Thank you for this post. It was really informative! I'm personally in it for the fun of sharing my thoughts on the cosmetics I have bought with my own money - I wouldnt turn my nose up at samples but I would never approach a company purely for samples. I think it's a bit presumptuous to simply expect free cosmetics when you're not established or have good stats.
Fabulous post. I have been blogging for nearly a year now and have been contacted once just recently and recieved my first ever PR sample, which is great but I do not write my blog just for receiving samples, I write because I enjoy it, sharing my opinions and hearing other peoples :)
There were times when I didn't understand (didn't think about) the quantity of samples, statistics and took it very personally. Now I think what you're saying is quite normal.
The thing I really don't like is people starting blogging not because they like it, but because all they are interested in - just freebies.
I usually have a thing or two to say about the #bblogger chat, but tonight I chose to stay silent. I saw many comments about how PR firms only pay attention to big bloggers regardless of how small bloggers work hard, but when I checked the person's blog she blogs once every month. I think it's as much about effort as statistics, and I prefer to think if you genuinely work hard and INVEST in your blog, it would get big at some point. Even the biggest bloggers out there have to invest in theirs, whether in pieces they are interested in blogging about or equipment/page design. "Free" samples never come free, and I have always detested how some bloggers in my vicinity refer to PR samples as "goodie bags" or "free gifts." PRs don't give you stuff because you're pretty. PRs give you stuff so that you might be able to generate more interest in it. From where I stand the relationship has to be fair.
This was an excellent and informative post. I tried to get some of the points across in #bbloggers but it is hard when people are complaining that they aren't getting sent them. I kind of understand the PR and marketing side of things and therefore have never expected to receive samples based on my 'small' blog. Whilst I am proud of my blog and I put a lot of time and effort into it I would feel rude even asking or taking a sample which I limited anyways when it could have been given to someone with a much larger audience. As I and others have mentioned before if you want a product its much easier to go and buy it. I know with new releases it isn't always the case but in the grand scheme of things if you are passionate about beauty then you will buy a majority of products anyway because that's your passion. I blog because I use so many different beauty products that I paid for with my own money and wanted to share this with others and meet like minded people before my other half left me through boredom I think that people need to be honest with why they started blogging and I think it was fair to say from tonight that a lot of people don't have the same motives! Phew!
Working across the print media and blogging, I've first hand experience that what print journalists get sent varies wildly depending on the publication and position they write for, there's never anything personal in it.
Bloggers get sent different things again (sometimes much better stuff, by the way). All this is business - and it's done accordingly and strategically as a result.
Also. Stats. Newspapers and magazines are circulation audited, for anyone who doesn't know. These figures are a matter of public record and help to level playing fields for adverting, marketing, PR and promotions reasons in the media.
No, there is no onus on bloggers to disclose stats but it is what is expected as that's what the rest of the media does so if you want to be seen as grossly unprofessional by the very PR professionals you're trying to get in with and are in fact just in it for the freebies, then by all means refuse to disclose while asking for samples. You'll absolutely be waving your true colours at them on a scarlet flag.
Last thing. Hits. I see this all the time. For anyone still going on about hits, please stop. This is not a metric that anyone who knows anything about anything will accept. Offer your monthly page views and unique visitors, as these are what matter.
Thank you for such a great post! I think blogging is now strongly correlated with receiving samples that its almost assumed to be a given but that it does mean that people are forgetting what the purpose of blogging is about. This was really informative :)
I have a tiny blog and have asked for samples, luckily enough I have been able to get my hands on some. However, I dont expect this to happen often or even again!
It is all about engagement as well as blog readership. Both are something Im working on.
Ok, I might sound like a naive Silly-Billy here, but I'm still one that believes that PR companies should be the ones that contact Bloggers in the first place, and this is from a reader's point of view. I am however one of the Bloggers that was lucky enough to get noticed and I do receive PR samples for consideration purposes. That being said, I don't justify anything to anyone, if I like or dislike a product, then I will show and tell...and if it's not worth mentioning, then I won't even bother. But to me, blogging is a hobby and I'm a spoilt brat and I do whatever I want with my blog as long as I don't go disturbing/bothering/getting in anyone's way. And when all this will stop being fun, than I will stop blogging.
