Selling out your blog
When a local garden blogger you regularly read posts about a nursery she likes, do you think, “Hey, I need to go visit that place too”?
When your favorite blogger raves about a gardening tool he just tried, do you promptly add it to your wish list?
When she shows you pictures of her mail-order flowering shrub and tells you where she bought it, do you check out their website and grab your wallet?
That’s what many garden-related businesses are counting on these days. They are sending flattering emails to garden bloggers of all stripes, telling them how influential they are, and offering compensation if they’ll write a favorable post about their product/business/website. More boldly, they’ll even offer to write the post for the blogger, who is encouraged to pass it off as his own.
Does it bother you to think that your favorite blogger might be taking money or other compensation (free products, usually) in exchange for making personal recommendations?
It bothers me.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ve got nothing against bloggers who choose to run ads. To me, it’s like seeing ads in a magazine you enjoy. I choose not to run them, mainly for aesthetic reasons and because I don’t believe I’d make enough money from them to justify their marring the look of my blog. But at least with a visible ad, you recognize that it’s separate from the blogger’s personal viewpoint.
But invisible ads in the form of undisclosed sponsorships and ghost-written recommendations are more pernicious. They compromise the blogger and dupe the reader. They make the blog—a supposedly personal record of the blogger’s experiences—into an infomercial disguising itself as memoir.
Check out the latest such proposal I received via email today (I’ve marked out all identifying names):
Hi Pam,
My name is###from###Nursery. I recently came across your Digging blog and found it very fun and interesting.
We run an online###nursery, and we’re looking for different types of advertisements and sponsorships. Right now, we’re finding quality, unique blogs to sponsor, and yours came up.
I was wondering if you were open to the idea of posting an article about our company on your blog. We could even supply a completely unique article to post for your readers if you prefer. We’d be happy to compensate you for your time.
For an example, please look at a previous post from###[another garden blogger] found here athttp://###.
Please let me know what you think!
I visited the blogger that was mentioned and found a positive plug for this nursery in the middle of a post about some gardening the blogger was doing. This blogger did not say anywhere that he/she was being compensated for the favorable recommendation. Had I come across this blog on my own, or especially if I had been reading it for a while and trusted it, I might have clicked on the link on the strength of his/her recommendation, and perhaps even made a purchase.
Is that so bad? I believe so. Writers of any sort, especially bloggers, who trade on their “authenticity” for a loyal readership, have a responsibility to be honest to their readers where advertising and sponsorship are concerned. It’s entirely appropriate to tell your readers, “Such-and-such company sent me a free pair of gardening clogs, and here’s what I think about them.” Or “My thanks to Nursery X for sponsoring my blog.” Or “My mother works at Gift Shop Y, so I’m not entirely unbiased when I tell you how much I love to shop there.” Then you know where the blogger stands, and you can take recommendations about those places with a grain of salt.
But when a blogger takes the money or free stuff with a wink and a nod and then casually recommends a website to his or her readers without disclosing the deal?
That’s selling out.
All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Pam, you make some valid points. While I like to hear of favorable experiences with nurseries/garden companies, I think it is only ethical to state if you have received any sort of compensation for the review/recommendation.
Jan
Always Growing
Excellent post, as always, Pam. I decline those ‘invitations to advertise’ on my blog that want me to either write about them myself or to provide me with copy extolling their virtues. While I decline (and usually politely, unless I’m having a cranky Celt day) I also explain that I’m a professional writer and while I do review books and products related to gardening, I do NOT write about things if I haven’t tried them out. If I comment on something, it’s because I’ve had experience with it, either because I’ve bought the product or it’s been sent to me to trial. There are nurseries in Nova Scotia I like and trust very much, and I do promote them; but because I like them, not because they pay me. (they don’t).The ones I DON’T like, or am disappointed with, or haven’t had recent interaction with? I don’t put their URLs in my lists of links. My integrity is more important to me than a few fast dollars.
Well put, Jodi. Like you, I review books from time to time, and soon I’ll be trialing some plants. But the key is full disclosure and writing about one’s personal experience and not because you were paid to do so. —Pam
Hmmm, guess I haven’t thought much about it since I haven’t been approached. But now that you bring it up, I guess I would be bothered by someone waxing poetic about a product without telling me that s/he is being paid to do so…
Hi Pam. I recently put a couple adds in the margins because I was curious exactly what they would make. As I told the spousal unit, I don’t pay them any mind on other blogs so why should I put them on mine. Now it’s me wanting to prove my point! I also was “approached” by what appears to be the same “nursery” given your description. I too was a bit repulsed by their request for props, no review or anything offered. And it was a huge insult to “offer” to provide an article. I’m a journalist. I think I can write for myself. And I’ll be writing them off, thank you.
Hi Pam,
I got that same exact e-mail.. word for word… THAT bothers me. I declined based on the fact that I had never purchased anything from them and therefore wouldn’t have been able to recommend their product.
I guess I haven’t noticed anyone advertising on their blog for pay or not for pay.
Meems @ Hoe and Shovel
That’s the thing—you wouldn’t notice because you have no way of knowing about under-the-table sponsorships unless the blogger discloses it. —Pam
Good for you, Pam. You’re obviously an honorable blogger with ethics. Maybe it’s time for an official “Blogger’s Code of Ethics” so that readers will have some assurances that a blogger is not accepting freebies in exchange for positive endorsements of products.
You make several good points about selling out blogs. I ignore 99% of the emails I get with offers to pay for links, provide articles, etc. with a quick delete. If someone sends me an email about a product I’m interested in, I’ll offer to review it on my blog after using it, but tell them the review will be an honest one… that scares most of them away. Then if I do review something, I note that I got the product to review and then tell the truth, good or bad. And lately I also ask to be able to host a drawing to give the product away to someone else.
I believe that many companies don’t really understand blogs, they just know they should try to get mentioned on blogs, I guess. And I can’t imagine putting a pre-written article from someone else on my blog!
Pam, you’ve reminded me that I’ve got to put up a disclosure statement on my blog (easy to do with sites like http://disclosurepolicy.org/). I run a few small ads to help offset hosting costs. The text ads appear under the headline “sponsored links.”
I agree with most of the comments made; if you’re writing about a product or service for cash, say so. Put the words “sponsored post” in your headline. It’s that simple.
