Yesterday after receiving an email, I shared it with someone who loves me and knows me well, someone who is not a blogger or writer. Our interpretations and opinions were so vastly in opposition to one another, the Grand Canyon and Mount Everest could’ve filled the space in between. Neither of us could convince the other to step down and move toward center.
So I’d like to share the email with readers and crowdsource opinion. This is no attempt to prove myself right; on the contrary, I need to hear it loud if I’m off base. One person whose opinion I greatly respect couldn’t convince me I was.
I don’t want to add leading language to suggest what our positions were, or how I interpreted and responded to the email. That’s what I’m asking you to do and I don’t want to influence your natural response. I hope to hear from both bloggers and non-bloggers, so if you read this, please chime in to comments!
SUBJECT: Pensieve + [company] Collaboration
Hi Robin,
My name is __________ and I’m from [a well-known profitable e-tailer]. First, I want to take a moment and commend the work you’re doing with Pensieve. We loved your post on Christmas Gift Ideas for Teens and College Students.
With New Year celebrations upon us, we wanted to reach out and see if you would like to collaborate with us and Ring in the New Year with [our company]. Right now, we’re looking for top influencers like you to let us know how you would stock and decorate your drink cart or bar for a New Year’s Eve party.
We’d like you to draw some inspiration from our bar gifts page here — [link provided to their site w/content-appropriate items]– and create a blog post that shows us the items you’d use for your bar paired with your favorite drink. After you’ve shared this on your blog, we’ll be highlighting some of our favorites through the New Year on our social media sites.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions and I look forward to hearing from you!
Happy Holidays!
Got thoughts? Share ’em! I will join the comment thread and eventually tell you my response….
Will be surprised if you do this one. While nothing wrong with drinking (I do enough for both) there has always been a certain tone in your blogs. We KNOW you have fun and more than likely have some good stories to tell. But you have never promoted it and I would hesitate to start now. IMHO.
I am laughing at the absurdity. Really?!? There seems to be an obvious conflict with “Teens and college students” and “drink cart or bar.” Run from this one!
My quick take? Clearly, this came from someone who:
1. Hasn’t really read your blog…not a surprise. That’s pretty standard coming from PR/Marketing people.
2. Wanted to suggest that they actually HAVE read your blog by linking to a specific post you wrote.
3. Was simply trying to find bloggers that use affiliate links, because it suggests that you might be open to promotional posts.
4. Is mildly tone-deaf to not see the inappropriate connection between a post about gifts for teenagers and a potential post about drinking alcohol.
5. Didn’t offer you any compensation or commission on what would be a straight-up advertising post.
That’s all I’ve got.
I think Kimba nailed it. I have become quite cynical about the Emails I get. But…. then how else is someone who is serious going to contact ?
First impression: DELETE. I used to respond back to these types of emails asking for details on compensation. After all, professional pay for professional work, right? But there’s never any money in the “budget.” Then I used to respond with an explanation of my opinion on being asked to work for free (hint: it’s a strong opinion, and it’s not positive). Because – if you break it all down – you are being asked to research their site, craft some ideas on how you would use their products, then create a post (including – I’m assuming – images, links, etc) that promotes their site. That’s work. But I don’t even take the time to respond to these emails anymore, because that’s work, too. It’s taking me away from other things that are either (a) more profitable, or (b) just more fun. Anymore it only takes me about 2 second to scan an email to see if it’s going to include a company’s efforts to actually partner professionally with me on my site. If not, it goes straight to the virtual trash.
Ok.
I’m glad I just read everyone else’s response because it never occurred to me that the email could have been spam/hoax/whatever.
Maybe it is, I don’t know.
But I think I agree with Kimba.
Although I love a fabulous margarita and I love a good party with a festive bar, not sure if you’d want to promote a company that is looking to market bar gear.
(I’d still love you if you did, though. Just putting that out there.)
Kimba said it all perfectly.
I think this kind of email deserves one of two responses:
1. No reply at all. (And maybe that’s bad, but honestly I think your time is too valuable to be wasted replying to a company who didn’t see the value in making their “offer” actually beneficial to you in some way.)
2. A canned response. (If you feel compelled to reply.)
Beyond that, I honestly wouldn’t bother. There’s nothing to gain here. This is not a good fit on so many levels.
Kimba pretty much took the works right out of my mouth. This is a cut & paste PR pitch that was most likely to sent to a very large list. It was, at the very least, partially personalized, but on the whole the company/person who sent it doesn’t really know you from Adam. They are hoping for free advertising through your site by a dangling carrot of *possible* exposure for you.