I don't have anything against Bloggers that do contact PR companies themselves, it's just that as a reader, I don't trust them at all, and it is always crystal clear who blogs for PR samples and who blogs for their readers.
The way I see it, it's your blog and you have the power to do whatever you wish with it, as long as you stay true to yourself, be honest with both PR's and your readers, and I feel that some Bloggers will sell themselves and their views for some products that once you receive for free, you'll never cherish them as much as the ones you bought yourself anyway. xx
I think you're fighting a loosing battle to start blogging just to get freebies. Blogging should be about expressing something you're interested in and communicating with like minded people. I wouldn't want someone to send me samples if I hadn't earned them anyway.. maybe i'm in the minority by saying that, but I think that if someone can send you something in good faith, you should have done some good work to earn it.
So true. Surely beauty blogging is a lot of hard work for relatively little pay off, if you don't genuinely enjoy blogging and interacting with people? Even once you start receiving samples, they won't necessarily be things that you like or would wear everyday so it's pointless to be in it just for the freebies!
What a wonderful post, I love that you are kind enough to write advice for other bloggers :) I have been considering contacting brands for a little while because it is simply too expensive for me to maintain an informative blog about new releases (mine is a nail polish blog) at the rate at which they are being brought out, which is what I'd really like to do because I love to inform and interact. It's really lovely to know what is 'required' as such for a blogger to request samples, because I have always worried about ruining my chances through not really knowing what I am doing. You have been so helpful, thank you xxxx
Thank you for this insightful and compelling post...the climate of beauty blogging is indeed changing and approaching the PR issue in a prudent and respectful manner is vital for all of us that maintain earnest beauty blogs!
Thank you for the well written post! People who want to blog about beauty should be in it only for that purpose alone. I started my blog with the sole intention of rambling about my favorite eyeliner or current everyday look. I still have quite a small following and viewership but companies have found me none the less and I've been given free products. It shows when people know their stuff and have a passion for their blog. Thank you once again for sharing your thoughts and allowing us to contribute :D
I've started a beauty blog and what I want from the companies seems harder to find: information about older collections. If a collection is older than say 2006 or 2007, I am unlikely to even find the ad for a seasonal collection much less a listing for the colours, making it difficult to compare a new collection with an older one of the same brand, such as the first Guerlain and Pucci collaboration to the newest one one, finding a press ad is almost impossible especially in the right size. I just have no idea where to start other than asking some long time SAs what they remember.
You are always on target! I have seen people on Twitter decidedly open a blog that day just to request specific PR samples. With one to zero posts and no readers at all, that's just unfair to the business and other bloggers.
I'm so glad somebody has finally said this! It seems as though people are blogging for freebies and freebies only which is sad because blogging is enjoyable even when you don't recieve any interest from PR companies. PR companies aren't just going to gt involved with someone they know nothing about, they do their research to!
I think a lot of the 'problem' comes when some bloggers show off their latest delivery from the postman all over twitter. And the recent hoo haa regarding the Clinique framed picture thing didn't help either.
It happens in the MUA world too. Not that long ago, a MUA friend posted a picture on her Facebook page showing an enormous box full of Dermalogica products she'd received as gratis for crediting them in a magazine. There must have been 30 bottles and tubes.
Subsequently, a load of other MUAs who are acquainted with both of us started trying to pump me for my PR contacts and wanting to know how she got the products and how they could get them too....
Absolutely fabulous and eloquent post. Sometimes I do get pouty that I haven't got the latest and greatest. But I Have a day job and not near enough time to devote to my blog, and I know my readership isn't big enough. If I have scored free things; its because they have approached me (by surprise!) and because they've seen my content may suit them more than another. I just know I'm lucky to get any sort of attention, from a regular reader or PR company. :)
I totally agree, having worked in the marketing world of Beauty products, samples are very limited, but Beauty Bloggers are always a source of getting product reviews. If you put in the hard work on your blog, you will get rewarded, it just takes time!
Hello, my name is Barbara and I have a 2 year old blog. I am Nigerian and started blogging because it seemed as if no-one in Nigeria cared about the state of the makeup/beauty industry in Nigeria. You can't imagine how much I have learnt from this post. I must say thank you very much for taking out the time to educate and enlighten us.
