There has been an insightful and interesting debate taking place on Second Life Blogger Support regarding Quality v Quantity of Blogger Posts. If you’re a blogger the SLBS website is a wonderful and inspiring resource for the blogging community. This post from Canary Beck (http://slbloggersupport.com/2015/07/14/second-life-blogging-quality-vs-quantity/) provoked an outpouring of comments regarding the subject.
As a relatively new ‘serious’ blogger I am still learning the ropes and developing the scope of my blog. I’ve also started to look for a few sponsors so I found this debate extremely valuable and interesting. I know the quality I want to portray on my blog and I know that I want to work with designers I admire, respect and who feel like they are in a partnership working toward a common goal. I want to inspire and share. I want to do a good job for the sponsors I take on. But…I want sponsors who understand that I a blogger not an advertisement and that there is a difference.
Looking for sponsors has been a real eye-opener about how some designers perceive and value the relationship with their bloggers. The first thing I did was go through my inventory and pick a few stores and then read the profiles of those creators to find out how to apply as a blogger. I’ve been stunned by how some of them approach this. This is the first paragraph of the application for one of my favourite designers:
If you are asking me for review copies i just dont care if my style fit you or dont, you are obligate to blog my items even if you dont like them, so before to send me application think twice because i dont accept excuses like that when i eject you from my group for not posting them.
I’ve kept that word for word…grammatical errors included. The application then goes on to make very high demands regarding number of pages views etc and then finishes with:
I cant promise you you will be in my group, your style must fit XXXX.
If you used to be part of XXXX bloggers group and you was ejected, dont apply to my bloggers list.I don’t accept and support bloggers who was ejected from my list.Any Notecard / IM send it in world it will be Ignored!
Even allowing for English possibly not being the first language of the author you would think maybe a friend or someone might tell her how the tone comes across. That being said…I feel that the tone is as the author meant. Thankfully, this application isn’t typical, most of the applications I’ve seen have been very positive, polite, well-written and explain the requirements…as that…requirements not demands. This application is just plain rude. Not only would I not apply but if this is how this person treats people then I’ll think twice about purchasing and supporting this store again.
Another requirement I am seeing more and more is events or stores requesting their logo on photographs used in blogs. Unless I am missing something then I really can’t agree with this. My photographs are used for visual stimulation and to show the product. They are not an advertisement, if you want an advertisement or promotional poster then go to a graphic designer not a blogger. These two things are not the same.
Also, how is that to work when you could be featuring multiple items from multiple events and stores in one picture? How are any other sponsors going to feel about a logo for an event or group they are not associated with appears on a photograph that they are blogged in? As I said, I am new to this so if I am missing something obvious please feel free to let me know because I really don’t understand how that can work for all the other people involved.
So, I am still going to look for a few selected sponsors but I will blog what I want from purchases too but creators should be aware your relationship with your bloggers should be just that…a relationship not a dictatorship. And if you can’t be polite and reasonable then you better have the best product on the grid because bloggers are powerful, that’s why you want us, and that power can be as negative for your business as it can be a cause for good.
Credits:
Body – Maitreya Lara
Head – Lelutka Stella
Appliers – Lara Hurley Maitreya Appliers and Iza Head Applier
Eyes – IKON – Ascension Eyes
Body Freckles – PXL
Hair – Blues – Lunaire – **FREE** Hair Fair Gift
Glasses – Meva – Milan Glasses
Top – Gizza Creations – Vicky Tank Blouse
Pants – BOOM – Miami Linens
Shoes – Kokoia – Mikonos
Earrings – Kunglers – Dilana Earrings
Necklace – Maxi Gossamer – Fern’s Trinkets Necklace
Poses – Imeka – Loli **NEW** Kustom9
My Office:
Little Branch – Bilbo {Potted} Birch **FREE GROUP GIFT** @ Wayward Carnival
Dust Bunny – Fresh Fruit Stand Lemons
Eli Baily Bletchley Typewriter
Brixley – Middle Earth Subway Sign
LISP – Charlotte Home Desk
Follow Us – Summer Desk
the glamour sauce 
Well said Kess x
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Thank you Meripops ❤
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Really awesome post! This “If you are asking me for review copies i just dont care if my style fit you or dont, you are obligate to blog my items even if you dont like them, so before to send me application think twice because i dont accept excuses like that when i eject you from my group for not posting them.” Blew my mind! Anyone telling me that I’m obligated to blog their items whether I like them or not better be paying me in L’s for advertising! Seriously I was sitting here with my mouth open at that one!
“Any Notecard / IM send it in world it will be Ignored!” I see this one a lot. While I understand that blogger managers and creators must get a trillian notecards a day, how else are you supposed to approach someone if not in world? Sure there’s the google doc forms that a lot of stores get you to fill out these days, but what happened to good old fashioned communication? It all seems so impersonal to me.
“Another requirement I am seeing more and more is events or stores requesting their logo on photographs used in blogs.” I’ve seen this trend a lot lately as well, I thought it was the bloggers idea, if it’s a stores idea then pfft to that! Again with the advertising, an L transaction should take place for flat out promotion of a brand like that on a blog. I make entire outfits (excluding some items like mesh parts, skins etc) from review items, I’m not about to put one logo on the picture when there’s 5 or so items that I’m wearing that are going towards blogging requirements! “My photographs are used for visual stimulation and to show the product.” Exactly! I see my pictures this way as well, I take them for a creative outlet, I did it before my blog, I’d do it after my blog, I don’t take pictures specifically to promote, I take them because I want to show off an outfit, or a feeling or hell even a room in my skybox that I’ve spent hours getting to look how I want it to to ask for a logo on a picture is making it a vendor picture if you ask me. That’s what a store is for, not a blog!
