When bloggers mutate

I don't highlight negatives very often on my blog. It is, mostly, about food and fun after all. But here goes (and please realise this isn't meant to dis the party involved, only to question why it has to be so).

Have you ever stayed in a bad hotel? Me too.
Had recurring bad flights with a particular airline? Me as well.
Ever eaten a bad meal at an over-priced restaurant? Join me in the line.

Most of the time, we don't say a word. We just gut it out, pay, and promise never to do that to ourselves again.

But sometimes, something irritates you just enough that you stand up and say: "That's just not right!"

Now, here's the crux:
There seems to be a breed of snob blogger who says in no uncertain terms: Your money is not good enough for me because you're not part of my chosen frozen.

Wow, really? A dollar is a dollar after all, regardless of it's source.

Case in point: I've been trying to get this little business of mine off the ground. So I've been scouting around for craft websites and blogs that do paid advertising. "Sponsorship" as it seems to be called.

Some people charge between $150 and $300 (ZAR 1000 - 2000) for a month long 150 by 150 pixel ad on their blog, professing to page views of thousands. I think that's extortion, but let's move on.

The point of this post is to highlight an incident with a blogger, using their views as a drawing card for paid "sponsorship", and then getting cliquey about whose ads they accept.

So, on with the story: they run a somewhat craftish blog...I needed a craft blog to advertise on. So on to the advertised price.

More reasonable, for sure. $27 for 3 months (within my budget) and advertised as follows:
"... is now accepting sponsors and I'd love to partner with YOU! I'm excited for the opportunity to promote other indie/handmade businesses and blogs!"

Cool, I thought, and went ahead. Only to get the following reply:
"Your shop is cute, but unfortunately it doesn't fit with the aesthetic of my blog so I am not able to take you on as a sponsor."

The aesthetic of your blog? Hmm, ok. Let me go check out the other ads you have on your site.
Click...oh look, they also make baby clothes.
Click...oh look, bags and pouches similar to mine.
Click...hey, that etsy shop has the same general style ("aesthetic") as mine.
Click...hey, wait a minute, something is fishy here...

To sum it up, I don't have a problem if a blogger decides to check up on the ad you make that goes on their site so that it matches with the "look" they're going for on their personal blog. Fine, I will comply.

But how, for the love all things Vulcan and logical, can they say that my SHOP doesn't meet their blog aesthetic when:
1) They've listed other shops that are similar to mine; and
2) we have not even discussed an ad design that will feature on the side of their blog, which may look nothing like my shop banner (if that's what they have the problem with, maybe??) After all, it's an ad that sits on their site, not my shop!

How blessed that the person is in a position to turn away business (a.k.a. money!)

To the "mutant" bloggers out there, I send the following message:
Come on, rise to the occasion and BE fair, BE open-minded, BE honest, BE kind, and for the love of all things logical...BE reasonable (especially if you're asking a fee!)

We are, after all, Human BEings :-)

While this experience has never happened to me before in the blogosphere, I wanted to highlight its absurdity. And I hope it doesn't happen again.

The regular food programming will resume again shortly (with something that will lift my mood...chocolate!)

Peace out dear peeps.

P.S. I'm happy to say that with a bit more scouting around, I found an even more craft-centric site (with even cheaper advertising and many more monthly page views) that accepted my shop link :-) Maybe this happened for some divine reason so that I could get more bang for my marketing budget buck.