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Words, For Sale! Dignity, Free!

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Blogging is a wonderful platform to express your thoughts and views. It also is a great platform to meet like minded readers and writers and make some good friends in the bargain. I for one have made some great friends here who are very close to my heart today. Blogging has made me more aware of the world around me and has helped me grow as a writer. Thanks to various blogging and writing platforms, there are new prompts every single day in case you are struggling with a writer's block. One of the most important aspect of blogging is the monetization. Bloggers normally receive a lot of goodies. Either in the form of contest wins or products/books to review. Thanks to the advent of the Internet, there are a lot of companies willing to pay bloggers a good amount in exchange for a well written article. Sponsored posts, these are called and are a boon to many. I have made quite a lot of money through blogging and I will continue to do so.

The money per post is luring, but I would only write about things that go with the theme of my blog or with me in general. Even for product reviews, I would only agree to review a product that has use to me or something that would help me in day to day life. I get a lot of requests to review products, but some of it make absolutely no sense to me. Diapers for example. I'm not a mother and very clearly I do not like taking care of children much. How would I write a review post for a diaper on my blog? It did not make any sense to me, so I had to decline. Someone sent me a tablet to review and the people around me were thrilled and jealous about the fact that I was getting freebies. I had to take photos on the product since I'm a food blogger too and review the tablet. It made sense, so I did it. It was not a sponsored post, but they did send me a tablet in exchange for an honest review.

I see a lot of people jumping into the blogging band wagon, in anticipation of getting free stuff. Thanks to the introduction of Happy Hours by a famous blogging community, almost everyone started a blog and started writing just to win vouchers and other stuff. A blog is an extension of the writer, but when non-writers desperately try to write something in order to get something in return, it cannot be called as blogging. To be honest I have seen a lot of blogs that have posts written only for contests and reviews of almost every product under the sun. Product reviews are good, provided the product is of use to you and you feel the need to talk about it. Over the past few months I have seen some women review a feminine hygiene product and reading some of their posts made me cringe. I agree menstruation is normal and should not be hushed about. But it is not something that needs to be screamed about from the roof tops either. I could sense discomfort in every word of their writing, and yet it was out there. Maybe it was a sponsored post and maybe it needed to be spoken about. But not at the cost of one's comfort. Am I the only one who thinks so?

Book reviews are something else altogether. I wasn't too sure of doing them but once I did, I noticed that people liked it and could relate to the way I was reviewing the book. I write what I feel about the book. I have hated books that are rated four star plus on other platforms. I still go ahead and rate the book based on how I liked it. I've had authors get in touch with me to review their books. They send me a copy and I read and review it. Some authors expect me to always write good things about it, just because they are giving me a free book. Let me tell this out loud once and for all. Reading a book is a time consuming task. So the book being a free copy or something that I have paid for doesn't matter at all. When I'm spending my time to read a book, I am investing something in it. Expectations are always zero with any book, but if it doesn't appeal to me at the end I say so. I have seen people rating every book they read a four plus. Maybe they fear that they will stop receiving books once they put out a bad review. I have seen cases in which the author acknowledges a few blogger friends in the book, and these very blogger friends give the book a five star rating. Irrespective of not liking the book. They are obligated to, they say. I find this absolutely fake and bordering on the the line of sycophancy.

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As a food blogger, people envy me because I get to eat at some really posh and expensive places for free. But people don't get that for a food blogger this is just 1% of what happens. Most of the places I have reviewed on my food blog or on Zomato are those that I have visited out of my own interest with my husband as we love exploring new places and food. As exciting as it seems, food reviewing comes with a set of cons as well. Some food items are not appetizing at all, and yet you have to eat it to review it. Sometimes we end up with food poisoning and other stomach related issues. But people only prefer to see the bright side of it. Free food, what else do you need eh? I have food blogger friends who talk crass about what they have eaten, because it clearly would have been terrible. But when they review the place, they talk only good about it. Again they might fear that being honest and talking about what they feel, might get them off the food scene. But aren't they getting the very definition of being a food critic wrong?

