with the product-in-question they will not hesitate to give it constructive criticism.