A fellow blogger wrote a tribute to all us Product Reviewing Bloggers! She is 100% right! Here is her post :
I've been wanting to write this post for quite some time, and since I'm currently "unplugged" due to my Reno-cation, I figured it's an opportunity to power up the emergency laptop and begin typing away.
Today I'd like to recognize, salute and celebrate every review blogger out there who has ever been labelled "that lucky b*tch who gets all the free stuff." Now although I'm not a full-time reviewer, I do count myself in this category, and yes, we're pretty lucky.
But it's a terrible misconception that we receive items for free. On the contrary, we work very hard for the items. And the majority of us are also balancing kids and a household to boot. Still skeptical? Let me break it down for you, speaking personally from my own experience:
1. Before I receive an item to review, I can exchange up to 10 e-mails, phone messages or a combination of the two with a company. There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes! I wish the products could just magically appear on my doorstep, but alas, they don't. (Most of the time; I must admit I've received a pleasant surprise once or twice.)
2. Once I receive the item, I have the responsibility of testing it in a timely fashion, noting interesting user facts, and writing a fair and impartial review. The feature can include pictures, videos, and sometimes requires much time leafing through press info. Yes, it can be fun, but it's also my reputation (and the reputation of the sponsoring company) on the line, and that's an awesome responsibility.
3. Then, most often, I coordinate a reader giveaway, which necessitates promotion, follow up and further exchanges with the company and readers.
And the thing is, I'll go through the exact same steps when reviewing a $20 hat or a $200 high chair. I think I can speak for most review bloggers when I say that sometimes the time spent on reviewing and writing about a product far outweighs the retail value... but we still do it, especially if we believe in the product or know our readers will love it.
So do we receive stuff for free? Nope. We work for it, just like everyone else. If I returned to the workforce I could conceivably just buy all the items I currently receive and skip all the steps above. But I enjoy blogging so much that it seems like a fair trade-off, and am fortunate in that tons of awesome folks take the time to read my blog every day. (LOVE my readers! xo)
And while on the subject, I'd like to extend a very special thank you to all the companies who believe in bloggers - who value our opinion, appreciate our influence and reach, and allow us to formulate our own conclusions without coercion.
So to all my fellow reviewers out there... here's to all the hard work you put in to earn that stroller! Or set of labels! Or bottle of shower gel! Whatever it is... HIGH FIVE Y'ALL!
She is so right! Thanks for representing us all Lena!
You can follow Lena's blog at: http://www.listentolena.com/
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