The Benefits and Detriments of Contributed Content & Link Up On the Edge #161
I have been struggling recently with the whole idea of accepting contributed content on my blog. When I first began this journey four years ago, blogging was merely a hobby and a creative outlet for me to share my personal stories and my personal style. But it has evolved into something that I am so passionate about that I recently quit my actual paying job in order to focus more time and attention on writing and developing this space into one that could actually sustain me financially as well. This word count tool is helpful in tracking how much I am actually writing to determine how much I can be earning per word.
For those of you who are bloggers, you know how difficult it is to actually make money from blogging. More often, we are gifted in products and services to review and market for retailers and different types of service providers. While it is wonderful to receive gifted products and/or services in exchange for reviews on my blog, products and services do not pay the bills. When blogging becomes your only source of income, you have to find ways of being compensated in actual money.
When I first began this blog, I had every intention of writing all of my own content. It is what I do. It is who I am. I am a writer. And a writer must write. I have important things to say, things that I am passionate about sharing, stories that I believe have value and can help others who may read them. Some of my stories have been compensated by companies through sponsored links placed within my own content. That always feels like a bit of a windfall when that happens. For example, when I write an emotional post sharing pieces of my mental health journey and a counseling practice offers me compensation to place a link to their website within the article, I am more than happy to do so for various reasons. It is a valuable resource linked directly in the content of my article that may benefit a reader. But it also provides some compensation for the time and effort that I put into every single post I publish here.
Sometimes, however, there are experts on certain topics who are better versed for sharing valuable information. And while I have difficulty turning over the writing process to someone else for my personal blog, I have had companies like BetterHelp write content for me at my request so that I could ensure the information is coming from trained and educated professionals in the mental health field. Because the content contains do follow links to their resource pages, I am always adequately compensated for the publication of these articles.
There are also marketing agencies who offer prewritten content created specifically for my blog on topics that fall within the categories of subjects that I tend to share… generally health, fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. These posts are always marked as “contributed content” meaning I did not write the text myself. Usually, however, the writing is so poor that I have to spend at least an hour heavily editing the entire article to make it readable and up to my standard of writing. But for the amount of compensation that I receive, which varies from $50 to $200 per post, it is worth the hour of my time to accept the article for publication, revise and rewrite it as necessary, and take the payment to help offset the cost of maintaining this blog.
Some of you may think that $50 is rather low compensation for contributed content, but I really only accept that amount from companies that I have been working with for a few years. We started at that amount before I knew my worth and so I just leave it there rather than lose the consistent income that it provides. I have also grown accustomed to their style of writing and can edit the content fairly quickly.
In the interest of full disclosure, something never felt right with me sharing content that I did not create myself. I sort of always feel like a sell out when I do it. Like it is dishonest in some way. But like I said, a girl has to make some money if I am going to spend a whole lot of my time creating original and interesting content that has some value. So I guess sometimes I do have to sell out for the minimal income to keep this little blog chugging along. However, I do try to keep these types of posts to a maximum of 2 per week.
But the more staying power you have in blogland, the more writers, companies, marketing agencies, etc. want to publish on your platform to take advantage of your readership that you spent years growing in an organic way. My inbox is often inundated with requests for guest posts and other types of collaborations. I try to respond respectfully to every email in which I state my prices for contributed articles, link placements, and sidebar ads. More often than not, I receive responses that the requester either has no budget to pay (they just want free exposure in my space) or they counter offer with an amount that is about 10% of my stated price. These responses are quite offensive to say the say least.
In fact, I recently received a collaboration request from ThredUp, the very popular resale fashion site, which has an estimated annual revenue of about 37 million dollars. I was excited that they wanted to work with me and I responded with my rates for collaborations. I was shocked and offended when I was met with a response that this was not a compensated project and there was an air of arrogance implying that I should be over the moon to work with them for free. I did not work with them.