Great article. All points are valid. However, I agree with Art Donatella 100% - I have never contacted PRs for samples and never will. I blog for my readers and for myself and not going to turn into a free promotional channel for various brands. If I received a product for consideration - great, maybe if its somehow amazing I'll tell my readers about it. To me real blogging is blogging about what you love and what you bought with my own money.
Brilliant post - I started my blog in 2009 and just started because I love makeup and I wanted an outlet to talk about my passion and irresponsible shopping habits . I wasn't aware that bloggers got samples (except for massive blogs like beaut ) over my time I have received a Few samples and am always delighted because as you said there simply aren't enough for everyone - I think people have to get that their blog won't suit every brand and there is nothing worse than an greedy grabber
Yet again, a helpful post from you. One of the reasons i follow you. I'm a newbie blogger. I do it because it's a hobby and my RL friends really don't want to hear me babble about makeup, lotions and potions so i blog about it instead. I really hadn't crossed my mind that some people ask for samples. Naive, but i thought companies just contacted people if they thought the blogger was 'worthy' of being sent something free. Obviously not.
great post. As a pr, we get contacted alot by bloggers wanting product and we simply don't have enough to go around, so we have a "top 20" list of bloggers we know and have a relationship with, we know they have good reach and they are interested in our products - for their blog, not their bathroom. Also, whenever we get a request from a blogger - we check out the site - look at the layout, the quality of the images, the writing - bad punctuation, bad grammar and writing, it's a no from me! good post, thanks for clarifying. x
Thanks for a really informative post! I have only been blogging for a couple of months but really I do it just for fun. I think it's quite a pointless endeavour to write a blog just in the hope of getting 'free stuff' - I blog because I love beauty products and nail polish (the main focus of my blog) and love reading blogs about the subject - I just wanted to get involved one way or another.
Don't get me wrong, I would be flattered to receive samples but more for what it said about my blog than for the sake of 'a freebie'. And this seems to echo what most of the other commenters are saying here. If I am being honest though, I haven't really seen much of other bloggers bragging about receiving PR samples!
Bottom line - I am just thrilled to even have followers on my blog and I love receiving comments on my posts.
This is a brilliant post. Here's how green I am - I didn't realise that you wrote to ask for samples. I thought that you built up a steady following and as a result of your hard work and/or good work, companies took notice and wanted you to put their new product in the public eye. I wouldn't or couldn't ask for samples - to me it's begging. I'm happy to get my samples from magazines and send off for the odd skincare promotion when it's advertised on telly but I'd feel terrible asking a company for something for nothing. There's nothing in the blogging world that makes me cringe more than a new beauty blog, reviewing the same things everyone else is reviewing, with a big PR tab up top. I blog because I enjoy it and I like giving my opinion on things, be it nail polish, books, cooking or something I read on the Daily Mail. I think there are so, so many beauty blogs out there now that it's pointless doing it for free stuff and the ones who are doing that will lose interest pretty quick.
I know I'm a bit late, but thanks for this post it was really informative.
I didn't even know that bloggers asked PR companies for samples? I think it is very obvious though who writes for the love of it and who does it for the samples / monetisation. Some blogs read like one giant ad and those lose my support very quickly.
My blog was purely started for me - but as I started getting loyal readers I started putting more effort into posting regularly etc etc. I also started it because I didn't really have anyone in my daily life to talk to about beauty / fashion etc - they just don't care the same way other bloggers do!
39 comments:
Fabulous post: hit the nail right on the head! Xx
Really good post - very useful, thanks for doing that :)
Georgina
http://www.makeup-pixi3.com
This was a very helpful post, thank you for taking the time to write it :)
Ysis
lebeautygirl.com
Thank you for this post. It was really informative! I'm personally in it for the fun of sharing my thoughts on the cosmetics I have bought with my own money - I wouldnt turn my nose up at samples but I would never approach a company purely for samples. I think it's a bit presumptuous to simply expect free cosmetics when you're not established or have good stats.
Another really good post! Thank you BBB!
