After reading several comments left in the State of the Balcony survey regarding product and book reviews, I want to make my policy on such posts clear.
To state it simply, I never publish anything about a book or product that I don’t personally love and use. Period. I do occasionally receive products and books to review for free, but I am always very upfront about that. And I have come across products and books that I didn’t like, and declined to review on Life on the Balcony.
I do receive a small (and it is small) percentage of the sales made after clicking on a link to Amazon from this blog. Someone made what I think was a cheap shot about affiliate programs in the survey. I work hard to provide what I hope is good quality information here. On most weeks I write 5 posts a week. And they’re all free to read. Actually, it costs me money to have a blog. I have web hosting fees to pay, and things to buy so I can research them or use them as a prize in a contest. Not to mention the value of all the time I spend blogging. It’s kind of crummy to enjoy reading posts here but begrudge me the ability to at least cover the cost of writing all those posts. Especially considering that no one criticizes magazines for selling advertising, or receiving freebies to feature on their pages.
Anyway, I just wanted to make it clear that I value my integrity more than a free pair of gloves or a book. If someone wants to buy me, they’re going to have to do better than that. A lot better. 
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I understand where you’re coming from. I have my own 501c3 non profit and do not pay myself nor anyone else and I continuously receive emails from people without a clue that think I get paid! They think that no one in their right mind would do something out of the goodness of their hearts and they’re WRONG!
There are those of us silent readers who are grateful for your site, especially in this economy. Keep up the great work, you’re an inspiration to me. Thank you!
Blessings, Love & Peace,
RH
You really don’t even need to respond to such people, Fern. Anyone who’s ever tried blogging knows how much time and money it ends up taking. If a few people want to snark anonymously, don’t let it get you down.
It’s pretty obvious that when you mention a product it’s because you have a lot of enthusiasm for it and not because you’re excited about tricking people into giving you the .58 affiliate commission when they buy the item on Amazon.
I’m fairly grouchy that people feel so entitled to great free info that they think it’s OK to accuse others of impropriety for a few affiliate links. If they weren’t benefiting from your free info, they wouldn’t be here to grump at you.
There’s nothing dirty about making money in exchange for providing a service/ product, and when you’re making a wage for blogging that folks in third world countries would scoff at, it makes that kind of snarking even more laughable.
Just keep doing what you do here and let the few people wearing their grumpy pants move on if they don’t like what you share naturally.
Hi Fern. The readers of your blog are incredibly lucky to have free access to the quality information you continually post. For someone to begrudge you the occasion product to review is really out of line. Affiliate programs are a fact of the web and if you can make a little bit of revenue to defray the expense involved with your blog, so much the better for everyone involved. In lieu of having some great books listed on the right, perhaps the dissatisfied survey respondent would like to post some reasonable suggestions as to how you might defray your expenses while maintaining the integrity of this terrific blog.
Kim–I can nly imagine the kinds of things you’ve come across running a non-proift. The vast majority of people are great, but there is a very weird minority!
ResilientHeart–Thanks! Good to see you de-lurk. Hope you’ll comment more often!
Gen–Hallelujah. Sing it sistah!
Shari–If they want to donate money to me directly, I’d be cool with that.
Hi Fern,
When we open ourselves up to the world, we will receive all the good and bad that filters through. We must build armor and not let the few who choose to see negative . . . where there is none . . . penetrate. I think you are offering a wonderful service to so many! I want you to know that over at Blotanical your site keeps coming up with a ERROR when I try to pick it… you might want to write to Stuart to see what is wrong. All Best, Carol
I’m with everyone else on how you ought not apologize for making a little money for all your work, and a big thank you for a great blog!
By the way, I wouldn’t mind seeing bad reviews too — if someone send your free stuff and it sucks, I’d like to know that too.
Joseph
I totally agree with you and have also declined many products. Some offers have even been ridiculous. Contacts on a garden blog?
Writing is a lot of work and your posts are always very thorough. I appreciate all the time and effort you spend on them.
Carol–I’ll have to look into the Blotanical error issue. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Joseph–I try and save any negativity for subjects that really deserve it. I realize that most product creators and book authors are trying hard to produce something worthwhile, and I don’t want to publicly criticize them just because what they created isn’t my cup of tea. So far, I’ve only had one occasion to use LOTB as a platform to be critical, and I hope that fact resonates with readers.
Adriana–We should create a joint post with all the funny offers we’ve received. I’ve had a couple of doosies…