Andrea, thank you for the link to the disclosure policy site. I think I will write my own and put it up as well. —Pam
Interesting you should bring this up. I received an email from a company; the person saying they read and liked my blog and was wondering if I would consider putting a link on my blog to their site. He stated that at this time he doesn’t do link exchanges, but would give me $50 to shop on his site- actually it was hard to say if it was a he or a she, by the name. The items they sell could be useful in the garden, but not really gardening tools. I responded by thanking him/her for reading my blog and that I was glad they enjoyed it, but no. I have no ads on my blog, and have never really wanted them. They confuse me when I’m on other blogs. I do recommend a couple seed companies- and put a link to their site on my blog- but I put them there of my own choice, not because they asked me to or for ad sense. Right away this person got pushy and asked me to consider doing it for six months, again with the $50, and then we’d re-evaluate it in 6 months. Wow! Is all I have to say…that and ‘NO!’
I certainly would hope that the blogs I read would recommend things based on their personal knowledge and experience- And I doubt any blogs I read would knowingly do this. I’ve never thought that there was this possibility…isn’t that what blogs are for? Your voice, your experiences? Truthful ones?
So, thanks for posting this- This was the first time it happened to me and I hope the last. Since I am a fairly new blogger, this kind of info is very helpful to me. I know I’m just naive, but in time I will understand all this stuff! I was just reading about scrapers and sploggers the others night…confusing stuff to me 🙂
Happy Gardening!
Tessa, I think bloggers will see more and more of these requests as companies realize that our blogs offer a direct line to potential customers. That’s why we need to be having this discussion. Scrapers and sploggers—now that’s a whole other topic to get worked up over, isn’t it? —Pam
What a useful post! Thanks so much! For me, it actually cuts both ways. I write about native plants and was planning on a post about the nurseries and plant sales I usually go to. Now I’d better make sure to say they’re not paying me for that.
And I agree completely, it’s sad to see how the integrity of blogs starts to come into question by practices like that. Thanks again.
Hi Pam. Very interesting post and equally interesting replies. I’m not sponsoring ads on my blog for the same reason, aesthetics. I doubt I’d make much money (if any) but the idea of all that flash and hoopla is a distraction from what I’m all about. However I’m not opposed to those who choose to do so. I largely ignore them. I totally concur that if a blogger touts the merits of a product or nursery and they’re getting paid, or even if they’re not, they should be honest and disclose this to their VALUED readers. I’m a professional writer also and have done book reviews for Timber Press in my newspaper column. No pay, of course, but I can keep the book which is a nice perk.
I wonder if this nursery with the form letter is using blotanical as a means to query bloggers. Maybe it is indeed time for an ethical code of conduct.
Hi, Grace. My feeling about book reviews is that it’s standard practice for a reviewer to receive the book from the publisher, and so long as the review is the blogger’s honest opinion there’s no harm in it. I feel differently about product reviews, however, and believe that it should be disclosed that the product was sent for review. It’s a fine distinction, and perhaps in future I ought to disclose in my book reviews whether I bought the book or the publisher sent it. —Pam
Journalism Code of Ethics apply.
As for pay-per-click and affiliate ads — they really haven’t done well for me. I don’t think gardeners like to click ads. 🙂
I don’t want ads on my blog either and I always ignore them on other blogs. I would much rather know that the products being discussed in a post are ones that the blogger has personally used.
Great “spreading the blogging code” post Pam. I could not agree more with your sentiments.
Regards,
ESP.
“cheeky buggers”!
I totally agree with you Pam. The face of blogging seems to be changing as more and more commercial enterprises recognize the influence of blogs, not just garden blogs. I don’t think a code of ethics would work as blogs are individual things. Good thing there are lots of individuals so folks can make a choice-to read or not, to post ads or not. That is America. But bloggers who do post these articles should fairly disclose it is for money, it would be ‘selling out’, as you said, if they do not.
Interesting. It’s not just selling out, it’s dishonest. At least when reading magazines and newspapers the reader knows there’s a high likelihood the tools or whatever on test have been supplied and bears that in mind with the review, which tends to be unbiased. anyway.
Perhaps the same code of ethics for journalism needs to be applied in this instance too? If I was approached, I’d react by saying ‘yes, but it’ll be an honest review and I’ll say you supplied the product’. If they run a mile from that, then it shows they’re not worth dealing with. A good company supplying quality items should be happy to accept those terms.
I don’t carry ads either, not only because of aesthetics, but because I don’t want to be seen to be endorsing anything Adsense or whoever cares to send my way. Similarly if I link to a commercial site (which I try not to) it’s because they have useful information that adds to my post, it’s not an endorsement of that company.
Hi Pam, this is taking a stand on a topic that affects many bloggers. As always, you take the high road, the reason why you are so well thought of in the blogging community. I have mentioned nurseries and companies in my blog before, I even am mentioning a book today by friend Nan Ondra, BUT I have never been offered anything! I am a little miffed about it too. Well not really. When a comment is really only an ad with a link, it gets deleted. No ads, no reviews for exchange of product, nothing. I do have a plug for the ice cream shop that we own in Asheville, but don’t think even one person has gone in there and mentioned the blog. Sometimes I wonder why the business that I have linked to doesn’t make any offers to me, but that is not the reason for the link. It is for the public to know where they can get something and I can vouch that what that business offers is legit. A thank you note would be nice though.
Frances
Hi, Frances. Your publicizing of your ice cream shop has always been completely above-board and non-pushy. I also link to my business on my blog and make mention of it from time to time, but like you I try not to be pushy about it. Digging is for relating to readers and fellow gardeners on a personal, not a business, footing.
That said, there are commercial sites that contain blogs, and I think those are fine too so long as it’s clear where they are coming from. The Blogging Nurseryman and the Southern Bulb Co. are two that come to mind. They’re perfectly legit as they make it clear that they’re representing their respective companies, and I like getting an insider’s perspective. —Pam
Amen Pam. I sure wouldn’t like to think that the blogs I read are being paid to say “nice” things about product or plant.