Even more offensive is a recent contributed post I shared this week. The one about hair extensions. This is not even a topic that I am interested in and wasn’t even really that thrilled about posting it. But I kind of needed the money and accepted the post for a much lower rate than I normally would. I am sharing this story because this is the first time anything like this as ever happened to me. And I am confused and thoroughly pissed off and hoping to help you avoid making the same mistake.
I spent about 2 hours revising and rewriting the content for this post because what I received was pretty unreadable. I kept the gist of the article and all of the do follow links and keywords as they were submitted to me. I published the post within 48 hours of receiving it and as is the standard process, I sent the live link to the company with my Paypal account information to receive payment. I have always received compensation within 72 hours from every single company I have worked with over the past few years.
But what happened this time kind of left me speechless. I received a response about 20 hours (and hundreds of page views) after I published the post telling me that they sent me the wrong article and I needed to pull it down immediately and post the new article that was attached (this article was written in the same unreadable way so it would take another 2 hours to edit) before they would submit payment. I replied that I would do no such thing nor I would spend another minute on anything until compensation was received.
They came back at me with, “So sorry, the first article should be sent to another blogger, it has been published on her blog already, so please remove it. And publish the second article now.” So what I did was this…I removed all do follow links from the post so that you all don’t click over to their page but I did not pull the post because there were already comments on it. I don’t know if this messes up some Google analytic for this other blogger who has the same article posted (although it wouldn’t be the same because I had to heavily edit it into my own words anyway), but I will not bow down to some silly demand from a company that submits half illiterate articles for publication. I also did not respond to their last email demanding that I “publish the second article now.” I suppose you could consider this post my response.
Rather than sit here and fume in anger, I am going to chalk this one up as a lesson learned. My mistake. There was some negotiating in the prices that was raising red flags that I ignored and shouldn’t have. But here we are now. I am not going to provide any links here because I do not want to drive any traffic their way, but if you are a blogger and you are approached by a company called Amazing Beauty Hair (the marketing manager who reached out to me is named Jeannie Liu) for a collaboration or guest post, I highly advise you against it. They don’t pay nearly enough anyway. And now I have spent way too much (unpaid) time on this topic! But I wanted to share this experience with you in the hopes that it will prevent you from making the same mistake.
All that being said, the benefits of sharing contributed content include the compensation piece obviously, as well as adding subject matter here that you may be interested in reading but I am not so interested in writing. Maybe it keeps things a bit more interesting for you, maybe you hate those posts all together when I share them. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts about that in the comments.
The detriments of sharing contributed content are that I feel like a sell out and sometimes the topics just seem a little odd here, like they don’t quite fit my brand. And also when you end up with a shitty experience like this one…where I have spent the time and energy putting the content out there to receive nothing in return but frustration. And now I have a stupid article on my blog that I never really wanted there in the first place but I am way too stubborn to pull it down. So I guess it will forever represent a lesson that I learned the hard way.
If you have any experiences of this nature or any feedback at all on this topic, I would love to hear it. This is what the blogging community is about for me. Sharing our experiences in an effort to help each along the way. Thanks for reading my very long winded account today! And here’s to better opportunities on this brand new day.
And now your featured favorites from last week.
Ashley of Le Stylo Rouge shared her post, Labor Day Outfit Idea: Grandad on Vacay with Kindred Shops. From the straw hat on her head to the cool palm leaf top to the funky grandad inspired sneaks on her feet, Ashley is a vision of comfort and style for a long weekend to round out the summer season.
Laura of I Do deClaire shared her post, Corduroy Trending & Confident Twosday Link Up. I have always been a fan of corduroy and I get super excited when it is trending again. This cute floral skirt paired with peep toe booties is perfect for the transition into Fall.
Julie of This Main Line Life shared her Friday Faves post featuring some super helpful reading material for parents of teenage girls, tips to reboot your life now that we all seem to be getting into the back to school schedule, some sale information, and a couple of super cute dresses as well. A little bit of something for everyone in her list of Friday favorites.
Keeping it on the edge,
Shelbee
Linking up with these Fabulous Link Parties.