This pitch may fit some of the bloggers they reached out and likely several of them will actually follow through and accept “the offer”. But it’s a “spray and pray” method of outreach. If you don’t want to accept, I would say write back with a nice thanks but no thanks response. And if you don’t want to be contacted by them again, you can also kindly request removal from their lists. If you want to school them (which is also fine) you can reply back with your sponsored post rate/media kit and a list of topics that are approprate for you site.
That’s just my two cents 😉
I, too, agree completely with Kimba. While it MIGHT be a genuine opportunity, the tone is off and it feels very generic and, yes, there’s an obvious omission of how exactly your work and effort would be compensated.
I feel like I get 50 of these emails a day. And I delete every one of them. My response (in my head) is, “Oh, so you want me to write an entire post for you and then send it out on all my social media networks so you can get some sales, links, fans, google-juice, etc.? And you’re going to what? Oh, you MIGHT feature my ideas about YOUR product. THAT sounds like a win-win.”
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I’m jumping in to let y’all know I AM following comments, but I’m still waiting to say much until I hear from a few more readers.
What I AM seeing is bloggers are reading this very differently from non-bloggers….
(thanks, y’all…keep telling me what you think!!)
They claim to have enjoyed your blog on gifts for teens and young adults, but clearly (had they paid real attention to your blog) should have noticed not one single reference to gifts that include anything related to drinking. Also, there are several mentions on your blog page of faith-based gifts and charities. Not exactly your typical “let’s stock the drink bar” atmosphere. Did they not know their audience?
Also, they want you to do all this work for them, but with no real promise of giving you anything in return, or any credit for the free advertising they are asking you to give them. They would share THEIR FAVORITES on their social media sites. Well, as a friend of mine says, “Ain’t that nice??” They are takers.
Knowing you from you blogs I would not give them the time of day. As some have said it is free advertising, but a lot of work on your part to do the research. Your time is more valuable than to be wasted on something like this.
It could also be spam–I don’t think so. I believe it is some PR person looking for free advertising. If you’re to give free advertising I would give it to note worthy companies.
This reminds me of the email I got last week inviting me to join an airline in promoting a new thing they were doing to highlight famous locations from Christmas movies. Because they found my blog in a search for “bloggers who are excited about Christmas.” Or the movie that offered to send me a shirt if I told my readers to go see the movie – that I’d never seen and would not recommend. Or the weight loss people who offered to send me free leggings if I wore them for 8 days straight (ew) and wrote about them.
I love you. But this doesn’t sound like a partnership that would benefit you in any way – it would only give them free content.
Coming from a former blogger who’s been schooled in social media, I agree with Malia. However, if you have never been a part of this industry or are a complete newbie, I can see how you would not view it as a such a poor PR pitch.
Maybe your friend was looking at it as a nice gesture and a genuine opportunity
because:
1) They assume you drink (so it appears on your German beer instagram photos)
2) They complimented your blog, style, etc. (so they are super nice people)
3) They actually referred to one of your posts (so they must be reading)
4) They are a well known profitable company (so if they are doing well, you can too)
5) They are offering a real opportunity to grow your audience (so it is worth doing)
Which is all totally plausible if you don’t know that experienced bloggers do not give their endorsement for free unless it is a cause near and dear to their heart. And I’m guessing having an awesome stocked party bar is not your cause.
Marketing and PR aside, I think that the fact you are questioning if you should make this association is enough to tell you it’s not for you.
When you read the e-mail was there a catch in your spirit? A little voice that said “proceed with caution”?
If you were to accept, how would it affect the way you are perceived with your audience? Would it negatively affect your ministry? Your influence?
You know who you are – does this offer match up with the vision God has given you for your calling?
Canned e-mail or not, they call you an influencer and you are – no matter the size of your audience.
You need to decide who you’d be influencing and in what way and most importantly – how does this association line up with your interpretation of scripture?
Pray about it, God will speak.
“Others may, you may not. Others won’t, and you must.” {mom}
Based on what I’ve read of yours, it doesn’t seem like something you’d want to promote… it sounds like they want you to promote/advertize/host a teen/college kids’ NYE drinking party… But also, it doesn’t sound particularly personal.
I’m a blogger, but a little fish and probably more of a “reader” than a blogger at this point, at least a professional one.
I just think this would make me do a double take showing up on your blog. I know you have more sense than to connect it with teenagers at all, but it doesn’t fit you. Drinking is not wrong, but it can be questionable at times and I just don’t think it fits with your blog. 🙂
Robin, as a practicing school psychologist, this is how I read it:
They’re using weighted words/influential phrases –
“the work you’re doing with Pensieve” (really? how about the work you’re {Robin} doing with Compassion?)
