While the beauty blogging landscape continues to move ever further from the place that it started, shifting and changing so fast I can hardly keep up, there are some things that haven’t changed at all.
To go right back to the beginning…about 2010 I would say when blogs started to really get noticed properly by brands and agencies (mine started in 2008 so I had a couple of years in the wilderness with a handful of other UK beauty bloggers) there was a general assumption by both bloggers and brands that in exchange for free products to properly try and test, free reviews would follow. Fair enough. That was a good and fair exchange in the eyes of most bloggers.
However, as Blogger stats started to rise, their value to the brands also started to rise. More eyes on product basically, and a good review means that more people will want to buy the product. And, in essence, that is what an ad does – it puts eyes on pages and cash in the tills. And yet, as far as brands are concerned they still want the massive leap in eyes on pages to equate to a free mascara. And, it just doesn’t any more. That is not to say that blog posts should be paid for. Far from it. What I’m talking about is the heavier demands that form an entitlement attitude from brands. Recently, I’ve turned down the ‘opportunity’ (twice) to endorse products going on sale in stores nationally in exchange for a printed link on the packaging.
Now, what’s the first thing you do when you buy a new product? Take it out of the box, and …. throw the box away. What the brand wanted from me was a written endorsement on their special box of products (selected by them and a very random selection it was, too) so they could make use of that at point of sale and in any press materials and probably to show to the board as an example of their innovative use of social media. Take it from me that this kind of ‘promotion’ does not lead to significantly bigger stats, because by the time a customer has put the box to one side to take the actual products out and thought they might come back to it later, meanwhile the chicken didn’t defrost properly, the bins need putting out, the baby is crying, the phone rings.. everything nudges that box further towards the recycling. A product endorsed by a blogger (even if you have never read a blog) might inspire you to purchase because any endorsement has the potential to swing a decision, but it is more or less worthless in real terms to the blogger.
Then there are the ‘competitions’. Now, I don’t do competitions as such because I don’t actually know the law involving competitions so I am very careful to ensure they are give-aways. The last thing any blogger needs is to be in violation of competition regulations – and I’m pretty sure there are some. Again, recently, I’ve turned down the opportunity to give away twenty mascaras (or glosses – I forget) because what that translates to for me is collating all entrants for the give-away, ensuring I collect their names and addresses and get permission (data protection rules? Does anyone actually know them?) for me to pass it to the brand. At which point the brand will then ask if they can use these addresses for data (to add to mailing lists etc) and I always say NO. On the other hand, the brand may think that sending me the 20 mascaras for me to do the administrative work around and incur the postage is also completely reasonable. And, I’m sure it would be if I had recently won the lottery and literally had nothing else to do with my life. It’s why I do very few give-aways and the ones that I do do are high value one-offs.. not millions of small prizes to eke out. I don’t use them as stats grabbers.. they only last a few days and hopefully one or two readers get something really, really fab.
There’s been a big shift from bloggers who feel they need exposure and readers at any cost to bloggers who are going, ‘hang on..’ and recognising their worth and value. Nothing could be a clearer example that brands think bloggers really have sod all else to do in their lives than run about after free lipsticks (and can also live on fresh air) than an encounter with someone who wanted me to canvas ten other bloggers, get them to try the product as a blind test, report back to me each week for a period of six weeks and then I collate all the information into one big fat report on how wonderful it was on my blog while doing the grand reveal. For free. Where on earth, when I struggle to even get a couple of blog posts up some days because of lack of time, would I suddenly magic up the hours that that converts to? My evenings? My weekends? On holiday? I wondered aloud at the time why the brand thought I might want to do that. “We thought it would be fun for you.”
All that tells me is that brands have not caught up with blogging as it is now. They’re still working to the 2010 brief. Bloggers work so hard – we have to now work even harder because where once we were an elite group, now we are one of hundreds of thousands and readers will soon move on if they’re bored because they have an exceptional level of choice these days. There is more pressure on today’s beauty bloggers than there ever has been in the past.
The beauty bloggers I know want to make a success of their blog, they’re tired of being treated like second class advertising and they’re thoroughly sick of being consistently undervalued. The game has changed. Will I review products without expecting payment? Yes I will. Will I review honestly and fairly at all times? Yes I will. Will I get right behind brands I love and believe in without expecting anything back? Yes!! And especially small brands with a brilliant drive and ethos. Absoblogginglutely. Will I get bamboozled into endorsing something that a brand would previously have to pay a professional expert or minor celebrity to do, and do it for free? NO. THAT IS NOT FUN FOR ME.
