Many bloggers aspire to reach the top levels of blogging. You know – the kind of blogger where people throw products and gifts your direction, begging for your opinion on these fun little toys. Sounds great doesn’t it? But the line between real opinion and paid advertisement can often be blurry. For example: someone sends you a package of diapers and asks you to use them. You’ll probably write an honest review and move on with your life. But what if the same company offers to diaper your kids for life if you endorse their product? Almost seems too good to be true…. after all, diapers are expensive.
But that to me is a problem (and the main reason why it is now illegal for bloggers to fail to disclose when they have been paid for a review). The diaper situation is a little extreme, but let’s ponder this hypothetical situation.
Blogger X is approached to write a review about product/service/place Y. Y offers no compensation for the review, but does inform the blogger of a contest their readers can enter on Y’s website.
Blogger X responds that X is aware of the client and would be willing to do a review for monetary compensation or for a sample a.k.a money to use with Y. Additionally, X would be willing to do a giveaway for Y for monetary compensation.
Here’s my question. Monetary compensation? Unsolicited? Let’s be serious people. I have been blogging for quite some time. I have done a giveaway or two. I have endorsed products and will continue to endorse products on my blog. But I would NEVER respond to a request to review and ask for MONEY. A sample? Maybe – if it’s a case where a sample is not available and I am interested in the product/establishment/service or am already aware of the product/establishment/service and have formed opinions, I’ll probably write about it. Ask for a giftcard for my readers? No sweat. But I am extremely offended by the fact that there are bloggers out there asking for monetary compensation for their “opinions.”
That mindset cheapens the thoughts and voices of the rest of the blogging community and causes disharmony and distrust amongst our readers. I hate to think that there are those out there who are taking advantage of the popularity bloggers have seen recently and deliberately misleading their readers into believing that their opinions were anything more than paid advertising.
Does anyone else find this as offensive as me? Am I alone in this?
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