When I started blogging, the world of bloggers was full of sunshine and rainbows and we all lifted each other up with support and encouragement. Businesses thought we were cool, the world was a wonderful place. Then something shifted.
I can’t quite put my finger on it but those who have been around long enough, will know what I mean.
Perhaps it all started with stories of travel bloggers getting awesome holidays “for free” and fashion bloggers getting designer hand bags and outfits for nothing. How glamorous! Except it wasn’t free, but i’ll get to that.
One by one we all jumped on board. A meal to promote a restaurant, a haircut to showcase a hair salon or a baby bag to launch a new Motherhood line. You get the picture?
It seems as time has gone on, the expectations continue to rise as the value of the blogger diminishes. Resentment sets in and I can’t see the sunshine and rainbows anymore.
The terms of exchange seem to have become confused. Why can’t you write a post in exchange for the jar of honey I sent you?
What is a blogger worth?
Let me tell you how a “good” blogger operates.
Most (if not all) bloggers write because they feel quite strongly about a particular topic. You might even say its love. The post they write to feature your brand takes time. When was the last time YOU sat down and carefully wrote an article? They’ll write it and then re-write it. Then they’ll sit on it for a day or two and think it over, just to make sure it’s perfect.
Most bloggers will take photos that represent your brand and they’ll spend hours editing, cropping and obsessing over making it “just right”.
Most bloggers will spend a few hours researching relevant hashtags and links to support the post and images, so that your brand gets the shine it deserves. Did I mention keywords yet?
Now, because I’m both a business owner and a blogger I can honestly say, this situation is playing out on the flip side also. It’s just the worth of a business is usually a little more obvious. Just as a blogger can’t pay the bills with free face cream and cappuccino’s, a business can’t pay the rent with Instagram pics.
So where do we go from here?
At the risk of climbing on a soap box, I think there’s a code of ethics we can all agree upon, starting with:
“Collaboration means a mutually beneficial exchange of services that is of equal value to both parties.”
YES exchanging services or products for service is ok!
YES a business can approach a blogger with an opportunity and vice versa
and YES they can both enormously benefit from that.
BUT! Let’s be realistic guys. If you don’t have a service of product that’s of high value, try partnering with a micro blogger? Or paying a little cash on top?
Your business is valuable and your blog is valuable. No matter how big or small, we are equally deserving of respect and being valued.
We started B Directory because we could see that businesses and bloggers could be working together and growing together, way more than they are. Opportunities were and are being missed. And we at B Directory say……
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
– Henry Ford
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Elsa Mitchell
Elsa Mitchell is the co-founder of B Directory, providing outside of the box solutions for small business, to help supercharge their growth. One of the ways they do this is by connecting business, bloggers and influencers to create the right online partnerships. B Directory also provides training and management of marketing services to help ease the overwhelm facing small business today.
Elsa’s ability to provide guidance to B Directory clients is underpinned by her extensive business background. Over ten years ago she established her own salon in the beauty industry, which is now a popular and successful operation. Further to this, Elsa is also the Marketing Director of her family business in the building and construction industry.
Elsa’s success in the customer service industry has allowed her to identify solutions and strategies surrounding bricks and mortar sales and building a positive team culture. A skill set she now is able to utilise to educate her B Directory customers.