And for the record, the price of a glass of wine in a wine-bar won’t buy a brand everything I know about blogging. Because, apparently, a free drink is fair exchange for four years of slogging, amassing knowledge, information and stats. On Mars, maybe.
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Transparency Disclosure
All products are sent to me as samples from brands and agencies unless otherwise stated. Affiliate links may be used. Posts are not affiliate driven.
45 comments
*and the crowd goes wild*
I’m completely new to this blog (found through an RT) and I would love to give you the biggest pat on the back for this awesome piece.
You’ve expressed what many dare not say and major kudos for that.
Samantha xx
Such an honest and refreshing account! So many people have ‘jumped on the blogging bandwagon’ in the last year with the same style of posting, advertising, giveaways etc. I actually love reading something that was written with purpose and emotion and most importantly, originality! Go you.
Stands up and applauds
I’m just starting in the beauty blogging world so this was a really interesting read! I would have loved to have been involved when it all started – as a newbie, it’s intimidating to have so much competition amidst so many bloggers who are endorsed by companies. I’m on my second shot at making it work, having decided to just write as I wish and quite literally let that do the talking! We shall see how it goes!
http://thepurpleambition.blogspot.com
For me, a sample of a product I’m genuinely interested in trying to enable an honest review of it on my blog is a fair exchange. I’m not interested in monetising my blog for various reasons (the hassle of accounting for the income being the biggest one) so that’s where I leave it.
I do see the increasingly cheeky approaches to produce videos/run competitions/promote brand facebook pages/produce content for other sites though. That stuff is work, and time consuming. If you’re asking someone to work for you, you generally expect to pay them for it.
*Applause*
I once had a brand – a household name – here in Singapore ask if I could be their “model” for some makeup artist competition they were doing (or something like that, I forgot). I was expected to be the model for several roadshow events, be there to film videos, and then at the “finale” on stage.
All this would be spread out for a month, and guess what they offered me in return? They said that I may keep the products that the makeup artist used on me for free. My goodness – one month of work and I get some free makeup? Not only that, only the makeup that was used on me, ’cause what would they do with it after, right? I was beyond insulted. They really act like all it takes is to give us some free products and we’d jump at anything.
Sharing this post asap; thank you thank you thank you for speaking up!
xx Renee
Brilliant post!!! I’ve been blogging or over a year and really wish I had started in 08 before the blogging craze. I find that it seems hard for some readers and established bloggers to distinguish between myself – blogging as a hobbie and those who are after beauty event invites / sponsored posts / freebies! I only buy what I like and still try to be objective. I find difficult to understand why those that get given something free stuff forget to remain objective – writing the pros and cons! I don’t see that often on blogs that get freebies!
You go girl!!! So refreshing to hear that traditional values stand strong. Good for you – hats off!!! xxx
It is refreshing to see someone being ethical about what they accept from campanies- not that i am saying that alot of blogs aren’t, rather they don’t know what they are really doing. Being contacted by a company can cause such excitement that sometimes you forget that you are blogging for the reader just as much as for yourself. Thank you for bringing this to us bloggers attention 🙂 x
What a fantastic and interesting post! I have only recently started a blog and the main reason for doing so is because I work for a small beauty brand and wanted to understand more about the blogging world from the eyes of a blogger! I know how much work it involves marketing a beauty product and I agree, brands do have to wise up to the value of their bloggers and not just expect them to jump when they say so just because they have been given some free stuff! And to do the job of a professional PR, unpaid?! Ridic! It’s a shame that there are so many bloggers out there who have jumped on the ‘freebie’ bandwagon…maybe these bloggers need to evolve as much as the brands?
I find it annoying when bloggers fail to state that they were given something free!
You post the most brilliant posts about what it is to be a blogger these days!!
What an amazing heartfelt post Jane – thank you for standing up for the rest of us. I hope the relevant brands take heed!
Nic x
*Applauds*
Thanks for this post! Worth bloggers and brands rethinking but I think most of the time money is the issue.
“Will I get bamboozled into endorsing something that a brand would previously have to pay a professional expert or minor celebrity to do, and do it for free?”
This has had a knock on effect and certainly changing how it all works as a whole ie. instead of a MUA ambassador/spokesperson for a brand, it might now be a blogger, instead of beauty columns written by journalists, it is now a celebs…I doubt much will change as some brands will find ways of cutting costs.
I can’t believe a brand offered you the ‘opportunity’ to conduct a product trial. I used to do that sort of work. I also used to occasionally see how much the company was charged for it. I can’t conceive of anyone doing it for free!