“because bloggers are powerful, that’s why you want us, and that power can be as negative for your business as it can be a cause for good.” This is a very powerful sentence and 1000% true! Word of mouth is a powerful thing. Fact is if you have a bad experience you’re more likely to go and tell every friend you have than if you have a good experience. Bad experiences stick in our minds, they leave a sour taste in our mouths and we love to share that with the world. Forums like whirlpool.net.au/ (an aussie site where people talk mostly about broadband and isps) are a great example. There are literally thousands of posts from people complaining about companies, in fact ISP’s in Australia have representatives on that site now to work on public relations because it’s so popular to air complaints. I’m so glad to see someone put it out there!
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Thank you for the awesome reply comment! Thought provoking and I’m finding it great to share with other bloggers our thoughts on these subjects so I can’t thank you enough! 😀 I was concerned about that last sentence…I believe in it completely I just didn’t want it to sound like a threat..more of a reminder that the power that you want us for in the first place is a two way street. We want to work together not be made to feel like beggars for review copies.
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I don’t think it came across as threatening at all 🙂 I think because second life is a virtual world, people forget that it’s still a legitimate business and word of mouth still affects things just as much in sl as it does in rl. Nothing wrong in reminding people of that and giving your opinion on it 🙂
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I agree with Leesee – I don’t think the last sentence came across as a threat, just as a true statement. Designers use bloggers because they don’t have the time/skills/interest to blog items themselves. I blog because I like to write, dress up, and take photos. I don’t design clothes, and I would never tell a designer how to do their job. But some designers feel free to dictate how bloggers are supposed to do theirs. There are bad apples on both sides of the equation, and unfortunately, it causes headaches for everyone.
I’ve seen lots of comments from bloggers about trying to keep up with the requirements, but I’ve also seen lots of comments from designers about *why* they have certain requirements, and most of the time they make sense.
I do think bloggers need to be realistic about their commitments, however. I have certain things I won’t do (like logos on photos, being required to blog EVERY item, etc.), so I don’t apply to those designers. And I know that I can’t produce posts fast enough to keep up with 20-30+ designers/sponsors and maintain the quality I want.
I think it’s terrific that discussions like these are taking place – hopefully it will cure some ills and reduce some of the negativity I see. Great post!
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That’s a great point Kat…each of us has different skill sets and types of blogs but I wouldn’t tell a designer how to run their business either. I can disagree or agree with how they do based on my own skills set but at the end of the day their business is their business and our blogs are ours.
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It’s been so fascinating and insightful to read about blogger experiences for this past week! As a new blogger right along side you, Kess, it’s been tremendously eye-opening to see the many and varied ways that the blogger/designer can unfold. I’m idealistic in that I hope it’s a mutually respectful and appreciable relationship in most cases, but I’m sure there are always outliers who make the relationship challenging at best.
Probably the most surprising and saddening thing I ever came across in a designer’s profile was that they never work with bloggers and had absolutely no interest in receiving notecards, IMs, or other forms of contact about items of theirs that had been blogged. While I would completely understand that someone would not wish to be spammed across various forms of communication every time their work gets a mention, the tone struck me as quite aggressive and dismissive. I try really, really hard not to make assumptions about people or their motives/intentions, but I had to wonder what might have provoked this. As you said with the designer’s application above, it may very well be that statements like this are meant to come across exactly in the tone they’re written. While I feel very troubled that designers have had to endure people using them for free items, or otherwise taking advantage of their good will, seeing that frustration expressed in applications provided to potential new bloggers would seem to be a surefire way of alienating people who might otherwise be thrilled to work with you.
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Ever you are always so sweet and seeing the good in people ❤ I'm sure designers do get jaded with people making promises and not sticking to them. I have seen a few events and stores that do an 'intake' of bloggers on rotation every 3 or 6 months and I think that's a really healthy approach. As a blogger knowing you have to re-apply every few months is great motivation to keep things fresh and it makes space for giving newer bloggers a go!
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Thank you Kess for give us this insight of your thoughts. As a new blooger also like you and looking for sponsors, I fell over this store and blogger application, too. And it is not the only one. I must say, I closed this immediately and don’t use or mention the stuff on my blog again.
For me blogger & designer is a parntership and not a dictatorship – 100% true – I love to work with designers who appreciate my work, showing their designs in the way I see them, inspire me and without any logos.
Another point I always think about is the quantity over quality blog posts and photos – there are blogs with daily posts or 3 times a day…in my opinion you see this in t he quality.
It is my blog and I am going my way. Review copies and sponsors as well as events for my blog is a great addition in blogging but I could live also without. Stgarting with blogging was fun and should be fun and enjoying the times doing that.
Saying this, I thank all my sponsors who are grateful, friendly and supporting 🙂
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Exactly my thoughts Sannita…I want to blog for fun not obligation which is why having a small number of awesome sponsors is great and the rest of the time I can blog other items and subjects and even destinations of my choosing.
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