Ask Marvin #11: Contests, Freebies and Sponsors

Today, Marvin is accused of being a cheapskate.

“Dear Marvin.  I’ll get straight to the point.  Your giveaways have not included a single carseat.  Kind of odd for a place called CARSEATblog, isn’t it?  In fact, not a single giveaway above like 30 or 40 bucks at most.  What gives?  I mean, you’ve been at it for a few months now.  You must be rolling in cash from advertisements.  You’ve been begging for big time sponsors and giveaways to the point of being pathetic.  It’s really sad.  I mean, Kecia and Heather are such great writers, but they can pull Darren’s and your weight for only so long.  Carseatblog is good, but it would be a lot better with some BIGTIME giveaways.  Seriously, I see all these other general parenting websites giving away carseats and strollers.  Some are blogs that aren’t even dedicated to these products and don’t get a fraction of the readers that Car-Seat.Org does.  Step up to the plate and SHOW US THE CARSEATS! – Signed, Desperate Dahlia.”

Hi DD.  Marvin is very ashamed.  He’s been casting his hook and gotten a few nibbles, so to speak, but so far he hasn’t reeled in any big fish.  Marvin would like to note that he has had some partners for giveaways already and is very grateful for their generosity, but the rest of your comments are indeed the sad truth.  Darren, Kecia and Heather haven’t exactly been breaking any ground by hooking sponsors, either.  That and they keep spending all that advertising money buying drinks and throwing parties at trade shows and conferences, claiming it’s all for good PR that will someday bring in some partners.  Now with the economy tanking and advertising budgets falling through the floor, who knows?  Marvin might have to resort to lewd photos and erotic fish dance videos to drum up some real advertising dollars.

So, sadly, Marvin does not have a giveaway for you today:-(  Somewhere, someone out there must be looking for a publicity outlet.  Someone who recognizes that our forums get around 10,000 uniques a day, including 500 daily member visits from a pool of over 5,000 total members.  Someone who sees the forums are Google Page Rank 5, which aint too shabby.  Someone who has noticed that Carseatblog.com articles get top Google search result placement for relevant phrases, especially on product reviews!  Someone who understands that our blog readers are savvy parents who are specifically interested in child restraints, strollers and baby/kids gear of all kinds.  Where else can you get such a highly targeted demographic of moms (and a some dads too!) desperate to become loyal to any product endorsed by Marvin in a giveaway?  Move over Tiger Woods and Dale Earnhardt Jr!

Well, OK, Marvin can fantasize.  Someday, he will find a giveaway partner for child seats and strollers.  THEN, all the other partners and sponsors will start rolling in like mad.  Suddenly, all Marvin’s readers will be overjoyed with baby gear goodness.  In the mean time, you can help Marvin by spreading the word!  Have a favorite parenting or kids gear blog?  Suggest that they exchange links with Carseatblog.com.  Are you a regular customer at a baby or kids retailer or manufacturer?  Tell them they should check us out!  Plus, be sure to put in a plug here and there for Marvin’s contests;-)  And don’t forget to mention Kecia and Heather’s (and maybe even Darren’s) blogs when you post over at Car-Seat.Org.  Marvin is pretty sure the moderators there won’t hassle you for it!

Marvin’s Contest Corner:

Stay tuned, the giveaways return next week, but Marvin isn’t promising anything big just yet.  Marvin isn’t even too picky.  He’d be happy to give away that overstock of last year’s stroller design or maybe a child seat in a discontinued fabric.  Heck, Marvin would be happy to give away some promotional coffee mugs, a box of customized pens or even some 2009 calendars from his favorite child restraint and baby gear manufacturers and retailers!  Marvin suspects that could be a nice tax write off, too!