As a Mom, wife and blogger I value my time very much. I'm feeding children, changing diapers, potty training, doing yard work or writing my posts. I don't get much time for "me"--in fact it's so rare around here that I usually blog about getting a little time here and there for myself--it's that big of a deal.
I get pitches a lot--for anything that you can probably think of. I don't mind getting pitches--a majority of the time they ask me to review a product and/or have a giveaway. A majority of the time I won't hold a giveaway unless I review the product first, but there are circumstances in which I will.
I got a pitch a few days ago--first they got my blog name wrong. It was my old blog name which I changed back in November of 2009. Not a big deal, I'll let it slide. It was a pitch about a new product, etc...I replied back that I would love to do a review and possibly host a giveaway on my blog for this product. I would give the PR company my address and we could go from there.
They in turn wrote me back--still using old blog name after I gave the new one--and thanked me. They told me that they would try to get me the product to review...but they weren't sure if they could.
I wrote back and once again said I would love to do a product review. If that wasn't possible I do charge a small fee for my time to write about a product. If they were to pay me it would be a written advertisement--basically letting everyone know that there's this new product out there, the benefits, how it differs from the old product.
So, today rolls around and I get a reply that they do not pay for posts at this time. I was tempted to write back, that's wonderful--I don't work for free at this time...
Why should we, as bloggers, work for free? It takes time to write posts, get images, read press releases. I'm not going to take the time away from my family or myself to work for free. Sorry--I'm sure there are people who wouldn't mind, but I've been doing reviews/giveaways for awhile now and I have learned {the hard way...} how valuable my time is.
I guess you could say that I grew balls and stood up for myself. I have to admit--I kind of like it....
I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you give companies free advertising? What would you have done if this happened to you? And if it has happened before, what did you do? I can't wait to hear some thoughts on this topic!
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24 comments:
Good for you. I don't understand them wanting us to work for free. I keep getting "please post about this artist" emails. I have enough stuff to post about that I don't post a press release. I think I might do it in a special circumstance if I already have a relationship with somebody, but they don't work for free, right? Why should we?
I don't see why you can't tell them you won't post for free. You could be polite about it, but maybe (maybe) they don't realize what they are asking.
I will post for free if it's a mom trying to start up a company or something like that or for a charity cause that I believe in. On rare occasions I'll post something for a major company without receiving a product, but only if I'm looking for filler info. Some of my sponsored posts have to be sandwiched by non-sponsored posts, so random press release type info comes in handy there.
But I agree with you and congratulate you for standing up for yourself! Good job!
Good for you! I don't get a lot of pitches (yet), so if it's something I think my followers would like and I like it, then I'll do it. But if it seems more like work, then forget it!!
I would have done the same thing you did. I agree, as bloggers, wives & mothers, our time is very valuable.
I recently decided I will stop doing giveaways, unless I can review the product first. It does take a lot of time, and we deserve to be compensated.
Good for you... you time is absolutely worth something. Besides if they can't even get your name right, how much do they really care about your opinion!
Nobody has ever asked me to do a review or pitch so I would probably be so flattered I might do something stupid like undervalue my time. I hope not, but I could see it happen.
Great job for standing up for yourself! Go Chelle!!! I totally agree, your time is very valuable and I won't do it for free either.
Obviously they are not serious about their product if they are not serious about compensating someone for taking time out of their busy schedule. I would do exactly what you are doing!
I've seen some other posts about this. I agree with you about our time. Companies do pay for sponsored posts and services like SocialSpark charge them a pretty penny for being the middle man. I figure if they come directly to me then they will save time and money.
I haven't done any reviews/giveaways yet. But if and when I do, I will have rules. I agree that the product should be in my hands before I post. If it's not and a company just wants me to get the word out about a product, then I want some form of compensation.
Good job for standing your ground!
I had a company wanting me to do reviews like once a month and no giveaways. Although I would get free product I haven't contacted them back because I think if you want a review a month then give my readers something every once in a while too.
Ineed to at least sample what I am going to write about or there is NO way I would do it! Hold to your guns mom!
I don't do reviews or giveaways but I do value my time. So good for you for letting them know that. It's important that they value your time too!!!
Nope. Whenever I get pitched 'this would be great to let your blog readers know...' I delete it or reply that they can pay for 'advertisement' on my sidebar.
I'll never do a review without being able to give something away too- my feeling is 'who likes to read a review without getting a chance to get it themselves'. I've given away *way* more than I've gotten, but I really like giving stuff away to people too.
That is great Chelle that you stood your ground! If a company wants a product review, then I need the product first.
If it's just a press release and they just want me to write about something I usually ignore it. So far I only do reviews giveaways if I at least get the product for myself (honestly I've never been paid in addition for one). I definitely think we deserve something for our time.
I am totally with you. You need to stand your ground. If they want us to review something or whatever then they should pay us for our time. No question about it.
This has been a huge controversial issue for mommy bloggers lately. I agree with you. I actually haven't been given too many opportunities for reviews and giveaways, but I've kinda told myself that if I do it won't be more than one a week.
I am not about to do reviews without trying the product either! Aside from the working for free thing, which is bad enough, how can you be expected to write an accurate review if you don't try the product? Hit the delete button on that one girl!
Good job for standing up for yourself! I wouldn't work for free either!
So far the only reviews/giveaways I have done have been with things that I already liked, so I basically asked if I could do a giveaway. :-) Or I just talk about stuff I've used. Or I did a BzzAgent review once, but that's what that program is for!
I think you are absolutely right, though, because this does take time, and I'm sure even more if you're trying to do a great job for a brand! I think they should compensate for that if they aren't going to provide you with something tangible so you can give your readers an accurate account of what it is you're talking about!
I get quite a few pitches to do reviews or giveaways and I just ignore them. I think it's too time consuming for me. Maybe when things slow down around here a little. I absolutely agree with you that there should be some kind of compensation for your time.
It took me a long time to realize that my time is worth something. I've been doing this blog for 1 1/2 years and only in the last 3 months have I started to get paid for some reviews/giveaways/articles/advertising. I can't pay bills with a new pair of shoes or a pretty necklace. They want the advertising they should pay.
I left ya something over at my blog!
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