“top influencers like you” (not just an influencer, but a TOP influencer – this rings of “top men” from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” – a meaningless phrase)
“draw some inspiration from our bar gifts link here” (yes, please, give US free affiliates links)
“we’ll be highlighting some of our favorites” (ooooh, really??? I might be CHOSEN?)
“don’t hesitate to contact me” (HURRY, or all the good trees will be gone!)
So, while it’s always flattering to know that there’s someone out there perusing and actually noticing your blog (and don’t kid yourself – LOTS of people read your blog), this smacks of phishing.
And that’s all I’m gonna say about that, Baby Girl!
Hi Robin,
I am late on catching up on this post BUT my first question would be “do they know you?”. Not that I really do but I am an avid reader of your posts and I don’t see how this type of propaganda would fit in with your usual fare.
I agree with many of the responders in “delete”…
I am a non-blogger but an avid blog reader. Best, Lina
Hi sweet lady~
Merry Christmas to you and yours. Dilemma, me thinks? Even our Lord turned water into “more” wine for the wedding at Cana, if it is the alcohol affiliation here, but as some have said, is this really something you would want to lend your name to? Doesn’t seem needful or God-honoring, and since you are putting your name on it, I assume endorsing the products, that is where I would be concerned. Hope we are being helpful and not harmful?
Lynn
Robin, my first response was something I couldn’t publish 😉 …so…I’ll just say I wouldn’t touch that with a 20 foot pole. They obviously know you have a great deal of influence and it would increase their profitability. I don’t think they know WHO they are dealing with. 🙂
Being a blogger myself I think it’s a horrible pitch so I would respond with my rates or just delete the email. Being a Christian, I think this could seriously jeopardize your testimony and ministry. I for one don’t think drinking is a good idea (even though I know I’m in the minority) and even if you believe it’s a Christian liberty it could very well be a stumbling block for one or more of your readers. If it were me, I would steer clear.
Hey friends,
Thank you ALL so much for commenting and sharing your thoughts; it was very telling, and get this–surprising to me. I’ll quickly share a little more.
First, I never considered their offer because, yes, I value my time and talent and this is a company with whom I have no relationship (as a consumer or professionally). It’s very interesting to me that bloggers were the readers who understood why I found their pitch (and others like them) offensive.
Second, this was not an issue regarding alcohol to me, and I’m afraid I might disappoint some of you to know I didn’t even notice a comparison to them asking me to write a post for them, while complimenting my College/Student gift guide. I absolutely understood their reason for citing it as an example of what they wanted me to do for THEM, NOT encourage underage drinking.
Also, Amy (and those who know me IRL, or as she mentioned, follow me on instagram) knows I’m not opposed to drinking in moderation. I do not have personal conviction against its use and can’t find scriptural support for that position, though I respect those who choose not to drink. There are legitimate reasons to make that choice and I would never do so around someone who’s not comfortable with it.
Amy (ha! I’m calling you out again!), you REALLY wrote a GREAT perspective of how non-bloggers might perceive this! Well done. I could see my friend in most of what you said, so thank you for taking time to articulate it so well.
Kimba, Stacey, Malia, Crystal, Lori, Erin, Amanda–you seemed to get much of my personal response.
For all of you who spoke to the issue of alcohol and me being an often-faith writer, thank you for giving me pause, for making me think long and hard how I would want to write about it; for instance, I attended a wonderful Molly Dooker wine tasting before going to Germany but wasn’t able to get a post together before leaving. The whole blasted thing would have been about wine and I wonder how many readers I would have alienated. Still…I have to be honest with myself; I can’t lie about who I am to please readers… My only concern would be in dishonoring Christ or my family.
(Robin’s question, “If you were to accept, how would it affect the way you are perceived with your audience?” is one that will rattle in my head for a while. 🙂 )
Elaine, I love that you called me Baby Girl!!! It’s what I call my daughter! And your comment made me grin.
Ashley, a perspective like yours helps me to consider “Is [it] necessary?” to write…” Thanks for making me ask hard questions.
Lynn, Yes! This comment thread was helpful! Surprising in spots, but helpful. “Is this really something you would want to lend your name to? ” <-- Molly Dooker, Rodney Strong, Mirassou, Ménage à Trois (a combination of three grapes) wines...I would. They're quality wines, varied prices, and I've recommended all to friends who ask. But, again, I'd be careful before lending my name IF there was ever reason to. Again, thanks everyone. I'm grateful for your thoughts. ~ Robin
🙂