What I'm about to tell you is taboo among bloggers. The biggest kept secret about working with brands that no one ever talks about. It's time we talk about this very important topic because you're doing it all wrong. Why Bloggers Should Stop Working For Free.
On any given day I open my email and there are at least 10 pitch emails staring me in the face from brands asking me to promote their product or service. What's the big problem with these emails? They always tell me what they want, what I should write, how I should promote what they're offering, but guess what? They never mention anything about me, about my blog, why they want to work with me and why it would benefit me to write for them promoting them for FREE. I dread opening these emails and even put it off as long as possible because I hate asking for what I really want even though I know I am worth more than they're offering.

The Pitch
Recently, I had someone contact me asking if I would write a post about XYZ then link back to their site and talk about how it would benefit my readers. The person sent me links to other bloggers who had written for them as examples. When I clicked the links, I saw gorgeous photography with exquisitely written posts. It infuriated me that not a single one of those bloggers were sponsored for their work. They did all that work for FREE.
Now don't get me wrong. I do not expect a paycheck or freebie every time I write something. What I do expect, is a small return for the amount of time I put into the project and quality of work I do. Incentives like a social media shout out, adding my recipe to their website to encourage traffic back to my site or a cross promotion are all acceptable. Instead pitch emails offer none of these things.
Ask for what you want
Brands want as much free work as they can get. This is due, in part, to blogging still being this mythical hobby much less a real, respective job with an income. How many times has someone said to you "you have a blog? oh that's cute!" Then you feel frustrated because they don't realize how much work blogging is and how you're pouring your heart, sweat and tears into it. That comment shows how undervalued influencers are and it's not just your friends, its brands too. The difference is brands are businesses. They're on a mission to make as much money as possible which means rewarding bloggers as little as possible so they can make more profit.
But here's the kink. Social media is on steroids these days. Brands need influencers to sell. Without them, they are just another fish in the sea. They need influencers to market their product or service to set themselves apart from the other fish.
What does that mean for you?
Don't be scared to ask for what you deserve and you shouldn't undervalue yourself. I know it's hard not to feel a twinge of excitement when you receive an email or call about a project. You immediately want to jump at the chance to work with anyone and everyone who wants to work with you.
When you start blogging, I recommend you do free work because frankly, your work will be rough. Doing it for free, gives you the opportunity to improve your work and have examples of it for future projects. As you grow and become more amazing (which you will), you need to shift your focus to viewing pitched work as a collaboration. That doesn't have to mean a paycheck, but there should be a win in it somewhere for you. Never assume a brand will not compensate you. You will be surprised who is willing to play in the sandbox with you.
Why I no longer do product reviews
Product reviews are boring, time consuming to research and none of my readers want to hear about a product unless it's authentically weaved into my life. No one wants to pay for them either because every blogger is doing them for free. If someone wants to send me something, I tell them upfront it doesn't necessarily mean I'll write about it. Nine times out of ten, they still send me the product.
How to gracefully decline a project
Anytime I have responded to a brand this way, I've always received a cordial "I understand" response back.
How to tactfully ask for what you want
When I respond to brands this way, it opens up the gate to begin discussing compensation or other ways they can promote you in return for the work they're proposing. Remember everything is negotiable.
Would I work at Target for free?
My friend Gigi made a bold statement at Fit Bloggin' "none of you will ever work for free again." The look on the blogger faces in the room was priceless. But Gigi is right. The more bloggers continue to undervalue themselves, the harder it becomes for any blogger to have their work valued as more than "cute."
Every healthy living blogger promotes self-worth so why I ask, are you lowering your standards and undervaluing your monetary worth when it comes to your work? Stop underestimating yourself and the work you do. The next time you consider doing a project for free ask yourself this "would I work at Target for free?"
I stopped doing free product reviews this year. Sometimes they take the majority of my time! I now charge for anything blog related with brands. I have accepted some products in exchange for Instagram photos if it's something I genuinely like/want, as I'm still growing a presence there, but I won't work for free on my blog at all unless it's the one charity I support. It's crazy that big brands expect a couple of hours (or more) of our time and access to our followers for nothing. It's actually quite cheeky.
