When To Turn Down Sponsored Posts

Once you've been blogging for a little while, the possibility of companies coming along to offer collaborations or sponsorships (be that through paid posts or free products) evidently becomes more likely. Although it should never be the main purpose of blogging, especially as it takes a considerable amount of time for your blog to reach the point of getting these offers, the first few emails you receive from companies are always exciting, as it's nice to realise you've been recognised within this community. I can say for myself that the first email I received regarding a sponsored post excited me immensely, and evidently I jumped on board straight away. But I really wish I didn't now.

Now that I've been blogging for quite some time, I've found myself to be increasingly fussy with the content that I post, particularly in relation to sponsored posts. Since the relaunch of my blog just last month, I was surprised to see a relatively quick influx of emails offering free products for review amongst other offers, but have found myself to turn each one down. It's not necessarily that they're bad products or companies, but after quickly glancing over an email, I can soon tell whether this  is an opportunity that I would like to take. 

And these are only my thoughts. Please feel free to disagree.

When They Don't Address Me

The first line of an email speaks absolute volumes to me. Probably my biggest pet peeve when I receive an email from a company...when a company can't be bothered to address me correctly. Maybe this is just me being picky, but a simple Hi Lizzie is going to go much further than simply saying Hi! I mean after all, it's 6 letters; 6 letters than don't take long to type, 6 letters that appear on my blog domain, on my YouTube channel, on a large variety of my social media...how hard can it be? When I see these emails I can almost assure you that a handful of other bloggers are receiving the exact same email. There's no personal touch. I don't feel valued as a blogger. Honestly, if you can't manage to address me correctly, I can't manage to publish a blog post for you.

When The Product/Company Does Not Fit In

This should be a given for any blogger, but if the product or company in question does not relate to the theme of your blog, then you shouldn't really accept a sponsorship. It'd be a little odd if a fashion post had shown up on a cooking blog, let's be honest. And it won't only disadvantage the company as their paying to sponsor a post that won't interest the readers of that blog, but it might seem as though the blogger is simply in it for the money/free products, regardless of the theme of their blog. This has been something cropping up for me quite recently and although there are many different aspects to my blog, if the product doesn't fit in, then I won't accept any collaboration.

When They Ask For Too Much

I understand that when you collaborate with a firm, they're evidently going to want something in return. Some ask for very little; you get sent a free product and are asked to review it, others can pretty much tell you word for word what they want you to write. I even had one company offer to send me a pre-written post - no thanks. The words published on my blog will be my own genuine words. Another example of mine includes a company who basically wanted me to post a stupidly large number of links to their website and product pages, essentially having the post act as an ad for their product which in no way even related to my content. I don't know, maybe they're trying to increase the direct links to their site in order to boost their SEO? The sad thing is, many bloggers will accept these types of posts.

When I Get Nothing In Return

These were the first types of emails I ever received and for so long I continued to accept them. It's not than I'm in it for a free product and the money, but now I feel that if a company is going to directly contact me in relation to a post regarding their products or company, I should really get something in return. Why should I be offering free posts for one company and charging for another? I don't know, I feel that as bloggers to accept these, we're a little undervalued, and blogging can be hard work, taking a considerable amount of time in the day up...I would rather not feel that way.

What are your thoughts on turning down sponsored posts and collaborations?

Lots of Love