Blog feature requests

[WatchMeWorld]

Lately I've been getting a lot of people convo-ing me and asking if I would like to be featured on their blogs. I'm having a hard time knowing which ones are legit or if it's some kind of a scam. Does anyone have experience with this? How do you proceed? Some of them come right up and ask for free stuff, which to me seems like a scam, but others don't really mention anything about that right away. I'm just not sure how to sort out the real ones that would be good exposure for my shop from the ones that are just looking for something for free. Any advice?

[Former_Member]

That feels very strange to me. I do blog features, and a) I don't ask people, I have them come to me via my blog, and b) I certainly don't ask for the items of that seller.

The best advice I can offer is to look into the blogs, see how many viewers they have, and ask for their monthy traffic report before you send them any free product.

[Former_Member]

Yeah, they should give you the link to their blog and you should definitely check it out before replying to them.

I had given away 1 item when I had my old store on here and didn't feel weird about it. It was a blog contest with an okay following, but hey, I figured why not?

Rebecca

[WatchMeWorld]

So for a good blog with good traffic, what would the numbers look like? How many followers is good and how many visits would be good numbers?

[Former_Member]

That part's up to you, it depends on what you feel your shop's worth is. For me, I'm reallllllly small, so if anyone who has a blog wants to feature me (as long as they don't want free product) I'm all for it!

For you, you seem to have a very successful shop. I wouldn't go for a low-viewed blog. (But I can't really tell you in numbers, other people will have a better idea. I'm guessing nothing under 5,000 followers, if they want free product?) Again, don't quote me on that though :P

[MythOfTheWild]

Some blogs do expect free things to review. I review products on my blog, but I never ask people. I figure - and this goes for people who have asked me, too - that if I want to review something, I will buy it. Instead, I let people come to me, and ask to be reviewed.

A lot of bloggers expect to be able to keep the item they're reviewing. I leave it to the seller to decide that. A lot of bloggers see it as a form of payment, but that is NOT what it is supposed to be at all, and some sellers see letting bloggers keep the item as a way to ensure a positive review.
Not all bloggers expect to keep the products, and not all bloggers will give a shining review just because of a freebie.

If I were you, I'd decline the ones that ask right out for a freebie. A lot of bloggers go into product reviewing purely to get free stuff. It's hard to know who is legit and who isn't, as well, because followers and stats mean nothing. Just because someone has 6k followers, doesn't mean they won't try to screw you over.

You would be better off approaching blogs yourself. Some bloggers who ask may just want your stuff, and their blog and readers may not be suited to your products, so it would just be a waste of time for you.
If you decide you want your products reviewed, it's easy enough to hunt down blogs that are suitable.
Of course, this isn't to say that NO ONE who asks you directly can be trusted, at least some people have come right out and stated that they want an item for free. You could take that as honesty, or you could take it as stupidity.
Follow your gut. If you think it's worth risking a single product, then do it. It could be worth while. But research the blog - read what they blog about, and have a look at other product reviews they've done, and get an idea of that.

[WilliamsGiftshop]

I often get requests from bloggers that want to feature my shop.
That's nice and I usually say yes.
UNLESS they beg for free products. Their intentions are obvious. I either delete their request or tell them they are free to buy the items from my shop just like everybody else.
And UNLESS they insist on having a photo of me. I don't show my face on the internet, so no thank you.

[WatchMeWorld]

Okay, those are all great suggestions. Thanks for the help!

[TheSalvagedEdge]

It also depends on your niche. You might not do well to be on a blog about hunting or something like that no matter how many people follow the blog. And some blogs are only about freebies so the people that follow them are looking for freebies and probably not real shoppers.
So it is about numbers, but more about quality of the blog too.

[AdamRabbit]

I have had a few blogs feature me. I have sent some items to be reviewed to a few blogs. Some I was happy about, others not so much. Really take the time to look at the blog, its audience, and how many comments they have. I do not respond to people that just come out and say, "I like your rings, If you send me this specific one I will talk about it on my blog."

[Former_Member]

Be careful of the spammers! There are a lot of people trying to get free stuff.

You want a blog that meets your target audience, has a high readership, and an *active* readership. If no one is commenting and engaged in the blog, what is the point? You should also check their facebook and twitter and see how many people are actually retweeting, commenting, etc. on there. Many add fake accounts to bring up readership.

Also check past giveaways, and see how many entries they are getting.
To be honest, most blogs I've looked into advertising, don't contact shops. Many even require that you buy an ad on their blog as well. If you are looking into a giveaway that should bring in traffic, you might want to contact kaelahbee.com or thedaintysquid.com which both have thousands of readers at what I think would be your target audience.