Shop my look:
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.
52 Comments
Kathrine Eldridge
So sorry about this experience! I get approached a lot with posting articles on my site and I have always turned them down. It’s intrigued me but I get a little nervous giving my space away. Thanks for sharing what you have done and how to move forward if I decided to go for it. No one ever speaks of it! You look amazing in this look!
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Kathrine! People don’t really talk about it which I find a little weird! I feel like everyone is keeping some kind of strange secret. So I figured I would put it out there. You know I like to bring up the topics that aren’t talked about! I don’t like giving my space away either, but there is some benefit to it although there is the risk of this kind of nonsense, too! I am glad that I could offer a little insight for you in the event that you do decide to go that route. Have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Chrissy
Wow Shelbee! That’s crazy but not surprising – unfortunately. I’m not to the point where I get enough views to generate many offers, but I have been offered contributed content. They make me nervous becuase I hadn’t researched enough to know enough about how it works. That being said, your post just explained alot! 😉 Choosing contributed content that keeps with your brand and helps pay the bills is fine in my book. Lots of authors have contributing writers. By the way, you look fabulous – loving those shoes!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Chrissy, thanks so much for the compliment and for the feedback. Way back when I first received offers for sponsored or contributed content, they would pay like $10-15 per post. I didn’t know any better and would do it because I figured I was writing a post anyway, I might as well have 10-15 more dollars to my name that I wouldn’t otherwise. Now I am much more particular, but I do still have some of them offer that little. I decline them now because it really isn’t worth my time. Those were usually wish list posts anyway which I do enjoy putting together because it’s just a fun online window shopping experience! And we all know I love to shop! I am glad that I could give you a bit of insight on how it all works. I have only ever had one other really bad experience where they were insisting that I use keywords that were grammatically incorrect and I refused. I told them not to pay me, but they did anyway. I hope you have a great weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Grace Liang
I’m so sorry you didn’t have a good experience Shelbee! On a positive note, I love your outfit here! The pops of leopard print is so cute!
https://colorandgrace.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Grace! I am still trying to figure exactly how bloggers make a living just blogging. It looks like a lot of the stuff I have been accepting may not even been legal by Google guidelines, so now I am super confused! According the Google guidelines, it is saying that affiliate links aren’t even legal, but don’t a ton of bloggers use affiliate linking to make money?
xoxo
Shelbee
Michele Morin
Thanks for sharing this frustrating experience.
I’ve avoided selling my soul for that very reason. Most of the requests I get sound like either scammers or people who just don’t know how to form a coherent sentence.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Michele, thank you for joining the discussion. There are definitely a lot of scammers out there, for sure. They are usually pretty easy to spot and avoid, but sometimes I guess we all stand the chance of being tricked! I guess that is why I felt it important to share this post. We all need to help each other out and I don’t see much out there on these topics, so I took the opportunity to hopefully offer something valuable! I hope you have a great weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Kellyann Rohr
Oh Shelbee – that stinks! I’m glad you stood your ground. I have been approached from writers about contributing content and the one that I said I’d try – never got back with me! I’d be open to it only if the topic is inline with my blog. Because, yeah girl, making some money is hard and would be very welcome. We all really need to band together and share experiences so we can get these companies to understand what respect means!
Thanks for sharing – have a wonderful weekend!
xo,
Kellyann
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Kellyann, thanks so much for sharing your experience. I have had that happen all too frequently where I agree to consider a collaboration and then I never hear back from them. That always strikes me as weird! Like you reached out to me so WTH?! We definitely need to band together which is why I shared this post. I was hesitant to put this out there because I was feeling a bit of shame around accepting sponsored or paid content. But I am getting a lot of great feedback. In fact, there are some regulations I need to research further because I may not be following guidelines properly and I was totally ignorant to that! I will keep sharing and hopefully lots of other bloggers will too! I hope you have a great weekend, my friend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Tricia
Sorry you had such a negative experience! That is so frustrating. You may want to read up on Google’s Webmaster Guidelines regarding paid links, as it’s my understanding website owners are not to sell paid do-follow links. It can mess with your SEO and good standing with Google. Please do not take this the wrong way as I’m not trying to tell you what to do with your own site, I just don’t want to see you lose any of your hard work. Blogging is a tough business and we gotta have each other’s backs!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Tricia, thanks so much for the heads up about paid links! I will definitely look into that. I appreciate you having my back. I agree that we definitely need to help each other out! So not taken the wrong way at all…super appreciated!
