The rise of bullshit bloggers and why I no longer trust them.
Today I wanted to get a few things off my chest. You’ll always find advice posts on here about earning from your blog or, indeed, how I turned my blog into a job. I’ve been vocal in the past about when bloggers are getting a rough ride-like working for free or being scammed by blogging awards.
In other words, you’ll usually find me on the bloggers’ side-but today, I wanted to be honest and say: a lot of the posts I’m seeing on my twitter timeline and Instagram feed (from both bloggers and blogging opportunities) are quite frankly bullshit.
And I can’t help but feel as if I can no longer trust some bloggers who are willing to sell me anything if the price is high enough.
The rise of vague opportunities
Somewhere along the line, we have lost the personalised touch and it now seems perfectly acceptable to recruit bloggers via a tweet that reads ‘hi, a brand I know is looking for bloggers to review an item; leave me your email address below.’
And no. I am really not paraphrasing! That is the literal tweet. I take issue with these types of tweet for two reasons.
Firstly, a PR really shouldn’t be getting bloggers to recruit people for them-brands working closely with bloggers is what makes collaborations work.
Because the main issue here, is if you genuinely think all bloggers have integrity and are super-picky is to take a look at the sheer number of responses these get-which often go into the hundreds.
That’s hundreds of bloggers often replying ‘definitely interested’ ‘or ‘would love to’, without
However, I must say, it is not completely the blogger’s fault here: I do believe the market is essentially saturated in a sense and we all (understandably) want to jump on the bandwagon when something is tweeted-especially in January when ops can seem few and far between. Nobody wants to miss out on the potential.
After all, what if that tweet was about a trip to the Caribbean? Newsflash: it never is-as sadly, most of the time genuine, well-paid ops are not advertised this way. It’s even worse when I see bloggers tweeting: ‘I’d like to work with a brand, whose best to start with?’
In other words, I’d like to get some free stuff-who is
Finally, many many bloggers are using referral links to promote sites like Link Monster and Get Blogged-despite not using them themselves. I know because the former has had only had a few ops but has somehow recruited 1300 bloggers through this method-they’ve got lots of bloggers but no one can say if they’re any good as they haven’t worked with them! But anything for some free pennies right?
The problem extends to opportunities that are essentially illegal or exploitative. I’m not going to get into follow-links (since they’re not, but they can still harm your blog). Again, I see daily bloggers flock to accept posts on random topics (car tyres? I’d love to! funerals? I was just planning a post! male impotence remedies? my followers love that shit!) with no disclosure. The prices get lower whilst the number of bloggers grows bigger:you can see the issue.
I’m often told it is unfair to judge others who accept this type of work, as
However, I am essentially a reader of a blog (and therefore, I am entitled to expect good content) and a person working in the industry. If, when I worked in teaching, a fellow teacher behaved unethically: why wouldn’t I call them out on it? If blogging truly is an industry, why can’t we hold the people that work in it to the same standards?
More importantly, this type of content is never good and sadly, when a blogger is paid so little, they are loathe to make changes to it. With no disclosure, you’re essentially lying to your readers-so why should I trust you?
I don’t often accept guest posts for payment-but I do
Is lifestyle blogging a cop-out?
It shouldn’t be. A lifestyle blog can be a niche in itself-because, it’s YOUR lifestyle that I’m following. That’s why two lifestyle blogs can be completely different! However, a lot of bloggers are starting to use this as an excuse to sell me anything.
As you might know, I do blog outreach for Chronic Illness Bloggers and I am passionate about opportunities for those with chronic health issues. I am often flabbergasted by bloggers who apply for these-who not only do not have the condition themselves but have never written about the topic.
Again, if they’ve never taken the time to blog about it when payment isn’t involved, it clearly not particularly important to them or their readers.
I know it is difficult: but I do believe that in the
Brands Putting Words Into Bloggers Mouths
When blogging first started, we heralded it as a welcome alternative to traditional media. Our words couldn’t be purchased or restricted by an editor-and our opinions were 100% honest.
In fact, whenever I google anything, I’ll always add ‘blog review’ to the search term; as it was something I’d trust.
But
I’ve lost count of the same bloggers recommending their ‘go-to Shampoo’ and next week; saying they’ve only used another brand for years. I’ve seen others do ads for driving schools and then tweet that they think it’s pointless learning to drive. Things felt personal when I’ve seen bloggers promote a ‘gluten-free’ product (a diet I personally follow for medical reasons) in one post and then posing with pizza and piles of bread in the other.
I’ve seen brands wanting to work with fashion bloggers to promote things like intolerance testing and gluten-free products (one brief even going so far as to say they’d ideally only like those who follow it for the lifestyle rather than a medical need!); despite the fact these bloggers have never talked about the issues before.
