A couple of weeks ago, I found myself in the fun situation of having the two things I write most about (parenting and online marketing), converging. Over on the Tamar blog, I wrote a post about how great the BBC were when dealing with the negative feedback they received on their social media profiles (“BBC / Cbeebies in social customer services WIN“) – and now I’m turning the table the other way, as I want to cover some of things we bloggers get asked to do by marketers (like me).

If you’ve ever blogged yourself (so to speak), or even if you’re just a regular reader, you’ll know that there are a number of ways that the corporate world like to get involved with bloggers. Naturally, as a blogger (particularly the popular ones), marketers know that you have a ready-made audience that they’d love to tap in to. So sooner or later, you’re going to be approached by either a savvy PR person, a social media marketer or possibly even a brand themselves, asking you to do something in partnership with them.

I’ve written previously about a scheme I’m a big fan of, the “Blog Pitching Symbol” – a badge which tells potential partners (or unwanted approachers) whether you do or don’t like to be contacted about things like this. But once you have decided to make your blog “open to offers”, where do you draw the line?

I’m very keen to hear from other bloggers where they draw the line – though I can obviously tell you where my own personal line sits:

• Reviews – I’m more than happy to review products that are appropriate to my blog and audience, though I never guarantee that the review will be positive. Here’s a tip for the marketers on the topic of reviews: If you send me something, I’d really like to keep it. Let’s face it, you can afford it – and getting a free item is the least you expect when you take time to review a product (at least in my opinion!)
• Sponsored posts – I recently got asked to write my first sponsored post, and after much consideration I accepted. The people who asked me were very transparent about the process, insisted I mark it very clearly as being sponsored, and I felt that the topic was relevant both to me and my friends – so I went ahead. But I certainly wouldn’t ever take a sponsorship offer that asked me to keep the sponsorship a secret.
• Advertising – I suspect this is probably the biggest no-brainer for most bloggers, as there are very few websites out there these days which DON’T have ads on – so why should you be missing out? I’ve never been asked to advertise on my blog so far, but I’d definitely consider it…
• Links – As somebody with a wealth of experience in the complexities of SEO, I’m very aware of the value to be had for brands from link-building on relevant site. I’ve not sold any links to date (and doubt I would), though I’m always happy to add links to relevant sites when writing posts – indeed, I encourage my guest posters to include a link to their own sites in their bio. It’s the least I could do, in my opinion!
• Guest posting – As regular readers will know, I’m very keen on accepting guest posts from other parents or bloggers, and have had some great submissions in the past year, for which I’m very grateful. But lately I’ve noticed a trend of marketers contacting me to offer up guest posts, presumably for the SEO benefit. I’m actually not averse to this, PROVIDING the content is unique, relevant and written especially for my blog. I’ve had a couple of people lately offering me “free” content on completely irrelevant subjects – and worse still, acting like they’re doing me a favour. No thank you, crappy marketer – move along.

So those are my current opinions, and I consider them reasonably fair – but in talking to friends and readers about the things I HAVE accepted to date, I’m well aware that different people have their moral compass set at different angles – so I’m very keen to hear what other bloggers think… Let me know in the comments, or tweet me!

Here’s a sentence I never imagined I’d say five years ago: I’ve recently been giving quite a bit of thought to the fundamental differences between Thomas the Tank Engine and Chuggington…

Before you start worrying for my sanity, I should clarify – I’m not a train spotter, and haven’t been putting any (okay, much) thought in to the logistics of a train with a face. No, I’m talking about the main differences between the two shows – which might explain why I find one much more preferable than the other.
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This is a sponsored post on behalf of British Gas

I was recently contacted by British Gas asking if I’d like help spread the message about smart meters via my blog – slightly different to the usual feedback I get from my blog, I must admit. But one that certainly intrigued me. As a big fan of British Gas (provided you ask me before my bill arrives, ha ha) and an even bigger fan of energy saving, I was more than happy to help out.
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As you’ll know if you’re a regular reader of my blog, The Octonauts are extremely popular in our household. With the US launch of the show happening this week on the Disney Channel, I thought now was a good time to celebrate our favourite kids TV show with a bit of a fun quiz.

