Hey New Kid On The Block…

Starting an adult blog can be a pretty intimidating and challenging process.  It’s difficult in general to know where to start as far as setting up your website, all the technical issues surrounding the beginning steps, and getting it to fit your tastes and personality.  It can be a frustrating process when you’re only a little more than clueless about coding, what a widget is, and whether or not your ‘Meta’ is necessary to display.  Once you feel like you’re making progress, it only takes one tiny mistake to screw up everything,  leaving you close to tears.  Your website will truly become your baby.  It takes maintenance, energy, time, and attention; especially when your baby is taking its first steps toward success.  While my blog was just pulling itself to standing, I created a post that referred all newbies to another blogger‘s amazing post for newbies.  There’s a lot of information in that post that also links to many other established reviewers.

Once you’re up and running is when you really start to feel the pressure.  With so many established adult bloggers, it’s difficult to feel like you’ll fit in, be noticed, and have a voice set apart from the rest.  Don’t let others intimidate you!  They were once the new kid on the block and they are every bit as real as you are, even if they are more ‘famous‘ than you.  Jump on twitter and get in on the action there.  Start following people you enjoy and respect and start conversations with them (you can start one with me anytime!).  An amazing community has formed, and welcomes new comers with open arms and sound advice.

Once your blog is live, you’ve made a few friends, and have written a few posts, it’s time to figure out where to go from there.  If you’re planning on reviewing adult products, it’s natural to want to reach out to every adult store and manufacturer possible to see if you can join their affiliate program, review program, or both.  Having review examples to show someone gives them a great idea on what they can expect from you, and might make them more comfortable with sending you products to review.  Sending out emails and reaching out through twitter is a great way to get someone interested in your blog and willing to take a chance on you, but there are things you need to pay close attention to.

Before emailing anyone, make sure you write up a disclosure policy and have it displayed on your blog.  It can feel overwhelming and hard to know exactly what you want it to say, but there’s a great website that gives you a place to start.  You can add to it, change it up, and remove parts, but it gives you a general idea of what it should include.

After you’ve emailed companies, expect some of them to say no or never respond.  Not everyone is willing to take a chance on a new blogger, and many companies will expect your traffic or rank to be a certain level before they’ll agree to anything.  Don’t let it discourage you!  It all comes with time and the more you put yourself out there, the higher your traffic will be.  Participating in memes will not only get you traffic, but they’re fun and help you meet other bloggers who have similar interests.  Whether you’re interested in creative writing, posting erotic images, or even taking photos of your toys themselves, there’s a meme you can participate in.  Take a look around and see which ones suit you.  I participate in a handful, but there are many others as well.

There will be many companies that are willing to take a chance on you without worrying about how popular you are or how much experience you have, and it’s always exciting when someone says, “Sure, where can I send your product?”.  But before you beam in excitement, hand over your address, and stalk the mailman, there are some things you need to watch out for.

• The period they expect the review to be written – Some companies expect the review to be written in a certain time frame.  Most are very reasonable, but some expect you to be a little more prompt.  Try not to contact too many companies at once since you might then have to worry about pushing out review after review as you get through them.  It’s very overwhelming!
• Watch for red flags – Any time a company asks to proofread your review, it’s likely not something you want to agree to.  Your review should directly reflect your thoughts and feelings on a product, and someone expecting you to change your words to better suit their product/company is not a place you want to review for.  If you do decide to go through with it, make sure you let them know you’ll only be changing incorrect information, spelling errors, and grammar issues.  Anything beyond that is unacceptable.
• Sometimes boxes just show up, and they aren’t discreet – There will be times you’re not given a tracking number and a box suddenly shows up at your front door.  Be prepared for that to happen.  Also, know that some companies don’t ship in totally plain brown boxes and will have their company name somewhere on the label of packaging.  If this is something that you’re concerned about, you can always try mentioning it to the company prior to shipment, but expect it to happen at times either way.
• Make sure to add links within your review – Links to the product, company website, category it falls under (vibe, dildo, plug, etc.) is really important.  Some companies will let you know exactly what they expect of you, but others will just tell you to properly link.
• Don’t forget the disclaimer! – It’s important to include somewhere in your review that the product was provided to you free of charge in exchange for the review.  It’s a requirement according to FTC guidelines and requires only a short sentence or two that can be included anywhere in your review.  The wording isn’t super important, but if you look at my reviews you’ll always see something like: “This product was provided to me free of charge in exchange for an unbiased review.  This is in compliance with FTC guidelines”.
• Email the company with your review link - Sending your link helps the company keep track of which reviews have already been written and which ones still need to be worked on.  If you ever have an issue where you’re unable to complete the review in a timely matter due to personal reasons, make sure to email the company and let them know of your situation.  Most will be very understanding, where they would probably get rather annoyed if you didn’t let them know what was going on.
• Promote your review – Social media is a great way to draw attention to your review, your blog, and companies you’re working with.  Join twitter, make a facebook page, tumblr, google +, etc.  The more you promote your reviews/blog, the more traffic you’re likely to get.  Many companies will also post your review to their website and social media pages as well, which equals even more traffic!
• Don’t expect to make loads of money – Though you may get lots of clicks on your affiliate links, you’ll only make money if people are purchasing through them.  Promoting sales and directing others to go through your links is helpful, but still won’t generate a ton of money.  Most companies require your total sales to be $50 or more in order to send you a commissions check, so even if someone does make a purchase using your links, it doesn’t mean you’ll be cashing checks just yet.  Each company is different as far as commission percentages and how much you’re required to make before getting paid.  Carefully read over the information before signing up with each company.

Your blog might look like a ghost town at first, but try to keep in mind that not everyone comments on everything they read.  Try to post material that leaves room for comments; ask a question related to the topic you posted, and try to be patient.  Write your blog for yourself, what you’re interested in, and what you feel is relevant, but do your best to engage others.  And just like when you write reviews, use twitter, facebook, etc. to let people know something new has been posted.

If you need help with anything, reach out!  I’ve been stuck so many times and have found the answers by simply tweeting about it.  Toss your question out there and see who bites.  If someone doesn’t know the answer, they often know someone that does.  It’s normal to be confused about things, to mess up, and to get stuck; and more times than not there will be someone available and willing to help you.

My blog is only three months old now, and I’m amazed by everything I’ve learned during this time.  I still have a long way to go, I’m still learning new things all the time, and I’m more than willing to share my mistakes and experiences with others if it will help in anyway.  I don’t normally directly address the people that read my blog, but I hope whether you’re just a reader, are interested in starting your own blog, or have been blogging for years, that you’ll reach out to me if you ever have questions or need advice.  I’m still pretty new around here, but I’m more than willing to do what I can to help.

I realize other bloggers have made very similar posts, but I wanted to share a little about what I’ve learned and feel is important for new bloggers to learn as well.  There’s far more information to learn than what I’ve written here, so check out the link in the first paragraph; much more established bloggers have included amazing information there.  And as I’ve already said, if you ever have a question about anything, don’t hesitate to ask!