I agree with Grace. For me a free product that I am interested in exchange for review is fine. I’ve had a couple of approaches recently which basically amount to SEO for a brand. That isn’t an opportunity for me, it’s free advertising for them.
I’m also very nervous of hosting giveaways since I discovered they are sweepstakes and probably need to fulfill specific legal requirements and/or a license. I don’t see potentially breaking laws as an opportunity for me either! Apparently it’s better to go for a ‘Contests’ where a skill is involved. Trying to work out the legalities is too much hassle for something I do as a hobby.
Woooo!!! Its about time someone said something!
These brands are ridiculous and literally stuck in the dark ages. A blogger holds a far tighter grasp on the industry then any other form of PR & marketing, and so brands should realise what a key contributor we all are in the industry. Brilliant post! xx :o)
What a refreshingly honest read. I guess you could call me a newbie in terms of blogging. Its something however I have grown to love yet with the thousands of blogs out there it is hard to get recognised for what you do these days. Blogging although I enjoy it incredibly it is also hard work so thank you for making a stand for all of us.
Becky
Beckys Makeup
A bloody men !!!!! This post is brilliant ! Thank you for saying posting this, I think this is true of the whole blogging community not just beauty blogging xx
I do agree with you. As a hobby blogger and someone new to the beauty scene I’m not getting offers like you are and am happy if I get a product that I’m interested in and feel I can honestly endorse (as long as I like it) withour compromising my ethics. But I do think that some of the things that people are being asked to do are ridiculous. People have to value their time. If they’re spending X amount of time covering a brand, they may be turning down work elsewhere that would be paid and they do need monetary compensation. People can’t live on thin air and goodwill. For brands, blogs are essentially advertising. And you wouldn’t expect an advert in a magazine for free but they expect an endorsement in a blog which sometimes have higher readerships than a magazine. Brands need to get real.
I can tell you that as a reader I really appreciate your up-front, frank style, and I think that’s one of the things that make this blog stand out from the others.
Editorial, i.e. your general content involving your unibased opinion is of course not monetised i.e. not paid for.
Promotions, sponsored posts, video content, anything involving you producing content, resources, data or results for a brand for their gain is WORK. And work should be remunerated. Brands and PR companies know this fine well. They are laughing all the way to the bank at bloggers’ expense and I really, honestly mean that.
And sorry, but this also needs to be said: What compounds this issue and makes the landscape so much harder for pro bloggers to make changes to try and get paid are the naive attitudes of new bloggers who are very VERY welcome and who often mean well but who just don’t really understand the scale and the issues at hand.
If you have spent years growing your traffic the only one with the right to leverage that for a monetary return is YOU, not a brand.
Yes, when you have 20 followers reading your blog it’s terrific to get sent a free mascara but that doesn’t quite scale up when you have a half a million/a million impressions a month, so it’s frustrating and ridiculous to expect to set “rules” for all (#bbloggers, another sacred cow, I’m looking at you here) and give the impression that it’s a level playing field for bloggers. It is NOT.
It is not ok to say ‘no one should expect payment to run a competition’, ‘no one should expect to monetise a blog’, ‘no one should accept paid advertising/it is wrong to accept advertising’.
Those aren’t calls you can or should make for the general blog populace when your blog is small, you’re a month old or you do it as a hobby. Those aren’t calls you should make EVER. It’s unfair, it’s unhelpful and it gives an impression to the general blog readership that “things” should be done one way or the highway, or it’s somehow ‘wrong’ and lets have a go at those doing it ‘wrong’. It just ain’t the case.
Live and let live peeps, there’s mascara, and room for us all, but the pro bloggers and those who’d like to go pro are finding themselves increasingly hampered by the attitude that it’s somehow wrong to want to earn a living from their site – it isn’t.
In no other industry would you be pilloried for parlaying a hobby into a career. You’d be positively feted, and that’s something to remember.
Over and out.
Really interesting post, aS always. As a noob to blogging but not a noob to the beauty industry I’m really intrigued by all this..personally I blog because I love to write and do nail art, I’ve worn makeup for nearly 20 years and want to share that. I thought I had my first industry email the other day, but it was for viagra. Should I ever reach the lofty heights of blogger worth wooing, they better come armed with a chequebook..and a teacup Yorkie.
Thankyou Jane for your very clear and concise post, I do feel that it is a shame that everything has become so complicated, it takes the joy out of the whole process.
For me I write about what I buy and what I like or dislike, I am too small to effect anything and I rather like that. Thankyou again for this.
Such a brilliant post and something that needed raising. It’s been a long time coming.