So one week, they are so much less bloated after eliminating gluten and the next week, the #spon is gone and they’re telling their bloggers to never give up bread and #carbsforlife.
I genuinely think that it’s become such a fast, quick transaction that whilst smaller bloggers might have a handful of collaborations they pour their efforts in to and keep in touch with the brand long-term,larger bloggers genuinely can’t keep up with the ads they’re doing: the money is probably great but they’re literally contradicting themselves!
I will be honest and say I can no longer trust these bloggers. If you rave about an item and mention it again, it tells me you were only interested in the cash. I know it can be tricky-there’s brands I’ve worked with and then keep buying and talking about their product (cue awkward dialogue explaining it was an ad, and now its really not and hoping people believe you).
Going back to gluten-free for a second, one opportunity this week on Tribe asked
Luckily, there’s plenty of bloggers who do stand their ground.
But on the whole, we’re in denial if we don’t think we have a problem. We can keep rolling our eyes and sighing every time the media slams another influencer and calling journalists jealous-but we’re not getting to the root of the issue.
It’s not unsupportive or bitchy to say some bloggers are taking the piss. It doesn’t make you a bad blogger to actually agree when some bloggers are described as
Thank you for this Jenna. I have had about 5 requests this week already. None of them are prepared to pay more than $30! Some are offering as low as $15.
I was starting to feel like holding out for better money is a waste of time but this post is so true. I’m not going to be bought. I’m not going to lower my standards.
Thank you.
So glad it resonated with you Carly!
Our average payout Link Monster payout well over £150 per blog (average). We don’t accept non-paid opportunities and all brands must have brand guidelines if they wish to post a job. We also do not accept “viagra” type of posts.
We also have no control over if the blogger accepts or declines the job – it’s completely your choice. I think a lot of these platforms are a bit of a joke if I am honest, we have a huge amount of technology behind our system, not just a Blogger to Brand – we have a chat system, escrow, website verification etc. A huge amount of work has been put in to protect bloggers.
I don’t there is a fair comparison between the sites mentioned and if you’ve not used Link Monster you would understand the difference. Get Blogged do £35 blog posts, we’ve had payments go out for over £700 for one blog post!
Again, that’s my point I haven’t used it-there’s lots of bloggers promoting it who have never used it either; which is my issue.
I really liked this post Jenna! I totally get that people are trying to make money and freelance life can prompt some weird choices, but these days there’s a lot of ‘grabby’ behaviour out there from bloggers, as if promoting product is all it’s about. I’ll be totally frank, I’ve fallen into this trap too, but these days I’ve brought my focus back to authentically sharing my stories and it feels really really good xx
hanks Bethan! I agree it is grabby and it is easy to get sucked in and feel like ‘I NEED that freebie too!
I agree. As a new blogger 6 months in I either get a lot of requests that want the world for an event or product worth £5. One wanted 2 videos and several posts for product costing £8. I have to say I stick to my morals and won’t pos anything I am not interested in buying myself. I get offered money to post things but if I’m not genuinely happy with the product I won’t do it for the money -I guess some people do need the money though so it’s sometimes not a question of whether they can choose to take the post or not.
£8 bloody hell!
Good post. I agree it does seem pointless saying you love something one moment then never mention it again, or accepting every opportunity just because it’s paid. For some people it’s all about the money sadly !
so true Kathy!
I feel like the Link Monster part is aimed at me after our tweets, but I do support their platform. I tested the platform before it launched and had no end of conversation back and forth with the owner, so it’s something I am happy to promote.
Plus I share ways of making money and finding opportunities with my readers. In my blog post about it I will say that it’s a new platform and I haven’t yet worked with them.
I get why he needs bloggers first as it will be more attractive for brands to list on his platform once he can offer access to so many bloggers. Otherwise he’s saying, hey brands come and list with me, but I’ve not got bloggers to show your ops to.
Anyway I hope that clears up why I’m happy to promote them! Plus I know it is somewhere legit to apply for opportunities and hopefully he’ll have more soon 🙂
Nice article though! And pregnancy hormones are crazy! With my first they made me super feisty!
Not at all- you’re the first person I’ve seen who actually seems to know about it, e.g. have spoken to them directly! I see this tweeted ALL the time and in fb groups-I’ve seen people ask if they’ve used and they’ve replied ‘no not yet!’
Thanks, Vix for backing us up – I own Link Monster and I can tell you that our intention is to get the best price for the blogger and ensure that clients and bloggers can connect in a secure environment for both parties.
When a brand wants to find bloggers they have to search the internet for hours, I did it myself, and then manage multiple bloggers – it’s a nightmare. I’ve worked with major brands and through our “Job” section they can define exactly what they want – followers, outline etc. And we will not accept brands that do not fit within our criteria i.e. spamming.
I started Link Monster our of my own frustration.
