My Blog, My Rules.

 

photo by Laughing Squid via PhotoRee

 

I didn’t go to CyberMummy11, purely because when all the bookings were being made I just didn’t feel I could leave my youngest that long yet (coming from North Yorkshire it would have been a very full weekend). That’s not to say I didn’t WANT to go and I enjoyed it by proxy via the wonder that is Twitter Hashtag! I found myself scribbling away snippets about vlogs, niches and the like and was mentally putting it all into play on here and then I thought…”STOP!”. I don’t need to do it all tomorrow, I don’t need to do it all, at all!

Initially I decided to start blogging to house guest-posts and the like for freelance writing projects. Yeah ok. My blogging is completely separate to my work and I love it this way! Yes Curly & Candid earns me bits and pieces and I am immensely proud of the fact that I have a regular readership and yes, have done well in ratings so far – but C&C is more than a tool. It’s mine,and as much as I like seeing the extra readers / points and badges – I have realised that I have to stick true to what I want for C&C.

Hearing a lot of great things about vlogging for a second I thought – “Oh I must try this then and…” but stopped. WHY must I try it – I bloody hate being on video. I’m the queen of “Urrmm” and it just doesn’t ring my bell. So why on earth would I do it? I can’t imagine my reaching out to “readers” if I can barely look at the camera.

It’s very easy to get carried away with what we “should” be doing and I’ll hold my hand up and admit that sometimes I feel myself moving with the tide rather than standing my ground and enjoying the view! I’m not CM-bashing, far from it, I will be there next year with bells on. This is just me reminding myself that Curly&Candid is what I make it. It’s not a factory bought and published website, it’s individual and it’s ok for me to not do what others are doing or to try something completely different. Nothing I do on C&C is wrong, because it’s mine. I must try not to forget that!

Bloggers – Monetise your blog without selling out!

Sponsored Post – want to know what this means? Keep reading!

Find out more on ebuzzing.co.uk

Many of you will have heard of eBuzzing but perhaps aren’t quite sure what it entails. Basically eBuzzing is a way to earn money through your blog by posting videos and articles. the articles are based on a campaign that EB are running at the time for a client of theirs, for example Bernard Matthew Farms. Recently I did a post about Marco Pierre White (yummy) and his involvement with Bernard Matthew farms as their new (sexy) Turkey Ambassador. I was asked to include a pic of Marco (printing it off to stick on my fridge was optional), a couple of links to different relevant websites etc and the rest was up to me. I wrote about my love of turkey, my love for Marco (I’m expecting the restraining order any day now) and I decided to add a family recipe we use a lot which has… turkey in it.

The links and relevant info is supplied but as a Blogger YOU choose firstly if you want to take part in that particular campaign and if you do, how you want to write it up. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would be less that impressed at being given a script to copy for inclusion on MY blog which I have spent so much time building and shaping!

You really can choose whether to do a particular campaign or not without comeback. I have declined several video assignments (adding a video to your sidebar or within a post) and written assignments because they either don’t particularly interest me or have no relevance to Curly & Candid. Declining these hasn’t had an impact on the amount of campaigns I have been offered, which is good as it shows the company does appreciate what us Bloggers do and think.

Another thing I like about eBuzzing is their strict ethical policy around declaring posts as sponsored, ie that you are paid for the post. I have to insert this link Sponsored Post within each EB post I do as they want you to be completely transparent about the fact that you are posting for a company, but that your views are your own. No sneaky “say this and we’ll pay you – shh” going on. Besides FTC guidelines state you must disclose any relationship you have with a company you post for / about in the interests of fairness!

How much you can get paid per campaign is made clear on their website and you are paid via Paypal. I have worked with EB numerous times, have had no issues regarding payments and they have always been on hand to help me with any queries I’ve had, technical or otherwise.

You can’t lose really. To find out more visit the eBuzzing site and to register click here to access the registration page. (This is NOT a referral link. I am paid for this post by EB, I don’t get anymore or less regardless of whether people sign up or not).

Now, like I said, I can write about what I like and anyone who has ever read C&C before will know that I don’t have any problem with this!

So what would I like to write about? What companies would I like to do a campaign for? To be honest, nothing is more important or interests me as much as my boys so I would like to see more campaigns that are focussed around families and children. Things to do during the Easter Holidays would be a great opportunity for the book company Usborne Books who have a wide variety of Make & Do books and ideas (craft is always a winner with me, and um the kids!). These sorts of campaigns could be so creatively covered with that personal touch and the opinions of those who are in the know – the children!

I’d love to be involved in a campaign about Sure Start centres and what they offer in my local area (we are quite rural so places like Sure Start are invaluable). Our local one houses everything from childminder meetings, baby clinic /weigh in sessions, and Health Visitor sessions to Baby Signing, Baby First Aid and more. With these services under threat from government budget cuts I would really appreciate the chance to write about them.

There are so many companies that would benefit from a Blogger’s unique perspective (and not just Parent Bloggers either – Bloggers write about a variety of different subjects, not only their children!).

Why not look it up and see what you think?

Find out more on ebuzzing.co.uk

Partage propulse par ebuzzing