I get sent a fair amount of gifts from companies, from my incredibly sweet readers, and from my friends. This was a perk of a doing a silly, personal fashion blog that I did not expect and never considered before I started out. On more than one occasion I have found myself crying at the mailbox, in disbelief that my little 'ole site has put me in this unique spot. Truly, it's been an amazing, humbling blessing, and I do not take it lightly or for granted.
Even before the Federal Trade Commission deemed that all bloggers must disclose their gifts and paid reviews, I was set on having that level of transparency, regardless. I don't do any paid reviews, and when something has been given to me by a company, I make sure it is something that I would wear or use and that it's something I can afford to buy for myself (true story: I had to turn down a diamond bracelet once. That hurt!). I make sure it's something you (my readers) would like and would fit into your price range, too.
Even after all that, I have a very strict policy that states that I am not required to do a blog post about a gift item nor am I required to give it a positive review (i.e. just because you send me a gift does not mean I have to blog about it and say nice things about it). This protects me further and keeps me accountable to my own guidelines.
No doubt you've noticed some “courtesy of” items in my daily outfits posts. I hope that you will see that I am not a corporate shill or a company robot. If a company has sent me an item, they have passed a stringent set of rules that I have in place to keep this blog as honest as possible.
Why take gifts at all? Well, that's a good question.
I put a lot of work into Adored Austin. In fact, I log enough hours doing this that some would say this could be a full-time job for me. I average ten posts per week (double what most personal fashion bloggers do), one video blog every ten days, and I personally answer over 300 emails every Monday through Friday. I work hard, I have fun, and so far, this last year has been a complete delight. I am amazed and blessed that my readership has grown to over 75,000 unique visitors each month (to put that in perspective, that puts Adored Austin's traffic in the top 1% off all personal blogs. Yowzers!). I am humbled by the fact that this blog has afforded me the opportunity to make legitimate friendships and connections with people all over the world. I cannot say enough about how astonishing all this is to me. Thank you. Thank you for all of this.
With this sort of steady traffic, I have been advised by several people to turn this into a lucrative money making endeavor. I've been told that I need to push myself harder to get monthly sponsors. I've been advised to sell more advertisements, but so far, I'm happy and comfortable where I am. However, you should know that it does cost money to do what I do here on Adored Austin. Here are a handful of things that I consider a necessity for my blog but do cost money:
- domain names (including AdoredAustin.com and AdoreAustin.com for typos)
- web hosting
- pro Flickr account (photo hosting)
- pro Vimeo account (HD video hosting)
- pro Picknik account (photo editing)
- business cards
- thank you postcards
- stationary
- misc. office supplies
- misc. shipping supplies
- money for postage and shipping
- money for networking events
By accepting the occasional courtesy item or providing an advertisement for merchandise barter, I end up saving my family money that I would have otherwise spent on clothes or accessories. I haven't at all recouped even half of the money I've put into this site, but I have been the thankful recipient of some wonderful products and a little bit of money in the meantime.
For me, at this time, it's not about making money. That's why I'm hesitant to seek out “sponsorships”. At this time, I am not looking for companies to simply fund my site. Instead I call what I do “partnerships” because I've been able to give emergent designers, small companies, and independent business owners the exposure they desire on their budget (which most of the time is very low or zero). And honesty? I've been excited to introduce all of these small companies to you, too, because I just know that if I think they're the bee's knees, you may think that as well.
If you have any questions or complaints or comments about my “courtesy of” items or about Adored Austin partnerships, please weigh in or send me an email.
I appreciate you to the bottom of my soul... and I'm kind of impressed that you read all this!
[21 July 2010]