This is a great topic and very timely considering what has been going on in the blog world in the last couple of weeks. I am OK with people having ads on thier site, at least we know they are ads. However, I would not want to hear about bloggers working-in paid product or business promotions disguised as a personal experience. If I found that going on in someone’s blog I would probably be less likely to regularly read it. I have infrequently mentioned other nurseries in my posts, but they were only prompted by my article, and I certainly never saw any coins because of it. I have been blogging for a year now, and while I enjoy the interaction between myself and other bloggers, the process has become more of a journal to me and is not dependent on what other people say. When I started out, I decided that I would never directly mention the place where I work. I did this for two reasons: I did not want my blog to seem like an endorsement for my work, and I wanted to maintain my independence from my company (I do not own the company, I just work there).
The next issue that needs addressing is the increased amount of plagerism going around. Both of these would be good topics for the Chicago meet-up.
A very useful topic. I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s response. I put one of those “google adsense” gadgets on my blog when I first got started out of curiosity–and then promptly forgot all about it. As far as I can tell, it’s never generated a dime (or at least if it has, nobody’s ever told me about it ;-)). Now I’ve noticed it again and I’m wondering why it’s there…
In any case, the real issue with everyone seems to be hawking products without letting people know that’s what you’re doing. As I said above, that seems cheesy and would probably irritate me if I figured out that’s what was going on. In fact, I probably wouldn’t go back to the blog much after that…
As for getting approached by someone wanting to do this on my site, I guess I’ve been pretty lucky. Or maybe they think my blog couldn’t sell anything. 😉 In any case, I’m on the alert now.
Lately I’ve been inundated with e-mails like that and I simply delete them. I will write a review about a certain garden related product, when asked, but I’ll decide if it’s a positive, negative or neutral review. And I’ll let my readers know that I got that product for free. Neither my integrity nor my opinion is for sale.
Excellent post Pam!
Well … I’m new to the blogging world and have about 10 people who follow me, maybe 6 to 10 people who come by on a regular basis. So, coming from my perspective, I suppose you should be quite flattered that the nursery in question has identified you as a blog it would like to be associated with. I guess they think you have been pretty successful and powerful in the Blogging world. I would take it as a compliment and kindly say “Thanks, but no thanks.”
I do also agree that articles of this type should have the by-line “Article sponsored by …”
BTW, I think those nursery people were correct in identifying you as a superior blog — you are a lovely designer and I have enjoyed reading your posts!
Hi, Pam. Thanks for the nice words. Compliments like yours mean a lot coming from a reader but not when it’s coming from a company or individual who mass-solicits bloggers, as this one seems to be doing judging by the other commenters who’ve received the same message. I did say “thanks but no thanks”—no need to be rude. But my beef is not with the companies that are trying to place ads, but with bloggers who accept compensation for a positive mention on their blog without disclosing it. —Pam
Well, I’ve never been approached about reviewing a product so I can’t really interject much on that subject. But, I can give my opinion on the ads. Personally they distract me and I also feel they detract from the appearance of the blog. I do have two links on my blog, both directing to my sister’s sites. One because she had written a book and I’m very proud of her and I want to brag about her and the second one because my other sister has a silver shop that is/has helped put fours sons through college,(in addition to her other two jobs) and I will do what little I can to help with that. Something else that I don’t recall reading in the comments is that a lot of these ads are flash ads that contain malicious software. Just last winter my PC was infected from an ad on a garden blog and I lost everything on my hard drive. While I had about 80% of it backed up you would know the 20% that wasn’t was very important things, taxes and such. I tend to avoid blogs with lots of ads on them now. I can’t risk losing all that information again. Not to mention it took every free minute I had for seven days to reload everything.
I agree and another pet peave of mine is someone asking you to vote for their blog, or whatever for them so they will get the most votes, HELLO….what if I like someone else’s better???? It is cold here in SAT this morning, sighing for spring….
Errm, I’ve asked my readers for a vote before, Pamie. Obviously a person can vote for whomever they choose, and, as demonstrated by our recent presidential candidates, I believe it never hurts to ask for someone’s support. But thanks for sharing the opposite viewpoint. It’s food for thought. —Pam
This has been debated in the larger blogging world for quite some time, and it permeates Twitter as well. Because I have a friend who is part of Walmart’s 11 Moms promotion, I have started following some of the so-called Mommy bloggers. Some seem to be about nothing more than marketing one product after another–and making additional money teaching others to do the same. In their blog posts they will say that they received product X for free or are being paid, but not in their twitters where they casually mention that their kid is playing with toy Y or whatever. To me that is sneaky. Full disclosure is key, though I have to concede, when you’ve only got 140 characters to work with, it’s difficult to fully disclose anything.
But you know, there are blogs that are entirely ghost written. When I went to the Garden Writers Symposium in Oklahoma City, someone told me they wrote a gardening blog but they couldn’t give me the name, because they were hired to do it for someone else.
Really?? —Pam
Hi Pam, thanks for highlighting a very interesting subject. As the previous poster noted full disclosure is the key here. Personally I don’t mind if there are ads and product “mentions” as long as I know where the poster is coming from, paid or otherwise.
There are several paper publications that don’t operate on the advertising model and it does give them more credibility – Cook’s Illustrated is one example. Of course in this economy the advertising model is flailing so everyone is going for every angle.
Keep up the good work. As always I’m enjoying your thoughts on this frosty winter morning. I forgot to cover some of my tender plants last night and it doesn’t look good today.
Hi Pam, I get them too, I just delete them. My email address is available to viewers, so advertisers have found me. They do make me chuckle…the promises they make are laughable. Blogs that are jam packed with ads are slower to load, even with broadband connection (btw, music on blogs slows the load time, too.) Plus, all the cookies…I make it a point to clear my cache and delete cookies frequently. Thanks Pam for bringing this subject to our attention. gail
At least they offered to compensate you instead of just trying to con you. There is a difference though between an ad on the blog which is an obvious ad and a post that isn’t identified as a paid endorsement or review.
I think the business world is in far greater need of a code of ethics than most bloggers. And there is no shortage of sites on the web run by people who are in it soley for the profit. Business shouldn’t have much trouble getting their ghost written copy placed on a site like that.
One thing that I read about recently that still puzzles me a bit is paying to have a link placed on a bloggers site. It was mentioned as being against Google rules, like Google owns the intertubes. Anyway, most ads are links. They are payed mostly on a per click basis. Why is that? On TV and in the dying print media you paid for an ad period. Business didn’t pay ad rates in traditional media based on some formula of customers they got from a particular ad placement. They payed to get their name visible.
