Recently I have noticed a trend in the way PR Firms have been interacting with bloggers. Is your contract with your client for FREE? I mean you contact bloggers asking them to post left and right and then get rude when a blogger turns down a post.
Bloggers pay to host their blogs. We pay for our site names. So please, stop asking me to post something for free or sending the same note over and over and then talking to me like a 5 year old. (Highlighting your sentence, really??) We’ve paid money out of our own pockets to ship prizes to winners. We’ve all learned the hard way how easily bloggers can be taken advantage of just to try and get ahead.
When you start working on your project for free, let me know. Until then, bloggers work their butts off to provide excellent pictures, feedback, and more. Oftentimes, I will be sitting on my computer until 1 am making sure that my post is just right and includes all the information about a product. Looking at a picture does not give me the opinion of the product.
Dear PR, Stop being rude. Stop being rude to bloggers willing to promote your product for free. I’ve posted about sites many times if it is something I believe in. We’ve got families to take care of too.
Disclaimer: I received various e-mails from PR Firms with lack of followthrough, rude responses to declining to write about their company or product, etc. to facilitate this review. All opinions within are strictly of my own.
Janet Aronica, if you have an issue with my post, how about contacting me directly versus attempting to bash me? I have worked with your PR Firm Kel and Partners before and your statements are that of the unprofessional and disrespectful PR contacts I am talking about. Linking to my site via your personal Facebook page and on your Twitter saying the post and the comments make your skin crawl? This is the first time I’ve ever had wind of your name but yes, I can see your links and statements.
34 Comments
Amen sister!
Amen sister! And bravo for speaking up!
.-= Deal-ectibel Mom´s last blog ..Quinny Buzz 4 Stroller for just $379, 40% Off Bebe Sounds Monitors & More!!! =-.
Great post!
.-= Susan´s last blog ..Winner -Safeway Gift card =-.
Wow ditto that! & I third the amens!
You are so right!!
.-= Stacie @ The Divine Miss Mommy´s last blog ..Go “Red” with Macy’s and Win a $25 Gift Card =-.
i’ve noticed this lately too, they need to get their stuff together!
.-= Matthew´s last blog ..Free Sample of Carefree Liners =-.
I am SO SICK of the ‘post this for free, we will give you a thank you,but nothing in return’ type of message. It gets OLD! I started deleting these emails but the reps RE-forward the email back. “Did you get this?” they ask… my reply “Yes and here is my fee”. No reply.
.-= Tanya @ Mommy Goggles´s last blog ..Dear neighbors. Yeah, you – the one that let’s their dog crap in my yard.. =-.
Many PR firms contact me and ask me to post press releases. The content of the press releases make it is obvious they have never read my blog.
I have experienced that as well. The one that sticks out in my head is someone sending a press release about how college students with multiple tattoos are so and so more likely to engage in deviant behavior. I replied back with “Hi! Thanks for the e-mail have you read my blog?” No response.
Say it sista!
great post!
hahah you know my take on it since my little post prompted this! You are right Lady we have families and while I dont mind posting for charities for free,I DO mind posting for companies that have advertising money to spend but chose not to spend it with me. My time=Money too!
I get about 3 press releases a day, not even asking me to post, but assuming I will! I just hit DELETE! It is very rude!
.-= Shop with Me Mama (Kim)´s last blog ..Riversol congratulates Freestyle Ski team members on Olympic Gold Silver – FINAL & Giveaway! =-.
Unless, I have to add, they will offer a giveaway that I feel my viewers will love or of course send me a product to review.
.-= Shop with Me Mama (Kim)´s last blog ..Riversol congratulates Freestyle Ski team members on Olympic Gold Silver – FINAL & Giveaway! =-.
You know, just because of how some PR reps are I don’t even reply to them some times. I get pitch after pitch for baby stuff on my blog. If they just looked at my site with my kids in the header, they could clearly see my household does not have babies. How interested are you really in me if you never take the time to even look at the homepage?
My email box over filling with press release about this and that is ridiculous. I blog for me not for them. If they want me to review something that my family would actually use, I may be all for it. But don’t expect me to do anything I don’t want to do. I own my blog, my site, and my writing.
.-= Jessica @Riding with Jessica´s last blog ..NASA Tweetup Recap =-.
