I wrote this post last summer but thought I’d re-share in case you’ve got questions! If you’re wondering about those “best of” lists you see in beauty magazines and websites being legit, or maybe you’re wondering why the bloggers you follow are always offering you “affiliate links” – I’ll help you understand why!
Hello friends! I’m writing to you from the lovely Residence Inn in Stillwater, Oklahoma where Brent is doing some training for his new job. I decided to drive up yesterday to spend the evening with him and now I’ve got a couple of hours of quiet time to work before I head home to Indy!
Yesterday on my Facebook page I shared a link to an article about anti-aging products and had a good comment from my friend (and former roommate), Rachel! She asked about the validity of that type of list, wondering if it was truly a list of products editors and the writers liked, or if it was merely a big advertisement. My thoughts are that it’s probably a legit list, but that they’ll make $$ off any purchases people make through the links they provide.
This got me thinking, as someone who also writes those type of product-heavy lists or posts on occasion, I wanted to clear up a little bit on how I go about this blog! I know in the internet world it can be disheartening to find bloggers you like and trust and then feel like they’re suddenly pushing ads and sponsored products down your throat. Let me explain a little about my process.
First, I started this blog as a companion to my styling work. I was working a full-time job that I hated. (No offense to the company or my great co-workers, it just wasn’t for me.) I wanted a creative outlet and since I was still doing styling part-time at that point I thought it would be a fun project. I wasn’t looking to become a “big” blogger or make lots of money, it was just something fun.
But JK Style (and Splendry) are “monetized”, and here’s what that means for me:
Affiliate links
When I post about a product I like or use or want to try, I might use an affiliate link to share it. That just means the website I link to has my referral code in it and if someone purchases that product I might earn a commission. This is usually a very small percentage. Example, someone bought a hair dryer off of this post and I earned about $2.
Someone bought a pair of Crocs from this Splendry post and I made 88 cents. Now clearly some bloggers with hundreds of thousands of followers or more, are making MUCH more than 88 cents, but uh, I’m not on that level!
Also, sometimes I don’t have an affiliate link so I just post a regular link and won’t earn anything off of sharing a product link. My point is to share the stuff I’m actually using and into and if there’s a link fine, but if not, I’ll share it anyway!
Sponsored posts
I haven’t done a ton of sponsored posts for JK Style (a little more on Splendry), but I am open to doing them. This just means I do a blog or social media post on a particular product. Again, I only do posts that are 1) relevant to this site – (I’m not going to start doing food posts on here) and 2) related to products I would actually use or try.
An example of this would be when I was a Dryel ambassador for a year. I tried their product and wrote a post each quarter for a year. This was relevant to what I already write about (clothing and clothing care), and it was a product I already would use and try. I actually still use those Dryel products now so it was a good fit for me.
I’ve definitely turned down work that didn’t fit this site – things like health products or super expensive clothing brands or products that don’t fit my own lifestyle.
Ads
You might notice a few ads on the side of the page, I make a few cents just for people scrolling by them and a few cents more if someone clicks on them. They *should* be similar to the content I post – beauty or fashion-focused, but occasionally there’s a glitch and it’s a an ad for a truck or something, who knows. :)
When it comes to sharing affiliate links or a sponsored post I’ll always share that disclosure. For one thing it’s the law. I have to tell you if I received a product for free or am using an affiliate link, but I hope you don’t think that makes my using it less authentic!
So, what’s the point of sharing this with you? I just figured that since I do share product reviews and am always telling you about things I like or have heard about that I want you to know I’m not just pushing product to earn money. The things I write about or share come from a genuine place but the affiliate links or occasional sponsored posts are there to help offset my costs of running this site. I have to pay for my domain name, website hosting, tech-y stuff and keep Indy flush with diapers and eczema cream, so that’s why they’re there.
Thanks for reading this long talk and I appreciate your support!!
Originally published July 18, 2019