Why is advertising on the web now on a per click basis? If business wants to advertise they just need to pay up period.
It will be obvious I think which blogs are real people and which ones are just advertisement.
If you don’t like the idea.. just say no or don’t reply. Big deal.. I think it is mean to post people’s personal emails to public.
I don’t see how this was mean, Vincent. I took pains to hide the solicitor’s identity and even gender, and I didn’t say one harsh word about companies that solicit bloggers like this. If you’ll read carefully, you’ll see that my criticism is directed at bloggers who accept compensation for a positive mention or review without disclosing it to their readers. —Pam
I can’t decide whether this is laughable or lamentable. A bit of both, I suppose. The humorous aspect is the pathetic email with its syncophantic gushing while including an insult to the blogger’s writing ability. The lamentable part is that I now feel I have to make a disclaimer anytime I review or recommend anything, stating that I recieved no compensation in any form. While a blogging code of ethics sounds noble, those who would accept hidden sponsorship in the first place would have no qualms about ignoring a code. They’ve already shown that their ethical sensebilities have been impaired. I don’t have ads on my blog not only because of the aesthetics, but also because ads slow down the loading of the site. I’ve had my computer choke on some sites because of the ads.
Gee Pam I got that same email! I have to say that the ‘generic tone’ of that email didn’t make me feel special! I have to agree that compensation puts a whole new spin on the validity of praise. Great topic and one that needs to be addressed!
Well, Pam, this topic has been very interesting to read all the comments on! I have thought it “cheesy” when several have approached me, acts like they regularly read my blog and want me to do such and such. I know very well they don’t. They’re at the fishing hole and trying to see how many fish will bite! I hate hearing music, so I keep my audio turned off. I don’t want to have to wait forever for a blog to load because it’s filled with ads. I’ve had that happen time and again. Sometimes you get tired of waiting and just move on. So that should tell the folks with ads that it isn’t much worth it after all. Like a commenter said above, mine is like a gardening journal with tidbits about the pets and my remodeling process, etc. I’m not trying to get the world to read it. Just interact with my friends on the internet. Thanks for this post. And in my humble opinion, maybe we should adopt something like The Good Housekeeping Seal Of Approval, except apply it to ethics in blog promotion and writing. I do mention a certain nursery in Edom and a garden sculpture company occasionally. But only because I’ve just been there and want folks to know where I bought what I’m showing, so they can check it out if they want it too.
Brenda
Glad I found this! I’m pretty new to blogging, I didn’t even know this was done. It’s too bad that people will feel they have to specify they aren’t being paid to recommend a business. I’ve always just thought that since blogs are for personal experiences, as you mention, that’s what people are writing about. Their personal opinion, not a paid one.
Pam, as a fairly new blogger, I didn’t know this was happening. (I also have this PollyAnna view of the world, and I’m always surprised when people do underhanded things). I really didn’t get into blogging to be a consumer, I did it to converse with other gardeners and to educate myself from their experiences. And if they like a particular product, then great, I’ll check it out. But to be a shill for someone, that nauseates me. Think about it, you could easily write your own blog to promote your landscaping design services (much less promote someone else), yet you don’t. You write as a gardener and a friend, and you write to document your world, and you do it in a way that the rest of us like a lot. There’s no subterfuge. I don’t like to read blogs that are covered with ads, it is very distracting. I know that we are a capitalistic society and it infiltrates everything, but there are some sacred areas that need to be a haven from that attitude; the private garden is one of them in my book. Thanks for posting this, you’ve opened my eyes and I’ll be more aware when I read blogs that I’m unfamiliar with.
Wow, Pam – what a timely post. A few offers to run ads on my blog have come to me, too – but nothing as bad as this one. A ghost-written article! One of the delights of blogging is that no one else can put words in our mouths.
Looks like everyone is putting what we’ve done on the record in these comments: I frequently talk about local nurseries and garden tools, books & products, but was not paid -it was just part of my personal gardening experience. And I told readers that the tickets were free when talking about a home/garden show. It could be fun to test & review a product if something suitable came along, but the use and review process would have to be transparent, like Kathy’s posts about tillers and MSS of Zanthan’s experience with the composter.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Also for the record: Neither Robert Downey Jr nor Pierce Brosnan bribed me to write about their movies. Alas.
Alas, indeed! 😉 —Pam
Even though I’m blogging on my own and just for me, this is an important topic as are the responses. I agree with many of you about no ads for reasons of aesthetics. As a long time journalist, I try to follow the same rules that applied when I worked for a daily paper: Full disclosure. For starters that means attributing information with sources and quotations if I did not write it myself. Sources need to be acknowledged if I want to retain credibility. It means saying I got a plant or product for free to trial and potentially write about. I do a lot of book reviews and mention if I asked for a copy of the book or know the author or there is some connection. I try to use my own photos wherever possible and give credit if the picture is not mine. I also indicate if I the content of a post appeared elsewhere first — even if it’s my own writing and content. I don’t know that I want to see ethics rules per se — it should be a given. But as bloggers become more important, esp. as more newspapers drop garden writers and more magazines fold, clearly this kind of sleazy biz approach to bloggers is likely to multiply. (Now the question is, am I flattered that I was not approached in this instance or would I have been more flattered to be approached?)
You wrote: “I do a lot of book reviews and mention if I asked for a copy of the book or know the author or there is some connection.”
I think I can do better in this regard. I often review books too. Some I buy and some are sent to me. Disclosing that probably makes sense. —Pam
Hi Pam, Thanks for a very informative post. I’ve suspected that this sort of thing goes on in the blogging world and your post confirms it. My closest experience is a comment that was a blatant effort to get a link onto my blog. I do have links on my blog, but they are all to companies that I purchase from and am happy to recommend to my friends, and I’ve come to think of my regular visitors as friends. One reason that I link to companies that I like is that I want them to stay in business and what better way to do that than to send them more customers. Would I place an ad for them on my blog – no way! I hate ads on blogs. I find them to be incredibly distracting and tend to stay away from the ones that have too many.
Pam,
Timely article with considerate insight. I love the look and how your blog reads. No ads. This says to me, ” I have a sense of aesthetics and march to my own drum”.
I was sent two emails and a fax to my office and a third email to join his affiliate site to endorse and join a landscape leadership group. I wasn’t interested and I also found the heavy handed salesmanship a bit too aggressive for my tastes.
