Sponsors - How To Tell An Honest Blogger from a Deceitful One

It's come to our attention, that several possible sponsors have been burned by fellow bloggers. This is truly a shame and gives the honest ones a bad name. I suppose it's to be expected as there will always be people out there, taking what they can and running.

In an effort to help you figure out the honest bloggers from the fraudulent ones, we'd like to give you a list of things that will help you decipher who the good ones are. Now, even with all of the info you are about to read, there's still a possibility of connecting with a dishonest blogger...but, your odds will be greatly reduced if you remember the following.

1. An honest blogger will not contact you for a review/giveaway, and include their address in the initial email. This is a surefire sign that all they want is free stuff and could care less about helping you gain exposure and brand recognition.

2. If a blogger offers to mail the winners their prizes, to save you shipping costs, be wary. This is a big red flag! What do you think the odds are, that they're actually going to ship those freebies to the winners? Chances are, they will keep them, or give them to their friends/family. Note: There are rare exceptions to this rule, such as sponsors who are in another country. Occasionally, a blogger may want to do a review on behalf of a sponsor who is located elsewhere, but, the sponsor may be hesitant to agree, as shipping costs can get a little wonky from other parts of the world. In situations like this, some bloggers will offer to ship the prize(s) to the winner(s), to help off set any international shipping fee's and avoid delays from customs.

3. Read their previous review/giveaway posts. This will give you an idea of how vague or how in depth, their review/giveaways are. I can't tell you how many times I have talked to a possible sponsor who wanted us to do a review, but were hesitant because of being burned. They've sent out products to be reviewed (which as you know costs them money), only to get a paragraph or less as their "review". That is not acceptable and you should steer clear of those bloggers.

A true review will take into consideration, all possible aspects of the product. You should always expect superior quality and if what you see on their blog/website is not good enough per your standards, don't be afraid to say no. After all, this is your business and you have to protect your assets. The whole point of sponsoring a review/giveaway is to create awareness about your company and products while generating interest... in hopes of increasing your sales. If the reviewer (aka blogger), is not giving their followers an in depth look into the product(s) they've received and reviewed, they won't do it for you either. So, it's essentially an investment that has no chance of paying off.

4. Trust your gut. If something just doesn't sit right with you, go with your instincts. There's usually a reason your BS detector is going off. Granted, if you've been burned in the past, you are already pretty skeptical of bloggers to begin with. Please don't let that sway you from trying again. If you keep all of this info in mind, you're less likely to be taken advantage of. I'd like to think that most people are honest, but, there are always bad seeds that try to ruin it for everyone.

We hope this has been helpful, and has provided a bit of insight. We wish all of you the best of luck!