Why Mom Bloggers Aren’t Flipping for Just a Sample of Your Product

June 9, 2009

We’re back to one of my favorite topics — Bloggers and Compensation.

There’s a few folks out there who will tell you that if you ever pay a blogger for anything, you’re violating some ‘purity code’ – some imaginary Blogger Code of Ethics that we all got to vote and agreed upon (there isn’t one, getting bloggers to agree on anything is like herding cats.)

The thing is? There are different types of commercially related blog posts. There are reviews (where a blogger gives you her opinion on a product, company or service), there are announcements/informational posts (similar to press releases, usually just a heads up – but sometimes links to deals or sales) and there are contests/giveaways (where opinions don’t necessarily enter into it, but prizes are given away on the blog that are supplied by a 3rd party.)

But these are *very* different types of posts from the blogger’s perspective.

Even though it may take someone about the same time to read each of them? It doesn’t take the same amount of time to create or maintain them.

We constantly get emails from PR people that seem to think that all we really ought to post are the announcement type. It seems that they often mistake bloggers for “new reporters” and think all we should do is repackage whatever info they email to us. (Come to think of it? There are some blogs that do seem to do just that… but not most.)

We also often get emails that say “we would like to send you a sample of our product or service for your review if you are interested.”

But lately, increasingly, companies are turning to the contest/giveaway model and approaching bloggers to see if we want to hold promotions to give away either samples, trial-codes, or prizes to our readers in order to promote their company or products.

Some of them get what it is they’re asking for and some don’t.

We don’t have “web guys” who do the work for us. Hosting a contest? Means figuring out the details, creating all of the content, posting the contest, running it fairly, monitoring entries for validity, choosing winners and notifying them, plus either fulfilling it by shipping at our cost, or acting as a go-between for the company and then posting the winners.

But it seems that there’s people out there who think that all that work isn’t really work. That they shouldn’t have to pay bloggers for doing the same work they would have to pay the guys in marketing, PR, and those who do their own websites.

If you, as a business, went to your web guys and said “we need you to run a contest on the site – create the design, the contest rules, the elements and the content, run it, monitor the entries for validity and to make sure no one is cheating, then contact the winner(s) and get back to us with that info – oooooh, yeah, and we can’t pay you your salaries this week, but would you like some free laundry detergent or diapers instead?“ They’d laugh their butts off. Well, before putting in a complaint with the local labor board and putting their resume on Monster.com, that is.

Yet that’s what keeps repeatedly being asked of us. “Will you work for free?” And for many of us, the answer is now becoming “well no – I’ve got this other company over here who is offering to compensate me for the same work and isn’t treating me as if being a blogger and/or a mom somehow made me lose my business skills and common sense.” Because seriously?

Yes, I love helping my readers experience new things and potentially win something… but I’m not going to be the only person working for free in this equation.

And that’s not because I’m some sort of prima donna who thinks I’m important. Yes, you can tell me that there’s “a ton of mommy bloggers who would jump at this opportunity.” But all you’re telling me is that you will take advantage of anyone you can. Whether a blogger is an “A-Lister” or someone who is still building her audience? They still have to do the EXACT same amount of work. Essentially, you’re asking people to work for free for you “for the exposure” or for “a product sample” but you? Yeah you there offering me this wonderful opportunity for my readers? Are *you* getting paid? Or do you just do that PR & marketing gig out of the goodness of your heart because you love it so?

How much is a bottle of laundry detergent or a package of diapers? Somewhere between $15-25 depending on the size? That’s just horrid. It works out to about $2-5 per hour or less if you run a contest right. One that isn’t just a few lines of “hey, company X is giving away a year’s supply of potpourri” or “this author wants me to hold a contest to give away 5 copies of his new book comment here to win.” One with no promotion, no concern about running a fair contest, no checking to make sure you’re doing a good job.

Would YOU work for that?

Sorry – I just needed to get this out there. When bloggers ask to be paid to host your contest on their sites? We’re not being demanding or unethical – we’re getting fed up with being treated like “mommies” or clueless bloggers who don’t know any better. You’re sure as heck getting paid by whatever company you work for or are doing PR for. Are *you* being demanding or unethical expecting someone to value your time and effort?

And yes, I love being a part of the chain that gets awareness about your client, your product, or your business to your potential customers – but while I may write for the love of it? That’s different than working for you for free.