Comments on: Reviews and Giveaways Trending out on Mom Blogs?

By: Jenny

Jenny — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 04:17:12 +0000

I don’t know I really suck at getting people to let me do reviews and giveaways xD I’ve never been smart in that department. Prolly never will be. And I’ll be one lonely little blog in a big space of popular bloggers. Doesn’t bother me though.

By: Michele

Michele — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:38:57 +0000

Only once have I entered a giveaway, and that was because I was interested in commenting on a blogger’s site and my comment automatically entered me into the giveaway.

I do not read giveaway blogs. I do not frequent any blog because of any giveaways.

I read blogs and go back to blogs because of their great content.

I do offer giveaways from one company because I really like the company itself. They have done well by my clients, and I believe my readers could truly find their products useful. I did another giveaway from another company once with a really neat product.

Do I feel hypocritical that I offer giveaways but don’t enter them? No. Why? Because my giveaways go along with the content of my blog. I’m not just pitching a company…I’m promoting an idea, a mission, and something I can stand behind. I don’t see that often on other blogs.

I think if more blogs did giveaways and said, “Look, I stand behind this product, I really think it will make your life better/be something worth spending your money on because…” then you’d reach more people again.

And, for the record, only one person has entered my current giveaway, and I’m not sweatin’ it.

By: Petula

Petula — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:10:07 +0000

This is an excellent post and topic. As a matter of fact, I just posed a question about this on another community. I just thought I had little interest, comments and entrants because of something I’m doing wrong because I still see large responses on some other sites that I frequent.

I love doing reviews and most of them are simply because it’s something I love to do. I was doing them as an associate editor at a magazine and I wanted to do it on a larger scale with a wider variety of products. It’d be interesting to see where the trend goes. I, however, hate following trends… I guess playing it by ear and staying true to the reason I want to blog is the best approach.

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:51:08 +0000

Trisha your post is so timely… I started blogging as an outlet to talk about the crazy deals I love to get and how my family is trying to live more simply. The blog has taken off and I’m sort of giving it its identify as I go along and that’s been a bit confusing to me. Does that make sense to you?

I started reading more “mom blogs” and found this huge current of review and giveaway sites. I like to talk about products that I dig – but did I want to really go that route and fit that mold? I am sort of resisting that because the whole point of living the way that I want to is to not just get MORE STUFF for its own sake. And my readers are trying to get away from that too. At the same time, we all love to talk about a great deal, or something we use in our homes that we love. Where is the balance? That’s what I’m still trying to figure out for my own blog. When you wrote this it resonated:

“It’s OK to get creative with your marketing and let brands into the world you have already set up rather than setting up a world around them.”

I feel like this is the way for me to be who I am and if marketers want to reach people like me and my readers then it could be a potentially great relationship. But as much as I would *LOVE* new toys, becoming another review site just isn’t what I want for this particular blog. So I wonder, is there a place for me in this PR oriented review world? I hope so – I’d like to be part of the conversation.

I think that it’s so hard to track who is influencing. Modes like twitter seem to be how I have the bulk of my conversations that lead to reading more on blogs … but the original source of buzz is nebulous, isn’t it?

I love that you give mom bloggers credit for being more than passive receptors of information. I AM a housewife … but one with 5 years of graduate work under my belt. My friends and our blogging friends here are savvy indeed. Thank you for saying all of this so much better than I can.

By: blueviolet

blueviolet — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:31:18 +0000

It will be interesting to see where this all goes. I definitely agree that we’re oversaturated with reviews and giveaways. There’s nary a blog that doesn’t have them now.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:08:23 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by and_dad_too: RT @MomDotRocks RT @MomDotRocks Reviews and Giveaways Trending out on Mom Blogs? | Mom Blogs at MomDot http://bit.ly/2VZJM1...

By: nicole h

nicole h — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:43:24 +0000

i have to agree with the less trend. i found that about a giveaway bonanza, the amount of entries diminished. I know with myself oct-dec is a busy time and when you’re following alot of blogs, sometimes you just pick a couple of giveaways to enter, versus all the ones that come to you.

it could be holiday lead up as well- people are all ready getting stressed with the economy and all….

By: Christine

Christine — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:16:06 +0000

This is how I feel about it. I am a food blogger. A foodie if you will. I chat about how my family interacts with the food I make. HONESTLY. Being the diehard foodie that I am when I see a product I love and truly believe in I will go after them. Brazen..maybe..but its how I feel. I have a slew of emails from PR companies that I read but hardly pursue. There was a good one that came in the mail the other day For instance..this probably sounds like a silly recipe/giveaway challenge. But I will be giving away 2 cases of probiotic yogurt. I suffer from a stomach disease and yogurt helps me. This yogurt has twice the probiotic and protein than other yogurts. See its something I believe in. Recipe contests are fun. For a foodie its appreciated…but it has to be a product they haven’t seen before….or haven’t seen in a way that I would show them. You gotta have something that captures you. If you don’t believe in your product it doesn’t matter how much you push. By the way I might not have a big degree behind my name but I was in corporate sales for quite a few years. Number 1 all the time. Why? Because I sincerely believed in the product and my customer believed in me. The company I was with never advertised. Never. People came to them. Soon the PR companies will figure this out. If I want to represent their product I will go to them. It has to mesh with my blog (my blog is about my family and I) or it wont appear there. A true product doesn’t need to be sold..it sells itself..all that matters is how its presented. A product that is just put out ther to be given away more than likely just get a bad rep i.e. the damn Slanket (just put a robe or blanket on you lazy people). This is coming from a salesperson…take it for what it is worth. The reason why PR companies started this way was becaues of someone who wsa enthusiastic about product could never be beaten by a commercial. That is the truth. This is why PR companies are reluctant to abandon blogs. It makes sense. If I was in charge I would hire people just to read the blogs. If I thought the blog would personally get my product and understand its true worth I would contact them personally. No form letters. Have they not heard of the term “Cherry Picking”. Strategic sales…not spam marketing. Its a waste of money and time. I swear I could rule the world lol. Just tell those companies I’ll consult for them lol.

So in other words I completely agree with you on that reviews and giveaways are so empty and meaningless anymore it bores me to death. For heaven sakes make it fun not tedious.

By: 1stopmom

1stopmom — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:52:32 +0000

This is an interesting post. I was kind of wondering the same thing. I have been talking about the whole thing with my husband. I have a regular blog and a giveaway blog.But I am thinking that in the future to cut down on my reviews and giveaways drastically. I admit that it can be a lot of work, especially trying to meet the deadlines and to write honest posts. I think I take much longer than everyone else, lol. I am glad to have seen this post and the comments.

By: Louise

Louise — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:46:57 +0000

I completely agree with you. Review/giveaway bloggers myself included have become a dime a dozen. We are completely over saturated. I don’t even want reviews anymore I just want companies to make donations and I love to host giveaways even though I just spent 70.00 mailing out prizes myself. uhh.

Anyways, For someone to stand out now it really needs to be original.