I posted about it on my blog : http://deviantdeziner.blogspot.com/2009/01/no-thank-you-really-no-thank-you.html
Thanks for keeping your blog personal and ad free. It is a pleasure to read.
Thanks for the link. Michelle. I’ll go check it out. —Pam
Hi Pam… yep I got that exact email word for word just yesterday. I am ignoring it and I won’t be returning a thanks but no thanks reply either! Had my fingers burned with that in the past too as then more pushy mail arrives. I have one in particular that waits a few months and comes back again with a slightly different email address – I guess they know they’ll be dumped straight into the spam folder so they try to get round it!! This new one is the worst I have seen!
Yes, this chat will go on and on I’m quite sure.
I got the same email today and wrote back saying that I don’t pimp on my blog.
I don’t run ads. Sometimes I’ve been tempted by Google Ads with the thought of covering my costs. But I know if I went to ads then I’d worry about traffic and stats and maybe start writing with the idea of driving up page views, rather than just writing about what I want to write about.
I do do product reviews. Sometimes, companies send me products to review. (Mostly I review things I think are interesting to share with others.) But they’re taking their chances there because I’m a fairly critical and discerning consumer and my review is not going to be necessarily sweet and rosy.
Wow that was awfully cheeky of them to offer to write an article for you, but I suppose like a lot of spam out there, someone will take them up on it. Ethically it is just wrong to do. I would never do anything like that myself. I have nothing against the companies that offer a product to try in your garden, as long as the blogger is given freedom to be honest in their review.
As to ads, I really don’t have a problem with seeing them as long as they follow two rules. No flashing ads and no adds above the article. Ads should always be in the sidebar or after the post. I have deleted people from my reading list in the past because of adds above the post. If I have trouble finding where the post starts, it just isn’t worth it. The flashing ads give me headaches and make my eyes hurt. On my own blog, I don’t want ads. I have other sites that don’t have ads either that get a ton of traffic (I get a lot of offers that I never take). I like my sites to look clean and pretty. I don’t like the cluttered look on the page, though I’m willing to put up with it when I read.
Like a lot of other full time garden writers, I get plants and tools to review all the time; and like Melissa, folks take their product chances because I’ll write about what it really does in my garden. I also tend to review and then post followups later to confirm or offer second thoughts. Having said that, because of the size of my garden sites, I get requests for link exchanges, product placements, etc all the time that don’t make sense for my readers or are only thinly-disguised attempts to buy links. They’re spam to me and are treated exactly that way. Delete. No fuss, no muss. No angst. It’s part of the business we’re in and there are always those who want to use media for their own purposes. Not much has changed in 30 years I’ve been doing this except it’s cheaper to approach media and so it’s down without a lot of thought by all kinds of “projects”. Part of doing business in a public media folks.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Doug. I’m sure you’re right that money has always been offered for favorable reviews, whether in print or online. What’s different now, I think, is that people who don’t have journalistic backgrounds—mostly home gardeners who blog for fun—are being hit up with these offers. I agree that we need not feel angst over the offers themselves. But as a community, bloggers need to have discussions like these in order to develop a common ethic. —Pam
Excellent post, Pam, and lots of great comments.
If you Google “blogger code of ethics” you’ll see LOTS of versions, and even more discussion of how to make them better. No reason a voluntary code couldn’t help, with people who are following it stating so with a little graphic and link on their blog. I’ve seen some excellent provisions about transparency, which you all seem to support. The weird thing to me are the versions that don’t even mention money. Like the Librarians’ Blogger Code of Ethics is about crediting sources correctly. I bet a good one for people like us will appear and it’ll be used widely.
Pam, I agree with you. I think if you are being paid to blog, you better give full disclosure.
Well! I haven’t checked my email yet but if I have one I will certainly be ignoring it. I have discovered that there are many different styles of blog and that means many different interests of the blogger. I enjoy reading many and discovering new ones. Some immediately turn me off. Sometimes I have different opinions from the post and on those I don’t really bother to comment. I am there to educate myself. I ignore all the stuff down the sides unless it has helpful information. Sometimes I add interesting links. I get a lot of spam email and just consider it to be a part of the whole internet thing. Rather like all that stuff that comes in the mail.
Well, I want all you people who have been approached to AGREE to post their “unique” article. Simultaneously. Perhaps April 1st would be appropriate?
How ignorant these guys must be; I can promise you that I won’t be visiting any nurseries I read about on a North American blog. Most North Americans would hardly be rushing to a nursery hundreds of km away, either. Garden blogging is global; gardening, however, is local.
Hi, Chookie. The online nursery that approached me appears to sell via the Internet only, which gives it a broader customer base. Probably not all the way to Australia though. 😉 —Pam
OK, well that is just ethically wrong in my humble opinion. One should let it be known if they are taking cash for plugging a business. I only link to places on my blog that I find interesting and that are honest businesses I have had good experiences with. And, my blog is just for me to dump my gardening thoughts into, not to try and make a buck. The nerve of some people….*sigh*
Well, I guess my blog is not that influential as I dont get those emails! I agree, if you are paid to plug someone you have to state that.
Pam – I think you’ve nailed the issue. The old-timers (I must be showing my age here) have been-there done-that but home gardeners – newcomers to the media world have never had to deal with pitches in any form until they created an audience by blogging. And bringing the issue to the light of day is a good idea in this new writing community of garden bloggers. Good thought; I’m sure some of us simply take this kind of thing for granted (and maybe we need to be reminded every now and then ourselves).
From a business point of view, if they get one person to say yes, it’s a pretty cheap marketing technique. With the economy the way it is and more magazines folding all the time, it may be the wave of the future?? Not that I condone it, I just don’t see it going away. Since I work in the magazine industry, and there are fewer and fewer publications, I just thought I’d bring up that aspect. Everyone’s trying to make a buck, just depends what priority you place on your integrity.
Very hot subject, whatever type of blog it concerns. I think it is fair to write review of a product as long as the review is honest and not only flattering. According to ethic code of bloggers, company can’t ask for positive review, only honest one – they should be happy there is a discussion about the product and it is mentioned in the blogosphere. It should be also mentioned that blogger was compensated for writing the review.
