Question for those who host giveaways on their sites.....

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Permalink Reply by Miranda on January 6, 2010 at 3:49pm

I never have but I've become extremely picky about what I'll review or giveaway because they are so time consuming. I do however typically require a review product when doing a giveaway. That's just what I do but I know other bloggers have started charging for their time.

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Permalink Reply by Mama Snow on January 6, 2010 at 7:45pm

Thanks for your advice ;0)

Miranda said:

I never have but I've become extremely picky about what I'll review or giveaway because they are so time consuming. I do however typically require a review product when doing a giveaway. That's just what I do but I know other bloggers have started charging for their time.

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Permalink Reply by Ellen on January 7, 2010 at 8:27pm

Tasha, I have adopted this policy... I do not just do a giveaway for free unless it is an item that I know will attract a lot of attention. For everything else I require either an item to review that I keep or a $15 fee. I have found that usually a company wants to give you the item. If I get the item to review I do not also charge a fee. I think you have to do what works for you though.

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Permalink Reply by Mama Snow on January 8, 2010 at 5:53pm

That sounds great. I am really going to consider what you mentioned. Either way, I need to make some changes this year. I need to make it all worth my time, etc. Thanks for your input.

Ellen said:

Tasha, I have adopted this policy... I do not just do a giveaway for free unless it is an item that I know will attract a lot of attention. For everything else I require either an item to review that I keep or a $15 fee. I have found that usually a company wants to give you the item. If I get the item to review I do not also charge a fee. I think you have to do what works for you though.

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Permalink Reply by Laurie, Guessing All The Way on January 17, 2010 at 1:36am

Those are some great tips you are getting. Thanks for asking such a great question.

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Permalink Reply by jenn on January 18, 2010 at 7:24pm

Yea, I either require an item for review before I do a giveaway OR I require payment ( usually $25 fee) for the giveaway. Hosting a giveaway is time consuming and though I have less readers than you, to Tweet, Facebook and advertise a product for giveaway.. I want to be compensated!

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Permalink Reply by Cindi ~ Moomettesgram on January 23, 2010 at 10:22am

I charge for Preferred Placement in my FCG and also charge for Press Releases. I have a Media Kit that I send whenever I pitch or when I am pitched. It outlines my policies regarding reviews and shipping of giveaways.

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Permalink Reply by Christy Eckert on February 17, 2010 at 12:24pm

Congrats on such a popular site!!! I've also blogged over a year, but my blog is nowhere near as known as yours, lol. I've done giveaways, but usually only with a company I've been involved with or a friend donating an item in exchanged for traffic etc. I'm going to check out your blog now! =)

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Permalink Reply by Hillary Rubin on February 22, 2010 at 1:31am

Hi Tasha! I'm going to give you the business standpoint of what happens when we are asked to pay for reviews. Most companies do not pay for reviews. However, they may pay for sponsored posts.

You did a review for us a while back and we loved it! However, recently we've had a few bloggers ask for $100 per review - on top of receiving the product. Most companies will look at a few things when it comes to reviews:
- Your page ranking
- How many visitors you may have
- The layout of your blog

If your page ranking isn't very high, companies are less likely to pay you. The same goes with visitors to your blog. Your page layout is very important! If it's hard to read and people can't find the review or posted article, companies are less likely to pay you for posting something.

Most companies want honest reviews which is why they won't pay for a review but they will let you keep the product. Some companies will pay for a sponsored post - but again, they won't pay if the above criteria are not met.

I hope that helps!

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Permalink Reply by Mama Snow on February 22, 2010 at 3:04pm

Hillary,
Thank you so much for your comment. It is great to hear from someone on the other end. I really want to do what is fair for both me and the company I am working with. You gave me such wonderful information!

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Permalink Reply by Hillary Rubin on February 23, 2010 at 1:54pm

Believe me, I receive a lot of demands for payment of $100 to $200 for posting an article on someone's site... even when it's an article I wrote! I basically tell them "Thanks but no thanks!" It's even more insane for reviews. As a blogger who does reviews and works in affiliate marketing - it's great to know what your site is worth and to realize that you should be compensated for your time in some way, shape, or form.

I'm working on a side project now where I can't pay people - I just hope that having them post stuff about the side project (and having me promote them via my day job) is thanks enough.

Just my two cents.

Mama Snow said:

Hillary,
Thank you so much for your comment. It is great to hear from someone on the other end. I really want to do what is fair for both me and the company I am working with. You gave me such wonderful information!

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Noel on February 25, 2010 at 10:43am

I can't imagine asking for a payment for review but I do turn down giveaways unless its something I am familiar with and I think my readers would really like. I PRIDE myself on my honest feedback and not being willing to plug anything I don't really like! But it IS time consuming. I'm trying to get my name out there more though so its such a balancing act. I'd like to be able to do promos for more events and larger companies but finding it hard to break into it as I don't have the high numbers even after two years. Mama Snow my question to you....any idea how you got so big so quick? Any secrets to share?
fyi, I'm a google rank of 4 with 2000 unique visitors a month

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