xoxo
Shelbee
Laurie
I don’t accept any other party to publish on my blog. It’s mine! Maybe you could have your own contract written up for other publishers? I think some brands are still expecting a lot for a little but if we all stick to our guns they will have to sit up and listen xx
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Laurie, thanks so much for the feedback! When I do allow any type of guest posting, I maintain full editorial control and edit the posts tremendously into my own words. There are a lot of brands who do expect a lot for very little and I generally don’t work with them. I have become much pickier. However, trying to make an income from blogging is tough. Maybe I am missing something! But yes, I agree that we all need to stick together in this business which is why I have become much more choosy in who I work with and what I want represented on my blog.
xoxo
Shelbee
Jill
I’m so glad you shard your experience! This is so helpful on what to look out for. The same company approached me several months ago. They sent me a sample article which had so many grammatical errors and typos it would have had to be completely rewritten, they also only wanted to pay pennies for the post, so I passed. Love this look, by the way! You look fabulous!
Jill – Doused in Pink
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Jill, thank you so much for also sharing your experience! I should have known that something was amiss when I stated my price, they came back at about 20% of my price, I countered to about 50% and they countered even lower than their initial offer. I called them out on that and they went back up and then this happened. I totally should have known. My mistake and lesson learned. I hope we can all keep sharing and learning from one another. It is a tricky business, for sure!
xoxo
Shelbee
Julie | This Main Line Life
Hey, thanks for the mention and picture. You’re so kind! I’m really glad you mentioned you’re experience with ThredUp. They’ve contacted me a few times and I’ve been thinking about doing a sponsored article with them, but not now. I’m on the fence about doing sponsored material to begin with (same issues that you talked about) and it’s totally not worth the potential hassle of dealing with a company like that.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Julie, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on the topic as well. I was really baffled by ThredUp. I have had other large profitable companies request free work in the past as well and it really is quite offensive. I know that my blog is not huge, but I still put in the same amount of work and probably more than some of the really huge blogs. I guess even 4 years into this, I am still learning. We can all learn from each other, for sure!
xoxo
Shelbee
jodie filogomo
Wow…that’s crazy. I get a lot of requests too, but I’ve never tried including any guest posts. There are bad companies everywhere, and you just don’t know until you work with them. Ugh…
OXOX
Jodie
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Jodie, thanks for reading and sharing your experience. I thought I was being diligent, but I guess I still have much to learn. There a few companies I have been working with for years and it has always been an easy and pleasant experience. But the level of rudeness with this one is unacceptable!
xoxo
Shelbee
Jacqui Berry
very sassy Shelbee – I love it. Jacqui Mummabstylish
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Jacqui! Have a great weekend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Ellibelle
Thank you for sharing this article. I am not new to blogging but new to fashion blogging and this was good information to read, but so sorry you had to make these experiences.
You look fantastic in this outfit!
Ellibelle’s Corner
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Ellibelle, thanks so much for reading. I am glad that I can offer some helpful insight to the behind the scenes stuff that goes on! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Ashley
First of all, LOVE this outfit on you! Hot mama!
Secondly, ughhhh- these companies are so shady. I’m so sorry this happened to you- what a disappointing and frustrating experience!
Thanks for the feature, babe! Happy weekend!
