On Transparency and Blog Integrity

Hey guys! I’m popping in with a little update because I want to be completely transparent with my readers and because my blog integrity means a lot to me.

I blog because I love it. Blogging inspires me to take photographs, make projects, learn new recipes and to document my life in an organized and creative way. I enjoy sharing my passions and obsessions with my readers and I have been blown away by the community around blogging. I love connecting with new people all over the world that I wouldn’t be able to otherwise.

But remember, my ‘real job’ is a freelance graphic designer and while I LOVE blogging, it takes a lot of time away from paid opportunities. For my first two years of blogging I held off on accepting advertisers, sponsors and affiliates because it was important to me that these things didn’t influence my content. I wanted to concentrate on creating unique ideas and giving the blog time to develop. Once the blog was on a steady track I opened it up to sponsorships. For me, this was less about making a few dollars and more about building great relationships in the web world and allowing me to share these new friends with you!

You may have noticed that, in addition to my sponsor spotlight posts, I have joined some advertising networks. This means occasional sponsored posts. Sponsored posts allow me to dedicate more time towards this blog and create original and unique content for you guys! I always have and always will continue to post things I can honestly stand behind. I will never post about something that is not relevant to me or my readers or let compensation influence my special space.

I know there are a lot of people who don’t think blogs should accept compensation and I have so much respect for bloggers who put their time and energy into creating content without having advertisers. I did that for years, but now that I am transforming this blog from a hobby into a part of my business, I now understand the value of these types of opportunities.

I truly enjoy what I do and feel extremely lucky everyday. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to email me and you can read my official Privacy Policy and Disclosure here.

xo Ciera