Post updated 9/4/2021
In the 2000-teens heyday of mommy-blogging mania I tempted my first ever guest post for fame and glory--I pitched the (now defunct) women and kids clothing consignment website Schoola.com for a story about backyard birding with kids, and got the Ok! Bird-watching and consignment shopping? Why not?!
Some background first: I knew the director of social media and blog at Schoola.com from childhood--she's the kid sister of my best pal from high school days. She and I had been talking about writing something for them for months. I just had to think of something to pitch, and she had to like what I came up with.
It was a reasonable partnership idea: Schoola.com sold curated used clothing for women and children and instead of sending the proceeds to the seller, that money is donated to the seller's school of choice. It was a model for consignment which benefits schools in today's environment of underfunded public schools and any number of private and charter schools.
The fact that was that consignment appeals to me, since I do most of my shopping for my kids and myself along these lines, and that it further benefited my public school, well, so much the better! I care if my dollar goes further and benefits a non-profit.
In exchange for writing a post for them, Schoola paid me in clothing, which I was obliged to photograph and promote in my clip. They sent clothes for me and my son along the lines of "outdoor chic" (my suggestion) and I proceeded to write up an appealing advice piece for a US-based audience about getting one's kiddo into backyard birding.
Vireo is not a naturally inclined boy model/mascot for my efforts so I respect whatever he had energy to give, and didn’t push him. However, for this project, he was excited to get something in the mail, and thrilled with what my editor, Turi, sent for him. We got a shot of him in his favorite striped shirt from among the items she included.
I didn't end up wearing anything she sent to me--it was all too large in the end--but I did wear pre-owned items I had procured from various sources, from head to toe in the photos. I was honest about that even if it wasn't all from Schoola.com. But the clothes I wore above are things likely to be found there.
Sadly, you can no longer read the guest post on Schoola.com. I’ve not done a sponsored post since. Happily, you CAN read about backyard birding with kids at ParentMap, which also happens to have been my first ever paid byline. Enjoy!