(Image credit Jan Flaska)
There is a topic that’s near and dear to my heart, and I’ve debated for some time on if or how I want to share it with you. Today, I’ve decided to go for it.
The topic? YOU.
Awhile ago, I decided to write a set of values that would govern the content on this blog and the way I would conduct myself here. The first value I penned was this:
“Offer content that provides value to the readers first.”
Bottom line, living out this value has meant I’ve left money on the table. The relationship I’ve built with my readers here will win every time over a quick buck. Why am I sharing this today? Because I want you to know how committed I am to providing you the very best content I can here at The Coupon Project. I also wanted to give you an inside look at how I decide which deals and content to post, and which to leave well enough alone.
#1. You can count on me to listen to you. There are a few affiliate offers I’ve promoted in the past that initially felt like win-win situations. They seemed like legitimate deals, and yes, I made a few bucks in the process. However, when you tell me that you had serious problems with the company, that the freebie was less than stellar, or you wouldn’t recommend the deal to a friend…I listen. I can think of two specific offers I’ve not posted in recent days that would have undoubtedly earned me a nice lil’ paycheck…but I wouldn’t have felt right about promoting to you. In both of these instances, I’ve shared specific feedback with affiliate managers about what you had to say. Behind the scenes, you can count on me to stick out my neck for you.
#2. When there are no deals, I stay silent. If deals are light, I’m not going to try to drum up deals that just aren’t there. I don’t want to speak just to make noise. I may choose to fill in with tutorials, vlogs, or giveaways, but I’m not about to pass off an Amazon non-deal as something truly awesome.
#3. You can count on me to disclose. I make a best effort to disclose shipping costs, fine print, and other information integral in giving you a full picture of a deal. I’m not into trickery to get you to click on my links. I’ve also been very forthcoming in how I make money here. And, you know what? I’d do so regardless if the FTC required it or not. (Read my Disclosure Policy for more information.)
#4. I started this blog because I love to write. When I started this blog, I spent several months developing content before I took out my business license and began the monetization process. I write many posts here (such as this one) that don’t earn me a single cent. I write these for the pure joy of writing. My degree was in English/Creative Writing and my Senior Project was a short story series. I worked as a freelance copywriter a couple years before I started this site (I still do work as a copywriter on the side, too). I’ve been a storyteller as long as I can remember.
I’m not going to lie - it’s great being able to support my family with what I love to do – but it’s also great when I receive comments from you saying how my post brightened your day, made you laugh, or inspired you to live better. That means so much to me.
#5. While I love your support, I’m not a charity case. Let me make this clear: you owe me NOTHING. While I would love it for you to click on my Coupons.com or Groupon links, you are not obligated to do so. Ever. I’m not going to encourage you to help me earn an iPad by bringing me a zillion referrals. I’m not going to beg you to share my Facebook page with your friends so I can hit some magic number. I want you to share my site and my posts because you genuinely like them. Isn’t that the entire point of social media anyway?
If you’ve ever wondered about the decision-making process involved in content development here, I hope I’ve been able to shed some light on that topic for you! And I’ll do my best to answer additional questions if you have them.
Finally, thank you for your honest feedback, comments, and emails. Rest assured, I listen.
{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
so good! thanks for sharing honestly. Your post is a good reminder and thoughts on being a good blogger and a good person.
Thank you!! If you’ve never done it – I highly recommend sitting down and writing a mission statement and set of values for your blog. That act has helped shape so much of what I do here, and gives me purpose. Thanks.
Angela – THANK YOU! There really is no better way to put it! I’ve recently started to get frustrated with the hipe and thus insincerity of the blogs around couponing and its always nice to come back here
Wow! All I can say is classy, very classy! This is what it should be about and in the end, will get you more followers.
I am glad you posted this simply because I had no idea the way all this stuff works! I never knew how the money making end of these sites worked. I guess it’s because I just never thought about it. Thanks for your honesty and frank-ness. I have noticed other sites trying to make a deal out of what I didn’t think was a good deal, and now I get it. This information will help me to assess and be alert to tricky business!
Bottom line: be a smart consumer. Whether it’s in the stores or online…use common sense and good judgment.
Thanks for your comment.
Kristy, I could have written that exact post! I had no idea about how the affiliate links worked and how they could be manipulated. I’ve seen postings on other sites that made me go “huh?” but never thought that it could be driven by kickbacks. I’m so glad Angela is here for a reality check and to keep all of us honest even while pursing great bargains.
