thePULSEKenda Smith’s Thecaffeinecoquette.com
By Tine Roycroft
You don’t know which cell phone will give you the most value for your money. You’ve heard that there’s a new “earth-friendly” cleaning product, but you’re not sure how well it cleans. You need an honest review before you go out and buy that new Kindle.
In situations like these, you might turn to a trusted friend or straightforward sibling. And now, you can check out Kenda Smith (who’s the perfect combo of integrity, creativity, and humor) at her fabulous blog, “Kenda Smith Consumer Conversations.”
“’Consumer Conversations’ came to be while I spending time at home, after the birth of my second child,” Smith recalls. “I was blogging about our lives, then I started talking about different children’s items that we had bought and sharing my opinions on how they worked. Then a few companies took notice of my reviews and asked me if I would start reviewing fulltime.”
Today, Smith has relationships with a number of public relations firms that send her a huge variety of products and services to use and review. Just before the holidays, Smith was receiving around 3 items per week that demanded her attention and with all of her experience, she is definitely your go-to gal to discover the best deals when it comes to health and beauty, fashion, home and kitchen appliances, gadgets and technology, and much more.
“Gadgets and technology are my personal favorites to review,” Smith says. “I was a graphic and web designer and I was self-taught in all of the different computer programs. I love being able to introduce new software, new technology.”
In every blog some rain must fall, and every so often, Smith will be sent a product that’s basically a dud.
“It doesn’t happen often,” Smith says. “But some do-it-yourself items can be troublesome, I’ve found. There are professionals who can assemble the products in commercials, but when someone at home tries it, it’s different. In those situations, I usually just reach out to the company directly and give them some ideas on how to improve it.”
As a review blogger, Smith will receive either the product or monetary compensation for advertising ~ never both. Most of the time, Smith receives items that she and her husband, Worcester comedian Dan Smith, and her children can use. But when she receives items that the Smith Clan doesn’t need, the big-hearted blogger donates them to the Worcester Family Center.
The future is bright for Smith and she intends to keep on reviewing and blogging, with the hopes of attending the BlogHer conference in 2012.
Check out Smith’s reviews, humorous video clips, and honest writing at “Kenda Smith Consumer Conversations,” @ www.thecaffeinecoquette.com.
