As a blogger, the trust of my readers is one of the most important parts of why I am writing and publishing posts. That is why I want to be fully transparent about how I run this blog and the way I work with brands and other providers of products and services.
I am not a full-time blogger, but that does not mean that I am not striving to provide my readers with the best possible experience when visiting my blog.
For example, I moved from a free WordPress platform that had random advertising, which can be annoying for you a reader and which also did not contribute towards a look & feel I was striving towards, to a self-hosted platform, where I can control what content and how you see it.
However, such decisions incur costs that can add up for a hobby blogger.
Therefore, I am taking on a series of activities that can support the running costs of the blog, as well as continuous learning for myself (for example, photography courses), so that I can offer you even better content. They can be collaborations with brands (like sewing pattern companies or fabric shops), as well as participating in various affiliate programmes.
My promise to you is that I will only ever promote products that are related to the blog’s profile, that I personally use or have tried and would honestly recommend.
I will also clearly mark all sponsored content with SPONSORED BY, AD and GIFTED, as well as clearly signposting all AFFILIATE links.
This is what they mean in practice:
SPONSORED BY = a brand has compensated me (monetary or in products or services) to write content, but I had complete editorial control (what I write, when I publish, where and if I promote the post). For example, if there are links to the brand’s website, I chose if I added them or not.
AD = a brand has compensated me (monetary or in products or services) to write a post, but they had some editorial control (usually asking me to post within certain timelines, use certain hashtags or link to their website, offer a discount or a competition to the readers etc). I will never publish pre-written content.
GIFTED = a brand has sent me a product to review, in hope that I will try it and post about it on the blog, without any other requirements or conditions. I may or may not write about that product, but if I do, it will be entirely my decision. I will always offer my unbiased opinion.
AFFILIATE LINKS = I may earn a commission if you click through and buy (at no expense to you). Wherever possible I will link to the original product, though I also give alternative suggestions as either text links or linked thumbnails.
For any of these scenarios, I always use ‘no follow’ link in accordance with Google rules.
I appreciate each and every one of my readers taking the time to visit my blog! If you have any questions or queries on any of the above, I will be happy to answer them as transparently as possible. Please email me on alex@sewrendipity.com.
Thank you for stopping by!
Alex