How Hobby Bloggers and Pro Bloggers Can Both Work With Brands

Hobby bloggers want to accept gifted items but not do sponsored posts. Pro bloggers need to earn a living. There can’t be an easy solution to suit both… can there?

It’s a dilemma that’s been going on in the blogosphere for, well, at least as long as I’ve been blogging (seven years). I first heard of a blogger announcing she was giving up the day job to become a full-time blogger probably about a year after I started. I wondered HOW she was going to make money. Who’s going to pay her? And to do what exactly?

Now, we regularly see sponsored posts and #ad popping up on blogs and Instagram (and, to a lesser extent these days, Twitter and Facebook too). It’s not an unusual occurrence anymore as most people who write or follow blogs know that brands collaborate with bloggers and content creators and pay them to feature their brand or product. Seven or more years ago, not so much.

(To be fair there may have been a lot of sponsored content “back in the old days” but that was before rules about disclosure came into force more strictly – or at least before they were more widely known about. When I first started posting paid-for content I didn’t have a clue that you were meant to disclose it as paid, and the brands didn’t mention you had to do that either.)

The simple answer is Yes, there is a VERY easy way that both hobby bloggers and pro bloggers can work with brands, in the way they want to do it, without stepping on each other’s toes or making it difficult for the other party.

But why is there a problem in the first place? I’ve been reading a lot about the problems lately. No one can seem to agree, but I think there’s a simple solution.

The demands from brands on bloggers

Firstly, what are the types of offers that seem to cause conflict?

First of all I have to say I truly believe that NO ONE “has” to earn money from blogging. When I started blogging I did it purely for the love of it (not that I knew you could earn anything more than a few pence from Google ads) – I simply made something I loved doing into my career. I still believe that we have a choice and can choose to be a hobby blogger, one that earns a little to supplement their income, or a full-time, professional blogger. No one has to do or not do anything.

However, the mere fact that blogging is a hobby for some and a profession for others means that brands take advantage of these differences, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Unlike bloggers, there are no brands or PR agencies that are doing it for free. None of them are doing their job or running their businesses as a hobby. They are always, 100% of the time, professionals (as in the “a person who earns a living in a sport or other occupation frequently engaged in by amateurs” meaning, thank you dictionary.com). Therefore THEY are the ones that should know better.

Seeing as it’s their profession I get infuriated when I see them taking advantage of hobby bloggers. I get just as infuriated when I see professional bloggers having their work undervalued.

But can you see the conflict here? Hobbyists want to do some things here and there, accept the occasional gifted item. Pros want to do the same but earn a living at the same time. HOW CAN THIS POSSIBLY WORK, I hear you ask.

It’s a fair point – but the responsibility lies with the brand/PR to ensure that ALL of those they approach are treated fairly. After all, whether paid or not, they are asking people to work for them.

When brands and PRs treat bloggers badly

The reason why PR agencies treat bloggers like tools that will freely advertise for a company – large or small – and receive masses of compensation in the bargain, is simple (and it’s been going on for far too long in my humble opinion): too many bloggers undervalue themselves.

All too often bloggers don’t deem themselves important enough to swim with the “big fish”, i.e. the journalists, the PR companies, large corporations with massive budgets. Time and time again they underestimate their worth. They offer their blog as an advertising platform for next to nothing in return and often for no payment at all. I know because I’m often shocked when I find out how little a blogger has charged a brand for a campaign.

I think the millennials’ attitude of not having to work hard to gain success and expecting something for nothing is partly to blame for the way bloggers are treated. (And yes, I know it’s a sweeping generalisation to tar all millennials with the same “lazy” brush – there are plenty of people my age and older who are the same.) But blogging is seen as a desirable career option for many young people. They think that it involves no work, free stuff and loads of opportunities to go on flashy PR trips abroad.

So the PR offers free stuff, the blogger gets excited. Blogger agrees to X, Y and Z in exchange for the free stuff and puts in several hours of their time in order to make it look good for their blog and/or social channels. Blogger ends up doing eight hours of work (equivalent to a full day’s work) for a dress worth £30. Last time I checked, that was WAY below minimum wage… and you can’t even eat that dress or pay bills with it.

