Due to the fact that the FTC has changed its guidelines for bloggers in March 2013 and that I have started doing more reviews and affiliate programs, I felt that a disclosure policy was needed.
At the beginning of any post that needs to be linked to the disclosure policy you will see something like:
Purchased (with own money)/Received as a Gift
This blurb may not be used all the time, however, it essentially means that the product being reviewed was either bought with my own money or received as a gift from someone not affiliated with the company. For example; my hubby, my mother-in-law, a friend, my grandmother, a blogging friend, in a swap, etc.
Sent for Review
Posts with this bbutton contain items that I was sent to give my honest review on. My reviews are 100% honest, my own, and never influenced by the company. That being said, I do not agree to review every product I am approached about. For example, I am not a mother therefore my reviewing a stroller would not be beneficial to myself, the blog, or the company so I would choose not to review that product.
Affiliate Links
Posts with this button contain links that when clicked I get referral bonuses or credits. These can include credit or points for just clicking links or for signing up for a service. This does not cost you anything extra.
Sponsored Posts
If this button is in a post that means that a company contacted me to write about either them, their products, or services. After writing about the company I will be compensated with either products, money, or something similar but only AFTER the post is written. Therefore this type of post is different from a Sent for Review post where I was given the product to review before writing the post. I mention this because sometimes I may do a Sponsored Post for a company and may not have actually gotten my hands on the product yet.
Received in Subscription Box
If this button is in a post that means that the product being reviewed is one that I received in a subscription box. I was not paid by either the subscription company or the company of that particular product to review the product. If I received the subscription box that the particular product was received in to review this does not pertain to or effect the review of the product. All products with this button are reviewed with my 100% honest opinion and for no compensation.
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure
Southeast by Midwest is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com
Comment Policy
All comments left on Southeast by Midwest are moderated for quality control. We do not believe in censorship, however, we do this in an effort to make our site a safe and enjoyable experience for all. Because of this, the following types of comments will NOT be approved for public viewing:
- Comments that are obviously spam
- Comments with unrelated content (not actively discussing the product / book / topic being discussed)
- Comments with inflammatory content about a person, idea, or brand. Note: debate and discussion of likes and dislikes is perfectly acceptable; slurs, slander / libel, and personal attacks about anyone’s gender / race / orientation / alleged activities are not acceptable.
- Comments bashing another commenter because of their opinions or views
- Comments selling products to the author or other commenters (i.e. “You liked this lipstick then you’ll love my [Insert Direct Sale Item] here’s a link”)
- Comments meant to post / click jack (i.e. “Here’s another link for this item” or “I reviewed this as well, here’s my link”)
- Comments with expletives or sexually charged language
Note that it can take up to 48 hours for comments to be approved, however, if after 48 hours you do not see your comment and you feel that your comment was moderated without cause, feel free to contact us at southeastbymidwestblog [at] gmail [dot] com with “Moderated Comment” as the Subject. Please allow an additional 48 hours for emails to be responded to as we look into your comment.
Thank you for your understanding.