The ONE Thing Every Blogger Needs to STOP Doing Immediately!

      23 Comments on The ONE Thing Every Blogger Needs to STOP Doing Immediately!

Did that get your attention or what? I promise, I’m not being gimmicky or sales-y or anything along those lines. In fact, this is more of a public service announcement to all of my fellow bloggers.

I’ve talked about this before and I’ve seen other bloggers talk about it too, but it’s time that we all finally LISTEN to one another, pull TOGETHER on this and help make a CHANGE.

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So what on earth am I talking about?

Working with brands.

For the love and respect for YOURSELF and your fellow bloggers, PUH-LEASE STOP WORKING FOR FREE!

I’m serious.

Talk Less, Say More turns 6 soon and while I am by no means raking in the big bucks from blogging, sponsored and affiliate posts do help pay a few bills, or at least the ones associated with keeping this blog alive and kicking so I can continue with one of my very favorite hobbies.

Here’s what happens when you work for free:

You set the precedent with brands that you will work for free and that other bloggers will work for free. You give them the incentive to not build a proper influencer marketing campaign into their budget. You tell them that if you’ll do it once, you’ll do it again. You devalue yourself, your time, your writing, and this entire industry.

Harsh? Yes. True? Absolutely!

Last week I had a brand reach out to me for a campaign. They didn’t mention compensation in the initial email so I was hesitant but there was some hope, especially given the topic. I often don’t respond to the emails where I can smell the “I just want to use you,” but since I thought there may be an option for compensation, I emailed them back.

As you can imagine, I got the usual response that they “had no budget for this campaign, but they send their best responses to be shared and use this to build their list for future campaigns that may have a budget.” Let me tell you what that means…it means they may tweet out your post once and you will likely see little to no return…it means they’ll put you on the list for future free campaigns because if you did it once, you’ll do it again.

At what point do you stand up for your time, your community, and your work? Bloggers don’t work for free!

If one of us does, it sets the tone; if we all stand up for our industry, we can create change.

So what is the ONE thing all bloggers must stop doing immediately? 

WORKING FOR FREE.

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That’s all.

[Side note: While I’m not mentioning the brand, I will say that my very honest, yet clearly frustrated feedback was taken very well and they seemed to respect my honesty. That is not always the case, but it was appreciated on my end.]

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23 thoughts on “The ONE Thing Every Blogger Needs to STOP Doing Immediately!”

  1. Pingback: The Sunday Skinny 11/27/16 - Skinny Fitalicious

  3. Calee

    Thanks for posting this! I had a LOT of brands reaching out to me over the summer and not one responded when I sent my rates. This is gross. I have the same issue in my professional field of graphic design. So many people will give out cheap / free design and it devalues the work that I do to the point where I’ve finally decided to denounce freelance altogether because nobody is willing to pay me what my time is worth. Yeah, your brother’s friend can do it for free (or cheap) but you’re not getting the solutions that come with a professional.
    Calee recently posted…November Creative Challenge: 50K Words (+ a book cover)My Profile

  6. Kaley

    This definitely gives me something to think about since I’m still new and thought if I do some modest advertising for free other brands would think I can boost them too and pay me. :-/ I probably have it all backwards after reading this.
    Kaley recently posted…My Airman is Home!My Profile

  10. Natalie

    Great post! It’s hard to feel confident enough to say “no, I need to be paid,” when you’re just starting out but I realized quickly that all the work for one post with nothing in return is not worth it!

  11. Sarah

    I have been trying really hard to get better about this! I can’t say that I decline everything (although I decline or ignore a lot), but I have been adamant about making sure I like and feel good about what I’m getting out of it and genuinely like the content. Usually more so with other bloggers who I’m more likely to want to work with than just any company.

  12. Divya @ Eat Teach Blog

    One thing bloggers need to stop doing is comparing themselves to other people! I found that, though I’ve been blogging for over 4 years now, my blog is not as well developed or as beautiful as others! But that’s OK! I need to remember why I started (cause I love to write and I want to document special events in my life!) and everything else will fall into place if/when it’s time!
    Divya @ Eat Teach Blog recently posted…Weekend Snapshots: 11/21/16My Profile

  21. Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home

    At least you got a response when you asked about compensation! After being bombarded with requests to “share a post” on my blog, product mentions, infographics–I ask about compensation and 90% of the time, silence. I don’t mind free product, if it’s something I’m interested in. But I’m pretty picky about product sharing.
    Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home recently posted…The Good, The Bad, and The UglyMy Profile

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