As bloggers, how often do you receive emails like this?

Dear Tine,

I love your blog. I’ve been reading it for a while now and I think it’s great. I thought I’d reach out to you about a partnership between Beautyholics Anonymous and Brand X.

Brand X is [insert sentences about how awesome it is and what it does].

All you need to do is to write about Brand X with 2-3 anchor links in the post. It doesn’t have to be very long, just 500 words or so would do with some images here and there. We would also require you to promote the post on your blog and all of your social media platforms, e.g. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. In return, we’re happy to offer you $30 for your time. We will also promote your post on our social media network which will drive traffic to your blog.

Please let us know if you have any questions. Excited to work with you!

Kind regards,
Representative of Brand X

Now you know why I added quotes to “opportunities” because really, what sort of opportunity are you really getting here?

For non-blogging readers, the email above (it’s not fictitious by the way; I really did receive an email like this) is an example of the many emails bloggers get. It’s what we call advertising for brands on our blogs with lots of work to be done on our part for nothing/next to nothing. It frustrates me greatly whenever I see emails like this (hence the GIF above) because more often than not, there will be bloggers who take up these so-called opportunities and get paid peanuts for the amount of work they do. No wait, they don’t even get peanuts!

I’ve seen requests masked as partnerships or collaborations between the brand and blogger. In a partnership, both parties should receive equal (or at least almost equal) benefits. What’s a partnership when a blogger is required to write a 500-word post including at least 8 images, promote the post on all social media platforms hence giving the brand plenty of exposure when all the blogger gets is a simple link on said brand’s Facebook page? Is it because Brand X’s Facebook page has heaps of followers so the mention of the blog post will drive traffic to the blog? Back in the day before Facebook changed their algorithm and that every follower sees updates from the page, that might work. These days, unless the brand pays for the blogger’s blog post link to be promoted and seen by every follower (bloody unlikely), then the chances that link has high reach are very low. Essentially, the brand gets the exposure it wants and the blogger? Pretty much nothing. Some sort of partnership this is, eh?

Sponsored posts take a lot more work than regular posts. They should stand out from regular posts because it’s paid for. It can take me up to 6 hours or even a day to write just ONE post, depending on what is required. What’s the point of brands coughing up lots of money if what the advertorial is going to be just a simple post with a few words and a picture that doesn’t stand out from the usual content? It could be that a blogger who doesn’t do videos on her blog create one for the sponsored post. It could be elaborating a regular post into a step-by-step guide that the blogger doesn’t normally do. These are just examples, of course. Different bloggers do things differently but at the end of the day, a lot of effort goes into writing sponsored content.

As such, I believe that brands should compensate bloggers accordingly to how much work is needed to create sponsored content. How would you feel if a brand asks you to write a post with the criteria above (500 words, minimum 8 images, social media promotion, etc) for just $30? That’s 6 cents a word. I don’t know about you but that’s a slap in the face for me as a blogger. I’m worth more than 6 cents a word and so are you.

Now I know that at the end of the day, $30 is still money. For struggling students/bloggers/etc, it’s money that can be used to put food on the table. The way I see it, time is money. If it takes you hours to create a sponsored post with all the bells and whistles, is your time only worth $30? What you’re getting is below minimum wage. Just something to think about.

Here’s an example of how I’d turn these opportunities down. It’s not a template, mind you, as different opportunities may require a different approach but it’s roughly how I’d go about it.

Dear Representative of Brand X,

Thanks very much for your email and for your interest in Beautyholics Anonymous. The opportunity sounds good but unfortunately, the amount offered is far below my usual rates. As the post would require a fair bit of work, I’m afraid I just don’t have the time to do all that you’ve requested for so little.

Please see attached for a copy of my media kit and rate card. If budget is an issue, perhaps we could work something out, say [insert amount of $] for [insert alternative]?

Thanks for understanding and if the budget allows for more opportunities in future, please do keep Beautyholics Anonymous in mind.

Kind regards,
Tine

Just a short and polite reply would do. There’s no need to get nasty and go “hell no, I’m not doing it for next to nothing!“. These people are just doing their job.

The next time you get an email regarding any brand collaborations or opportunities like this, do take a step back and think of whether the amount of remuneration offered is worth your time or not. Heck, you may not even be paid for the amount of work you need to do. It’s something to think about carefully. I’m not saying that everything needs to be about money. If it’s an interesting campaign and you already love the brand anyway, hey, you may even want to do it for free.

An important thing to remember is this: whatever you do, make sure it’s worth your time.