I KNOW what it’s like to be offered free stuff and get excited about it – I can clearly remember the first email that landed in my Inbox saying I could choose a whole outfit. I can remember my giddy excitement even now… I wasn’t immune! But since then I’ve learned to say no more often than say yes, and I charge what I know I’m worth. I know I’m worth what I charge because brands are willing to pay it.

Case study 1: You’ll get this for free in exchange for…

Let’s look at a typical example of an email that bloggers receive. I was sent the following earlier this year (every month I receive dozens of emails that read like this one):

Hey Everyone,

I’m putting together a campaign for {Brand}.
We’re looking for a handful of influencers to do posts with our {product}.
You’ll get the product for free in exchange for the posts and Instagram story post.
If the campaign is successful there might be future opportunities for collaborations.

If you’re interested please let me know asap and I’ll send further details and send you your {product}. If not no problem.

If you’re a blogger who’s ever been approached by a brand or PR, I’m sure this sounds familiar. You may or may not have taken them up on their offer (I definitely did in the beginning).

However, think of it this way. If you were a tradesperson (let’s say a plumber), would you say yes to this email from someone you’d never heard of before?

Hey Plumbers,

I’m putting in a new kitchen and bathroom for my house.
We’re looking for a handful of plumbers to do plumbing jobs with tea and biscuits provided.
You’ll get the tea and biscuits for free in exchange for the plumbing work and one other odd job.
If the plumbing is successful there might be future opportunities for plumbing work.

If you’re interested please let me know asap and I’ll send further details and make you your cup of tea. If not no problem.

I don’t know about you, but when you think of it in this context, it seems totally and utterly unreasonable. It REALLY makes me mad that a brand is blatantly asking you to do something for free for them because they don’t want to pay you this time. They want to see if you’re any good. Then they might consider using you again – but not even confirm whether they’d definitely pay you next time either.

And there’s the real bugbear… “might”.

“If the campaign is successful there might be future opportunities for collaborations.” So – what if it’s not successful? What do they consider “successful”? And they MIGHT change their mind? They MIGHT decide not to offer you paid work? They MIGHT decide to work with other bloggers and not you – even if the campaign is successful? I’d never even heard of this brand and yet first time they email me they demand I do x, y and z for them – for no money. “**** you” is what the unprofessional side of me really wanted to reply.

I find this so insulting that I can’t even begin to fathom how they have the cheek to send these emails out. Not even addressed to me, they’re obviously using a blanket “throw it and see if it sticks” approach. Yet time and time again, bloggers happily take up these offers, and give the brand everything they’ve asked for.

And quite often get stressed out over it, and get chased for the content… I know, because I used to do it. All that work and all that stress for a pair of shoes or a necklace. Wouldn’t be easier to just buy the damn shoes yourself? Do you really NEED the shoes in exchange for that much stress and work?

Case study 2: You decide whether you’d like to feature it

Compare this email (again, a real email, but with the identifying parts changed) to the last one:

Hi Catherine,

I hope all is well? My name is X, and I’ve recently launched a collection of x, y and z products. I absolutely admire how you rock bold colours and prints in your outfits, so I thought you and your audience might like the bright colours and geometric forms in my designs. I know you normally work with huge brands such as ABCRetailer, but I figured I’d give it a shot.

You can have a look at the attached flyer or at my website: https://linktothexbrandwebsite

I’m only just starting out so, unfortunately, I don’t have any budget for a sponsored post or article. I would, therefore, love to gift you X of your choosing, and you can decide whether it is something you would like to feature on your blog or social media channels. If this is of interest to you, just let me know which design you would like and where to ship it to and I’ll happily send it your way.

Thank you for your time.

Kind regards,
X

Can you see the difference in this approach? “I don’t have any budget for a sponsored post… [so] you can decide whether it is something you would like to feature”. It was effectively a cold email (I’d never heard of the brand before), but the approach was so genuine I checked them out. And I loved the products. And I accepted two gifts from them, with no obligation to do anything with them. And yet I featured one of the products on my blog and Instagram, with the other waiting in the wings to be featured in my own time. I TOTALLY understand that smaller brands often don’t have any budget.

