Good morning and thank you for your email.
I always love getting emails from you (either PR or SEO expert, or website owner who has something lovely to sell) or other people within your field, it brightens my otherwise dull day no end. You often offer me a product to review that I have not seen before. Or along to an event that may not have been on my radar. All of which are lovely and if I like what you have to offer I am more than happy to, in turn, alert my readers.
Hell let’s be honest here. If you approach me with a sponsored post for which you are happy to give me hard cash then I will consider that too. Provided it is something that I am interested in, and happy to advertise. As, let’s face it, this is an advert. Or it is a link to a website for one of your clients. You want to buy a little piece of my blog for your client.
And there is the crux of the matter. This is my blog. My space. I pay a company an annual fee to host it. I work hard to maintain it. Every day. I write articles. I source photos. I think of something to come up with, or something hits me that I want to talk about. I subscribe to Linky Tools to try and foster the community spirit of blogging by hosting a weekly linky for other bloggers to join. I reciprocate on other linkys.
I then monitor comments, respond, Tweet links to articles.
This all takes time. But time I am happy to spend as it is my blog. My space. My baby.
So when you send me an email offering me either “free content that is mutually beneficial” or that you “only have a budget of $10” and yes, that is a Dollar sign, please don’t be offended when I send you a snarky response. Why would I want to host some random article on my blog for your client? Have you written it for free? Are you working for your client for free? Is that the agreement you have with your client? I sincerely doubt it.
Please don’t insult me with these offers. For they are an insult. I am not prepared to have my blog littered with irrelevant articles for which I have received a payment of £6. You want your article delivered to the inboxes of my readers? Well then it needs to be something that engages both them and me. Or worth it. And I do have a “rate card” that clearly shows you how much I would charge for such an article which I am more than happy to forward to you if you ask. I am even open to negotiation on those rates under certain circumstances. I am not prepared to negotiate down to £6 however, or for free.
Unless it is something I have come across, or something you have been up front about and said “T have you seen this, would love you to sing about it, can send cake”. I am more than happy to do that but I won’t do it if you pretend it is “mutually beneficial” nonsense.
How can I engage with either you or my readers when you send a generic email that says “Dear Mummy” demonstrating you have clearly not read my “about me page” and seen my name is T. And then go on to say “I see you blog is all about toddlers and young children” when, again, my “about me page” clearly says I have three teenagers and that I rarely talk about small children.
It is such a waste of your time. And mine.
So let’s just cut to the chase and not bother, shall we?
Love
Mummy B
you tell them T!
x
I’ve been offered €15 for a article about a shed!
Debating whether to be polite or sarky back…….
Honestly? I don’t usually like these ‘Dear PR/SEO/whoever’ type posts, but T you have written it very well and hit the nail on the head, so high five to you.
and I get that Alison, and normally I feel the same. But I have had four of these types of emails today alone. And I had to get it out there as I am sick of my own voice in replying to these emails so want to be able to copy and paste this to the next one that comes along. But on the whole, yes, I agree with you.
Next time just send them a photo of Wil Wheaton collating paper, ala Jenny Lawson aka thebloggess style.
Or maybe not, incase they reply all calling you a bitch.
Best PR fail I’ve ever seen I think!!
Well said! I am getting so sick of these emails offering me content for my own blog FREE OF CHARGE. When I email them my fees, some even tell me that they shouldn’t have to pay to write a post for someone else’s website! So infuriating, I guess some people agree though otherwise they wouldn’t bother emailing. You should just send them the link to this post next time you get one! X
Oh Yes. I have had so many of these emails recently. Great response!
Exactly this!!! Amazing how quickly they go away when you say “actually, my fee for this is x”.
Think I might just copy and paste this. Very well put ta. And it’s not even Ranty Friday!
it certainly beats my rant about them last friday! well done 🙂
you beat me to it! Was just about to write a post on this very subject after my email this morning!!!!!!
Well said that woman!
Love S.A.M xoxo
infuriating isnt it? I have had four today and a similar number yesterday. Just tipped me over the edge today. I can now just reply with this link 🙂
Well said that woman. I get fed up with these too, and with emails asking to me host ‘competitions’ that are in fact ads or articles that have NO RELEVANCE to my blog. E.g. Even though I clearly state my children are teenagers, today I have been asked if I’d like to review maternity clothes or babies bibs….do I look pregnant? Hang on, don’t answer that.
It is infuriating. I get loads in by inbox too and have started to just delete them all, which probably means I am missing out on some genuine ‘mutually beneficial’ opportunities but I just can’t be bothered to sort through the wheat from the chaff.
Another reason that I have yet to accept a sponsored post, is because I am still a bit unclear as to what the value of my blog is. I’m not sure what the going rate is, not sure about follow/no follow rules, completely clueless about page ranks and how these are affected… I just don’t understand that side of it at all.
Which is what I guess, some of these companies are banking on…
Brilliant! I have wanted to say something along those lines for a while!!