There was famous case lately when Walmart payed 500$ for review by one of the most influential bloggers in the blogosphere. Review turned out to be very mixed in tone – blogger didn’t like everything and wrote about it without hesitation. They were still happy to get this review.
I still think it is a personal choice, but offering ready article to publish? phew! what a lame practice!
It’s a new day for writers in every genre, isn’t it? But, the more things change, the more they stay the same — just with a new venue. Offering pre-written material is a common PR practice in outreach or advertising efforts, I just hadn’t realized it had found its way into gardening blogs. Funny – my comments are so my own — and it frankly didn’t occur to me to clarify that. Maybe that’s a good idea, just for good measure. But hmmmmm…I was just writing about my new Felco pruners and how I love them … might be nice to get FREE Felcos, since they are so dang expensive. Just kidding!
It’s not only selling out your blog … in my view, stepping back and looking at the bigger picture, it’s bad karma. I’d know that I was giving up a little piece of my honesty and integrity with each gratuitous plug. It’s not worth it.
I had to laugh when I received a comment on a post from R____r asking me if I’d be willing to let him advertise on my blog. Obviously he’s clueless as to how few readers I actually have! Even funnier, the ones I do have also received requests from him.
Very timely post, Pam, and nicely stated. I, too, have received a similar ad which I promptly marked as spam. And I use Adblock with Firefox, so don’t see any text or graphic ads anyway. I agree — power to anyone who can make a few bucks with ads or endorsements on their site, but please state that that’s what they are. Great post!
Thanks for this thoughtful post Pam, and for starting this conversation. Like Susan Tomlinson, I put an adsense gadget on my blog at first and then forgot about it. It hasn’t earned a penny anyway. Reading this reminded me it’s there and past time to remove it.
I’ve never had a problem with ads on anyone’s blogs as long as I know they’re ads. Bloggers able to earn some income or other compensation, considering all the work they put into their blogs, doesn’t bother me a bit. I completely agree that compensated endorsements should be disclosed.
As part of the committee for the Chicago Spring Fling, we’ve agreed to recognize and display ads on the Spring Fling blog for our sponsors. Some of us on the committee have agreed to recognize Fling sponsors on our blog, and of course it will be very clear what we’re doing. We’re grateful for their support, which we hope will make the Fling even more exciting and memorable for everyone who attends.
I got the same email you quoted above, was initially skeptical, then curious, then appalled as I did a little digging into the reputation of the soliciting company. I do feel a blogger who accepts compensation should be careful about who they’re dealing with. Beyond that I have no problem with endorsements, ads, giveaways, or sponsorships, as long as they’re for reputable companies and they’re disclosed.
Linda, the Austin bloggers used sponsors to provide door prizes at last year’s Spring Fling, and, as the Chicago bloggers are doing, we listed them as such on the official website. You’re giving your sponsors even more value by recognizing them on your blogs. I think you’re exactly right to make it clear about the sponsorship relationship. That’s the key to satisfying obligations to sponsors while being upfront with one’s readers. By the way, good luck with everything. I’m really looking forward to the Spring Fling. —Pam
I hope I don’t do that. If I mention a place that I got something from its because I actually went there and bought something. I don’t get paid from advertising anything. If a blogger posts something I think is cool I go and check it out never thinking about them getting paid for that. I guess that opens up a whole new look on things.
Wow. This is a hot topic! I just found this very interesting and wanted to bring my perspective to the table. We have been approaching bloggers to review our products, but I would never want someone to say something that isn’t authentic to their experience. I just want people to try our products and get familiar with them, and they do typically say that they got the seeds for free. We also offer affiliate links, so that people can make a little money on the side if they like. I never thought this was unethical, although I can see why ads can be annoying. A few blogs have also done contests where we give away our products. I thought this was a win win situation because it got our name out there and also allowed people to win a product I think they would enjoy. Most people seem to like the contests, because people like free stuff. I’m not sure where the line should be drawn, but I certainly don’t want to upset the blogging world and hope that there is a place for us here. Lastly, the ghost writing issue I don’t agree with. Blogs are for people to express their thoughts, not the thoughts of someone else or a company.
I’m glad to hear from someone on the commercial side of this issue, although I wish you’d included your name so as to make your comment seem less like a way to get your business’s link inserted into my blog. Still, I’m including your link on the merits of your comment, which shows that you’ve read the thread and want to engage in conversation about it. Thanks for your perspective.
As I pointed out to a critical commenter above, I wasn’t attacking the businesses who make these offers to bloggers. I was actually criticizing bloggers who accept money or goods in exchange for a positive mention or review. I have no problem with anyone running ads on their site or honestly reviewing products that are sent to them (I’ve done this myself with books) or making personal recommendations for items that they like based on personal experience. But what I’m realizing is that there is advertising going on in blog-land that is undisclosed, where a blogger may accept money or goods in exchange for a mention and a link on their blog, without ever disclosing that what they’re writing is, in effect, a paid advertisement. Disclosure by bloggers is what is needed, not an end to solicitations from businesses, unwelcome though some bloggers find them. —Pam
I got this same email, from TZ at FGTN. I’ve also received several other emails along this line, and I always delete them. I read somewhere about these pitches from folks who use bloggers to get free advertising and to be leery of them.
Aiyana
My first thought was this–Where are these people offering money to bloggers, because I sure could use some money! LOL! Seriously, both in my current blog and the one I was paid to write (well, if you count an amount equivalent to a teenager’s allowance “paid,”), I sometimes mention plants or companies I like. A few have asked me to talk about their product and offered to send free samples (I’m talking a few seed packets, not a greenhouse!). Apparently, this is very common for garden writers, though none I know has actually been PAID. I personally don’t see anything wrong with accepting free samples, or even money if one is so lucky (frankly, blogging takes a lot of time and knowledge), so long as one mentions this in said post. For example, someone sent me two free plastic plant tags, which I am testing in winter seed sowing, and I will post the results (positive or negative) at the end of the season. Botanical Interests also sent me three seed packets, but I had already favorably mentioned them earlier as I indeed like their products.
