Don’t email me with your nonsense, my social media is NOT worth $5!
I have been in a bit of ranting rave the past couple of weeks so when given the opportunity by Squash the Beef to voice my rant there, I couldn’t say no. I have been frustrated with PR firms, AD Networks and the like trying to undermine what I do here on AnnMarie John. I’m going to state this again! AnnMarie John is my name, but this blog is my business, and if you want to advertise on AnnMarie John the blog, you’re going to have to pay me! And I don’t mean pay in product, because at the end of the day, that isn’t going to pay my bills. I do have to maintain an internet connection which means money. Since Comcast decided that consumers were using too much of their data and decided to put a cap on what we use, my internet bill has increased by $50.
So when I get an email from someone asking me to share about their delicious food or their newest product, but “we can only offer you a $25 gift card, or we can give you $50 to share on your social media page 4 times”. Are you freaking out of your mind??!! Did you really just hit send on that email that will soon be coming to my inbox? And if you didn’t get a response email, because it just didn’t justify a response, you then “followed up” with me continuously. By then I’m steaming and what I really want to say will surely condemn me to eternal damnation because you’re just pushing it.
Think about it now, fellow bloggers who take them up on these offers. It doesn’t matter if you have 100 or 100k followers on your social media pages. They wouldn’t dare contact a celebrity asking them to do this, so why are they asking you? Is it because they don’t respect you? Are your time and your following not worth anything?
Now for those bloggers who claim “oh well I take it because I’m scared that if I ask, they’ll just say no and move on”, or “It’s only going to take me 1 minute to do, and I need the money”. Yes, we all need the money, but really think about it! As long as you keep accepting their terms and conditions, they’re going to keep offering them. When are you going to put your foot down and say “enough is enough!”. I’m worth more than that, these are my rates, and you can either take them or leave them!
When we as a blogging community get together as one we can be strong, we can be a voice. Don’t just do it because you WANT the money, do it because of principle. Do it because it’s the right thing to do. I’m going to be honest here, even hookers on the street corner charge way more than that. If they have set rates and won’t take $5, why should you?
So PR Reps, before you hit send on that email to AnnMarie@AnnMarieJohn.com, let me tell you right now, you’re wasting your time. I won’t even bother responding, I won’t read past the first line, and your email will end up in the trash where it belongs. My social media is worth more than $5. FOH!!
I’ve turned comments off for this post, but you can discuss it on SquashTheBeef! While there, sign up and also post your own rant or rave. I know you have something that you just need to say and get off your chest!
