Time vs Money

I've harped on a many a times on the blog about how I'm time poor, about how I feel under pressure to do everything, be everything.

If I'm really honest I put this pressure on myself.  And I am accepting that I can't do everything.

One of those things that nags at me constantly is blogging.

I love to blog.

I really love it, it's my hobby and I'd be at a loss without it, even though, I have a million other things I could be doing.

But we're all entitled to find time in our lives to do something we love.... right?

Thing is, with all this time pressure, I need to make sure that I am doing what I love.

For some time now there has been a lot of debate in the Oz Blog Community about being paid to blog vs Businesses / PR Agencies trying to get you to work with them for nothing.

I haven't waged into this debate because I class myself as a 'small time' blogger.  But the reality is, regardless of size, if you're a blogger and you work with PR companies you're impacting the environment.

This tweet from Zoey hit's the nail on the head:

@carlyfindlay if everyone just stopped doing stuff for free for 3-6 months the whole environment would change
— Zoey Martin (@goodgoogs) April 28, 2012

How true is this.  I am a blogger who has been grateful for being contacted, grateful that someone feels my blog is worth the attention.

But now I need more.  Not because I'm greedy but because I have a lot going on in my life and I need what I do to be of value.

My blog is a happy place for me, I want it to continue to be a source of joy for me and hopefully for those that stop by.  I already made a decision to not blog about food products and only do giveaways for stuff that I'd seriously love to win (hence my readers too).

However, I'm a bit over stuff.  Stuff, just like time can bring you down.

So here's the point of all this ramble:

I am no longer going to do giveaways or reviews on this blog unless they are paid posts.  I still believe I am PR friendly, I'm happy to review products and do giveaways, but my time and my blog does not come for free.

What does that mean for my reader?

I probably won't be doing the giveaways that I have done in the past, because just like the tweet above suggests, these PR companies and businesses will probably not come back to me, rather go to another blogger who is willing to do it for free.

I am OK with this.  I have so many other things to consume my time.

And you never know, if someone likes my blog 'enough' they may be willing to discuss sponsored posts / sponsorship.

Otherwise you're stuck with me and my words, about life, about family, about my general antics.  That was why I came here in the first place, anything beyond that is a bonus, but it has to be a bonus for my family as well as my readers.

I hope you'll stick around for the ride.

Mandy