Thoughts on Sponsored Posts

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Lately I've become somewhat disenchanted with the blog world. I don't know if it's because we're headed into the holidays or it's jealousy on my part, but I feel like every. single. blog post. I've read lately has been sponsored by a brand or bloggers are wearing outfits totally composed of c/o items. It's annoying. I'm reading blogs because I want to see that person's personal take on fashion or life or whatever, not be subjected to constant advertising. I feel like the blogging industry has become less about personal expression and creativity and more about who can collaborate with the biggest brand.

I know that I personally am a very product-heavy blog, but I'm not compensated for anything that I post, ever. I choose items and images based solely on the fact that I love it, would personally wear it, and would personally buy it if I was out shopping (and had an unlimited budget). I've thought about how I could possibly make money from What Kate Likes in the future, but I actually prefer my blog to be more of an outlet for myself rather than a money-making business. I think that once I started to turn my blog into more of a business rather than just a creative outlet I'd actually start to hate blogging. I prefer the freedom to feature whatever I want, whenever I want and to not be tied to certain brands or ideas.

I definitely understand that sponsored posts are how bigger blogs make money, and it's great for them that they're so successful and have been able to form partnerships with these brands. To me at least, it sometimes feels like every "c/o" is being thrown out there as a way of saying "look at me, I'm so successful, I've partnered with X brand and I've been given Y, am I not just the greatest?" I get annoyed reading posts that are like "I was sent this product by this company and I just love it and have worn/used/enjoyed it every single minute since I've gotten it!"...it comes off as a little inauthentic.

Then again, I think that maybe some of my annoyance with these posts is sheer jealousy. What Kate Likes is still a baby-sized blog, with nothing even remotely close to the readership of bigger blogs. It's very easy to feel like a teeny tiny plankton-sized fish in an ocean of blogs. I know that I don't put nearly the amount of work into my blog as others out there do, so I don't expect to see the same sort of results that they get...but even if I did, would I get recognition? Is the blog market overly saturated already? Is it even possible to "stand out" in the blog world, due to the overwhelming sameness of blogs? Is blogging and the possibility of becoming the next It Blog worth all the time and trouble?

These thoughts are very similar to ones I addressed here...and I know that a lot of you read a ton of the same blogs I do, so I'm very interested in your thoughts as well, specifically people who write blogs that aren't as fashion-oriented as mine...what do you think?