Selling myself short?
During my years of blogging I consider myself to have been a very lucky person. Blogging has opened up a whole new world to me with lots of new opportunities and experiences. I have received some fabulous products in exchange for reviews and the odd sponsored post here and there. I wouldn’t say that it has enabled me to be a stay-at-home but it has certainly made it easier and it has opened up doors which I didn’t think were available to me. Ever since seeing the film Pay It Forward many many years ago, the ethos has stuck with me and I have always tried to do something good for someone else when something good has happened to me, I like to think of it as good karma but recently I’ve been starting to wonder if I’ve been a bit of a mug and have been selling myself short. On the whole I have formed some good relationships with great brands and PR’s but I feel like I’ve been slipping into a bit a rut recently. I have been approached by a few PR’s recently who want me to write a post when there is no product or reward for me and I have tended to just do it. I felt it was my way of saying thank you to the blogging world for the rewards I’ve had to date but I seem to be getting more and more of these requests and I’m finding my time is being taken up writing posts, spending time on something for nothing.
I am not a money grabber or a Mummy Blagger but I am a stay-at-home Mum who is doing everything that I can to make a contribution to my family. I need to make a stand and say that my time is not free, I want to help brands to promote themselves but I do feel to a certain extent that my willingness to participate is being taken advantage of. I’m sure its not just me and that there are many others out there in a similar situation but if I don’t value my time then no-one else will!
9 Comments
Liz Burton
October 21 at 11:43 am
Very well put and I wholeheartedly agree with you. x
On the whole I think PRs recognise this but there are a few who take the mickey. They should appreciate that our time and skill is valuable too.
mummymatters
October 21 at 6:48 pm
Thank you, I was nervous about pressing the publish button and I want to stress that the MAJORITY of PRs are great and do appreciate that we are not a form of free advertising but there are an increasing number of cheeky ones trying to sneak their way in too!
Jenny
October 21 at 12:45 pm
Well said, and exactly how I feel too! I’m inundated with people wanting to advertise their products on my blog. They don’t seem to realise that people don’t want to read endless press releases!!
mummymatters
October 21 at 6:46 pm
I was very unsure about publishing this post as I wasn’t sure with how it would be taken. I’m not being greedy, I just want to be treated fairly I guess 🙂
Meo of Merciful Blessings
October 21 at 5:45 pm
Nope, it’s not just – if you feel your being shorted then you are. Doing something because you WANT to is GOOD KARMA as you say, doing it out of guilt is not. There are trade-offs for everything, I have some no product reviews coming up for no product, no pay BUT I am getting exposure… as a newbie my blog needs the posts itself to get other offers. If I didn’t need the exposure I’d be more likely to give higher consideration to CAUSES, such as Ronald McDonald House Charities or some other organization I believe in. Time is VALUABLE 😀
mummymatters
October 21 at 6:44 pm
Thank you, I totally agree with what you say. There are certain posts that I am happy to do for no product and no payment but generally because its for a good cause or something I feel strongly about, I’m definitely going to be more stringent in the future regarding everything else 🙂
Super Amazing Mum
October 21 at 8:35 pm
I have had so many request recently asking for the same – one even wanted me to run a TV ad on my blog for their Xmas Campaign…When I pointed out that I had worked in media for 18 years and that there was a “value” to my doing so, the PR admitted that “in an ideal world, they would re-numerate everyone for their time and effort, but that they couldn’t afford to do so” I then pointed out that “in an ideal world I would support every brand and PR I love” but time is short etc etc She then said that “well plenty will do it for free” That says it all really!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Everything is a commodity.
I only review things I am genuinely interested in and that I think my readers would find interesting. There are WAY, WAY to many blogs out there that just do review after review for a freebie and I heard a recent story of a blogger who reviews then sells on the stuff! I think that is bloody awful/greedy. If for whatever reason the kids get fed up with something or it is not used, like things we also PAY for it geets taken tot he charity shop…..
You live and Learn!
Phew, my rant over!
S.A.M xx
mammasaver
October 27 at 8:13 pm
I think it’s a great idea, the ‘Pay it Forward’ thing. I really do!
However,
I reckon it’s a bit off for PRs to ask advertise their product or service for free, on the back of your hard work building up readership and putting time and care into your site.
mummymatters
October 31 at 9:59 pm
Thank you for your comment, I think it has all been a good learning curve 🙂