I am happy to help with recommendations for free. What goes around comes around
Boy, am I behind, and this one definitely struck a chord. I get a lot of these offers, and I refuse them. However, there are times when I receive seeds or other items which are regularly given to garden writers. If I choose to write about those seeds or whatever, I ALWAYS (not shouting, couldn’t figure out how to italicize) tell my readers the real facts. If I receive something I don’t like, I will say that too in a review and have. I won’t accept something from a company I don’t respect, and I won’t allow text linkage on my blog. Any ads you see in the sidebar are from Amazon or Google. They are supposed to relate to gardening. However, sometimes, the search engines mess up on Google, and I get something strange. I think this was an important topic, and I hope it makes people think. As to any local nurseries I’ve reviewed, I received nothing from them but some goodwill. I’ve now become friends with more nursery people, and I appreciate what they’re trying to do in a difficult economy.
Great post.~~Dee
I too would like to know if someone is plugging a brand because they are getting it free for review.
I accepted plants last year from the company I usually promote but they are a propagator. While I was accepting the plants, I had that fact included in my profile. You would have to visit your local nursery to purchase them so it made me feel like I wasn’t selling something. I had been growing that brand and working for a nursery for 5 years when they approached me. I already knew a lot about the brand. I thought it was going to be great. Wrong!
I tried it for one season and have decided not to take any more plants from them. I will still continue to promote that brand because they do well for me. I would rather buy the plant locally from a nursery that grew their own plugs. Some of the free plants that were shipped to me didn’t survive the trip. The shrubs I requested were so small that it will take 3 more years before I can do a review. They also sent me plants I did not care for. It was more trouble than it was worth. I do however really like their product. I also felt pressure to keep the plant alive. I want to garden for pleasure and not be stressed.
The reason I will not take anymore freebies from this company is because I don’t like the way they market my blog or material. I also did not like the way they requested more articles. I did not like the condition or size of the plant when it arrived at my home. I did not like that they ask me to rewrite my articles. I simply do not like being indebted to anyone.
If there are ads on my blog it’s cause wordpress put them there. I don’t host my own blog and I think blogging host do advertise on some sites. I’ve seen the ads on blogger and know that person didn’t accept ads. If a blog has a few ads it doesn’t bother me. If I arrive and there are lots of ads–I leave. I usually read a review especially if it’s done by you!!!!! or any of the blogs I respect. I have no doubt that someone as classy as yourself would never write the review if you didn’t get some benefit from the product.
Good article Pam and I think you handled it tastefully. I enjoyed reading the responses.
Anna, thanks for sharing your experience with trialing plants. I am going to trial a few myself soon, and so I read your comments with particular interest. I wouldn’t want to do it under the circumstances you describe either. —Pam
I see so many people here saying that they don’t like ads for aesthetic reasons and so forth…and I just want to point out that many bloggers in other realms (i.e. interior design, DIY, design general, etc.) have surveyed their readers and actually found that the ads are a positive reason for visitors to come to their sites. Many of these bloggers carefully choose their advertisers (ensuring that their advertisers meet their own standards – which are generally presented somewhere on the site), which is a route I am choosing to traverse myself with my own blog. I think that readers come to trust that a writer’s writings are their own thoughts and opinions. (so I agree, ghost writing is lame, and paid endorsements are even lamer) But offering a nice selection of advertisers is akin to visiting a boutique shop and discovering something new and exciting. My advertising which entails a revamp of my site to make room for it, and will be a nice selection of suppliers that I love and am proud to help will be going live later this month…I would love to know what you think of it (when it is up)- I think done right, it can be an asset that readers enjoy and a way for the blogger to earn an income for his/her time and journalistic skill and that is not something to be ashamed of.
Guess you really hit a nerve Pam. I’ll admit that I only got into the 40-something comments before skipping to the comment box.
I haven’t gotten any offers. Maybe it’s because I blogged about blogger ethics nearly two years ago: http://www.remarc.com/craig/?p=115, referring folks to the Blogger Code of Ethics: http://www.cyberjournalist.net/news/000215.php
Two simple items in that code would go a long way to solving this problem:
Distinguish factual information and commentary from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two.
Disclose conflicts of interest, affiliations, activities and personal agendas.
I remember your post, Craig. In fact, I re-read it again after I wrote this post. I may develop my own ethical disclosure based on the Blogger Code of Ethics. —Pam
I’m not taking the time to read what other people wrote but I popped in because of what I read about this article on another blog. I for one do my crawl and it’s all me. I never thought about being paid to prop up someone for free stuff…I agree that it’s a sell out! If you’re perusing blogs for info and trust that the folks you’re reading are on par with your interests it is upsetting to think that they were paid to sell-out!
YOU GO GIRL!!!!
I heartily agree, Pam, and have read the comments with interest.
I’ve had quite a few of those requests for paid links or ad space and just say no, thank you. I blog for the enjoyment and am not at all interested in ads.
The part of the e-mails that amuses me is several have asked how much I’d charge for them to place an ad on my blog, and of course, I wouldn’t have a clue. I’m very curious about how much they would be willing to pay 🙂
Full disclosure should definitely be given. Anything less would be most unethical. True friends don’t take advantage of one another. Thankfully, most of the bloggers I’ve come in contact with seem very honest and upfront.
You’re right.
I do reviews but I always tell the advertiser that I will not compromise my opinions. I don’t see a thing wrong with getting free stuff or cash for ym work but I will always tell the truth.
The first time I was approached about trialing a product nearly two years ago, it was for a liquid compost product and they wanted me to blog about it. I wrote them back and said I wouldn’t blog about it unless I’d tried it, so that I could give an honest opinion. They sent me one bottle of it, which was not enough to tell if it was really doing any good. I did blog about the product when I received it, but never published a post about me using it, because I didn’t haven’t enough of it to form a real opinion of it.
Then I was contacted about a book, which the publisher sent to me and I loved it. I’ve been contacted several other times about book reviews, and if I was interested in the book and thought I’d like it, I accepted and was sent the book. I read each one of them and posted a review. Some of the books I have reviewed, I purchased myself and wanted to share them with the garden bloggers the same as the ones that were provided to me free of charge.
It’s been the same with gardening products. Some I received for free, and some I purchased myself. Any of my reviews have been totally honest and haven’t always been 100% positive. The majority of the companies that sent me free products for trialing and review wanted my honest opinion and knew that that might include negative aspects. They said this is how they can improve their product and I agree.
For me, it’s fun to try new things and garden blogging has given me the opportunity to try things that I wouldn’t get to otherwise. However, I have turned down many opportunities to try products and sell advertising. I would never criticize those that do sell advertising though, because each person has their own needs as far as their finances go. I believe we can tell if someone is gilding the lily regarding a product, especially if we have gotten to know the garden blogger through their posts about other things.
