As you all know, I have been talking to bloggers, publishers, and public relations agents alike to find out what really happens in the world of blogging. Recently, I had a chance to chat with the Anne Houseman, editor-in-chief of beautyXpose, a site dedicated to providing its reader with the latest beauty news, helpful tips and product reviews, while encouraging participation for an interactive visitor experience. Anne is also the Boston Beauty and Style Examiner for Examiner.com, and her works have been featured in leading publications such as New York magazine online and Splendicity.com.
Q. What made you want to become a blogger?
Anne: For the past 15 years, friends and family have been asking me questions about beauty products, what they should and shouldn’t do to get glowing skin and how to stay up on the hottest fashion trends. I figured I’d combine my professional journalism training with my passion for beauty and team up with my colleague Kristin Bassett to create BeautyXpose. We wanted to provide a venue where people could get honest product reviews and useful how-tos alongside some tongue-in-cheek features like “The Bald and the Beautiful,” where we photoshop celebrities bald and ask readers to vote if they’re beautiful…or just bald.
Q. How long have you been blogging?
Anne: We’re coming up on BeautyXpose’s one year anniversary in January.
Q. What is the best thing about being a blogger?
Anne: Getting comments from readers — both in agreement and in disagreement — is extremely rewarding. It indicates that what I’m writing is really of value to people, even if they don’t necessarily agree with what I’m saying! I just really enjoy the interaction.
Q. What about the worst?
Anne: Sometimes, it can feel like you’re speaking to no one. Even when I know people are reading, I’d really love to see more comments so I can get to know their thoughts too.
Q. What is your ‘routine’ for researching and testing products?
Anne: We have a few fantastic contributors at BeautyXpose, and all of us are beauty and fashion junkies at heart. That means many times you can find us scouring the aisles at Sephora and the other department store beauty counters. Sometimes, we write about products we’ve purchased ourselves. Other times, PR representatives from beauty brands reach out to us and tell us all about their latest products and send samples. It really just depends. Rest assured, unless we’ve indicated otherwise, we’ve tested the products we write about personally, so you’re getting our true thoughts about them — not just what the brand or a website says about them (unless, of course, we agree!).
Q. Will this routine change now that the FTC’s Blogging Rules are in effect?
Anne: Our routine isn’t changing one bit. The only thing we’ve done is add a disclaimer to the bottom of posts where we’ve received samples so that it now indicates as such.
Q. How do you feel about this ruling? Do you think it’s a necessary measure?
Anne: From my perspective, I think readers are savvy enough to tell when a blogger’s opinion has been swayed by a brand — and trust me, a free sample of lip gloss isn’t going to make most bloggers gush about the product if it isn’t up to snuff. It simply isn’t the same thing as true advertisement (bloggers can’t pay their mortgage with free lip gloss), so most bloggers don’t treat it as such; they just give their take and opinions on the product. Unfortunately, it’s also a reality that bloggers wouldn’t be able to offer as many reviews if they were required to pay for each and every product they’re testing.
Q. What do you think the overall effect of this ruling on blogging will be?
Anne: I really think that bloggers will begin to add disclaimers, but other than that, the bloggers who have been reporting openly and honestly to their readers all along won’t be doing much else to comply. It will also be interesting to see how the FTC plans to enforce this ruling, if at all. As for our readers, they shouldn’t notice anything different at all, since we’ve always been upfront with them.
Q. Where do you see your site going from here? Will there be any new features for us to look forward to?
Anne: At BeautyXpose, we’re hoping to add even more interactive features like videos and quizzes. Keep an eye out for other fun features in 2010!
Stay tuned for more interviews – and as always, feel free to send your questions to productpasha@gmail.com.
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