It's okay to say yes
There's been a lot of opinions on bloggers getting 'freebies' or being paid for sponsored content lately, but honestly who cares? If you want to try that new product out or you could do with a little bit of cash go for it! As long as you are always honest and it's relevant to your style of blog I don't see the problem. Bloggers put a hell of a lot of time into their blogs so I don't see why they shouldn't get some perks.
It's okay to say no
Sometimes a brand will get in touch and they don't quite fit in with your style. It's okay to turn down their offer. They will find another blogger and you won't feel like a sell out. On the other hand a company might ask you to work on a project you like the sound of but their budget might be a little low. As a blogger you have to understand that sometimes companies look at us as a cheap way of advertising and it's not always worth spending hours on a blog post for pennies. I've been asked to write posts for as low as £4 and honestly I think its a bit of a piss take.
Treat PR people like friends
PR people spend a lot of time looking for the right bloggers for a campaign. They might have looked at hundreds in one day and if they send a personalised email to you I think it deserves a reply. They won't expect to hear back every time if they've sent out thousands of generic emails but if they've took the time to address you specifically or even mention a particular blog post, you should take the time to email back. I also don't think it hurts to be nice and ask them how their day/weekend/ holiday has been as well. Building business relationships is important but it's just as - if not more - important to be friendly and polite.
Stick to your word
If you've been gifted a product to review or feature on your blog/ social media, you should do just that. PRs will be nagged by their managers if they've sent products out without results. They might send you a friendly email asking when you will feature that product and you should always be honest with them. If you can't feature it for a couple of weeks, let them know, at least then when their manager asks they can say you've been in contact. You might not be given opportunities by the same PR company in the future if you go AWOL after getting 'freebies'. Along the same lines I always drop the company a little email when a post featuring their product goes live, they might not care but it's good to keep them in the loop.
Read the small print
Lucky for me I don't have any horror stories to tell but I always think its a good idea to read the terms when working on a campaign. I'm working on something right now which, when it goes live, the company has the rights to use any photographs featuring the product. I agreed to this at the start but if you don't read through things properly when you sign up, you might have a nasty surprise later down the line.
Enjoy it
Even though us bloggers do spend a lot of time and energy on our content we are lucky to be given some opportunities. I think it's important to enjoy the experience and take pride in the work you create whether it's paid or unpaid.
So that's about everything I can think of right now. I don't claim to be an expert blogger but I've been on the scene long enough to have picked up a few tips that you guys might find useful. Just a side note, I've put the word 'freebie' in quotations as we all know there as nothing free about products gifted to us for promotion.
I really hope you liked this post and I'd love you to get in touch if you have any tips when it comes to working with brands!
Thanks for reading
x
If you liked this post don't forget to click here to follow me on Bloglovin!
Post a Comment