You can also offer a code for 10 - 15% off for readers which will entice first time buyers and you let you track sales from the blog and see if it was worth your time and money.

[Former_Member]

I've had both - I've approached others to feature me on their shop, and I've had people feature me.

If they just want to write a story on you and your shop and maybe they ask for a coupon code, that's pretty standard.

If they're asking for free stuff, I wouldn't bother.

[diarysketches]

I have a blog and I DO ask people if I can feature them. Also another blog asked me for a free print for a giveaway. It is ligit. It's how artists help other artists get out there.

[TheRogueBaby]

I use the rule of thumb to never work with a blogger who approaches me. I have a blog myself and I follow quite a few. I feel if you are going to be featured on a blog or give an item away for review, you should really know the blogger, their style, their following, etc. Make it worth your while. I kindly declined when approached by random bloggers.

[Former_Member]

Laura, I agree, I blog too and I have featured others AS WELL as being featured on several blogs. It is a great way to get exposure for your shop, and to help others do the same. But I disagree with having to provide free products.

I've participated in a few giveaways that the blog owners ran via Rafflecopter, which got me more Fans for my Facebook page and Followers for my Twitter. But you don't HAVE to give away an item.

Providing a coupon code is pretty standard. Random people contacting you asking for free stuff is not what I'd call "legit".

Free stuff and blog features are not mutually exclusive. Plenty features are just that - written blogs to feature your shop. They don't all have to have a giveaway or product review.

[Former_Member]

That's weird. I've never received that type of convo and if I feature someone in my blog I let them know giving them a link, but I don't ask permission.

[diarysketches]

I did not agree to give away products to people that asked. However in the beginning, when I started out I approached popular blogs to do a give away of an art print

[Plektra]

Have a look at this thread as well to help you decide.

http://www.etsy.com/teams/5002/etsy-success/discuss/11217657/

It's good info here with others' experiences too.

Hope it helps.

[WilliamsGiftshop]

Ana J, you really should ask for permission first.
After all, you are going to use the seller's pictures, right?

[Former_Member]

I did one of these when I first started but I wouldn't do it again. I did it then to get some exposure, because I was so new, and I think it helped a little back then. But for the most part, most blogs don't have that many followers, so it isn't worth it.

I feel like most of the time these bloggers (the ones who contact me anyway) want to "review" some of my most expensive items in exchange for keeping my jewelry. I find the whole thing kind of shady and am not willing to be apart of it.

[ElectronicGirl]

when i first started here, i gave one item to a supposed blog person...and no feature..nothing. never answered my convos again.

so i'm done with giving stuff away. make sure you really check them out.
good luck

[CelesteCraft]

Years ago a very nice woman contacted me, wanted to write an article about me & my work in conjunction with a giveaway to drive traffic.

It looked like a decent blog, well organized with about 6 staff writers and good traffic.

I completed a nice interview form and sent the item that was requested. The giveaway happened. The feature never did. I asked several times and she stopped responding.

I'll be more careful next time!

[OneFairfaxRoad]

I think one should be careful before giving free items for a blog. I was asked to send a largish vintage item to Australia for the blogger's home, which was to be featured in some type of home design blog. All said, it would have set me back about $300.

I decided the potential benefit didn't match the cost to me and politely declined.

[Spellbinderie]

I was also recently approached by a blogger who is also a stylist and wanted to use one of my wedding guestbooks for a photo shoot for a wedding magazine then would do a feature on the guestbook in her blog, in return. I would not get a credit for the magazine though. She agreed to return the guestbook after so I offered that if she bought the guestbook, I would refund her, less shipping, once the guestbook was returned. She never bothered to reply. I don't know why I should trust this person to actually take care of my item, return it to me or even write about it for the blog.
I get written up in blogs plenty. Some I've approached, others just did so without me knowing and I found out thanks to seeing traffic in my stats. I am thrilled to be blogged about in this way!

[kijsa]

I have had some very strange requests from blogs- one woman was so pushy she kept on insisting on one item from my shop (which was a one of a kind vintage piece turned chalkboard, so of course I couldn't replicate it for her readers! Then I checked her comments, activity, and most importantly to me- her Pinterest account (that is a large referring site for me!) I laughed when I saw she had less then 80 followers and I had more than 2000- I politely declined. Then she kept hounding me...I continued to politely decline/ finally she got the message- but it was super shady - she was definitely in the market for free stuff!!