Bloggers Selling Their Souls For Easy Money? I Don’t Think So

This year has been incredible for me. I have been named the number 2 dad blogger in the UK by Vuelio and shortlisted for an award and numerous features on many websites. First of all I want to point out it’s not luck, I have spent three years and many hours working hard to produce the best content I can and thankfully people read and enjoy it, well at least I get comments to say they enjoyed it.

Along with these achievements that have come my way this year, it’s made me more visible to PR’s and more importantly brands. Nowadays I get approached by large brands like Iceland, Asda, McDonald’s, Confused.com, to name a few. This is truly amazing and a little mind boggling considering ten months ago I was lucky enough to be offered £20 worth of amazon vouchers for a lot of work. Times have definitely changed!

That’s not to say I have not worked for £30 because I have. You have to start somewhere, and I have never forgotten that. It’s a long slow process and by keeping at it I am now reaping the rewards.

This year what I have noticed is a number of people saying things like if you work with this brand or that brand you are selling your soul for a quick buck! I believe that this is total nonsense.

These brands pay very good money and if you do a good job, produce a well written post and give good promotion they will come back to you for more work. Surely that’s all anybody wants?

What I can’t work out, as said by some bloggers, is why they think this is selling your soul?

It’s business and any business has a price. As long as it is in keeping with the theme of your blog where is the problem? The truth is there is no problem. I have set my own standards. I don’t work with gambling sites nor do I work for any sex, dating or alcohol sites, but that is my choice. I don’t have a problem if bloggers want to work with these type of businesses. It’s personal choice.

It appears to me that some bloggers will only work with certain brands because in their eyes they’re reputable and trustworthy, yet if they see a blogger working with a brand that they wouldn’t work with, they’re suddenly selling their soul. Who is deciding this? What makes one brand any less trustworthy or reputable than another?

What gives bloggers the right to say that? Some brands simply suit some blogs better than others and usually the brand has done its homework about who they approach.

Another thing I have noticed recently is bloggers posting in blogging Facebook groups asking if other bloggers are doing a specific campaign, and asking how much did you manage to screw out of them.

This is totally unethical and shocking business practice. I am a self employed painter and decorator and on many occasions I’m not the only person quoting for a job. It would be like me asking other people how much are you charging. Just not done, totally wrong on every level.

Blogging is a very large industry made up of thousands and thousands of individuals and it is without a doubt generating a lot of money. But blogging has no standards, because there are so many individuals it’s impossible to have standards.

Each individual will set their own standards and of course the truth is some bloggers simply don’t have any standards which will play into the hands of PR’s and brands to not pay a fair going rate to many bloggers who nowadays under value themselves, and simply don’t know their worth to brands. To improve standards within the blogging world you would need a governing body laying down ground rules, which I personally think will never happen.

As I have said I have worked incredibly hard to achieve what I have with my blog, and I have no qualms about working with brands whoever they are. The truth is I enjoy earning the money, it’s nice and it helps my bank balance and actually gives my family some luxuries which we wouldn’t normally have. What’s wrong with that? Well in my opinion, absolutely nothing.

So the next time I read a blogger saying they won’t work with this brand or that brand, because they would be selling their soul, well if I’m honest maybe they have never been asked and is it because they are just a bit jealous that some bloggers are working with them and they’re not? Also the fact that they’re getting paid well for it. Don’t knock something until you have tried it. Don’t sit on your high horse shouting the odds because it just looks like the green eyed monster is at work. So next time you judge a blogger for working with a particular brand maybe you shouldn’t. It’s their blog and their choice what they do. The same as it’s your choice as to how you run your blog.

I would love to know your thoughts.