Blogger Beware of Pitch it to Me- they don't play nice

Many new bloggers are tempted to join middle man sights as a way to get established.  Of course these sites usually provide a list of blogger friendly companies that provide products and giveaways for reviews.

Many of these sights are started by other bloggers with the intention of  mentoring and offering new bloggers assistance. These sites should be an encouraging place for bloggers but unfortunately it really depends on the caliber of the administrators.  So I learned.

When I first joined  Pitch it to Me I started a reciprocal thread; details would be lost on you guys, this thread grew rather large and one of the administrators needed to restart a new thread to accommodate the interest.  I continued to be a big part of that thread.

My last visit I discovered the thread had been moved again and this time I had been completely removed from the thread.  When I tried to remedy this situation my request was initially ignored and then I was met with a lame straw man as opposed to just rectifying the situation.  It was a constant evasion of the actual issue that would of taking all but one second to fix.  Sadly, this just validated my suspicions of the quality  or lack there of in the  mommy blogging community.

When I first started doing product reviews I didn't want to be lumped together with  the "blogger/mommy blogger" community.  I wanted to stand out as someone with a little more credibility.  I did this by seeking out products that I believed in as opposed to jumping on every offer that presented itself to the world of blogges. I have to see the value in a product.  I can't compromise the integrity of my blog, regardless of the price involved.

There are some really great companies that see the value in online promotion and I have had the privilege of working with quite a few.  However, I find a lot of the companies that strictly use middle man sites to be less than desirable trying to promote some really useless junk. 

I don't know if Pitch it to Me is considered a middle man site as much as it is a forum for bloggers, either way it is not a site that I benefited from in any way. 

My advice for bloggers that want to get into doing product reviews is to seek out companies of products you already use and love.  You enthusiasm for the product will come across and they will most likely take notice.

There is My Blog Spark,  since joining in late July I've had four offers presented to me in which I accepted two of those offers.

Please note I am not aware of any other middleman sites that I could recommend to beginners. The companies that strictly use these sites need to have bloggers that have been active and around long enough to have established a strong following.   They desperately need high numbers because their product is weak. Avoid them like the plaque!

Establish credibility and don't compromise.  The progression of your blog may be far slower but it will be well worth it in the end.

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8 comments:

♥ Vanessa said...

Very interesting! I would like to hear more of your story. I personally like Product Review Place!

-Vanessa

http://oldfashionedsodafountain.blogspot.com

lisa said...

I would recommend The Product Review Place. Great place to list reviews.

Giveaway Lady said...

I like The Pitch it to Me and The Product Review Place. I find problems with both of them but I just sift through things. I have another place I use but I have to pay for it. That is the nice things with Pitch it to Me and PRP.

Anne said...

I never joined Pitch it to Me, but did join TPRP with the encouragement of another blogger. Since then I have found interesting products through Tomoson as well. Not everything is spectacular, but I have found a few really good products. I like MyBlogSpark, too.

Lorri S said...

I've joined all of the above also and like MyBlogSpark the best. I haven't used any of them much for months since I wanted to take a break from reviews.

I like to do reviews on products my family would actually use. I've turned down quite a few things, but have also reviewed some products that others may deem trivial- but again, they were useful for us.

I just came across your new blog after you entered a giveaway on my blog and I have to say, I love your writing style :) Good luck with your new venture!

BrettBMartin said...

I love Pitch it! I've learned so much about how to communicate effectively with companies and built many relationships with other bloggers!!

lisa said...

I realized this post was going to ruffle some feathers, however, before leaving a long rant, I prefer that you actually read the post. Or I will have to delete your comment. Also keep it family friendly kids. Thanks for the comments thus far.

The Nerdy Nurse said...

Once you are established, companies will contact you directly. This is especially true if you rank high on google results for the search terms they are interested in.

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