To maintain compliance with the FTC rules concerning bloggers, here is my full disclosure statement regarding sponsorships, reviews, paid advertising and affiliate links.
I began this blog because I love to write. But I’m not gonna lie, I wanted to make money too. When you’re a stay-at-home/work-at-home mom, every minute you have is precious. When my kids are napping, I don’t curl up on the couch with a bowl of ice cream and catch up on “Nashville” (okay, some days I do); heck, I don’t even feel like I have the time to do the dishwasher. Instead, I sit down at my computer and I work; I blog, I design, I Facebook. This is how I contribute to my family’s income, this is how we can somehow get by as a family of 5. It’s hard work, and I love it.
So, although I do this blog for fun and write about whatever I feel like, I do consider myself a journalist in some sense of the word and not just an oversharer (ok, maybe both), and I take rules and regulations concerning online media very seriously. Thus the reason for this disclosure statement; an opportunity for me to be completely transparent with you, the reader, and make sure that I am adhering to the laws set by the FTC. It’s actually much more complicated than you might think and a little bit annoying, but I’ve never been much of a rule-breaker (not a single detention in high school – woot! woot!), so here it goes…
If you are reading this blog, you can assume:
- Certain parts of my blog are monetized. This may come in the form of paid reviews, sponsorships or affiliate links.
- Though I sometimes receive compensation for the above, all opinions and musings on this blog are 100% my own! In order to stay true to myself, I rarely review products because I only choose those that I am sincerely interested in test-driving and think you might be interested in reading about. I am not just here to get free swag (do people still call it “swag?”) and receive mo money, but I am here to write about things that matter to me (and hopefully you). I never accept review opportunities with the promise of a positive review, and if I hate something, I’ll tell you.
- When it comes to reviews, I am occasionally given something for free. If I have received something for free to review, I will tell you that right off the bat. I hope you will trust me enough to know that it has not swayed my opinion of the product.
- My blog contains affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link, it can be tracked back to me and I will receive some small compensation based on clicks.
Finally, I believe in honesty and building relationships with my readers and therefore hope you will trust in the words I share here – whether it be a story about how my daughter pooped on the floor or a review of a toy. Both can be equally informative and exciting.
xoxo, Amy