Christine Mielke is the owner and founder of Temptalia.com, a popular beauty blog and resource. This article is thus written primarily from a blogger’s perspective, but Christine is also a regular consumer who reads and trusts various blogs and bloggers for both beauty purchases as well as unrelated purchases so the commentary has some sense of a very blog-savvy consumer.

Next, I want to address some myths about bloggers. Again, these are myths about the general population of bloggers, but they may not hold true for all–qualify the blogs you’re reading and the bloggers you’re believing. I do this in all aspects of my life.  It’s just vital to research and understand what you’re believing and never blindly believe what you’re told.  (Once I establish an expert’s credibility and source of authority, then I believe faster and feel less need to do legwork, which is why we love experts–they save us time!)

Myth #1: Bloggers won’t write anything bad about a product they get for free because they want to keep the freebies coming.

In the three years I’ve been blogging, I have never had a brand cease working with me because of a bad review. I have given some brands multiple bad reviews, but they still work with me–I’d almost say they may even try to work harder to show me that they DO have good products. But here’s a thought – if, at the end of the day, a brand puts out consistently poor products, why would a blogger even care if the freebies kept coming? If it sucks, and it’s not changing, I certainly don’t want to keep wasting my time trying.

My other thought on this issue is – if I purchase a product, but I do have an existing relationship with the brand and/or its PR firm, how does this concern change? That’s because it doesn’t. There is still an ongoing relationship whether you purchase, get samples, or a combination thereof. It doesn’t change that status.

Myth #2: All bloggers get paid (with cash, not product) to review.

From my experience, very few bloggers get paid by the brand to review their products. There are certainly some, and I do think some of it depends on the particular blogging community. Since I am a beauty blogger, I feel comfortable saying that the majority of beauty bloggers aren’t getting money to write a review.

Paid reviews are not necessarily dishonest, either. I will wholeheartedly agree that full disclosure that the blogger has received monetary compensation is absolutely necessary if a blogger chooses to do paid reviews. As a blogger, I’d look at it this way: “I get paid to write what I would write for free anyway.”

My personal choice is not to participate in paid reviews, though I have done paid posts (”sponsored posts”), which I have always indicated as sponsored (I think I’ve done maybe 15 or so out of over 5,000–just to give you an idea). I’m sure some are wondering what kind of post gets paid for that isn’t a review–advertorials, which are ads within a post or the post is purely advertising as written by the brand and nothing by me; product placement or an announcement of a new product/contest; or sometimes it’s a mention to their site within an article you write.

If a blogger discloses they’re getting paid and they seem credible after you’ve qualified their content, that’s enough for me. More power to them for dealing with an otherwise sticky situation!

Myth #3: Bloggers get whatever they want for free.

There are the exceptions to this–very popular bloggers who have established audiences, but the majority of bloggers don’t get to email a PR firm and say, “Please send me one of everything from your brand.” It doesn’t work that way for most. (To be clear, it doesn’t work that way for me.) You may or may not be able to establish a relationship, and you may or may not be able to get a sample. You may struggle to just get information. Some brands only send samples to print media or very established online media. Some brands send samples to everyone.

Myth #4: PR can control what a blogger says.

No, it’s very unlikely. I can’t even imagine the skill and power it would take for PR to truly control the average blogger. The only one who controls what a blogger says is the blogger. Whether a blogger feels compelled to review something positively is actually more in their court and on them than on the PR firm. Most PR firms send products for consideration, which means that a product is sent in hopes the blogger will first try it, and then like it, and finally review it. I think only one PR firm has ever said something like, “If you don’t like it, please don’t review it.” (Subsequently, I had no desire to work with them.)

Myth #5: Bloggers can’t be truthful if they get a product for free.

As a blogger, this myth has always frustrated me, because while I can understand skepticism and concern over honesty, I feel like it’s an assumption that is often made without validation. As I mentioned previously, once there’s a relationship between the blogger and a brand/PR firm, the blogger purchasing the product doesn’t eliminate that relationship. If a blogger is credible, they’re going to be honest.

Most bloggers have built their blogs successfully because of their passion for the subject matter and their honesty/integrity. Very few are interested in risking their reputation and continued success to tell lies about a product.

But there is one instance where this myth may hold more water: when it first starts. I think for some (but not all), the glamour of working with brands/PR and receiving product samples may overwhelm a blogger initially. This newness, this pride and “OMG, they want to work with me!” feelings are all natural and don’t usually last forever. I do not, however, think these bloggers revert to lying to their readers, but they may, at first, be excited and thereby review a product in a better light. I just think this is something that is more prevalent in the first few experiences (and again, not true for all), but it is part of the process.

Brand Concerns:

I’d also like to address one comment I received via Twitter from a company: “As a business owner I am concerned that bloggers are going to reluctant to do reviews because it will become a hassle for them.” I think, like you, bloggers also have some concern over whether PR firms and brands will work with them as they have in the past with the latest regulatory guidelines. At the end of the day, if both brand and blogger understand how each other works and the blogger remains honnest and trustworthy, they’re going to continue to work with you. The FTC guidelines are concerning, but they are not damning, if you have nothing to hide.

Bottom Line: GET TO KNOW THE BLOGS AND BLOGGERS YOU ARE READING.

There are so many amazing writers and websites out there, but there are the occasional bad apples that often spoil it for the rest. Use your best judgment and determine whether to trust a blogger. An honest blogger will be trusted–that’s my optimistic outlook–if you do what you do, as you want to do it, and you’re honest, I think you will prevail. I think readers are becoming more and more savvy, and they’re beginning to understand the complexity (and consequently, appreciate as well) of blogging.

And secondly? Though, the FTC (as of December 1st, 2009) will require bloggers to be a lot more upfront and obvious with their disclosures, always read the fine print! Many blogs and websites have policies linked on their page (often under “About Us” or in the footer–which tends to be an internet standard), but many readers often miss these. Check out your favorite bloggers and see if they have clear, written and public policies on how they run and write their blog.  If they don’t have anything written–why don’t you ask them?  You may be surprised!