Speaking of bargains, over the weekend I was one of the first to my Rite-Aid and headed right for the J.R. Watkins soaps and lotions. They had a shelf full @2/$3.00 with $1.00 peelies on virtually all of them making them $0.50 each. It would have been sooo easy to take all of them at that price but couponing ethics dictated to take only what I could reasonably use (a couple of each flavor) and leave the rest for other couponistas. (And don’t get me started on the ethics of taking the peelies off of one container for use on another container as some other sites say is legitimate.)
Thank you again, Angela!
Angela-You are AWESOME! I am still fairly new to this and I am finding most of the blog sites are nothing more than advertisements..its hard to find the “meat”, so to speak. I always know that when I click on “The Coupon Project” I will find exactly what I am looking for each and every time..and will usually walk away with a smile…I think of you as a friend..not a blogger!
Angie
“I’m not going to encourage you to help me earn an iPad by bringing me a zillion referrals. I’m not going to beg you to share my Facebook page with your friends so I can hit some magic number.” To this I say “thank you”! I have grown to appreciate your blog for it’s honesty and integrity. Please never change that.
Thank you Tammy! My thought is if my blog is truly worthwhile, I won’t need to jump up and down to get folks to share it.
As far as your request – no, I won’t change my stance when it comes to playing by the rules and blogging with integrity.
Angela, I have sent you a private email message.
Got it – and thanks.
I agree with Tammy 100%, which is why it is easy for me to refer people to your site. Additionally, I think that the coupon ethics approach that you provide is much needed these days!
When I started contributing on a local blog I told the blog owner that you were absolutely the one I wanted to emulate. After I learned about affiliate programs I actually had to leave some of my “favorite” blogs because I realized that every post was bent on being a money maker. I’ve been an avid coupon blog reader for awhile and had been led astray by deals that seemed great or coupons that just HAD to be printed. When reading your blog, I have always appreciated that if you post it I know it’s a good deal and you’ve done your homework. I also know the REAL reason why people and ethics are the top of your priority list and for that I thank you for staying strong in your faith and calling.
Thank you!
Coupons that HAD to be printed….sigh. If I say “print now,” rest assured it’s sincere.
The last thing I want to become here is the boy who cries wolf. If they are all hot, urgent deals – that erodes trust. I try to use words like “hot” and “urgent” sparingly for that reason.
Thanks so much Aubrey! I still believe there are genuinely GOOD deals to be shared. I’m very flattered by your comment today…thank you.
You’re so welcome! Here’s my blogging heartbeat
http://www.frugalyakimamom.com/2011/09/why-we-exist.html
Thank you for sharing your link! I loved what you had to say & hope others will take a moment and read it too. Thanks so much for your commitment to help others save – to be a part of the solution.
Best wishes on your blogging journey!
Blessings on you, too!
Thank you so much for your frank honesty. I appreciate the fact that you are not just in this for you. Your blog has always been one of my favorites!
Thanks! This really makes me reflect and keep in mind what my true itentions are about starting my own blog and what I want people to truely see.
Like I suggested to Allison above, my recommendation is you start with a mission statement and a set of values before you publish that first post. What will you stand for? Who are you trying to serve? I wish I would’ve done this before starting my blog, but I’m glad I did it a year ago. It has helped tremendously in guiding the everyday decisions of blogging.
Best wishes with your blog!
Angela, this is why I choose to follow your site! I trust you. I’ve wittled down the coupon sites I subscribe to after realizing I just don’t have hours every day/week to coupon the way I’d like to. While I delete most of my couponing emails these days, I still read yours. I love the variety and simplicity of what you offer, and I can tell from your posts (and the one time I met you in person at Albertsons) that you’re the real deal — someone who genuinely loves what they do and cares about the people around them.
Hi Rachel – nice to see you!
Thanks for dropping by! Maybe we’ll have a chance meeting at Albertsons sometime soon!
Angela,
What a great post. Thank you. I, too, have cut way down on the number of coupon sites I follow and usually the only posts/emails I actually READ are yours. Thank you for all you do to keep the integrity and ethics in couponing, and in blogging, and keeping things fun and educational here.
Angela,
Very well said and the main reason I keep coming back to your blog. Thanks for keeping things REAL.