-Ashley
Le Stylo Rouge
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Ashley, thanks so much! It is super frustrating when you get taken advantage of like that! But I am over it and moving forward, I just felt the need to share with you all! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Nicole of High Latitude Style
Your pumps are so adorable. They look comfortable despite the heel. Very chic.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Nicole! They actually are a bit snug and were hurting me all day!
xoxo
Shelbee
Patrick Weseman
WOW, that is so crazy. I didn’t know about this and it is sad and crazy. I am sorry that you had to go through this. That is so wrong.
Looking wonderful, I love your look. So sexy and sassy.
Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful weekend.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Patrick! Yeah, it is super irritating, but I am over it now and just wanted to share and get some feedback and give a heads up. I hope you have a wonderful weekend! College football Saturday tomorrow!
xoxo
Shelbee
Cheryl Shops
Thank you for sharing your experience so honestly, Shelbee, although I’m sorry that shady company gave you such a hard time. I’ve never even considered running guest posts, but now that you’ve explained your process, I think I’ll be more open to it in the future (although not with the hair extensions company)!
Cheryl Shops | http://www.cherylshops.net
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Cheryl, thanks so much for reading. I was super hesitant about sharing, but I am glad that I did. I am getting lots of helpful feedback and also realize that the information I shared is helpful to others. Definitely let me know if you have any questions if you do go that route. Have a great weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Tiina L
Thank you for sharing your experience! I’ve always wondered about these contributed posts as they never seem to fit the ’brand’ of the blog posting them. I’ve received a few of these offers to post them, too, but I usually just ignore them. It may be rude but my reasoning is that as it’s usually obvious that the agencies/writers have never read a single post on my blog, why should I bother even responding. Well, I could excuse my rudeness with having a full-time job, but the truth is I’m just as bad at responding inane requests and stupid questions I get in my ’day job’… So, as long as I’m too busy to respond to nice messages (or leave comments on blogs I read), I don’t need to feel bad ignoring time-wasters. You need to spend your valuable time on serious offers (or well-paid ones, which for a freelancer is more or less the same thing) and make sure you get some time to rest and relax, too.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Tiina, thanks so much for joining the discussion. I used to ignore all of them, too, but then I started having to email people when I entered the world of freelancing and it is super frustrating when no one even acknowledges you. So I decided to start replying with a price list. Most of my responses with prices are ignored, but I also have gotten some pretty decent paid opportunities from it. I hear you though, if it is completely obvious they haven’t even looked at my blog, I tend to ignore those, too. Or ones asking me to post gambling information! I get a ton of those. Although now that I have a joined a fantasy football league (which is pretty much gambling), maybe I will do a gambling post one day! Depends on what they offer, I guess. As far as rest goes, I did just take a nap in the middle of the afternoon. That is one benefit of freelancing from home. But now I need to get some serious writing done! Have a great weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
FancyBoy
Girl, u look great! I don’t see how their error in the distribution of content negates them following thru on their deal with you…
Hate bs like this— keep on keepin’ on tho!!!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Becky, thanks so much! Yes, I agree. It was their error and I should not be expected to do twice the work for the little compensation offered. At this point, however, the compensation was so minuscule that it isn’t even worth the time fighting for it. And it gave me some pretty decent content for today’s post! Haha. I hope you have a great weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
Let me start by saying that you look very sexy! Beautiful! Thanks for the warning. I like to work with companies for pre written content about beauty. Have a great weekend love!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Nancy! I am glad that I am not the only one who accepts pre written content. We definitely need to stick together though and share this type of information! It is the wonderful thing about our blogging community. Have a great weekend, my friend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Jennie
Yikes, what an experience! 🙁 Over the years I think I have shared two contributed posts. They were relevant and something I thought my readers would have interest in and it got me off the hook for writing my own content when I was pressed for time. Like you, I just feel like my blog is My space and that’s how I prefer to keep it. I understand you appreciate the extra income and every bit helps, but not for that kind of craziness.