I hear ya!
.-= Bethany Larrabee´s last blog ..Camera Critters – Chipmunk =-.
Amen.
.-= Katie´s last blog ..USA! USA! =-.
I always love to play the devil’s advocate here… so sorry if I piss anyone off. Well, not really, but …
It really irritates the he** out of me when bloggers (yes I am one) run contests/giveaways for PR and then they either don’t bother to post the winner so we all know who it is or they don’t bother to PICK a winner for weeks ! WTH is it THAT difficult to go to random.org BLOGGERS ?? IS It that difficult to make a post We have a Winner ???
Come on . Stop being lazy. HUNDREDS of people enter your giveaway and you don’t even BOTHER to post a winner. SHAME.
What the hell does this have to do with PR? And for the record most of the blog contests are multiple entries so its more like 100 people entering and using all of their entries. And most of them are sweepers which means they enter things every single day.
If you don’t like how a contest is being handled, then don’t enter.
.-= Candace´s last blog ..Rockabye Baby – Lullaby Renditions of Journey – Review =-.
I don’t have a blog but visit many of them and read many of the reviews and enter many of the giveaways. I appreciate the blogger/reviewers time and effort they put into what they do.
Why don’t the PR firms not only give you a product to try for free, but also supply you with cash in the same amount as the product. I know you have to pay taxes on the products they have you review, and that could really put some blogger/reviewers in the hole if they don’t have a lot of income coming in from another job or a spouse’s income to handle those extra taxes. I think it would only be fair if the sponsor’s/PR companies would give the blogger/reviewers the item to be reviewed as well as an equal amount of money that the item is valued at retail to offset your taxes and to pay you for your time and your effort. I think if they want you to mail any giveaway prizes they should supply you with the money to do that, as well as gas money for you to get to a shipping location.
I don’t think they should expect you guys to be giving them free advertising. The PR firms get paid and some of that payment should be going to the blogger/reviewer for their share of the work and effort they are putting in.
Should all blogger/reviewer sites be paid and compensated exactly the same, well I don’t know about that. I think blogger/reviewers as a group should determine that, especially if a company would like a link/banner left up on the blogger/reviewers site for an extended period of time, as additional advertising.
This is just the opinion of a non-blog owner, non-blog reviewer.
I feel for you! Some of these rude PR people should get together and start their own blog to market themselves and leave you all alone!
Great post. I totally agree. I don’t mind sharing some charitable information, however I don’t post press releases or “free advertising”. As with everyone else I spend many hours posting, sometimes into the wee hours of the night. If I posted every press release sent my way I would be on the computer 24/7.
I also don’t like to get pitched things that are exclusive to only one area. For example, if a celebrity hair stylist is cutting hair to raise $$$ in Miami, Florida…why would my reader in Spokane, Washington care? Or myself for that matter being in NY.
Sigh…
.-= Kimberly´s last blog ..Take the Challenge (Giveaway) =-.
I have a brand-new blog, basically just family and mommy-support stuff, and I don’t plan to do PR on it even if it were to catch fire the way most of yours have.
Frankly, I’ve thought from the start that you bloggers should be getting paid for your PR services IN ADDITION TO receiving the product which, obviously, you need if you are to evaluate it.
Why don’t you all simply start charging for your time and skills?
Hugs to all – you are the salt of the earth and you deserve better than what you’re getting.
.-= Wanda´s last blog ..Gamma said we should beat up the monsters and throw ’em out the window. =-.
Yes, I’ve also noticed a trend in PR who are lacking basic people skills. Maybe we should just all reply with “Would you mind sending this out about my blog? Thanks!”
.-= Amanda´s last blog ..What I Do When I Can’t Sleep =-.
I couldn’t agree more. Twice this week I have told PR reps that I don’t post about items or sites unless they pay me a fee if they are not supplying me an actual product. Apparently they don’t understand the time and energy that we put in to our blogs. Who wants to post about something that most likely won’t even give any good traffic? That’s a double waste of time to me.
.-= Kimberly@PrettyPinkMomma´s last blog ..Wordless/Wordful Wednesday – Cupcakes! =-.
I’m a PR person – a good PR person, I think. I wanted to share a little perspective from good PR people.
