Trust Me; I’m A Blogger

BlogHer 2010 swag (Photo credit: jen_rab)

BlogHer published the results of their annual survey yesterday.

What they learned:

• More women buy based on recommendations from blogs than from Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.

Didn’t I tell you to shop at Tesco at five-thirty on a Saturday evening?  I’ll keep saying that until they upset me (and they will:  I’m the world’s worst shopper and easily offended). 

That’s no good to my American readers, of course, who make up more than half of my audience; or my European readers, who make up another fraction that isn’t quite a quarter but is fairly substantial; or the one person from St Kitts and Nevis (you know who you are) – none of whom have a local Tesco at which to shop (yet: as Tesco’s campaign for world domination grows, powered by almost-out-of-date stock being sold at ridiculously low prices to the joy of cash-strapped bloggers, they might eventually succeed). 

BlogHer tell us:

More than 61 percent of active blog readers in the U.S. say they have made purchases based on a blog recommendation.

Not from this blog, you haven’t; unless it was of the two anthologies in which I have a poem.  Can’t see either of those being a huge hit with my Mongolian reader (you know who you are). 

Image via Wikipedia

I don’t really blog about the stuff I buy, because I don’t really buy anything.  The Hub says that’s one of the things he loves about me – my lack of materialism.  Chance would be a fine thing: one of the things I don’t love about him is his lack of money.

But I shouldn’t complain; I get great Christmas presents (President’s balls, anyone?).

BlogHer go on to say:

Blogs Won the Trust Test –  The blog review was ranked the most trustworthy by both women online and the BlogHer community […] We believe think the survey makes the case that blog conversations are the single best use of marketing and advertising dollars by brands that want to grow their reach to women online […] We believe this action is being driven by the high level of trust within the community, which is reinforced by the length and depth of the conversational format available on blogs and in blog comments.

Putting it into terms I can understand: you trust me because we talk to each other via comments, in which you tell me my butt is big and I’m bonkers. 

Image via Wikipedia

I can believe think why that works.

They finish with this recommendation:

So to marketers and advertisers seeking the powerful audience of women online, we ask this: Do you want more confidence that your relevant messages will actually convert into action? If so, we recommend you talk with bloggers.

I have to agree, so here’s my own message to advertisers:

Use me.  Send me free stuff and I’ll blog about it.  Honest.  Ly. 

You can trust me: I’m a blogger.

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POSTSCRIPT

I missed a trick: with that blatant request for free stuff, I should have finished this post with, ‘Trust me; I’m a blagger.’

Publish in haste; repent at leisure.