BTB: Not a corporate shill: A word on ad-free blogging

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Not a corporate shill: A word on ad-free blogging Posted: 29 Jul 2010 01:06 PM PDT A growing number of companies are reaching out to bloggers to help advertise their products/services, and lately I'm getting a lot of offers for advertising. Full disclosure here -- I get free stuff. Some of it is unsolicited;  other times the companies contact me first. The companies send it in hopes of getting some coverage, but they don't push for it. Now I don't blog for profit, but I don't mind getting free stuff because... Let's face it -- who doesn't like free stuff?  It gives me something to write about   (and when you post something every day, finding good topics can be challenging). What about my no ad policy?  Purists might say I'm breaking my no ad policy. I don't think this is true, but judge for yourself. Here's how I work: I try a lot of products, some free and some purchased. The vast majority never merit a review--frankly I'm just not interested in writing a tepid or dissy review. I enjoy writing about products I like or can endorse. I enjoy talking about companies I trust/admire. If I write a positive review, if I speak positively about a company, if I feature them on my sidebar, it's because I like'em. That said, if there are minor issues or weaknesses, I'll mention them too. More generally...  Many, many blogs are for profit. Mine is not. Accordingly... I turn down offers from folks who want to advertise on my blog. I don't make money on this. I am grateful if a company wants to feature my blog on their site (sometimes they'll email me to ask if they can post a positive review on their site).  This typically generates very little traffic, unfortunately. Companies often provide products to give away to readers, usually because I contact them. Usually the products are familiar to me already, and so far they've been items I'm proud to have featured on my blog.  I hope this helps to clarify my position on ads and free products. Thanks!

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