What's the drama?

Yep, there's more drama to be had here at babblingbandit.me. No, not more sex, drugs and rock n roll! I'm talking sponsored posts. There seems to be a lot of chatter around the interwebs about bloggers getting paid to give opinions on brands and their products or services. Readers seem to either love them or they hate them. It's controversial! It's divisive! It's dramatic!

I actually enjoy reading sponsored posts if they are for a product or service I'm interested in. I'm one of these people who doesn't buy anything major without having read good reviews about the product first. I scour the web for beauty bloggers' opinions on mascara or through tech blogs for reviews on the latest gadgets/computers/software. There's no way I'd buy any major appliance without having found a thumbs up from a blog or a review site.

I am also a total sucker for marketing and advertising. I love pretty packages and catchy jingles. I'm a shopping addict with a disgraceful love of consumerism. But I have little money in the bank. If I spend my cash I want to get the most out of every dollar. Reading reviews of products and services from bloggers that I trust can help me form a decision about a product.

You know what else I love? Free stuff. I've won stacks of cool things from blog competitions. I've won $100 worth of shoes for Noo, a lunchbox, some yum cha products, chocolate, tickets to Masterchef live (although the announcement email got lost in my spam folder), tickets to take the kids to see Elmo's show that's coming up in June, some pelvic floor exercise balls (yet to be tested). Oh and I won $500 for writing this post for the Digital Parents Conference sponsors RAMS. Sweet!

Blogging is my second love at the moment (after my family of course). I never really knew I could put words together to make sentences that form paragraphs that end up coming together to give you a story. My story.

Blogging takes a lot of time. I don't begrudge that time, I wish I had more of it to give to my space. I love spending time on my words and my pictures. I love reading other blogs and commenting. I love social media and being connected. I love the sense of community. I love the comments that I get that are so often filled with support and care for me. I've been overwhelmed by that support. I thank each and every person that comes to read what I have to say, not just the commenters.

I am lucky that I do have an income outside of blogging. My blog is my hobby not a business. For me to choose to do the odd sponsored post is not really all about money. Although the fifty bucks I might make to write a post like the one I did recently for Office 365 really helps. That's my coffee and cake money for a week! Of course, should my readership grow, then I may need to ask for a bit more than snack dollars.

I've enjoyed writing the few sponsored posts that I've done because I like being given a project. In each campaign that I've been involved in I've still given a little story of my life. I've never just rewritten the media release. I always mark clearly at the top that the post is sponsored so the reader can chose not to read if they wish.

Why am I going on about all this? If you haven't already noticed I've put together a little Work/Contact/Network page in the hope some more sponsored gigs might come my way. And there could be a few coming up in the near future. I just thought I'd put it out there to you guys. This is a PR friendly blog. Without compromising my voice I'd like to be able to work with brands. And, as my readers, I hope you don't mind that I do.


What do you think about the whole sponsored post malarkey? 

Yay or nay?




V.

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