Comments on: Why Do Bloggers Continue to Work for Free?

By: Part II of the Top 10 Sustainability / CSR and Online / Social Media Marketing Trends for 2011 | 4 Green Ps

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 00:52:15 +0000

[...] PR agencies want to sell access to said “Mom bloggers.” And the bloggers? They’re tired of “working for free” and “training PR [...]

By: Julie

Julie — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 20:09:00 +0000

So true. I was recently contacted by a company as well, asking if I would “write a blog” for them (this had to do with my house & using pics of my house). I responded with an offer to write the blog at a very reasonable rate per post (my husband insisted I was still underselling myself), but they did not accept my offer, despite the immeasurable advertising benefit. As you stated, so many companies are getting free advertising, so they are not yet willing to pay for our time, effort & experience. Thanks for addressing this.

By: modernmami

modernmami — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 18:02:00 +0000

Thanks for sharing your point of view, Lindsay. However, not all
opportunities, such as the one I was approached with and described in this
post, allow for you to spread your own message. It’s often about writing for
their site and to meet their vision.

By: Lindsay Goodwin

Lindsay Goodwin — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 00:06:00 +0000

Some of us are still blogging just because we love it. Because we believe in our message. And we’re not looking for money. We’re looking for exposure for our message. So, to us, working for exposure isn’t working for free…it’s another means toward the end that we desire: to get our message out to a bigger/wider audience.

By: redmestic

redmestic — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 16:03:00 +0000

Thank you! That is quite helpful.

By: modernmami

modernmami — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:10:00 +0000

There have been some recent blog posts on this topic. Check out this post where I listed a few of them – http://www.modernmami.com/blogging/compensated-sponsored-professional-blogging/

Some break down what work should be compensated. As far as seeking it, you should set up a rate sheet for the various forms of work and reply with it when you’re approached. Same for the ad space.

By: modernmami

modernmami — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:05:00 +0000

But, see, the thing is that you are your own editor. You’re actually filling the roles of multiple employees! Writer, editor, publisher, and many more!

By: modernmami

modernmami — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:03:00 +0000

ha! That saying just keeps coming up.

By: modernmami

modernmami — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:03:00 +0000

I feel like I’m getting to that point too Susan! Email is becoming such a burden these days.

By: modernmami

modernmami — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:02:00 +0000

Yes, we must give kudos to those that are offering the compensation and seeing the value. Like you said, hopefully the trend will continue in that direction.