Like you say, when I started out being given a free product and a retweet was enough to keep me happy. However, as I’ve worked very hard to build up my brand, my readership and my experience I expect a little more in return when the ‘opportunity’ includes a large requirement of my time.
Working with brands should be a reciprocal thing – they get paid for a big project so they do have budget to pay for time, content and anything else that is actually ‘work’. I’m becoming increasingly frustrated with the ‘opportunities’ landing in my inbox that are actually chargeable.
Thanks for raising this. I’ll be writing my own experiences too in the hope that change may start to be implemented.
This asking you to conduct a product trial project is ludicrous. I can’t even begin to imagine the world involved and the chasing up associated with it. I am intrigued about the rules and regulations regarding giveaways and want to know more xx
Jan, I know exactly what you mean..it is all so much more complicated than it used to be; the lustre has gone but it was inevitable. New things and better things will come for sure, but transition phases are always hard x
I wasn’t thinking much if I should be paid for my efforts in contests, etc. I was just refusing to do them, because they take time and I wasn’t offered any reason why those suggestions should be interested for me.
I don’t like when I’m suggested to promote brand’s site or social page for lipstick (even not the brand I genuinely love) or to write a guest post with time and content restriction (like you should write a post about sun protection emphasizing that our products are the best and we’ll send you a sample).
Even for those for whom blogging is a hobby, it’s about what blogger like to do, how he likes and when. Not about doing what a brand wants in exchange for lipstick.
very insightful and i think your really brave for sharing with us – alot of people really wouldnt have the guts x
I think a few people who have mentioned that the smaller blogs aren’t helping are a little unfair. I’m fairly small in comparison to most but I’ve grown my blog relatively well in a short space of time, yet it was incredibly hard to do because the blogger etiquette is so difficult to navigate.
There are no real guidelines on how to blog (not literally; the writing element most people can get a start on but all the other elements like brand relations etc) other than occasional posts from some of the larger blogs and it’s quite an intimidating and overwhelming experience for those who know nothing about it.
Thankfully there is a massively successful blogger who does help me when I need it (I won’t name just in case she gets harassed with e-mails!) and kindly lets me get in touch if there’s an issue that I have no idea how to deal with, but for most new bloggers they’re out there on their own and having to work out the rules by learning from mistakes.
The whole beauty blogging world keeps changing and it’s not always possible for everyone to keep on top of everything all of the time. So I believe that if smaller bloggers do something that you think is inappropriate or of poor etiquette, it wouldn’t be the worse thing to drop them an e-mail and let them know, as they may not be aware that what they’re doing is unfavourable.
I disagree about the value of endorsements. The box is what yo pick up and examine in store NOT the product itself. And I think it does create exposure for the blog. And name recognition – and peer and brand recognition – can be just as useful as traffic. Which isn’t the be all and end all.
BUT
giving that endorsement for free? HELL NO!
I say yes and show me the money. Simples.
Re: giveaways. Again, it’s simple. Charge for running them. I do get awfully bored of people offering me ‘fabulous’ prizes which would require shitloads of work on my part and massive exposure for the brand. For nada for me. Hurrah. Not.
LLGxx
Brilliant post. I blog because I enjoy it, I like sharing ideas, opinions and my experience – if it helps one person then brilliant. I never expect to make a living off of it, all the freebies I get are the same that any person can get. I’ve been offered something but when I said I’m giving up time to do it and want a contribution towards costs I heard nothing from them again.
I’m young (blog wise!) and would love loads of follows and was toying with the idea of a giveaway but on the other side I want people to follow my blog because they want to read it, not because I’m giving stuff away. Catch 22 really. x
Wow, that was such an interesting post. I like reading your blog as I feel that you are independent and give an honest review of products. Of course I assumed that you didn’t buy all of these products and got at least some of them for free, but I didn’t realize how much pressure some companies put on you to write a positive review, which essentially would be advertising and not a review. Do they approach Saatchi to make an ad campaign and tell them they will give them some free mascara for it? Hmmm, on the other hand an awful lot of men wore eyeliner in the 1980s, especially the ones that worked in marketing….
This is a blog for independent information about a product, your opinion and your thoughts. If you start running “infomercials” how could we trust your opinion in the future? We couldn’t be sure if you work for them or yourself anymore. Integrety is priceless, for them to expect you to give it away for free is ridiculous. I am glad you told them where to shove it. These people have become far too used to desperate work experience staff.
What an enlightening post…thank you for taking the time to trace the evolution of what is expected of a beauty blogger! I have read beauty blogs for years and started my own earlier this year. I suspect that having this type of insight at the forefront of my brain will be incredibly helpful in my journey. Best regards!