I get them constantly too. I ignore some and others, I keep it quick and simple by telling them I am sending over a link to my advertising page which outlines the advertising options. I also have a page front and center which explicitly states I don't do free product or service reviews which directs them to my advertising page. If they can't see that, I usually don't bother answering. And I agree that bloggers should stop working for free. I've been blogging for close to 10 years. I just refuse to give away my time, access to my readership, my email list, and social media followers for free. I've worked hard to build up my blog, my brand, and my readership. They can pay for access to that.
This is an excellent article! My pet peeve is when they address me as "hey". My name can be found on all my social media and website. Why is it so hard to research my name and address me in a professional way?
I no longer work for free and since I've started doing that I'm getting legit jobs!! Know your worth and present that in a graceful way 🙂
I'm glad you liked it! Ugh...I can't tell you how many PR people contact me like that. It shows me that they're not a brand I want to work with when they haven't taken the time to get to know me. I don't reach out to random brands and say "hey you, I don't know anything about your products but I'd love to work with you." This is actually why I've gotten away from working with brands.
I really agree. If brands come to me, they gotta pay. Free just for things I love to write.
Glad you agree!
Great post, and I absolutely agree. For years I took guest posts and wrote product reviews, almost all for free. Then it became too much, and I realized I wasn't enjoying myself anymore because I wasn't making anything from it, even if all those things led to the site being ranked very highly. Now I write for myself and if someone wants something from the blog... money baby! 🙂
Hi Mitch, thanks for your comment and I'm glad you liked the post! I just hope I convinced enough bloggers to stop doing it.
Thank you so much for this post. Everything you said really resonated with me, and I really appreciate the sample responses you share as well. Thanks!
I'm glad you found it helpful Athena!
I definitely agree and in fact was planning on writing a similar post! It was actually my husband who pointed out that the number of bloggers who agree to write for free is actually harming other bloggers since there is little incentive to pay for reviews or posts when so many are willing to do it for free. Thanks for writing this!
Happy to hear you agree with my perspective. Like your husband, I absolutely believe it is harming others. Newer bloggers need to understand how they are hurting themselves as well as other bloggers and stop doing it. Thanks for helping me spread the message Erin!
Great post and I 100% agree with you!
So glad you and everyone else does too!
Totally agree! I politely decline these emails, or, I usually respond nicely asking for more information if I am interested ALONG WITH THE ASSOCIATED COMPENSATION. Most of them are not looking to pay but I have received compensation once I asked for it. We must value our work or no one will!
Girl I can't applaud you more for this! Having a blog is HARD work and working for free just isn't worth the product most of the time. Now there are certain products that I would use anyway, so I'm ok to try to form a relationship with those brands by doing free reviews. Dave actually filters out these emails so I don't have to get overwhelmed, I'm pretty sure I would have to come up with a similar email that you have. I am sending this to him for a template 🙂 xo way to rock chick!
That's nice you have Dave to help with the email filtering. I think I need a Dave!
Great post Megan! And so true too. Our blogs are so much more than hobbies and we should be compensated the quality work we put in.
Thanks, Chris! I think we need to value ourselves more and the work we do.
Love times a thousand!! Props to you for responding to those e-mails because I just delete em now. A mass-generated e-mail (addressed to "semi" or "Semi-Healthy Blog" or "Sir or madam") isn't worth my time.
Now the bigger brands (or ones I've heard of) are ones that I do respond to and I'm always surprised when I find out they don't have a budget! Just like you said, too many bloggers undervalue their work! If it's a product I really want, I will tell them I will post to social media in return (if I like it) and that seems to go over pretty well. 5 minutes to post to Instagram vs a 3-4 hour blog post makes a huge difference in my decision to accept only product as a payment!
Great post, friend!! <3
Some I delete but for the most part, I respond because I want the brand to know how they can improve their approach to us. We need to educate them! And I agree on the Instagram post vs blog post. I have offered to do a social media shoutout as opposed to a post. Hope you're doing well! I was just thinking of emailing you a question the other day which your comment reminded me of.
I love this post. A lot. Also love that you've included examples on how to respond to pitch emails. You ROCK.
Thanks Kristie! That means a lot coming from the blogging expert herself!