I, like the last few people, have deleted most of the other coupon blogs from my google reader. I have fallen victim to the “have to get it now” or “deceptive deals” from other popular sites. Your honesty, integrity, and think-outside-the-box attitude keep me here and in the coupon/frugal world. Thank you for forging a different path for your readers. It is so refreshing knowing there are still good people out there.
Bottom line. I like you!
Hot post! Read it NOW! lol
As I’ve told you before, I’d read your blog even if you never posted another deal. I love your writing and your honesty and ethics.
I Do try to click on your links, and those of other bloggers I read and respect, because I think you earn every little penny (I feel like I should mention that sometimes clicks are literally only worth pennies)! Blogging is not a get rich quick scheme, by any means, and I feel like giving my fav gals my “clicks,” is the least I can do!
Ah thanks Maegen for supporting us bloggers that way! It does mean a lot!
This part of your mission statement is probably the main reason I keep reading this blog. I’m definitely not a local, so some of your content will not apply to me. Yet I know that the non-local aspects will definitely have merit for me.
I’ve stopped reading to many blogs that started out being truly about how to find and complete deals. But some of them turned into “Look! Hot! Stylish shoes on sale for only $89.99!! Use code MYBLOG and get an extra 10% off!!” Maybe it is a great price for those shoes, but they don’t fit my lifestyle – or my budget — right now.
Thanks again.
I came across your blog quite some time ago when another frugal living blog mentioned a giveaway you were doing. That was the sole reason I came over here. I started reading a little bit. Pretty soon I started checking up regularly & “liked” you on FB…. and you are now one of my very favorite blogs (and bloggers!). A post like this makes it obvious why. I have complimented you before on your honesty, friendliness, how you really seem to listen… and it’s true today. You are doing a fantastic job and I’m so happy I came across your blog by chance only to find myself sticking around for a long time
Keep doing what you do! I support your task and every thing you post I take the time to read, its the least I can do for you taking the time to do research and post it for us. Coupon project is a part of my daily routine online and I think its magical what you do for readers. I can honestly say you have saved me more then a buck or two! Honesty goes further in my book.
Brilliant post. When I really started getting into the meat of my blog and learning about affiliate offers and monetization, I realized how often I had been led astray in the past. HOT deals, “Amazon non-deals” (HA!) and outrageous shipping costs that aren’t disclosed until I’ve spent 3 hours buying a voucher and trying to find something I want. I think one of the main reasons I became a blogger was because I loved a truly good deal and wanted others to feel the same, without being led down the wrong path.
Thanks for sharing your heart. As always, you are one in a million!
Thanks Melody!! I know that others share my viewpoints here, too! I know you are one of them.
(Hint to everyone else: Yeah, you all pretty much need to be reading Melody’s blog.)
Thanks for the plug, your referral is worth it’s weight in gold.
Both of your blogs are gold! I so appreciate the personal feel and slightly different spin each of them has. You’re willingness to be so transparent in your thoughts and actions is comforting (makes me want to find and click on all you’re affliate links!!!)
LOL!! Thank you Brenda!!
Thank you Brenda, that is so sweet! Reminds me of a conversation I had with my youngest brother. He asked me if I made any money blogging since I spend so much time doing it, so I was explaining to him a little how it works. He told me he wanted to get on my blog every day and click on all my ads. Of course, I steered him away from that idea, but I thought it was so sweet nonetheless.
Note to self: When you are leaving a comment, please remember to spell your own name right. My name is NOT Melodoy.
Thanks, Angela! I have to admit that I didn’t realize until this post that the links to the coupons or daily deals were generating revenue. Makes me wonder if you could give the link through Swagbucks and earn some swag?
Also, you forgot the main reason why I love your blog best: you’re funny!
Danyelle, hi there! Yes those links do generate revenue! It’s a great way to support blogs you love while still getting the same coupons.
If you already have a Swagbucks account, it won’t earn me anything if you print your coupons from there (but that’s A OK!) If you don’t have a Swagbucks account, here’s my referral ID:
http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/TheCouponer
And thanks for your last comment….made me smile.
Thanks Angela! What you shared is exactly why I read and appreciate your blog so much…..also love the fact that you are in my “neck of the woods”
Ang, you are an inspiration! Your s
Ang, you are one savvy blogger. The thoughtful & intelligent way you’ve gone about your blogging journey has been an inspriation to me-not to mention all the things I’ve learned by watching you conduct business with class and integrity. I’m so blessed to call you friend, oh, and bloggy godmother. hahahaha <3
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