You look fabulous in this romper and blazer look! I am guessing this is what you were alluding to in our emails? The dark stockings and leopard really add that extra bit of sexy!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend, friend.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Jennie, thanks so much for sharing your experience. And yes, while I hate using prewritten content, I really want to be able to continue working from home and building my writing career on and off my blog. And I need to pay the bills while I am getting there! But yeah, I now know not to undersell myself and also not to accept garbage!
And yes, this is the romper outfit I was talking about in the emails. But I am out of outfit photos so I had to use these! I will style something new for our Fab 40’s post! It is good motivation to get some more photos done. Have a great weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Darlene
Shelbee, thanks for sharing your experience. I’ve been approached several times about guest posts but I never know whether they are legitimate so I just pass. It would be very nice to at least receive some compensation to support this rather expensive blogging venture, so I applaud you taking the chance. It’s nice to know that this is a possibility–but NOT with that particular company! I love your new style–you are not afraid to try new things and take risks! That’s a message to us all.
xx Darlene
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aw, Darlene, thanks so much for this wonderful compliment! I definitely like trying new things! It keeps life interesting. As for guest posts and collaborations, I have had much luck with a few different companies and I guess I never shared those experiences because I was a little embarrassed that I was accepting paid posts. But then this happened and I figured it was worth sharing and finding out what other bloggers are doing in this area. We need to stick together and not leave it all so secretive, I think! In fact, many of these companies will ask if I have other blogger friends who would be interested and I never answer that question because I don’t know! I am glad that I did share this post though because I am receiving lots of wonderful feedback as well as providing helpful information to others. If you have any questions about how it all works, please feel free to email me.
xoxo
Shelbee
Jacob
I didnt know so much about it. Thank you sharing
https://www.melodyjacob.com/2019/09/you-dont-have-to-be-naked-to-make.html
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks for reading, Jacob! Have a great weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Laura Bambrick
I’ve done some guest posts and I understand why bloggers take them. They help pay for running a blog. It really bugs me too when companies want me to publish things for free or very low cost. I think I need to raise my typical charge after reading your post!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Laura, thanks so much for joining the discussion and sharing your experience. I am noticing that a lot of the Asian companies stick to $30 or less per post and they require the most work because the English is so poor. Companies in the UK and the US pay a bit higher. I find that many are good at $75 and up for an article. But I will negotiate with all them depending on what it is. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.
xoxo
Shelbee
Gail
Absolutely jaw dropping Shelbee, your experiences with the hair extensions piece and Thredup! I get requests to supply contributed articles but nine times out of 10 they haven’t even read my blog and it’s a generic email, often poorly spelt. I got caught out once when I was emailed by a company saying they liked a particular post and could I include a link to their site, because they were offering resources. I looked at their content online and it looked fine so I agreed. Later I realized they had substituted a link to a porn site!
Thanks for supporting #WowOnWednesday my friend. And love the outfit – those legs!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Gail, thanks so much for the compliment and for sharing your experience! And oh my word, they sent you a porn link! I am sorry, but I am laughing right now! You need to be sure to check those links before adding them to your blog! (You didn’t already add it before you realized what it was, did you?)
xoxo
Shelbee
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Angie
Hi, Shelbee – I just want to say thanks for sharing your thoughts. They are of benefit to us bloggers as we maneuver the offers we get. I like having a guest blogger once in awhile, but then I do have to be an editor. And I screen them first, of course. I’m still fuzzy about no-follow links…I appreciate hearing about your experiences. That’s why us bloggers need meetups in place of the coffee klatches we can’t do in person! – Hugs, Angie
http://www.yourtrueselfblog.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Angie, thanks so much for the feedback. I agree that we all need to share this stuff because I so often feel lost navigating my way through all the rules and regulations and how much I am worth and all that stuff. Do follow vs. no follow links completely baffles me, too. I don’t even understand the purpose of a no follow link. A coffee meet up sounds like a brilliant idea except there are literally no bloggers near me and it gets quite expensive trying to travel to where the bloggers go! Hopefully, one day I will make my way to blogger meet up again.
xoxo
Shelbee
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