MomCrunch
Mommy Bloggers For Sale: Just $7!
Have you been wondering how to care and feed a typical mommy blogger when you’re conducting a social media campaign? Good news! This article is here to help. There are so many helpful hints!
Okay. Ending my sarcasm now.
On the surface, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this article. I actually agree with the idea that bloggers should be treated as professionals, and the mention of advertising on blogs. There are several points that are true, in fact, but there is something about the tone that rankles the other bloggers I’ve spoken to about it.
Also? If you can find me a blogger that will take $7 for a sponsored post, I’ll find you a seriously terrible blog that doesn’t get any traffic, will forget to add your links, won’t actually write up the product, and will generally give you EXACTLY $7 worth of effort.
The truth is, when you’re working with bloggers (as I have done multiple times on behalf of my clients), you need to follow the three “Rs”.
• Respect.
• Relationships.
• Reasonable.
Bloggers like to be treated with respect – almost more than they want to be considered professionals. Many bloggers are just starting and don’t consider themselves professionals yet, but they still need to be treated with respect. Honoring the effort a blogger goes to on behalf of your client or your company is critical to getting the blogger on your side.
Relationships are key with bloggers; not only do you need to work to maintain a direct relationship with a blogger, but you also never know who is friends with that blogger. Don’t treat them badly, don’t be dismissive or rude, and do NOT bitch about other bloggers (yes, I’ve had PR people do this – kvetch to me about a blogger I know and am friendly with). Be friendly and professional with everyone and you will be able to build the relationships that are key to working in this space.
Lastly, it is CRITICAL to have reasonable expectations of a blogger. You want a smart review of a product? Send them the product in a timely manner, give them enough time to become familiar, and provide them with the info they need. You want a giveaway? Giveaways take a ton of time and effort; give the bloggers a fee for their time. You want a great, informative sponsored post? Pay them enough that they will put serious time into the post. Want to bring bloggers in as ambassadors for your product? Make it worth their while. Flying bloggers to your company to get acquainted with the products? Pay their damned travel to the airport.
Ultimately, if you want to know how to get the most out of working with mom bloggers, use the three Rs. Plus you might want to consider hiring an actual mom blogger to help (there sure are enough of us doing consulting). And for the love of GOD don’t follow the lousy advice in the column I linked to in the first paragraph.
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12 Comments
Lynette Young commented on Feb 02 12 at 11:24 amAgreed! And experienced bloggers need to ask for their fair market value and not undermine themselves as ‘just’ bloggers. They are professionals!
MLB commented on Feb 02 12 at 11:24 amSo as a blog reader, not a blogger, I would love to know what a sponsored post gets. I feel it’s fair given that I am reading them and therefore enabling the process. Many (nearly all) of the blogs I’ve read historically have gone this way at least at times and I can’t think of a single sponsored post I haven’t found tedious, even by the best writers of the bunch. So what does the blogger get in return?
Cat Davis commented on Feb 02 12 at 11:28 amWhere the heck is that lady getting her information from? I won’t even offer a tweet for $7.
Selfish Mom commented on Feb 02 12 at 11:59 amI read the advice article that was linked to (and thanks so much for also linking to my rant about car fare to the airport!), and had the same reaction. While the advice tends to be on the mark (with the HUGE exception of the pay range for sponsored posts), it also comes off as very condescending to mom bloggers (please God, enough with “mommy”) – kind-of how articles from the fifties used to talk about women. “She likes to wear pearls while she vacuums, and so you should provide her with several beautiful strands to choose from.”
Then I realized that it was written by someone I know and like A LOT, who totally doesn’t come off that way in person, so I have no idea why the article has that tone. It’s unfortunate, because at the heart of it is good advice.
Selfish Mom commented on Feb 02 12 at 12:06 pmMLB, to address your comment, that’s really unfortunate that that’s been your experience. A sponsored post should be just as engaging as any other post on a blog. If it isn’t, I’m guessing it’s either because the blogger just wanted the money and wasn’t that interested in the subject herself, or she didn’t really think about her audience when choosing to write the post, or she didn’t personalize it enough. That last one is the problem I see the most: if a post could just be lifted out of a blog and posted somewhere else, what’s the point? But if the blogger can tie the product in to talking about her own life, her kids, etc., then it fits.
Molly Gold commented on Feb 02 12 at 12:07 pmI always go back to it being as simple as this. If the pr or brand partner was sitting in the blogger’s chair, they would expect to be fairly compensated for every minute of their time and effort. How is it still possible that some don’t see this? If they will take the time to look at backgrounds, they can’t help but see how much intelligence and experience is out here, and acknowledge that while its a space without boundaries, its FULL of insanely talented professionals worthy of the hire.
Lisa @Smart Spending Spot commented on Feb 02 12 at 12:17 pmMLB-I don’t enjoy every commercial I see on tv, yet I have ever to call ABC or NBC and say “Now tell me, since I watch your channel…..how much did you get paid to broadcast that commercial?”
MLB commented on Feb 02 12 at 12:57 pm@Lisa – commerical rates are known. We all know, for example, how much super bowl airtime costs. But we don’t know what sponsored posts are worth.
@Selfish Mom – the posts I’m thinking of are on the Babble top bloggers posts themselves. The one exception I can think of personally is the More Birthdays campaign by Amalah. I’m not going to go through the list of bloggers that I enjoy that Babble also enjoys that have written sponsored posts that ring hollow, but I think the fit is almost always stretched and forced, IMO.
Anne commented on Feb 02 12 at 1:26 pmI have to chime in and say I agree with MLB 100%. Not only do sponsored posts almost always seem forced, but once sponsored posts start to drown out the real content, I’m gone.
cecilyk commented on Feb 02 12 at 1:49 pmMLB, you have a good point. I’m going to see if I can get some bloggers to discuss what they charge for a future post.
MLB commented on Feb 02 12 at 1:53 pm@cecilyk – thanks, I appreciate it. Seems like it would really benefit other bloggers too.
Mom101 commented on Feb 04 12 at 8:11 pmI’d like to add one more R:
Read.
As in, read the blog. That always seems to be missing from all these articles about how to pitch bloggers. If more PR people read the blogs instead of just grabbing the email addresses of the Babble Top 50 (since that was brought up here), they’d realize that few of those bloggers do reviews/giveaways at all, and definitely not for $7.
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