An open letter ..sort of..
I came across this on facebook and loved it. It's not only true for artists but bloggers as well. I mean the ones who are interested in doing collaborations with brands. Yes we give free footage to the ones we love and wear all the time but I am getting sick of all of you out there who wants to offer a link on your facebook page as "payment" to my services. A huge part of my blog is absolutely things I want to write about on my own but there is a small part of the broke me that won't mind earning a few bucks for a legit advertisement on my blog. There are some e-stores I like and I lose respect for them because they say I should do it for free because I don't have a certain number on GFC. I understand that and I charge accordingly. I have no grand dreams of becoming rich through my blog. It's fun earning pocket money through something I love though. And what I feel like telling them but I think it is unprofessional to is that if my numbers are too low for you why want me to advertise for you at all! I am not obligated to advertise for you just because.
I do get contacted by lovely brands to work with often, but to all company PR people I want to say check my stats and if you see it is not high enough then do not ask me to advertise for you. I make exceptions for small or new stores who are still trying to get a footing. I am not saying offer bloggers money all the time, at least give a respectable offer, not a "we will put your link on our fb page where we have so many fans after you write about how much you love us and also can you put up our link and maybe even a banner if you don't mind". It's like being offered to be kissed after your pimples go away or where your gay boyfriend/girlfriend offers to tell their parents about you two when the said parents are dead.
However lovely you may think that is I will live without it, though I wish you all the best. No hard feelings, as they say.
Haha, That is so true.
ReplyDeleteBingo!
ReplyDeletehilarious!
ReplyDeletehahaa , i am laughing on this one ! I think we need a separate section on the blog with our very own T&C ! I simply ignore the free n broke brands,don't feel my time is worth even typing a No to them !!
ReplyDelete✿thefashionflite
✿twitter
✿Bloglovin
very inspirative :))
ReplyDeletehttp://she-is-the-1.blogspot.ch/
Debi, I saw this last night and had to re-tweet it! I thought it was awesome. I showcase brands all the time. Many of those brands I've used for years and I simply want to inform my readers about them. There are some brands I've never used before and simply want to tell people what I think about them. This is a hobby for me (something i did for myself before blogging, but now i have an audience). I clearly state how much I charge for things on my blog. You have to know your self worth. Blogging is fun, but it can be work. It takes time to put a post together properly. I had less than 100 followers when I started A Very Sweet Blog and Macy's, a diamond company and invitation company paid me $80 each just to appear on my blog (they came to me and said that would be the price they would pay). Others have paid me $50 (and that's the amount I charge). So far this year, I haven't done anything for money (which is fine by me because I don't put anything on my blog). I get a plethora of can I put my link on your blog and it will be good exposure. I don't even reply. HaHaHa My blog is high class. My readers are high class. And I don't want anything but on my blog. And you don't have to rich to be HIGH CLASS! LOL
ReplyDeleteLol! Great lines... You are funny and beautiful. :)
ReplyDeleteWould you like to follow each other?
http://chic-ilicious.blogspot.com/
Kavita.
Bravo girl! That was one of the best posts I've read in a long time! So very true, honest and in your face type. I loved it!
ReplyDelete<3, Sonshu,
www.thesonshu.com
Hihi nice! :)
ReplyDeleteXO!
Kelly
www.pureasamelody.blogspot.com
Wow. I don't think I've had the same experiences you have. Though, I don't seek sponsors and I don't have nearly as many as you do. It's sad to think that a potential sponsor would pester you to do things you're not comfortable with.
ReplyDeletethat's the thing you know..i am not the one who approaches the sponsors..they are the ones who do it and then make me feel like i am so desperate to get sponsors that i would do anything for them. what is worse is when established brands do it. new ones i get, they are new and looking for a way to put themselves out there among all the competetion and i am very sure they are working on a very limited budget as most of it has gone in launching the brand and all.
DeleteThis is a nice open letter. I agree that you just have to know your worth as a blogger. Sometimes number of followers don't matter when you put so much personal work into each collaboration. The ones that recognize your worth are the only ones worth working with. Get it girl! :)
ReplyDeletexo
Tiffy
www.CuteLA.com
Fantastic point! I'm a web designer & hear a lot of those same things in the graphic. I just have to remember that it's hard for a non-artistic or non-technical person to understand the worth of what we do.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the sponsors telling you that you should allow them to advertise for free - that is so CHEAP! Never let anyone else tell you your worth. They are a for profit business - I bet they don't do anything for free, ever. Why would they think they can tell you to? Ridiculous.
Lol this is so true. When I was a newbie blogger, I took the bait and did a post in exchange for Facebook promotion a couple of times but I deffo gained nothing ;P! Luckily us blogger develop negotiation skills, too :D
ReplyDeletexo, Lara
http://rockteraptor.blogspot.fi/
Haha! This is so true. Loved reading this post- congrats on being featured on IFB :)
ReplyDelete-Tori
www.fashiontrendsmore.com
Congrats on being featured on IFB! Your post really caught my attention, had to read it and I'm so glad I did. The blogosphere needed a wakening experience, you literally put my thoughts into words! I am an artist (designer, illustrator) and I recognize those statements so well. Recently, I did a blog re-design for a client and guess what she told me? "What, you just changed a few simple things, that amount of money is too much for that" Well, if those are JUST A FEW SIMPLE THINGS, I recon you would be able to do them yourself then... Ugh, some people....
ReplyDeleteExcuse the rant, just goes to show your post is so on point. Will definitely be looking around your blog some more :) x
Happy New Year! And congrats on the Links a la Mode.
ReplyDeleteThe issue you point out to here is something I grapple with as well. I have always maintained I will not praise a product I do not know myself. So that part is easy. But, I sometimes get sponsorship offers to attach a link to whatever content I am posting and get some small remuneration from it. I have, as yet, not done it, but wonder if I am being silly. A $ is a $ where ever it comes from. This is the artistic conundrum -- the minute I put a price tag on whatever I create, I feel like I've sold out commercially! But then, there is the other side which you brought up here. Why shouldn't a creator be paid fairly for his art? - J xxxx
I love this post as I feel like you have just explored everything us bloggers are thinking and have put it out there so hopefully brands can see it and take note!! It's the worse feeling when brands approach you and then make you do the leg work for a measly link on their site. I think the worse one I got was being offered a £10 gift card to use on site to buy a product to then review - there products started from about £50 - so I was basically just being told to buy off their site! RIDICULOUS!
ReplyDeleteIt's good to stick to your guns and cover what you genuinely like as opposed to being told what to write :)
Great post!
PS - my post was featured on the IFB round-up this week and I was super excited too!! CONGRATS!
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E x
http://fashionontheline.co.uk
been going thru this...had a major argument with a reputed company and told the PR rep that girl i have more followers than your FB page and thats the reason u wanna feature me there and not vice versa....!!!
ReplyDeleteyes there are veyr respectable companies(not always the big ones)...but these rotten eggs are spoiling the whole basket!!!
http://www.myunfinishedlife.com/