Or to put it another way, this blog is not a free advertising platform for your business that is making far more revenue than I ever will….
Ok, that sounds harsh and probably a bit petty. I will clarify.
I do host and post blog posts that are paid for, and I am scrupulous about sticking to the rules for advertising, and disclosure. There are rules and regulations, which I will always stick to. (Please don’t ask me to break them!) I also host some content that is free, either written by myself, on behalf of someone else, or by someone else, usually a guest post about a topic we think might interest our readers, or for charities or organisations that we want to help and promote.
I am NOT a money grabbing blogger, very few of us out there are. We do all however, work very hard, and love what we do, and our blogs for some of us are a source of income, or our pride and joy, or both, and when we get mails asking us to host a blog post, with links to an organisation, that with a little bit of internet sleuthing, clearly pulls in a fairly reasonable amount of revenue, but seem to think that by asking me or other bloggers to host what is basically free advertising on our blogs for them is doing us a huge favour.
It’s not. My blog is not a free advertising platform for your business. Don’t insult me or other bloggers, by asking. If your company doesn’t have a basic budget to pay bloggers for their work or for promoting your business, then perhaps you need to consider who you work with. Bloggers work hard, we don’t work for free, and we put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into our blogging and writing, and no, the line “well, other bloggers do it for free, it’s good PR” doesn’t always work. Sometimes it is good PR, but you need to remember that we are a fairly tight knit community, we do all chat to each other, and work together, on a lot of things, and spend time on social media, so we do know when we are being taken for a ride. Sometimes something is good PR and sometimes it’s basically treating us like we owe you. We don’t.
I will always consider all offers sent to me, and we DO work with a lot of organisations, and I am not going to demand ridiculous fees or go all diva on anyone, but if you send me a mail, telling me you have an amazing blog article you want me to share, you will get a reply with my rates and conditions. No budget, yet the company you work for makes x amount of revenue per year? No thanks.
Harsh, yes, reality, yes. We don’t work for free…
Are you a blogger? Do you agree? What does “work for free” mean to you?
PS just to clarify, I LOVE blogging, I would blog even if I wasn’t fortunate enough to be asked to write reviews, sponsered posts, and to work with some amazing companies, but I feel frustrated when I get a lot of mails approaching me asking me to work for free when in reality, companies wouldn’t expect that of other businesses.
Hell, yes! I keep being offered great free content I can post on my blog – lucky me! Well put lovely lady 🙂
I think in some peoples eyes this would be rather a controversial post but well done you! completely agree! What is wrong with trying to make a little income from something you love to do and something you would probably put just as much time into as some jobs out there?? I’m not in it for the freebies or the cash, I’d love more recognition but when I get paid for sponsored posts or something sent for review it’s an added bonus. Blogging (as much as we love doing it) can be time consuming when you count all the self promotion, photographing and writing up and I don’t see what’s so wrong with trying to source a little income from It. Who said we can’t do a job we enjoy?? xx
I think it’s more that I feel annoyed that companies who clearly are making money, expect to be able to advertise on my blog, for free, because they see blogs as easy targets, and that we should all be grateful for that, when other companies are prepared to spend £ on adverts and for people’s hard work. Why should I host a post, for a company that is going to generate them revenue, and not get paid for it? I wouldn’t work as a nurse for free? I don’t earn that much from this blog, I blog because I love writing, and I want to share and help other people, but if a company wants me to promote them, there should be some quid pro quo? Some bloggers do make their living and work very hard at blogging, it’s a bit rude to ask people to work for free, I think.
I totally agree. Well done for getting it out there.
Karen, you are totally right. Unfortunately, this situation is common in a lot of ‘creative’ industries. My sister and partner both work in music and are often asked to work for nothing, or for the PR/glamour of a big name. A common scenario is the ‘Hollywood Movie’ that wants to use some music or needs singers, and they have a very teeny tiny budget, or no budget (and yet they can afford to pay for very expensive effects or locations etc.) Same goes for artists, graphic designers, photographers and many self employed people. The truth is that you reap what you sow, and if these companies are not prepared to pay fairly for someone’s hard work, then they will fail to profit too. Also when someone gives their work away free, it is not valued by the recipient as much as if they had paid a fair price. So we all must make a point of paying others for their work, even when it is a nominal amount for friends and family. I actually believe it is a spiritual practice as much as a practical one.
Thank you! 🙂