Helen xxx
beautifullysuperfluous.blogspot.co.uk
Fabulous post. I have been blogging for nearly a year now and have been contacted once just recently and recieved my first ever PR sample, which is great but I do not write my blog just for receiving samples, I write because I enjoy it, sharing my opinions and hearing other peoples :)
Em
x
Em's Mixed Bag
A really great sum up of tonights chat, learnt a lot tonight :) x
Thanks for the post!
There were times when I didn't understand (didn't think about) the quantity of samples, statistics and took it very personally. Now I think what you're saying is quite normal.
The thing I really don't like is people starting blogging not because they like it, but because all they are interested in - just freebies.
I usually have a thing or two to say about the #bblogger chat, but tonight I chose to stay silent. I saw many comments about how PR firms only pay attention to big bloggers regardless of how small bloggers work hard, but when I checked the person's blog she blogs once every month. I think it's as much about effort as statistics, and I prefer to think if you genuinely work hard and INVEST in your blog, it would get big at some point. Even the biggest bloggers out there have to invest in theirs, whether in pieces they are interested in blogging about or equipment/page design. "Free" samples never come free, and I have always detested how some bloggers in my vicinity refer to PR samples as "goodie bags" or "free gifts." PRs don't give you stuff because you're pretty. PRs give you stuff so that you might be able to generate more interest in it. From where I stand the relationship has to be fair.
This was an excellent and informative post. I tried to get some of the points across in #bbloggers but it is hard when people are complaining that they aren't getting sent them. I kind of understand the PR and marketing side of things and therefore have never expected to receive samples based on my 'small' blog. Whilst I am proud of my blog and I put a lot of time and effort into it I would feel rude even asking or taking a sample which I limited anyways when it could have been given to someone with a much larger audience. As I and others have mentioned before if you want a product its much easier to go and buy it. I know with new releases it isn't always the case but in the grand scheme of things if you are passionate about beauty then you will buy a majority of products anyway because that's your passion. I blog because I use so many different beauty products that I paid for with my own money and wanted to share this with others and meet like minded people before my other half left me through boredom I think that people need to be honest with why they started blogging and I think it was fair to say from tonight that a lot of people don't have the same motives! Phew!
Becky
beckys makeup
One of the most to the point and honest posts concerning PRs I've read so far and all so true! Fantastic.
Great post.
Working across the print media and blogging, I've first hand experience that what print journalists get sent varies wildly depending on the publication and position they write for, there's never anything personal in it.
Bloggers get sent different things again (sometimes much better stuff, by the way). All this is business - and it's done accordingly and strategically as a result.
Also. Stats. Newspapers and magazines are circulation audited, for anyone who doesn't know. These figures are a matter of public record and help to level playing fields for adverting, marketing, PR and promotions reasons in the media.
No, there is no onus on bloggers to disclose stats but it is what is expected as that's what the rest of the media does so if you want to be seen as grossly unprofessional by the very PR professionals you're trying to get in with and are in fact just in it for the freebies, then by all means refuse to disclose while asking for samples. You'll absolutely be waving your true colours at them on a scarlet flag.
Last thing. Hits. I see this all the time. For anyone still going on about hits, please stop. This is not a metric that anyone who knows anything about anything will accept. Offer your monthly page views and unique visitors, as these are what matter.
Kirstie
So true and to the point! I am not a beauty blogger, my blog is mainly parenting and lifestyle but everything you have said still applies.
Thank you for such a great post! I think blogging is now strongly correlated with receiving samples that its almost assumed to be a given but that it does mean that people are forgetting what the purpose of blogging is about.
This was really informative :)
http://theconfectionmonsoon.wordpress.com/
A very well thought out post!
Brilliant post.
I have a tiny blog and have asked for samples, luckily enough I have been able to get my hands on some. However, I dont expect this to happen often or even again!
It is all about engagement as well as blog readership. Both are something Im working on.
JENNYCUB.COM
Thanks!
Ok, I might sound like a naive Silly-Billy here, but I'm still one that believes that PR companies should be the ones that contact Bloggers in the first place, and this is from a reader's point of view. I am however one of the Bloggers that was lucky enough to get noticed and I do receive PR samples for consideration purposes. That being said, I don't justify anything to anyone, if I like or dislike a product, then I will show and tell...and if it's not worth mentioning, then I won't even bother. But to me, blogging is a hobby and I'm a spoilt brat and I do whatever I want with my blog as long as I don't go disturbing/bothering/getting in anyone's way. And when all this will stop being fun, than I will stop blogging.
