Internet, forgive me for making a petit rant, but there are times when I think that the heyday of blogging has absolutely reached its zenith and now we are all drowning in an abyss of Absolutely Terrible Ideas and Posts.

This is, of course, not new news to anybody. The thing about blogging, and what made it magical in the beginning, was that anybody and everybody could participate.  It was real people talking about whatever they wanted and providing honest insights on things.  And then the advertisers showed up and halfway ruined it for everybody.  So now it’s this delicate balance of being compensated for work (totally fair) but balancing it against maintaining your own voice and not totally killing your readers’ trust in what you have to say.

And while I’m grateful for the opportunities that sponsors provide (and I’ve had some AWESOME ones like Benjamin Moore, the Land of Nod, Crypton, Huntington House, etc.  — They pay the bills that cover website hosting fees, site design, stuff like camera equipment, etc.), sometimes the pitches I get are just so darn awful that I cannot believe anybody actually falls for it. I work really hard to build relationships with brands that I already know and love. It’s important to me to not break the trust that my readers have in me and it involves weeding out a bunch of bad pitches.

Internet, let me break it down for you.  It takes me at least 2 hours to write a post, and that’s assuming there’s no photography involved. But I ALWAYS have photos for my posts, so that adds on at least one more hour. But what if I do a roundup of items (like this one on baskets or slip on shoes)? Then I have to spend the time sourcing all the items, editing the images, and laying out the graphic.

For example.  In the past month, I’ve gotten 3 different pitches from those ship-straight-to-you mattress companies. None of them are willing to provide product, much less compensation of any kind. They simply (HA) want me to work for THEM for free. And that’s not okay.  I’ve gotten similar pitches from so many brands you would recognize – companies like the one famous for their buy a pair/give a pair glasses – also wanting free work.  But this one maybe takes the cake–  this doozy of a pitch that I immediately sent on to a blog friend.

Uh, NO. NO NO NO NO. This is right up there with the email pitch I received from Charmin (WHYYYYY???? Why do we need Instagram posts about toilet paper?!) that promised me a whopping $10 PLUS some free toilet paper. Internet, I refuse to write about All The Fun Times I Wiped My Rear With Charmin. And I also refuse to write about Pepto Bismol. At this point I expect to receive pitches on enemas and neti pots and then we can file it all under #TMI #sponsored.

So all that to say this: Bloggers. Please. Don’t give in to this kind of crap. Get compensated for the work you do. Take on sponsors that MATTER to your readers and who VALUE your work.   PR people: please STAHHHHHHP.