Like most freelance travel writers we sometimes accept free travel and travel-related products for familiarization purposes. We are also sometimes paid to write endorsements for products and destinations.

Additionally, there are sponsors and/or affiliates on our website, both in the form of display ads and links within stories, that provide monetary support for the page. All sponsorships, endorsements, or affiliate programs are personally approved before being included on the website. Any endorsements, in any form, are given only if we have experienced the product and truly believe that our readers will benefit from our first-hand knowledge.

Here are some helpful definitions regarding content on our site:

  • Sponsored content is content for which we have been paid to write here on our blog.
  • Affiliated content is content for which we will be paid if you click on a link or image and subsequently make a purchase.
  • Hosted travel means that travel expenses like accommodations, meals, and transportation have been paid in order for us to gain experience.
  • Provided products are travel gear and clothing that have been given to us at no cost in order to potentially review the items.
  • Ambassadorships are destinations or companies with which we have an ongoing relationship, sometimes it is monetary, other times these companies simply provide products on a continuing basis.

In all of these cases, the opinions expressed are our own.

I often include links to posts I have written for other publications. These are stories for which I was paid to write by that publication. I have not been paid to place links to those stories on FirstRead.Me and those publications do not have any editorial control of what I post here.

Not all links within stories are paid advertisers; sometimes we just like sharing what we have discovered.

For the sake of full disclosure, I own stock in Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. That does not affect my coverage of that company’s products. I bought it to get the $100 onboard credit offered to stockholders.