So without further ado, here are 40 questions – some easy, some a little more difficult, some only for the die-hard Octo-fans amongst us…
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I still remember the first time my father discussed the subject of sex with me. I was fourteen years old and it was clear that my father had no idea of what I was going through.

I had returned home from a summer vacation camp. Together with fifty teenagers I had been locked into a house to discuss drugs, sex, love, friendship and so forth with a group of professionals. We had not been allowed to leave the premises but we could do pretty much what we wanted inside, and most importantly, we could speak about what concerned us at the time.
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If you’re the type of person who likes to keep a-breast of the latest business news, you’ll doubtless be aware that lingerie chain La Senza is close to going bust, possibly due to sagging profits. Other possible reasons for the announcement have been speculated, including: A lack of support from share holders; A depletion of capital in their war chest; PR coverage dropping to little more than a handful of stories; Or simply plunging interest in the market.

Initial reports suggested administration was being sought, though recent brief updates have suggested store closures is the worst it could go – uplifting news for lingerie fans, who are keen to clutch any good news to their bosom in these confusing times.
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I know the festive season is now drawing to a close, so I should probably save this post for next year, but hey – I’m far too impatient for that. So instead, consider this the germ of an idea that I might well turn in to reality by next Christmas…

As is probably traditional in a lot of family households, the lead-up to the festive season included a couple of attempts at taking Robert to “meet” Father Chrismtas at one of his local hide-outs.

Our first attempt was what we assumed would be a sure-fire bet for a good Santa – John Lewis in Reading. We’d seen it advertised in a number of places, and I don’t mind admitting my first thought was “John Lewis is a classy-enough store – they’re bound to have a good Santa’s Grotto”. Read the rest of this entry »

As we come hurtling towards the end of 2012, full of Christmas cheer and festive spirit, I wanted to take a moment to thank all the people that regularly read my blog – and those of you who have contributed guest blog posts to it in the past 12 months.

As well as marking the end of the year, this time also marks the end of my first year as a “Daddy Blogger”, so I’m very pleased to have made it this far. If you follow me online, you’ll know I’ve been blogging for a lot longer than a year – both on the Tamar blog and various other projects. But my decision to ‘rebrand’ myself as a more niche type of blogger on my own blog has been a good one (in my opinion) and I’m pleased with what I’ve achieved in 2011.

As well as over 100 blog posts, I’ve had 18 lovely guest posts from both friends and strangers alike. I’ve had at least one of my posts published in a book but more importantly I’ve made a host of new friends in the wider “daddy blogger” community. It’s been a good year.

Looking ahead to 2012, I’m planning for a lot more of the same. If you’d like to write a guest post for the blog, I always welcome contributions – drop me an email or tweet me. I’m also hoping it’s going to be the year when I finally get around to having my own book published – as well as of course being a year full of lots more fatherhood fun and games.

Anyway, I’ll save you the soppy “Thank you” messages to friends and family – if you’ve read this blog or supported me this year, you’ll doubtless already know that I love you all.

All that remains is for me to wish you all a…

Happy Christmas!

…and a wonderful New Year – here’s to a great 2012!

I should probably start this post with a disclaimer – a sort of “Spoiler Alert” for those of a sensitive disposition: If you have somehow stumbled upon this blog post and you are under the age of 10, please don’t read any further. It’s for your own good, trust me.

(You might laugh, but I don’t THINK my blog will have gotten on to any school-based blacklists yet, and I know how much kids are encouraged to use computers at school these days – spoiling a young child’s Christmas is the last thing I want to do, after all!)
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I was originally planning to post a video with this piece, but modern life appears to have put a dampner on those plans – something I had previously thought was just a joke fuelled by Daily Mail readers turned out to be true: You really can’t put pictures of other people’s children on the internet anymore.

Yesterday was an exciting day for my wife and I – Robert’s class at pre-school were doing a small Christmas “show” for the parents, singing Christmassy songs and wearing little Christmas hats they had made. Needless to say, we were VERY excited about this – as it seems other parents were too, as the room was packed.
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