I have always been a pretty open and forthright person when it comes to communicating through my blog, and I always will be. If I like something, I’ll say so and if I don’t, I’ll say that, too!
I’m with Susan Harris–start a “full disclosure” movement, with adherents posting a little logo that links to an explanation. And I’d suggest publishing a list of companies that solicit these endorsements.
No, you didn’t even name the company that sent you that e-mail. But as several responses here have made clear, that was hardly a “personal” e-mail; it went out to numerous bloggers, and it came from a company, not a person.
Anyway, I think the companies deserve some of the blame. To my mind, this is equivalent to holding responsible not just the person who accepts a bribe, but the person who pays it. A company that requests endorsements from people who have never used their products is slimy, even dishonest. The blogging world is predicated on the idea of honest writing about personal experience. These solicitations undermine that.
–Kate
Thanks for your take on this issue, Kate. I think I’m going to write my own disclosure statement and post it. A “disclosure movement” would be cool too. —Pam
Pam – Thank you for putting into words something that has been bothering me. I just received a request from an outdoor furniture supplies to (get this) send their own copy and have me place it in my blog as a post.
YUCK! And . . . no thanks.
Any product mentions on my blog are out of sheer appreciation for what they do/offer . . . and are included in write-ups because I think my readers might enjoy discovering them. With no back-room dealings. 🙂
Tracey
Hear, hear, Tracey. It’s important that we all talk about this growing practice so that we can establish standards for ethics of garden blogging. —Pam
Pam,
I am new in the blogging world as well as having my own website selling garden decor, however I have been gardening all my life. I am not employed and have to earn an income some way. What better way than by selling things you know about. I agree with you on the way you were approached about advertising products. It seems unethical. But I also know that on the other hand when you start a web based business blogging and advertising on other blogs is one way they tell you to increase your inbound links and word of mouth advertising. I even had one SEO expert tell me to use the word birdhouse as my Name on posts so I can link it directly to my site. Does that sound right to you? I go by my real name or birdlady, which is one thing people call me. I will not do anything dishonest to increase my business. I do have my own blog where I combine personal entries and information about my products, I do the same on my website, using my own garden photos whenever possible. and I do ask for links, by contacting each site or blog that I find interesting or think my customers may find useful. I have never been approached by companies wanting me to endorse their products, but if I were I’d tell them If they furnished the product, I would give them an honest evaluation of it. A good company would appreciate that. I know I would.
Hi, Vicki, and welcome to the blogosphere. I appreciate hearing your perspective as someone who is selling products via her blog/website.
You seem to be asking what I think about the practice of leaving links to one’s commercial site via comments on other blogs. I often find these sorts of comments to be transparently self-serving. Therefore, I often publish such comments but not the links. In your case, since you obviously took the time to read my post and make a real and thoughtful comment about it, I’m happy to include your link just like any other blogger. That’s just how I handle comments from commercial bloggers. Others obviously may feel differently.
Hi Pam,
I just found your post through Kathy’s blog. I decided to read yours before I read hers. I read all the comments, but the last few, I skimmed. I do not advertise on my blog, and I guess when I see that a blogger has ads, and then talk about products of any kind in their blog, I assume they may have been paid for that, too. I recently was taken to a different site that was an advertisement off of someone’s garden blog, and when I went to leave that site, my computer froze up. I was not happy, and the place wasn’t even garden related.
I have never been approached, but I would not advertise on my blog. I have, on occasion mentioned companies I get things from, and I did recently give a link to the website of a coffee shop I like. I approached them, asking if I could take pics, and gave them the name of my blog, but I don’t think they were interested enough to check. LOL
A while back, I got an email I assumed to be a form one, from an internet health community. They said they liked my writing, and wanted to put my whole blog on their site, in a gardening community. Even though I suspected it to be a form letter, it made me feel good. I debated back and forth with myself, and checked to make sure they don’t advertise, then said I’d do it. When I read their terms of agreement, I saw that they had the rights to my blog and could sell photos or whatever I’d written! When I wrote back saying I’d changed my mind, they replied that I would also still maintain rights as well.
I decided to do more research, and found other bloggers, mostly health ones who had printed parts of the letter they had received, and theirs were almost word for word the same as mine. Most were negative about the idea of having their blogs there. I also left comments on some of the blogs that had put theirs there, asking if they were having a good experience, and glad they had done this, and got mixed answers. I also asked a new blotanical member who is a garden writer her opinion, and she said to follow my gut. I decided against letting them use my blog. I have been to the site several times since, and noticed one of our blotanical bloggers has hers there. I’m still glad I didn’t.
Sue
I read about your bringing up this issue at Cold Climate Gardening, and it is obviously something a lot of us need to think about if we haven’t already. I do review books occasionally, and our local bookstore always likes me to tell them when I’m going to do that because it does create a demand (gratifying) but I have to say that when I request a review copy I already know about the book and that I generally find it worthy. I have gotten a couple of requests for link swaps and declined them out of hand because I no nothing about the quality of the products – and assumed they were just trolling and didn’t really know about me either. Thanks for making me think about this issue in a more organized fashion.
I changed my viewpoints in my sidebar about tags and awards to include a statement on ads.
Thanks for starting this discussion.
When I was at work yesterday, and got on my blog by Googling it, I noticed someone on blotanical had mentioned my blog in a post. I forgot who it was, and today, at home, when I went to try to find it, I didn’t, but found my blog on a site called, “Feedage.Com”. Do you know anything about that? I subscribed to the comments, so if you reply here, I’ll see it. I don’t know if there’s anything I can do about it, but there are ads there!
Sue
It sounds like your blog has been scraped, Sue. Google “blog scraping” and you’ll find a lot of information, as well as really P.O.’d bloggers who’ve been scraped—which includes nearly everyone at some point. To reduce the likelihood, only allow a partial feed of your posts (not the entire post, which is easily scraped). And post your copyright information all over each post. It won’t stop scrapers, who are unethical, but at least it’ll alert readers to the fact that the material belongs to you. —Pam
Just noticed this company today advertising on an number of blogs. Looks like they figured out Adwords was a better way of getting into garden blogs than through posts.