I don't have anything against Bloggers that do contact PR companies themselves, it's just that as a reader, I don't trust them at all, and it is always crystal clear who blogs for PR samples and who blogs for their readers.
The way I see it, it's your blog and you have the power to do whatever you wish with it, as long as you stay true to yourself, be honest with both PR's and your readers, and I feel that some Bloggers will sell themselves and their views for some products that once you receive for free, you'll never cherish them as much as the ones you bought yourself anyway. xx
I think you're fighting a loosing battle to start blogging just to get freebies.
Blogging should be about expressing something you're interested in and communicating with like minded people.
I wouldn't want someone to send me samples if I hadn't earned them anyway.. maybe i'm in the minority by saying that, but I think that if someone can send you something in good faith, you should have done some good work to earn it.
So true. Surely beauty blogging is a lot of hard work for relatively little pay off, if you don't genuinely enjoy blogging and interacting with people? Even once you start receiving samples, they won't necessarily be things that you like or would wear everyday so it's pointless to be in it just for the freebies!
What a wonderful post, I love that you are kind enough to write advice for other bloggers :) I have been considering contacting brands for a little while because it is simply too expensive for me to maintain an informative blog about new releases (mine is a nail polish blog) at the rate at which they are being brought out, which is what I'd really like to do because I love to inform and interact. It's really lovely to know what is 'required' as such for a blogger to request samples, because I have always worried about ruining my chances through not really knowing what I am doing. You have been so helpful, thank you xxxx
Thank you for this insightful and compelling post...the climate of beauty blogging is indeed changing and approaching the PR issue in a prudent and respectful manner is vital for all of us that maintain earnest beauty blogs!
Take care,
--The Beauty Professor
Thank you for the well written post! People who want to blog about beauty should be in it only for that purpose alone. I started my blog with the sole intention of rambling about my favorite eyeliner or current everyday look. I still have quite a small following and viewership but companies have found me none the less and I've been given free products. It shows when people know their stuff and have a passion for their blog. Thank you once again for sharing your thoughts and allowing us to contribute :D
Very well done on this post!
xoXo
BreezeyBee
Hello there,
I've started a beauty blog and what I want from the companies seems harder to find: information about older collections. If a collection is older than say 2006 or 2007, I am unlikely to even find the ad for a seasonal collection much less a listing for the colours, making it difficult to compare a new collection with an older one of the same brand, such as the first Guerlain and Pucci collaboration to the newest one one, finding a press ad is almost impossible especially in the right size. I just have no idea where to start other than asking some long time SAs what they remember.
Very good post! I recently received my first sample and was floored by how kind and encouraging the PR rep was!
Great post! Thank you for al the tips and tricks!:-) x
You are always on target! I have seen people on Twitter decidedly open a blog that day just to request specific PR samples. With one to zero posts and no readers at all, that's just unfair to the business and other bloggers.
I'm so glad somebody has finally said this!
It seems as though people are blogging for freebies and freebies only which is sad because blogging is enjoyable even when you don't recieve any interest from PR companies.
PR companies aren't just going to gt involved with someone they know nothing about, they do their research to!
But anyways it's a great post! xxx
I think a lot of the 'problem' comes when some bloggers show off their latest delivery from the postman all over twitter. And the recent hoo haa regarding the Clinique framed picture thing didn't help either.
It happens in the MUA world too. Not that long ago, a MUA friend posted a picture on her Facebook page showing an enormous box full of Dermalogica products she'd received as gratis for crediting them in a magazine. There must have been 30 bottles and tubes.
Subsequently, a load of other MUAs who are acquainted with both of us started trying to pump me for my PR contacts and wanting to know how she got the products and how they could get them too....
Hard work and presence springs to mind...
Absolutely fabulous and eloquent post. Sometimes I do get pouty that I haven't got the latest and greatest. But I Have a day job and not near enough time to devote to my blog, and I know my readership isn't big enough. If I have scored free things; its because they have approached me (by surprise!) and because they've seen my content may suit them more than another. I just know I'm lucky to get any sort of attention, from a regular reader or PR company. :)
I totally agree, having worked in the marketing world of Beauty products, samples are very limited, but Beauty Bloggers are always a source of getting product reviews. If you put in the hard work on your blog, you will get rewarded, it just takes time!
