Promote play by playing, encouraging others to play, and sharing our experiences.
That is my goal. It's been my goal since starting this blog. This is my life. I love to play. Just ask my family, I talk about it all the time: new playgrounds, cool crafts, neat people who share my obsession with the outdoors, and on and on and on. My goal is not to "make a million" or "trick people into ordering stuff where I'll make a profit." I always say I get paid in pennies and smiles.
So why advertise at all?
- To cover expenses, like: hosting and domain fees, design and maintenance fees, legal fees, and spreading the word about the blog. If there's any leftover, I donate to local parenting clubs and/or our favorite non-profits promoting play. Only after those costs are covered, do funds go to reimburse the cost of gas and my writing time over the past year and a half. I'm very conscious of improving the site and making it better for you. That's my priority.
- To build community. I think small businesses in our community should have an affordable way to reach their target customers. I like to buy local -- but sometimes I don't even know where to begin. These businesses support play and it makes me happy to support them.
- To make it easy for you. Third party affiliate links came about because I sometimes talk about a product and want to provide a link. I use all of our affiliates myself. In fact, I'd say I'm a dedicated customer to each. If I were telling my friends about the Big Green Machine, I'd send them an e-mail with an Amazon link to the product so they could get the details. It's the same scenario here. If you like something I write about you can click over. Or not. If you do purchase something through my blog then a very small percentage comes back to me for the referral. And I mean VERY small.
Most importantly, I report my honest opinion no matter who my friends are or what freebies or perks I get. I encourage you to read my full disclosure policy here. There's always a link in the footer of every page.
You are the best. Thanks for reading! See you outdoors.
Michele
Photo courtesy of our friends Mali (Mali Workman Photography) and Noel (Bosh Images).
