If you have been following Laugh With Us Blog for a while then you understand that I started the site as a business with the hope of adding income to our household. Specifically I wanted to fund our “get out of the house” jar as spending money on entertainment and travel was something my husband viewed as unnecessary. This is purposefully a part time job for me as I am a very busy wife, mother, homemaker, and home educator.
I monetize my site mostly through sponsored posts. So when you see the hashtags #ad or #sponsored at the top of a post that tells you that I’m being compensated in some way to write the post. The question I am asked most about the sponsored content is: Are you able to be honest about the product? This cracks me up. I always wonder if people realize they are asking me if I lie. Ha ha!
In short, yes I am truthful and honest in my sponsored posts. I don’t tell you I think a product is wonderful, if I think it stinks. Sometimes the products I advertise for are favorite tried and true items. Other times I am sent a product to try for the first time and write about my experience with the product. If I try a product and think it is horrible, I will not write a post. I will contact the media representative and let them know my experience, but no, I do not write negatively about a product that I’m being compensated to advertise for. I turn lots of offers away for products, brands, or companies that I cannot in good conscience recommend.
That doesn’t mean that I necessarily tell you everything. If you see that it is a sponsored post then you know that I am writing favorably about the product. If we try the latest candy bar and six out of seven of us love it, but one kid spits it out and says, “Yuck!” You won’t find that comment in my post. Instead I will write truthfully about the reactions from those of us that love it. Expect to hear what we liked about the product. So yes, there is a bias and that’s the entire reason that we are upfront about the fact that the post is sponsored. If it’s my favorite gadget on the planet and our family owns four of them, my post will reflect that as well.
Twitter party posts are a little different in that they are mostly promotional with very little personal content. I enjoy hosting Twitter parties. Hey, I get paid to chat online from home. How is that not fun? These posts are less about my personal experiences with the products and more about getting the word out about them.
I hope this answers the question!
Yes, just because we are writing a sponsored post doesn’t mean we’re lying. Ha!
Anyone who really knows you would not have to ask the questions. If anything you might be accused of being too honest. (Like your grandpa? You wrote a post about him. We don’t need to bring your mother into the discussion.) I enjoyed the explanation.