Bloggers were not getting paid on time and brands didn’t want to manage 20 bloggers at a time. We vet both the client and the bloggers.
We verify our sites to ensure that people actually own them and carry out a number of manual checks, for example, we will not accept sites that write about random topics – I’ve gone through 1,200 blogs myself, I’m sure there’s a few that have passed through but we focus on quality, not quantity.
To give you an idea, I have moved all of my SEO clients (who were paying £1,000+ per month) to Link Monster, which I earn only 15% off minus any commission, server bills and payment fees.
We are not perfect and improving every day but I’m trying to get very good opportunities for bloggers, which I could quite easily charge 5-10x as much if I did it through my agency.
Obviously, a business needs users and you have to recruit, people do not just come to the site but I’ve tried to do this in the most ethical way possible. I do not spam people, a simple tweet or an email sent manually and if they are not interested I will not email them again.
It’s obviously very disappointing you have this point of view of Link Monster and I hope that in time you will change your mind. The whole idea was to get good bloggers and for bloggers to get a fair price, me making millions wasn’t on the agenda.
Hi Jason, I think you’ve missed the point of the article. I haven’t used Link Monster-which is why I don’t promote it. I have no reason to disbelieve any of your points about it. My issue is there’s lots of bloggers using referral links to your site when they haven’t even used it themselves, and not claiming it was a referral link-and that’s why I don’t trust bloggers.
Thanks, Vix for backing us up – I own Link Monster and I can tell you that our intention is to get the best price for the blogger and ensure that clients and bloggers can connect in a secure environment for both parties.
When a brand wants to find bloggers they have to search the internet for hours, I did it myself, and then manage multiple bloggers – it’s a nightmare. I’ve worked with major brands and through our “Job” section they can define exactly what they want – followers, outline etc. And we will not accept brands that do not fit within our criteria i.e. spamming.
I started Link Monster our of my own frustration.
Bloggers were not getting paid on time and brands didn’t want to manage 20 bloggers at a time. We vet both the client and the bloggers.
We verify our sites to ensure that people actually own them and carry out a number of manual checks, for example, we will not accept sites that write about random topics – I’ve gone through 1,200 blogs myself, I’m sure there’s a few that have passed through but we focus on quality, not quantity.
To give you an idea, I have moved all of my SEO clients (who were paying £1,000+ per month) to Link Monster, which I earn only 15% off minus any commission, server bills and payment fees.
We are not perfect and improving every day but I’m trying to get very good opportunities for bloggers, which I could quite easily charge 5-10x as much if I did it through my agency.
Obviously, a business needs users and you have to recruit, people do not just come to the site but I’ve tried to do this in the most ethical way possible. I do not spam people, a simple tweet or an email sent manually and if they are not interested I will not email them again.
It’s obviously very disappointing you have this point of view of Link Monster and I hope that in time you will change your mind. The whole idea was to get good bloggers and for bloggers to get a fair price, me making millions wasn’t on the agenda.
And lastly …..
“In other words, I’d like to get some free stuff-who is likely to give it to me. There’s no consideration of who would be a good fit for their audience and who they could offer ROI (return on investment) for.”
We have an ROI module built in for customers so they can see exactly how much ROI they are getting. This is a major issue and I want authentic bloggers to show there worth, it will soon become apparent the ones that don’t provide any return.
I would not compare LinkMonster to anything out there, because it’s not like other systems at all. It’s a completely unique concept to the point that other brands are copying some of the things we are doing (a large one just implemented website verification, a week after we implemented it …. coincidence, maybe? ;o)
Agreed. And it’s not only bloggers but YouTubers as well. It annoys me tremendously.
I am a small blogger and YouTuber and rarely get contacted for paid gigs, so to speak, but most of those I receive I reject because I don’t want to promote sth I don’t believe in.
100% with you!
Blogging has gone downhill over the last few years simply because of this. However, when big bloggers promote their own get rich quick schemes (how I made £million in 2 days etc) some of the advice in these so-called “courses” are to accept money however little from sites like Get Blogged regardless of what is essentially acceptable or not for your audience. I have a been a member of said courses myself and seen these pushed a) for the affiliate cash they probably receive promoting it and b) it’s all about making money with your blog so any amount is acceptable because they show you how to hide the posts from your audience. It’s no wonder why these places still treat bloggers as they would link dumps because that’s what the bloggers (if they have no previous knowledge) have been told it’s how you become one of the in-crowd.
very interesting! thanks for your thoughts on this!
Great post, thanks for writing it. I agree with everything you’ve said! Especially the rise of these sites, so many bloggers recruiting for something they’ve never used?!
Very well said! I’ve unfollowed a lot of Instagram accounts who have tied themselves in knots wit adverts and contradictions. I’m hoping that it’s just a fad and will eventually calm down. Here’s hoping!