Fashion blogging is another crowded scene. After a very brief stint, I decided to opt out of it. Today, every nook and corner has a fashion blogger. Fashion bloggers get a lot of perks. First hand invites to any fashion/beauty launch, free entries to fashion week and innumerable number of free beauty products. It is good to enjoy the perks, but doing it only for the perks is clearly questionable. If fashion is a passion and you have a lot to say, then so be it. But reviewing every single product on your dressing table is something I have no interest in reading. There is this one particular blog where the lady has reviewed a kajal, an eye liner, a mascara, an eye lash curler, an eye shadow all as individual posts. And the number of posts vary with the number of brands, and yet the same product. Same with clothing brands as well. I know of lot of women who started off as content bloggers (who had some good quality posts) and now have completely ended up as fashion bloggers. And to be honest, some of them are not fashionable or presentable to say the least.

Sponsored posts and product reviews are a good way of making money or owning products, but a line needs to be drawn somewhere. You can't write about anything, just because you are getting paid for it. You can contribute to other sites and magazines about anything you want. Although that is not entirely justifiable. But when you are putting up something on your blog, I think it is important to see if it would go with the topics you normally write about. Or if you can connect to it on a personal level. Else, you need to learn a new word. It's called "No". Think twice before accepting a sponsored post or writing an entry for a contest. The same thing applies to book and product reviews too. And you need to be honest and write what exactly you feel. You want to be kind and sugar coat it, fine. That is better than writing a completely made up positive review. Remember, a review can go two ways. And as a reviewer you are entitled to both.

What are your views on sponsored posts?

Comments

  1. Thank you for this post. Thank you for saying what I have been thinking for a long, long time. It is frankly annoying when I see people write about posts for the sake of freebies. I mean, do they have no dignity or integrity whatsoever? How would I ever trust a person's word if they write all kinds of nonsense on their blogs for the sake of money? Will be sharing this on FB tomorrow. My policy for writing posts that are sponsored are exactly your own- it has to align with my blog's focus. Else it makes zero sense.I pride my integrity above fame/money.

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    1. Thank you my dear for motivating me to go ahead with this. I was so pissed at one point of time that I wanted to leave comments on sponsored posts asking if their dignity was for sale as well. I am with you on this. I and my integrity first, everything else later, Be it people, fame or money it always is secondary.

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  2. Thank you for writing this! I know we spoke about this and reading sponsored posts every now and then is annoying. I also know of bloggers who shunned good quality posts and jumped in to the bandwagon. What joy was that for I still don't get. I was once in a dilemma about how many sponsored posts should I take up and all aligned to my blog's theme but I still chose to go decent over it. Money or goodies is not the only thing after all.

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    1. I agree. Bloggers need to understand the responsibility they have towards their readers before agreeing to do sponsored posts. If it goes with the blog, then fine. Else, clearly they are in it solely for the money.

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  3. Well said....i have often come across blogs that review a product that is totally unrelated to the kind of blog. And I often feel it isnt a justified review... And I would not take their word for the product.

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  4. Where are all these people who want bloggers to write sponsored posts? Let me know!! ;)

    On a serious note I agree with you, it is crazy to see everyone write on the same topic and then some more.
    I agree with you, this needs to be balanced and aligned with the blog. Maybe those people just need the money.

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    1. Hahaha, I'll ask them to contact you next time :P

      Blogging is taking the wrong turn sadly.

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  5. Yes!!! This needed to be said, and so glad you did. Focus, integrity and dignity are all dying out in the name of freebies, or vouchers amounting to paltry sums. For me, just like you I wont write it if it is not something that I will use or does not fit my blog. I feel, blogs are our online identities and I wouldn't want mine to be something that is just not me.

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    1. Thank you Jaibala! I'm glad there are people like you and me out there who know to differentiate the wrong from the right.

      My blog is a transparent extension of me and I wouldn't want to malign it in anyway.