I’m sure you can guess what I did with the first email… Didn’t reply, block, delete.

Is it a female trait to be lured by freebies?

I pondered a little while ago whether men would work for free like women do if they ruled the blogosphere. Are women really so excited at the prospect of “free stuff” that they’re blinkered to the minimal gain they receive – and how much they’re really giving in return? I’d lose faith in womankind a little if that were the case.

When brands cold email you offering something “in exchange for x, y, z as well as a, b, c and it must be done within one month to promote our new range“, it frustrates me that bloggers cannot see that these lists of demands are totally unreasonable unless monetary compensation is also offered.

BUT I have a way around this to make everyone happy (I hope)!

An easy solution to how both hobby bloggers and pro bloggers can work with brands

My solution is easy. Looking at the two email examples above, there are huge differences between the two approaches. The first was a blanket email and very impersonal with a list of demands, the second was a very personal email with zero demands and just an offer of something gifted. If a brand has no budget, that’s absolutely fine with me – I’m not saying I expect every brand to dish out monetary compensation to every blogger they get in touch with.

But if they cannot offer a blogger monetary compensation, they should not be giving them a list of demands.

[tweetshare tweet=”Bloggers: If a brand or PR cannot offer you monetary compensation alongside your gifted item, do not accept a long list of demands. It is YOUR choice to do what you wish with the item.” username=”cE9urabZjgea2r7SXR*3X)QtnRE2kE9$:1:0″]

This is how to deal with emails offering gifts, campaigns, collabs, etc. – it will work for you whether you’re a hobby blogger or a pro blogger (or even a part-time pro blogger):

If you’re offered a gifted item, accept it if you choose. However it must be under NO OBLIGATION. Your blog, your rules.
If they quote a list of demands (timescale, specific links, platform preference, guaranteed feature) then they should be offering monetary compensation to cover those demands.
If they have no budget, accept the gift under no obligation or do not accept it at all.

If you’re a hobby blogger and do not want to produce sponsored, i.e. paid, content, that is absolutely fine… I have no problem with that! But by refusing to meet that list of demands means that it allows pro bloggers to do the same – and you’re also not being taken advantage of. ANYONE that is meeting a list of demands for a company, whether they are plumbers, cake makers, accountants, tree surgeons, bloggers, etc. should be paid with cash, not product, because they are providing a service that they have been asked to do.

YOU may be a hobbyist, but the person approaching you is not. It’s not your mum asking you to do something for you, it’s someone who’s being paid to approach you.

The exceptions

There are, as always, exceptions. I recently attended a detox retreat which was gifted to me; I wasn’t offered, and I didn’t ask for, monetary compensation to write a blog post about it. The retreat was something that was actually very valuable to me, so we agreed that I would write a post in exchange… and that was the only demand. Not even a demand, more a simple agreement. The PR had no say in what I’d write. I’d do the same if I were offered a very high-value item, something I’d be buying anyway, like a weekend away or a new mattress for my bed. However although I’d agreed to feature them, it would be with no input from the brand and with no other demands attached.

And with all of this don’t forget to make sure you’ve written a product gifting policy that makes it clear what’s expected of you, and what is expected of the brand. Never, ever accept any gift or similar without either a formal contract or agreement in writing that your gifting policy has been read and understood.

I doubt very much this solution will reach most PR agencies and brands (feel free to send them a link to this post however!), so they’ll continue to ask for everything in exchange for a piece of jewellery or a tin of dog food. STICK TO YOUR GUNS. Is giving up your integrity really worth it for a dress from a Chinese website?

This shocking “no budget” nonsense needs to end RIGHT NOW. If they have no budget, they need to find another way to achieve what they want to achieve without asking individuals to do all the heavy lifting for them.

Bloggers and content creators are not cheap, easy, gullible labour. They’re valuable commodities. I’d love for them to be treated that way – and if not, they themselves need to prove that they are.