bloggers and brands | are they serious?

So… is FREE advertising a ‘thing’ on blogs these days?

Do you write unpaid articles?

I’m kinda wondering if this is the expectation.

I’m sure many of you will have seen Catherine‘s recent posts about blogger/brand relationships.  If not, go have a read now!  ‘Professional Blogging: Should Brands Pay Bloggers For Product Reviews?‘ really brought some stuff to light.  Obviously I’m nowhere near Catherine’s professional blogger status, but thought I’d add my twopence to the discussion as I’ve had a few ‘odd’ requests myself lately.

It’s clear that more established ‘bigger’ bloggers are deserving of greater compensation than newbie bloggers that are yet to reach their potential.  Just good business sense, really.  A blog with 100,000+ hits a month is obviously a sound investment for brands and as such, should surely be able to expect some monetary compensation.  At the moment, free products are a lucky side effect of blogging for me – it’s not my reason for blogging.  I just love to write and communicate. 🙂

What Catherine has experienced is bad enough, but brands do seem to be taking things to a whole new level with us newer bloggers.  I know it’s a cliché to say it but blogging is bloody hard work!  It takes a lot of my time to post how I want to.  I’ve never just thrown out a filler post and if it ever gets to that stage, I’ll probably give it up tbh.  Bearing that in mind, it’s kind of insulting when brands expect something for nothing.  No compensation, no product to review.  Just a few images to include on your blog maybe.  What’s most offensive about this is that they may be under the impression that we’re lacking in ideas for content and will therefore be happy to write  a free ‘advert’ for their wares.

I’m not talking about fledgling independent brands here either; I’ll always be very happy to give support to brands just starting out.  These are big high street names who presumably spend thousands on advertising, yet it’s ok to ask for free promotion from us bloggers.  Seriously?  Is it just me or is this not just incredibly rude?  To think that I’m so desperate for content that I’m happy to spend hours writing about a product that I haven’t even seen.  No.  Just no.

I’d really love to know which other bloggers have experienced this.  I know from the comments on Catherine’s post that I’m not alone but am very curious to know how often they try it on.

Would you write a post (with links) advertising a brand you have no experience of?

Would you include a specific # on a Instagram pic at the request of a brand but without an offer of the product to review?

Would you retrospectively add a link to a brand whose product you had mentioned in an already published post?

I’ve had all 3 of the above in the last few months but luckily for me also have regular contact with several very experienced bloggers who I can ask for advice on these matters.  If you’ve had a blogger/brand collaboration that’s been slightly lacking on the collaborative side, do let me know!

lily kate x
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