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  6. Yes, thanks for this frank, honest post! Some people rush to write n number of posts when there's assured gift for every post. I don't understand this. Your blog reflects your writing style, so I agree that we should not clutter it with meaningless posts. For book reviews, I can't help writing things I don't like no matter what (Just written one. Sometimes, I feel bad as I know how tough it is to write and publish a book, but I write honest reviews and I feel good about it. When we read, we read according to our own choice, convenience and time frame, but accepting a book for review (especially when it's something new, not of my choice or genre), it demands commitment, time, and effort to read and then write (plus give links and share everywhere). Some people won't write back once you tell them that you charge for reviews. They think that 'they' are doing a favour. Strange and sad.

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    1. Thank you for visiting my space Tarang. I think that a blog needs to be a reflection of its owner and not some commercial entity.

      I just read a review of yours and loved the unbiased take. I've had cases too where the author doesn't write back if I say that I charge. They think a free book is the charge! Sad. Very sad.

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  7. Totally totally agree. I kind of miss the old days of blogging now (damn, how old am I that I get to say that???)
    People wrote from their heart and we're appreciated it. Now its become a bit of a mela with everyone reviewing everything from books and malls to even diapers as you said, some without even having kids.
    And yes, the Happy Hour blitz of posts really did more negative than positive to the blogosphere, flooding the net with 100s of similar posts simultaneously with very few actually having anything worthwhile to say.
    Reviewing is a natural process - it should not be dependent on the freebie or incentive given to try it out.

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    1. No, it's not only you. Blogging in 2009 was so sacred!

      Now it is so commercial that at times I think should I continue or not. Happy hours did kinda ruin it. I honestly feel blogging has taken a completely wrong turn these days.

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  8. Soumya, Liked the way you have put in the pros and cons. I do see many bloggers who write only for contests and freebies. That has certainly put me off the blog altogether. I dont want to read a promotion post if it is going to tell me only about the product. And not like the book reviewers too who are angling to get free books only and then wording compliments for a trashy book. By not writing the truth, the blog is in danger of being useless. As you said, it defeats the point of being a critic. I hope more people read this.

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    1. Thank you so much Ls. I'm glad you got all the points right.

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  9. I'm the opposite of all this. Having worked with a few newspapers where we were sometimes made to write promotional stuff or to take a stance the editor told us to I vowed I'd never ever do sponsored posts. That's of course, extreme. As long as I'm being honest and with a disclaimer in place I think sponsored posts are fine. Bloggers with integrity must take them up to offer honest reviews - they can really help a consumer and if you get freebees in the process... we'll ... that's the icing on the cake.

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    1. I'm so proud of you Tulika! Disclaimers do the trick at times but the post needs to be aligned with the theme of the blog. But honestly at times, the freebies aren't even worth it.

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  10. Following your blog from quite sometime, love it, and specifically love your freedom of writing
    Your blog never disappoint me for an interesting read. Good work :)

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    1. Thank you so much Reshu. Please do come back again. :)

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  11. I haven't done any sponsored posts; mostly because the ones I got offered did not either fit well with me as a person, or my blog. I am extremely selective in doing product reviews. Since I mostly share about my reading life, and some parenting, and everyday stuff - I think of Shanaya Tales as a bookish lifestyle blog. If it doesn't fit into that theme - it doesn't go up on the blog.

    Now book reviews are something else. Honestly, Soumya, before I started book blogging, I did not realize, I would have to deal with angry authors, snide comments regarding my criticism, and even deal with getting asked to change/take down the review. I have done no such thing though. Only I will decide what goes up on my blog, and no one can make me change something that I don't want to change. But it's annoying - the expectation of positive reviews only.

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    1. I'm so proud of you for that! People need to sit back and think what their blog is all about and what posts shall go with it.

      I'm exactly like you when it comes to book reviews. I write what I want to write. Nothing shall make me take it down.

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  12. You just penned down something that has forever been on my mind.
    It is indeed crucial to think twice before reviewing anything, because your honesty is what will bring your readers back to read and trust any reviews in future.
    Loved this post ❤

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  13. Congratulations! Your blog post was selected for Spicy Saturday Picks edition edition on February 06, 2016 at BlogAdda.

    Please find it here:
    http://blog.blogadda.com/2016/02/06/spicy-saturday-picks-february-06-2016

    ReplyDelete

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Just like me, say what you feel. While constructive criticism is welcome, please keep it subtle and kind. Thank you!