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Ethics

Are Sponsored Press Trips Worth Your While?

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"The author compromises her impartiality in Bordeaux, France."

“The author compromises her impartiality in Bordeaux, France.”

A guest post by Pam Mandel

“Oh, I want to go on press trips!”

I hear this frequently from newer bloggers. I get it. It’s so appealing to have someone else pick up the tab for your hotel, your meals, entrances fees, all the stuff of travel. When you’re writing for your own blog, there’s the added benefit of working without an editor who has veto power. You go on an all expenses paid trip, you write what you want, everyone’s happy. Right? Not always.

1. What’s a press trip anyway?

Let’s define “press trip” — sometimes called a junket or a FAM, short for familiarization — first. For this discussion, I mean a trip where media travels under the guidance of a public relations wrangler. Everything is arranged in advance. It’s usually a group tour at an [Read more…] about Are Sponsored Press Trips Worth Your While?

Confusion Among Bloggers on Disclosing Compensation

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A gift is considered to have cash value.

When a food blogger gets free stuff, it is payment in kind, which is considered compensation.

You know those disclaimers at the end of blog posts, when food bloggers write about a product or service and say whether they were compensated?

I’ve noticed some confusion (or should we call it denial?) about what constitutes payment.

There are two kinds of payment: cash payment and “paid in kind,” which means a company gives you goods or services for free. That could be [Read more…] about Confusion Among Bloggers on Disclosing Compensation

Thug Kitchen Draws Fans and Ire

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Thug Kitchen Authors

Thug Kitchen co-authors Michelle Davis and Matt Holloway. Their blog led to a cookbook with incredible sales this month. (Photo courtesy of Sean Neild.)

Paging through a new cookbook never fails to thrill me. So when I got a copy of Thug Kitchen as a gift while attending the Food Bloggers of Canada annual conference, I put my feet up for a few minutes to take a look. It’s a vegan cookbook with great recipes and gorgeous [Read more…] about Thug Kitchen Draws Fans and Ire

It’s Official: Readers Don’t Like Sponsored Posts

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TrustAre readers of online content comfortable with sponsored posts? According to a new study, no. Most are confused and feel deceived.

Sponsored posts, for those not in the know, is also known as advertorial or native advertising. In our field, it means a company has paid (in cash or in kind) a blogger or website writer to write an endorsement. It must be disclosed as such, according to the FTC.

I first questioned writing content in exchange for pay or [Read more…] about It’s Official: Readers Don’t Like Sponsored Posts

FTC Disclosure Rules on Social Media

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Like-Love-Social MediaA few months ago, in exchange for appearing on a panel, the conference paid my expenses.

During the event, I wanted to share photos of the meals on Facebook and Twitter. I also knew the conference organizers were expecting speakers to promote the event on social media.

So I did the wrong thing. I posted a few photos, and I didn’t say my meals were comped. It felt slimy! I didn’t want to! (Cue whining.)

That was wrong, by law in the US. (I hope no FTC officials are reading this.) From now on, I’m either not post anything on [Read more…] about FTC Disclosure Rules on Social Media

7 Outrageous Requests of a Food Blogger

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Frusted-BloggerA well-known food blogger loves to forward outrageous requests from food companies to me. I’ve kept them them in a file, until now, when I got her permission to share them.

As you know from the countless emails you delete, food companies want product coverage from bloggers. Nothing wrong with that, of course. It’s just the way  [Read more…] about 7 Outrageous Requests of a Food Blogger

Bloggers Behaving Badly

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Disappointed GuyAt a recent conference, I persuaded an executive to give me some dirt about working with food bloggers, as long as he could do so anonymously.

He’s been in the food business for 30 years, working for large food manufacturers, a worldwide commodity board, and a dried fruit company. Now he’s a consultant to six food companies, supplying post-ready recipes to bloggers, and inviting them on tours and to attend trade shows as media.

He might take 80 bloggers on a four-day tour on behalf of a company or board, for example. In addition to their expenses, he pays bloggers [Read more…] about Bloggers Behaving Badly