As I am sure you know already, Alex Gear & Tech isn’t the largest channel on the YouTube platform by any means, but I truly value the relationship I’ve built with my community so far and I’d like to maintain that relationship as one of mutual trust and respect.
“Sponsored” content that appears on my channel is carefully selected. When I choose to work with a company, it will always be because I actually use the product or service myself and genuinely trust the company to provide excellent customer service and support, or because I believe it is of interest to my audience. More importantly, I will always make it very clear that such content is sponsored.
Most of the equipment and products I use and review have been purchased by me, with my hard earned cash 😂 particularly the flagship smartphones, but sometimes I might rent or borrow equipment for a video. Occasionally companies might send a product to me for free, and I will always clearly state in the video and description that it was provided to me at no cost.
Offering free products in no way guarantees a positive review (or even a review/video at all). Just like with sponsorships, I’m extremely selective about accepting anything for free.
All that being said, there are a few additional points I’d like to make just for the sake of clarity. I’ve made all of this info publicly available to viewers and companies alike so that we’re all on the same page:
My content is my own. I create and produce each video based on what I’m excited about and what I think will be relevant/helpful to my audience at the time.
My reviews are always objective and my opinions are always my own.
I do not submit previews of videos to anyone for approval or revisions. No exceptions.
I have full control over my content calendar. While I’m happy to work collaboratively when possible for scheduling, no outside party can pay or otherwise influence me in return for scheduling priority.
Just because a product is provided to me at no cost does not mean I will review it or feature it in a video.
I will avoid working with Amazon sellers and favour working directly with trusted companies.
I do not review “preproduction” versions of products/software.
I appreciate when companies offer information about their products/services, but I will only include what I think is relevant and necessary to my audience. My audience will always come first.
I will work to seek answers for anything about a product/service that I don’t fully understand.
While it usually makes sense to include certain links in video descriptions or social media posts, I retain full control over what is shared on my accounts across all platforms.
I’m more than happy to let others share my videos, as long as the post links directly to the original video uploaded to my YouTube channel. If you want to reuse the content: fellow creators please DM for permission; brands please contact me business@alexgtech.com about usage rights. If I find myself considering a sponsored campaign of any kind that includes other creators, I will only participate if there is a representative and equal mix of interests.
I do not guarantee any number of views or any amount of audience engagement on any videos. While I want every video to do well, there are too many variables beyond my control for me to make any claims regarding potential viewership.
Finally, I would only participate in embargo “wave” releases where the product is of interest to me and my community but I wouldn’t put the pressure on myself to release something just because it’s ready. For me it will need to make sense and be relevant to my audience at that time. I don’t expect anyone to watch something that I wouldn’t want to watch myself.
Thank you for taking the time to read and understand my Ethics Statement.
This probably doesn’t cover every possible scenario under the sun, but it should give you a pretty solid idea of how highly I value the integrity behind what I do and the relationship I’ve built with my community.
I just want to keep having fun making videos, and that disappears without these guidelines.