Principled or Pushover? Marketing, products and standards

Your blog is your brand. Your audience expects your voice. You've probably been asked to review a product on your blog. You may have also been asked to join an ad network or become an affiliate. But what standards do you use evaluate such requests? Do you simply accept all comers? Have you established what you will and will not do with respect to product reviews, ads, affiliates, etc. to stay consistent with your voice and brand, and to keep your audicence satisfied? If your blog is focused on frugal living, does the product have to provide some cost savings? If you are a green blogger, how do you vet products - is it the packaging, the ingredients, energy consumption? Are you selling out if you accept advertising inconsistent with your blog's message?

If you have a standard for product reviews/advertising, the how do you verify that the company/product meets that standard? What about liability? What obligation does the blogger have to her readers to undertake that verification? What if she is wrong? Does she have liability under the Federal Trade Commission's guidelines for false statements?
 
And, can a blogger force change by adopting standards? If a group of bloggers collectively adopt certain standards, could they force companies to change? Can bloggers compel change?

Or are we all just pushovers? Ready to write for free product, regardless of the product or company.

Jennifer Taggart, attorney, author, blogger and consultant from TheSmartMama.com, Beth Terry from FakePlasticFish.com and Micaela Preston from Mindful Momma will lead the discussion.

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