First of all, I want to express sincere gratitude to the brands that have found me worthy and given me a chance to write about their brands. Thank you. You have done more than buy me new shoes; you have also validated me and given me a ladder to stand upon and to ascend in this career of blogging.
For the rest of you brands, however, since this is 2015, I am taking the time to tell you in the beginning of the year that I am not interested in working with you for free or for exchange of your product, unless the product is highly valuable, wanted, needed, and desired (not necessarily expensive). January 26th will be 9 years since I started sharing my thoughts on this blog; that’s a lot of time and a lot of thoughts.
I have received too many emails from brands who express excitement over my blog and my wit and my personality and their longing to work with me, only to turn around and tell me that it’s for free. Dear Brand(s), do you give away your product/service for free just because someone wants it? A typical email would go something like this:
Candice (Brand Manager): Hi Vera! I absolutely love your blog. I work with XXX Company, and we would love to have you on board to work with us on our next campaign. We do xxx. Please check out our website www.xxxxxxxxxx.com to see what we have.
Me: Hi Candice! Thanks a lot for reaching out to me. I checked out your website, and your products look amazing. I would absolutely love to work with you. Can you send me more information, including the financials/financial compensation?
Candice: Oh, I’m so sorry, Vera. At this time, we are not offering financial payment, but we will be reviewing all the posts, as we are only working with a select group of bloggers. Our best posts will be featured on our social media account, and you will get a lot of exposure. We hope this doesn’t change your mind about working with us.
Like hell it doesn’t. In the part of the world that I live in, exposure isn’t legal tender, and I cannot use it to purchase anything. Not a damn thing. It won’t pay my rent. It won’t pay my utilities. It won’t buy me a new laptop (which I need right now because my laptop is meskafunking), and it definitely will not pay my hosting fees. Common “chin-gum” sef, it will not buy. You know what exposure does? It gets people like you to notice people like me who might otherwise never have a means to do business with you.
It’s not that exposure isn’t great. Of course it is. But I am a blogger, and that makes me already in the business of exposure. Yes, I’m still learning the ropes, but you are coming to me because YOU want exposure for your products/service, so how then do you expect to give me exposure? At the end of this transaction, I will be left holding the short end of the stick, and you are not even promising to give me exposure. You are promising that my post will be reviewed and IF it’s one of the best, then I’ll get a shout out.
Most likely what my face looks like when I’m responding to these brands
I go to bed late and [try to] wake up early because I have a business to run on this blog. There are emails to be replied, sponsored posts to type, queries to send, research to be done, and much more. I love what I do, and I love that it pays, but I eagerly await the day that blogging becomes my major source of income. I mean money income, not exposure income.
So while I do in fact do some posts for free (as favors or as giving back opportunities), it is not my modus operandi (because if it were, then this would not be a business), and it is absolutely unfair for you to contact me to do your work for free. Basically, you will be getting a high return on investment without actually making any investment (except your colorful email telling me what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and the money I will not be receiving for doing it).
As for the Nigerian businesses who want me to work for free and swear up and down that they don’t have a marketing budget but that God will reward me and that when they finally blow, they will remember me (seriously, that’s what they say), e no go better for you! Don’t make me send you a very bad case of dysentery that you will not forget in a hurry. Nonsense and ingredients!
I have finished saying my own. If I receive one more email about working for free, someone will be getting intense dysentery.
Vera oh!! You had me at “chin gum sef”. Common you companies and your “exposure” whatever happened to no “free labor” in the US of A? As for the 9ja ones, for sangbu kea ha there. If the exposure includes monetary returns then I say go ahead if not, I say “pullover and park”. No reversing lol
Feddy9ja, I don’t know why these people are doing like this oh. The only thing I want to be exposed to right now is more money. More, more, money.
After 9 years, brands are still looking for freebies? Chai! Dia ris God o!
My dear, the thing is becoming insulting quite honestly.
BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I have a question though. I don’t know that I’ve seen a bad or negative review on your blog (at least not that I’ve seen in a while). I have been wary in the past of bloggers who post reviews after receiving some sort of compensation, because I believe(d) their opinions were swayed. Do you work with brands that you’re most certain you will like, or you don’t post negative reviews?
Berry Dakara Blog
Hi Berry, that’s a valid concern about me not doing negative reviews. For me, I do reviews on on things I already like/know or am interested in. That said, there’s a thin line between reviews and informational posts. Some times, brands just want you to blog about their product or service and type a post to tell your readers about it (in which case they give you areas to focus on). A lot of things I’ve written about, I actually go on to use and love.
Vera…I suppose to copy and paste this your letter on my blog. Ive received hundreds of emails from brands that want me to review for free, or to promote them for free and thy swear to God that shishi nor dey their marketing budget so I’m like…O_o how is that now my headache. What I usually do is stop responding to their emails…I mean. How am I supposed to use my business to promote your business …for free! Please we need to buy range rover this year.
@ Berry if I chose to review a product or business for pay then at least they’ve got to have something you love. I reject (politely) reviewing products that I know I cannot honestly give credit to. You don’t have to accept every review. I think you want to ask if product reviews should be for free….yes and no. NO if na you waka go buy the product and just want to talk about it (they didn’t send you so thats osho free) but if they CONTACT you, REQUESTING (because they usually have rules), then they should pay because they are DEMANDING a service. Gorrit? When you decide to work with brands for reviews, tell them that you will be 100% constructively honest in your review. The payment is not to buy your truth but for admin purposes i.e neap, internet bill, fuel for gen, your time and energy, space on your blog. 😀
Sisi Yemmie, gbam!!! Thanks for answering Berry’s question. Per the brands, they are not yet serious ooo cause I’m not about all that reviewing for free thing. It takes too long to type a post for me to be doing it for free. And abeg, feel free to share this post on your blog, if you want.
I definitely have the same questions as Berry. I see Sisi Yemmie has answered some of them. However, majority of bloggers and vloggers have the best things to say about things they review, such that it doesn’t really make much sense to me again. I see a review, I rush to buy it, absolutely trusting everything the reviewer said, and then the stuff doesn’t work lol. Over and over again. Till I just don’t bother anymore. I think it’s fair that we get honest, critiical reviews. So if there are cons to a product, it should be listed along with the pros. And most things do have cons. So it will just be a way of reminding us that, caveat emptor. Lol. Or maybe it’s just me that’s unlucky though.
Ife, it’s important to keep in mind that sometimes when you try something for the first time, you may not necessarily find faults with it. It’s like when you move into a house and everything is perfect, then next month the roof leaks, and two months later, you realize that your neighbors dog doesn’t stop barking, etc. My point is, sometimes reviews are done on the here and now, at that time, everything might be great. Also, products don’t necessarily work/feel the same way for everyone.
I wish I could copy and paste this on my blog as well. It is so freaking annoying when they drop the no budget line.
Stella,
Please feel free to share it. Thanks for reading it 🙂
I kept laughing while reading this. Vera O Vera!!! Girl you are so funny. I get same too and it can be very annoying I tell you. Sometimes it feels like an insult to all your hard work. Blogging is work o! Brain work nor easy at all.
You pay for domain hosting, plugins, diesel for generator, man power, etc and these so called brands want your services for free.
Well, me I don’t even border…for wetin! I chop craze?!
I just stumbled on your blog and love love it.
You can visit my site http://www.matsecooks.com for recipes.
I like you die! 🙂
People don’t wanna pay for brain work and its so annoying. Inshort I will charge you per word of anything about your product I place on my blog. Just stumbled on your blog. In love wit you already.
http://favourmoyse.blogspot.com