Last week I had the pleasure of joining some of my blogging friends for a panel on working with mom bloggers. The event was hosted by the Publicity Club of New England and coordinated (in part) by Caitlin Melnick of 360PR. It was an opportunity for us (the bloggers) to talk about why we blog, how we prefer to work with PR and what we look for in PR outreach. I enjoyed talking about my blogging experiences, but I also liked hearing from my peers. I hope it was an interesting and educational experience for everyone in the room.
As I thought back on some of the questions that came up and the discussions that have taken place in other forums, I kept coming back to one basic principle: Don’t waste my time.
- I can’t review a product I haven’t seen/used. If you don’t want to send a sample, don’t ask me to write a review.
- My influence goes beyond the number of visitors to my site, but if you’re looking for a certain amount of traffic, please state that in your introductory message.
- I don’t need you to read my blog before pitching (other bloggers do), but I won’t reply to off-topic pitches. Don’t send me follow-up notes unless you know your pitch is on-topic.
- I won’t consult for your company without some form of compensation, be it financial or other. Reviews provide content for my site. Improving your product/message/corporate image does not.
- Be upfront about your expectations so I can decide if it works for me. I will do the same.
Whatever your ideas on “Mommy bloggers,” know I am an intelligent, educated and professional writer. I am a business owner. If you approach me with respect and a product/mission that meets my interests and values, I want to work with you. If you want a quality experience, you want to work with me as well. Just don’t waste my time.
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Your post is very on point. There is nothing worse then having you time wasted.I as novice blogger and a freelance publicist I know this too well. Your last point about expectation is a conversation that I think everyone should have. Often times expectation are not explicitly explained then there is room for error and disappointment.
I am honestly appreciating people’s posts like this. I am just starting to do reviews/giveaways and have put up a few things for no compensation. Never again lol
Just to be clear, I do not think that reviews should be compensated. Reviews are content for my site and that is a value to me. A compensated review (beyond the cost of the review product) is an ad and holds no value for a reader beyond any other ad on a site. Consulting is participating in focus groups, speaking about the product in public, hosting events for the product, handing out product to others, etc. That adds no value to my site. I hope that makes sense. Giveaways (separate from reviews) are a mixed bag. I do not currently charge for them because I consider them to be a gift to my readers. Then again, I don’t do THAT many of them to have it be an issue.
I’m not a blogger, but I don’t understand how companies can want you to do a review of their product without a certain amount of monetary compensation, not just product compensation. I write this because you have to pay taxes on the products you receive to do a review on for the company. I mean the companies should at least off-set that by providing you an equal amount of money equal to the price of the product they want reviewed/advertised via your blog/site. That way you could put the money in a savings account and have it there when you have to pay taxes on the stuff they give you to review. That’s the only way I can see where the items you review for companies won’t come back to bite you in the behind at tax time.
Just a thought from a reader who isn’t a blog owner or reviewer.
I believe that blogging is a business, just like being a freelance writer (which I am as well) or a contractor. Taxes associated with the costs of doing business fall on the business owner. I don’t think it’s reasonable for companies to pay our taxes, but I also think that generally blogging isn’t a viable business. It’s what comes from your blog (consulting opps, speaker fees, etc.) that makes it worthwhile.
As a consumer who reads reviews, I’m relieved that Best Practice for bloggers is to not accept compensation for reviews. I worry that the review is not authentic if it’s been paid for. Thank you, Christy, for such an enlightening post.