If any of you read blogs regularly, you might have heard about the new guidelines that the FTC has put in place that requires bloggers to disclose any freebies or payments received in return for a review or post. Even if you haven’t heard of this, I thought it would be a great opportunity in the spirit of full disclosure to explain how I make the Big Bucks (and this is obviously a Big Joke) and what it means to you the reader!
First things first.
I blog because I love to share information with other moms and I thrive on the creative outlet it provides me. If I was doing this for the money, I would be in the wrong line of work. Seriously.
It takes me hours upon hours each week to make Tiny Oranges a site that is worth your time reading (and I know how busy you are!) So, I do need to generate some income to support the overhead it takes to keep up my blog.
How I make money.
The first way is through selling advertising space. You will find advertisers (I call them Sponsors) in my left column (under Sponsors) and in the Our Picks directory by category (right column). Sponsors often come to me, and I choose companies that I feel are a good fit for my readers. I want my site to also be a great resource for you and I strive to do this through my Sponsors.
The second way is through affiliate programs. Many companies have affiliate programs that allow me to link to their website and if someone clicks through to them from my site and buys something, I get a small piece. Sort of like a commission. These are programs I seek out because I personally love the company and would blog about it anyway. Totally seamless to you. As an example, if you were doing some shopping on Amazon, and clicked through from a banner on my site like this…
…this would be an example of an affiliate. I might have banners, tiles or links to affiliate programs on my site. If I do a post about something and I am a part of their affiliate program, I will tell you in the post at the bottom.
One important thing to note is that I never get paid for a review or giveaway (for now!). I also never say anything I don’t believe to be true. All posts are my honest opinion.
However companies often do contact me and offer to send me a product for review. I screen these pretty carefully and if it is something that looks interesting or helpful to me, I will accept the product, which can be called a “freebie” because I don’t pay for it. It makes it easier for me to blog about if I can talk about it firsthand. When this is the case, I will tell you in the post I received the product for review.
And, a bunch of stuff I blog about just because I love it, and the company might not even know.
I also do not receive payments for the giveaways. The giveaways are something that the companies decide they want to giveaway. Some companies are Sponsors, many are not. I love doing the giveaways as I love giving you guys the opportunity to win great stuff!
Here is the bottom line: if you love (or even just like) my blog, anytime you support a company on my site (as a result of your own decision to support them), it helps me to continue doing my blog. If you buy a product or partake in a service and have the opportunity to tell them you found them on Tiny Oranges, it helps me. Or, if you see a company (like Amazon above) on my site and are planning on doing some shopping, if you remember to click through to the site from Tiny Oranges, it helps me.
Thanks to all of you for reading, for your friendship, and for your support! I hope to be able to continue to blog for a long time to come. Just so everything is crystal clear, you will start seeing more notes at the end of the posts so you know if the company is a Sponsor, affiliate, or provided something for review.
If you have any questions or comments, please comment below or drop me an email at jennifer@tinyoranges.com! You can check out my disclosure policy HERE.
Have a fabulous weekend everyone! Are you ready for Christmas??? Can you believe it is already here?!
XOXO
Jen
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