Todays post is a another in the 'My Blogging Experience' mini series that I started last month with my 'blogging pet peeves' post (here). As my blog is coming up to it's 3rd birthday (which is in May and I will have a rather exciting international giveaway to celebrate) I thought I would create a few blog posts to share my experience of blogging over the years including what I have learnt, my experience of working with brands/PRs, blog photography and more.
This post is all about my personal experience and approach to working with brands and PR companies. When I started my blog, I didn't think that I would really work with brands as it was just a creative hobby for me rather than blogging for money or samples and it still isn't. I started my blog mainly as I always bought quite a lot of makeup and I wanted to share my views and I already wrote on two review websites (Dooyoo and Ciao) so my own website was a natural progression for me. It wasn't until almost one year after creating my blog that I was approached by a brand to work with them. The brand was The Skin Regime and I was so excited when I received Dana's email, especially as it is an American company. I remember feeling quite overwhelmed when I received my first product to review as I didn't want to disappoint the sender as they had sent me a product from America and I wanted my blog post to be amazing. Although I feel obliged to be up front and true to my readers and followers, even though I only had 30 or so at the time but every reader should be provided with the necessary information if they want to purchase as well as an honest review of the product.
Since then I have been very lucky to work with some of my favourite brands that I bought from before I even started my blog such as Debenhams, Yves Rocher, Burts Bees and more; as well as being introduced to brands I never would have tried which is one of my favourite things about working with brands/PRs. The college above shows some of my favourite products that I have received for review recently, one of which I never thought I would own - the Silkn Glide HPL System.
Working with brands/PRs is a controversial topic in the blogging community but my personal view bloggers working with brands/PR companies that is the norm however honesty and transparency are so important. I also think that bloggers approaching brands/PR companies themselves is perfectly acceptable and I do it myself on occasion, it is just the way in which you approach the individual on the other end of the email which is what makes it controversial, in my opinion. For example, when I approach a brand I email something along the lines of: 'Hi, I'm emailing to ask if you work with bloggers' etc so they can say if they do or don't. What I do have an issue with is that some bloggers may think that brands owe them products to review because they are a blogger and have X number of followers. No brand/PR owes any blogger anything and what may need to be taken into consideration is that PRs are real people and they are just doing their job. I have been fortunate enough to have positive experiences with all brands/PRs, some of which are so lovely, especially the team at Media Hubb, Media Works and Total Media who work within digital marketing and media buying as well as blogger outreach - I would love to work in PR/digital marketing!
On the other hand, I do receive emails from PRs that basically ask me to publish a post about a certain product, campaign or app/website with no benefit to myself or my blog - that's not ok. I didn't work hard for almost three years on my blog to provide brands with free targeted advertising, in my opinion. If I did publish their posts I would feel as though I am providing my readers with information they don't necessarily want and I would be lowering the value of my own blog; I wouldn't want to that as bloggers do work so hard. Some of my family and friends have described my blog and their experience of starting a blog as a 'part time job' and a 'mini business' and I think that sometimes bloggers are undervalued although with the rise of 'big' bloggers in the mainstream media, it is becoming much more valued and important as a new media outlet for consumers, brands and PRs.
On the other hand, I do receive emails from PRs that basically ask me to publish a post about a certain product, campaign or app/website with no benefit to myself or my blog - that's not ok. I didn't work hard for almost three years on my blog to provide brands with free targeted advertising, in my opinion. If I did publish their posts I would feel as though I am providing my readers with information they don't necessarily want and I would be lowering the value of my own blog; I wouldn't want to that as bloggers do work so hard. Some of my family and friends have described my blog and their experience of starting a blog as a 'part time job' and a 'mini business' and I think that sometimes bloggers are undervalued although with the rise of 'big' bloggers in the mainstream media, it is becoming much more valued and important as a new media outlet for consumers, brands and PRs.
I have put so much time and effort into my blog and one of the perks is working with some fantastic or not so fantastic brands but it shouldn't be the reason anyone starts a blog, you have to have a interest and passion for your chosen topics. I love blogging and after almost three years I cannot imagine stopping! There are controversial topics within blogging, as there are with everything, which can take some of the enjoyment out of it but if you are thinking of starting a blog I would suggest you do it. It is one of my best decisions I have made, not only because of the lovely perks such as events, samples to review and meeting new people but on the whole it is a fantastic, supportive community that I love being part of.
Just a little note, there was a #lbloggers chat last week I think about sponsorship and disclaimers which I was too late to join but I read through some of the chat (definitely look out for the blogger chats on twitter) and I wanted to be completely transparent regarding sponsored posts. For example, this post is sponsored and I personally have no problem with bloggers accepting sponsored post opportunities as long as they are honest, labelled as sponsored and are relevant or helpful to readers and followers which I hope this post is.
*this is a sponsored post*
If you are a blogger, what are your opinions on working with brands/PRs? Also what are your thoughts on sponsored posts?