Hello, my name is Barbara and I have a 2 year old blog. I am Nigerian and started blogging because it seemed as if no-one in Nigeria cared about the state of the makeup/beauty industry in Nigeria.
You can't imagine how much I have learnt from this post. I must say thank you very much for taking out the time to educate and enlighten us.
Xoxo, Barbara
Great article. All points are valid. However, I agree with Art Donatella 100% - I have never contacted PRs for samples and never will. I blog for my readers and for myself and not going to turn into a free promotional channel for various brands. If I received a product for consideration - great, maybe if its somehow amazing I'll tell my readers about it. To me real blogging is blogging about what you love and what you bought with my own money.
Brilliant post - I started my blog in 2009 and just started because I love makeup and I wanted an outlet to talk about my passion and irresponsible shopping habits . I wasn't aware that bloggers got samples (except for massive blogs like beaut ) over my time I have received a
Few samples and am always delighted because as you said there simply aren't enough for everyone - I think people have to get that their blog won't suit every brand and there is nothing worse than an greedy grabber
Blog for fun, and what interests you! Forget about the free samples. It's ridiculous. If your blog is god they will naturally come to you!! :)
www.velvet-daisy.com
Yet again, a helpful post from you. One of the reasons i follow you.
I'm a newbie blogger. I do it because it's a hobby and my RL friends really don't want to hear me babble about makeup, lotions and potions so i blog about it instead.
I really hadn't crossed my mind that some people ask for samples. Naive, but i thought companies just contacted people if they thought the blogger was 'worthy' of being sent something free. Obviously not.
Jules x
great post. As a pr, we get contacted alot by bloggers wanting product and we simply don't have enough to go around, so we have a "top 20" list of bloggers we know and have a relationship with, we know they have good reach and they are interested in our products - for their blog, not their bathroom. Also, whenever we get a request from a blogger - we check out the site - look at the layout, the quality of the images, the writing - bad punctuation, bad grammar and writing, it's a no from me! good post, thanks for clarifying. x
Thanks for a really informative post! I have only been blogging for a couple of months but really I do it just for fun. I think it's quite a pointless endeavour to write a blog just in the hope of getting 'free stuff' - I blog because I love beauty products and nail polish (the main focus of my blog) and love reading blogs about the subject - I just wanted to get involved one way or another.
Don't get me wrong, I would be flattered to receive samples but more for what it said about my blog than for the sake of 'a freebie'. And this seems to echo what most of the other commenters are saying here. If I am being honest though, I haven't really seen much of other bloggers bragging about receiving PR samples!
Bottom line - I am just thrilled to even have followers on my blog and I love receiving comments on my posts.
Claire
glitterandjelly.blogspot.com
This is a brilliant post. Here's how green I am - I didn't realise that you wrote to ask for samples. I thought that you built up a steady following and as a result of your hard work and/or good work, companies took notice and wanted you to put their new product in the public eye. I wouldn't or couldn't ask for samples - to me it's begging. I'm happy to get my samples from magazines and send off for the odd skincare promotion when it's advertised on telly but I'd feel terrible asking a company for something for nothing. There's nothing in the blogging world that makes me cringe more than a new beauty blog, reviewing the same things everyone else is reviewing, with a big PR tab up top. I blog because I enjoy it and I like giving my opinion on things, be it nail polish, books, cooking or something I read on the Daily Mail. I think there are so, so many beauty blogs out there now that it's pointless doing it for free stuff and the ones who are doing that will lose interest pretty quick.
I know I'm a bit late, but thanks for this post it was really informative.
I didn't even know that bloggers asked PR companies for samples? I think it is very obvious though who writes for the love of it and who does it for the samples / monetisation. Some blogs read like one giant ad and those lose my support very quickly.
My blog was purely started for me - but as I started getting loyal readers I started putting more effort into posting regularly etc etc.
I also started it because I didn't really have anyone in my daily life to talk to about beauty / fashion etc - they just don't care the same way other bloggers do!
xx
where-is-my-mind.com
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