Comments on: FTC vs Mom Bloggers

By: Angela

Angela — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:13:03 +0000

Check out AssociatedContent.com. If you like writing that might be a better option for you. Basically they pay you for articles, the more pageviews you get the more money you make. And it’s residual so you could write a bunch of stuff up this year and still make money off of it next year. It won’t make alot of money but it could be enough to buy some gas for a week or some groceries.

By: Mama Kalila

Mama Kalila — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:57:08 +0000

Well scratch that lol… I got turned down because my blog doesn’t have enough readers. Oh well… I guess that settles that.

By: Mama Kalila

Mama Kalila — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:19:21 +0000

Yeah, I’ve been meaning to do that… but I haven’t had a chance… and I guess that’s a good thing now because I’ve changed my mind… of sorts. I badly need something I can do from home to make a little extra, and doing them anyway… But I will start putting disclaimers on every review I do stating if its paid or not. I don’t even know if I’ll do that many, just seeing how it goes and if its worth it… Definately being honest here too, but not just out of fear (although that’s true too… I don’t want trouble either) but because anything else just feels wrong.

By: Angela

Angela — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:52:35 +0000

It would be a good idea to maybe do a post or a disclaimer somewhere that you do not want to receive items to review and that all of your reviews are through contest winnings and personal purchases. Actually as I think about this, a small disclaimer in your sidebar would be a great way to cover that! Then you won’t have to worry about anyone contacting you to do any reviews and IF anyone else came poking along they wouldn’t make false claims.

By: Angela

Angela — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:50:48 +0000

I agree wholeheartedly with you on journalists getting the better end of the deal! It is unfair and if you look at some blogs, they are very much like journalists. I think the guidelines do need to be tweaked.

LOL, I am with you on the IRS….we have been through one audit and it wasn’t pleasant. I would rather avoid it!

By: MrsB

MrsB — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:19:12 +0000

I review things products on my blog, and I have to say, I don’t think the rules are unfair in the sense that we, as bloggers who review, are making an income from the products we review. Might not be a lot, might be in products vs cash for the most part, but it is an income, and I think it’s fair to have to report it.

The thing that actually gets me, though, is that other media people, like the reviewers for the news or print media, do NOT have the same regulations for their reviews of products. When the guy my hubby works with gets the new tech to review on the news, he doesn’t have to announce on camera that he got one for free, nor does he have to report it as income.

Seems like it should be the same for all “journalists”. If they are going to treat us like writing a blog is a job, that we are getting paid an income for, we should be treated the same way as other writers.

Speaking of people who are claiming they won’t comply with the rules, I’ve also seen people trying to get around this by claiming that the items they are reviewing are “gifts” not review products, that they just happen to want to talk about and share with their readers.

I’m too freaking scared not to just be honest with what I’m doing, lol! I don’t want the IRS coming after me!

By: Mama Kalila

Mama Kalila — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:30:04 +0000

Uggh.. I don’t do that anyway lol. I review to pass on info, wether I buy it or win it but noone sends me stuff to review & I don’t want to either. I still need to write the post about that…