Please know that I don’t pay any “traditional media” reporters to cover my client’s news. Now, I TOTALLY understand that those writers are paid a salary by their employer – and I very much value the time of bloggers!
My hope when I share information with you is that I’ll be making your life easier (you needed something to post about and I’ve given you that inspiration) or that I share information that is of interest to your readers, thus increasing the value THEY get from your blog, thus increasing the number of readers you have, thus increasing the amount you can earn from advertising.
I have some clients that have products – and some that don’t. What is the same no matter what my client is that I have nothing to do with their ad buys. Don’t touch a dollar. So when something is “pay for play”, there’s nothing I can do about it. (That doesn’t mean anyone should be rude to you, though!!)
Don’t you have to disclose now when you’re paid for a post? I wonder what your readers think of those posts that you’re paid for? That DOES mean they’re reading an ad, which as a consumer I wouldn’t really be interested in.
That said – I read and interact with many of you that have commented, so please keep doing what you’re doing, and accept my apologies for what you deal with from crappy/rude/mean PR people!!
Dina-Thanks for commenting. My intentions with this post weren’t to say that all PR Reps act this way. In recent e-mails and so forth, many have been spammy, having attachments and the entire body of an e-mail blank. I’ve had individuals get mad that I declined posting.
There are many times I have posted about a company and so forth and I have no problem doing so but my problem is when the same individual will send you e-mails on a daily (sometimes 2x daily) pattern, not respond to e-mails, or even continue to send the e-mails after asking to be removed.
There’s been alot of it lately and I don’t know why things have started to get so pushy.
Now that I see this is actually Meagan though, why hide who you are? I’m currently having issues with several individuals being disrespectful from your actual PR Firm, Kel and Partners.
How can we not agree with this? It really is crazy. Thanks for the “for immediate release on your blog” email. This is my blog. I’m not going to put this up just because. I typically don’t respond. I do respond to the ones that at least customize it and let me know that they read my blog.
And, amen to the comment about getting paid a little something for the review. The taxes for everything are going to get bad, and I didn’t make and moolah on my blog (through no fault of my own)…it wouldn’t hurt, right?
Thanks for taking the time out to post this. I think that there are some that need to realize that they are basically spamming us. Why not take a little time, and get to know 10 bloggers and establish a relationship with them, then spamming 1000 and getting absolutely no posts!
I feel for you. I’m fairly new to blogging…just over a year. I do post mainly for free. I would like to be paid for posts. Here’s a question…this may not be the correct forum, but I will ask anyway. How much should a blogger set as the pay per post rate. I have absolutely no idea. Thoughts?
.-= MusingsfromMe/Jill´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday: Odd Socks =-.
Hey Jenna –
I am really sorry about the Tweet and the Facebook status. It was not meant to be a personal attack on you and I am really sorry that I hurt your feelings. It was a mistake of mine, and I just want that to be really clear. This is not a reflection of Kel & Partners or our clients, it’s a reflection of poor judgment on my part. They are like my family and I don’t want anyone to think this is how we are as a company, it was just a poor decision on my part and I regret that.
I’m take full responsibility and I am holding myself accountable for this. I have total respect for the mommy blogger community and I apologize that I offended you and any of your friends with my Tweet.
Thank you,
Janet
This is one of the reasons I stopped doing so many reviews. I only want to work with the reps that have good communication skills and come highly recommended because of their care, kindness and respect. Good reputations should be HUGE for reps. Nobody wants to deal with a snotty rep.
As mothers our time is valuable. As bloggers our time is valuable. We need to start being pickier about who we work with. Either reps need to start respecting us (most do but there are a few bad apples) or they can always try contacting magazines and newspapers and see how far they get with the ‘can you advertise, print, write about, review this for free?’ and see how far they get. Nobody works for free, especially moms who are trying to help their family with the little things in life. Ya know, little things like mortgages, food and the occasional juice box.
.-= Stefanie´s last blog ..To brighten the mood! =-.
Thanks for saying what was is on all of our minds. Very nice Jenna 🙂
.-= Tiffany´s last blog ..Bloom’s alma crib =-.
How incredibly perfect that someone proved your point on Twitter!!
That is just fabulous! We need screenshots, please!!