You know you've made it when ...

You know your blog is reaching a ton of people when a few of them start to peddle you their wares and services.

The first time it happened I thought it was a funny fluke. I received an e-mail with the subject line: Your blog! Body was something like this: Amanda, I've been reading about your "fight to be fit" and, wow, congratulations. Great job! I wanted to offer you something to help you on your journey. I'm a certified trainer, and I know you've got one already, but I think you'll find my rates competitive, and it might be nice to mix it up a bit. Call me and we'll set up a free session so you can try it out. And yes, feel free to use my name in your blog.

Hmmm, I wondered, do you think he had an alterior motive?

Turned out, Mr. Trainer was the first of about a dozen pitches I have received the past few weeks, which just blows me away. It's hard to believe people are seeing dollar signs on this blog!

So far, the pitches have included: vitamin supplements, gym memberships, athletic equipment, exercise classes and training sessions.

Most of the pitches have a tell-tale wording that shouts, "I want free advertisement in exchange for a free Whatever-I'm-Offering-You." The wording is thus: "I think your many readers would be interested in reading about my ... ," or, "You owe it to your readers to keep them informed of the latest in ... ." My favorites are, "I know when you try this, you will be so blown away by its effectiveness, you'll be excited to share it with your readers."

Trust me, having been on the receiving end of press releases and marketing pitches for the past 8 years, I know when I'm being given the hard sell.

It's all kind of flattering, I guess, but come on, folks, this blog and this blogger ain't for sale.

... Unless, of course, you think my readers would be interested in reading about a new car or a million dollars or a new garage door, 'cause I need one of those, or maybe a DVD player (mine just broke). Not sure how I'll tie any of that to fitness, but I'll figure something out.