To review or not review....that is the question

Being in the wonderful tutu making biz I am in...and being fairly new to selling online........I have been approached several times to do a "review/giveaway" on a mommy blog. What is this "mommy blog" and how would this work?

I have been promoting Sugarbeez through my online shop and through the boutique Candid Gifts but I still needed a little more exposure. So I decided to pay for some on a site called Mom Made That! This is where I was asked if I wanted to participate in "reviews/giveaways". Not knowing what that meant....I went straightway to the forms on Etsy and found mixed...ummm..reviews about these mommy blogs. Some of the artists who had participated in a blog had gotten burned, strung around, and not really taken seriously. They were promised a review on a certain date which didn't happen....or a write up which was less than a paragraph. But some said that being on a blog helped their business and got their names to many who they themselves could not reach. I weighed the risks. If I sent a product to a "reviewer" and they gave me a less than wonderful review or worse...complained....it would be out in cyber space FOREVER. If I went along, put my love and heart into a tutu and sent it....only to get a review that really should have been an email of thanks....I would be crushed.

So I proceeded with caution. I am not yet big enough to sent out my tutus for free to a lot of people and the cost for things like shipping and packages and boxes...not to mention my keep bags and materials...were all on me! But the cost to advertise with some blogs is a monthly bill and/or/plus a per-click...YIKES!!!! So in the long run it was cheaper and, I have to say, a tad bit scary-er to send it. So I did and waited. Would the family love or hate it? Would it fit? had I written down the measurements correctly....or send it to the right address? My tummy in knots....I waited for a response. I choose three reviewers to write a little something and one giveaway. To my surprise...and total excitement.....my first one came in today. I actually started to cry when I read what she wrote and how excited her little girl was to receive her tutu in the mail. Then....hours later.....still walking on cloud nine....I read it to my mom (BTW she is my best friend and most supportive person) and then read her the comments and cried...again!!!!


Thank you to Flying Giggles & Lollipops for a job very well done and the most awesome review a small business could get!!! She did such a wonderfully beautiful job and I am so honored she choose Sugarbeez Tutus to review out of ALL of the talented tutu makers out there!!! I am so pleased that your sweet baby girl LOVED her tutu! The pictures she has posted are just too cute of her little girl doing what little girls do best in tutus......become a fairy or princess or...in this case.....Abby Cadabby.

Thank you!