Why Ethics Matter
I’m sure we all have a good handful of businesses, companies, and brands that we feel are just…ew. For nothing else than their over the top “corporate bullcrap” and rote statements.
I’m with you all. I love transparency, openness, and honesty. Good ethics.
I once heard from someone close to me that
Integrity is what you do especially when nobody else is watching.
And while I’d love to be able to let you see any agreements or deals made between me and other companies, that’s just not possible 100% of the time.
So in an effort to make sure I’m as open and honest as I can be below is a list of promises from me to you about how I handle any sponsorships, promotions, or even follower shout-outs.
For any brand wanting to work with me, sponsor, or otherwise partner up please read the following. If you aren’t ok with these terms then you’ll have to find another person to sponsor 🙂
Ethics Policy
- All content I make on my socials is made 100% by me. I don’t hire outside help to make posts, edit content, or write blogs. While doing so would free up time I want to make sure that anything I made for you and the community is by me, said by me, and has 0 chance of accidental or purposeful agenda “spillover” from anyone else.
- There are times where I will hire out other freelancers, especially for client services. As an example, I hire out voice over talent to help create and produce high quality intros/outros for podcasts. I do this because
- I don’t have the talent as a voice artist
- I want to make sure what I make for clients is TOP quality! 🙂
- Any posts on social platforms that highlight or shout-out community members have explicit permission beforehand. I will never post content from others without permission and when I do re-post this content I make sure to add links to anything the creator would like linked to.
- I will always let you know if a product or service is being promoted/sponsored. Or if I mention a product or service and it’s NOT sponsored, I’ll be clear on that, too.
- Any content I make can be referenced or linked to but it cannot be re-uploaded without my permission. In the case of YouTube, I license music out from different services so if you illegally re-upload my video enjoy the copyright claim from the musical artist. They appreciate the extra advertisement of their awesome work 🙂
- Just because I’m asked to review a service or product doesn’t mean I’m an authority or extremely knowledgeable about it. If I find something that I don’t understand about it I’ll do my best to find the answer.
- About my “Affiliate” page. Yes, I have one. I figured it’d be easier for people wanting to know more about services and products I use to have it all neatly gathered somewhere they can see it. I only have services and products there that I’ve used and really enjoy. You’re free to check them out and use them/buy them yourself. Full disclosure, if you do purchase anything using those links I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Or you can see what I use, google it, and buy it that way with no link! Totally your call! Right now all product links are through Amazon Affiliate but I guarantee you can probably find it cheaper through other sites like Sweetwater or BHPhoto. So shop around and get the best deal for you! 🙂
- Good reviews by me ARE NOT FOR SALE! Whenever I review a product or service it’s because I either
- Used it myself and think it’s freaking amazing
- I’ve talked with a close trusted friend about the product or service and I think it can help others
- I think it’s a great, mostly cheaper alternative to some of the higher name-brand products or services. Again, those that I’ve either used myself or know someone I trust who promote it.
- I will not promote anything just because a company pays to have it sponsored. If a company or brand asks me to promote anything they must do so under the following understanding:
- If I think your product or service is garbage I will say so. Just because you pay for a review/demo or send a free item doesn’t mean I’ll sing your praises. If you’re confident enough in your product or service this won’t be an issue 🙂
- I’ll explain pros and cons to everything! Just because I think something is useful doesn’t mean I won’t find or think of ways to make it better.
- I will not make any statements against the company or brand. Any reviews or opinions are strictly on the product or service and not the company or brand as a whole.
- I refuse to send “pre-edits” of reviews for approval. When you agree to a sponsor deal you get what you get, 100% honesty.
- I understand that companies or brands want links back to their products or services being promoted and I’m more than happy to do that. But I do retain full control of what is linked to and if any link is immoral, deceitful, etc. it won’t be posted.
- Views, click-through rates, purchases, or any other metric from a sponsor is not guaranteed and cannot, or will not, be estimated. People can make their own choice based on the review and if they don’t buy it then they don’t buy it. Welcome to marketing. 🙂
- I’m in control over my own content schedule. I understand if a product or service is coming out and you want creators to promote it, and I’m happy to work with you, but I won’t accept payment or other perks for moving you up sooner in the queue.
- If I’m sent a free product or service that doesn’t mean I’ll make any content about the item. While I appreciate the gesture and initiative, a review is not promised unless discussed beforehand with an agreement to these terms
- There are times where I will hire out other freelancers, especially for client services. As an example, I hire out voice over talent to help create and produce high quality intros/outros for podcasts. I do this because
- I don’t have the talent as a voice artist
- I want to make sure what I make for clients is TOP quality! 🙂
- Any posts on social platforms that highlight or shout-out community members have explicit permission beforehand. I will never post content from others without permission and when I do re-post this content I make sure to add links to anything the creator would like linked to.
- I will always let you know if a product or service is being promoted/sponsored. Or if I mention a product or service and it’s NOT sponsored, I’ll be clear on that, too.
- Any content I make can be referenced or linked to but it cannot be re-uploaded without my permission. In the case of YouTube, I license music out from different services so if you illegally re-upload my video enjoy the copyright claim from the musical artist. They appreciate the extra advertisement of their awesome work 🙂
- Just because I’m asked to review a service or product doesn’t mean I’m an authority or extremely knowledgeable about it. If I find something that I don’t understand about it I’ll do my best to find the answer.
- About my “Affiliate” page. Yes, I have one. I figured it’d be easier for people wanting to know more about services and products I use to have it all neatly gathered somewhere they can see it. I only have services and products there that I’ve used and really enjoy. You’re free to check them out and use them/buy them yourself. Full disclosure, if you do purchase anything using those links I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Or you can see what I use, google it, and buy it that way with no link! Totally your call! Right now all product links are through Amazon Affiliate but I guarantee you can probably find it cheaper through other sites like Sweetwater or BHPhoto. So shop around and get the best deal for you! 🙂
Thank You!
Thank you for taking time to read all this. I really value the community I’m building and I want to make sure that what I do is entirely for their benefit.
While I work with a lot of content creators and am happy to refer items that may help in their journey I’m not going to sell them out for a quick buck. If I think it’ll really help them, truthfully, then I’ll promote it. If not, then no.
No exceptions to this.
I will never guide someone to buy anything they don’t really need.
To my community members and clients out there please know I have you in mind with everything I do here.
This list definitely doesn’t cover every scenario and I may update this in the future. But I want you to know that, from creator to creator, I have your back!
~Sean Crone