Bam! Hit the nail on the head! I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been offered “great partnerships” and “awesome products to giveaway”, where I have to do all the donkey work and not get paid a single cent. Sure I get some exposure, but most of it dies after said giveaways are over (digressing a bit – people who subscribe to your blog just to win giveaways and unsubscribe once they find out they’re not the winners? I have no words).
And journalists are threatened by bloggers? Hey at least they are paid. Ours is a big drink for ourselves (which comes out of our own pocket) in the relief that the giveaways are over and then swear we’ll never do something like this again.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, it’s crazy that blogs and social media are being undervalued as such.
I use my blog as an extension of my day job as a journalist – it’s the chance to write in MY style, rather than house style and be as silly and off-topic as I want. It’s mine and I will write about what I want.
What chafes me the most is that I’ve had brands ask me to remove reviews on MY blog, when I’ve purchased a product and been disatisfied with it. I’ve been offered more of the same unsatisfactory product to remove a unflattering review of it. They are crazy to think that would happen, and it certainly doesn’t make me want to buy or cover their products again, even the ones I enjoy.
I’m really pleased that you have made this post, the main motivation for me starting my blog was that I was reading loads of blogs that were receiving free stuff (they did state it) and were being in my opinion false about how good the products were, if I ever bought the products they said were great they always underwhelmed me… glossybox is a good example of this!
It is great that you can be sent free samples to review I was soo pleased when I got my first but I wouldn’t sell up the reason I started our blog just to please the PR lady so I can be sent more samples.
Completely agree with what you’ve said – brilliant post, as usual.
I think that even if people are ‘new’ bloggers or doing it as a hobby, there is a level of professionalism that should be assumed, and demanded by readers. For me, this is a million times more important when approaching brands.
Even as someone said, navigating the new world of blogging is difficult, I haven’t found it hard to make friends on twitter with more experienced bloggers. People are open to answering questions as long as you’re nice. If you don’t have a media kit for example – just ask someone you trust, or do a quick google.
On another note, I’ve all but stopped running competitions for most of the reasons you mentioned. The primary one though was that I had a bad experience last year where a haircare brand sent my sister (who blogs in Sydney for me) about 5kgs worth of shampoo/conditioner/etc to give away, which we were happy to do. When it came to mailing the prizes, it was such a nightmare with the postage and they eventually came back to us over a month later to say they would look at the receipts if we had them.
At the end of the day though, I blog because – like everyone – I love it, and it’s my creative outlet. If it’s one thing I’ve learned though, it’s know your worth 😉
Sounds like someone is looking to cut their advertising and admin budgets by offloading the work to bloggers.
Very succinct and to the point post!
Great post and sorry for the delayed reply… as you know as I talk to you about it, one of the problems facing us is knowing what we should be asking for payment for and what sort of rates are chargeable. Something could be worth £20 or £200 for all I know. I literally don’t have a clue what going rates for things are, and what is reasonable and what isn’t and I’m absolutely sure that a massive amount of bloggers don’t know either. It’s all very well other people shouting about how bloggers should know their worth…but HOW?! It’s so difficult when you know nothing about this kind of thing.
What a brilliant piece you have composed here. I have fallen heavily and irrevocably into the Blog Reader trend. I adore advertising (for some reason- I perhaps should have pursued that many years ago) and all that it entails, and have been just transfixed with the work you and others like you do. How it influences me defies description. You bet I’ll “obey” your suggestions over the shiny pages in Vogue!! xoxo Beth in Pgh 😉
“There’s been a big shift from bloggers who feel they need exposure and readers at any cost to bloggers who are going, ‘hang on..’ and recognising their worth and value. ” You always manage to hit the nail on the head. Excellent post as always, wish I had your writing ability.
I totally get your point but I don’t think it’s fair that you ‘pick on’ specific brands and give examples of opportunities they’ve offered you.
Honestly Congrats! I always love reading on your blog these types of articles where you speak the right words, where you put the cards on the table and say the truth. I admire you, really and I couldn’t agree more. I know some bloggers that make little Giveaways with only 2-3 products of a small value that isn’t even worth the shipping price just because they are desperate for readers/visitors. I totally agree with a great value giveaway from time to time rather then host small giveaways every week or in some cases I’ve seen 4-5 active giveaways on some blogs.
Say it right! 🙂
Fantastic post and I completely agree. Having worked in print and now online, I completely agree with what you’ve said and in particular your second class citizen description. Thanks again for a great post.