17 Things Bloggers are Tired of Hearing

There are certain things that nearly every blogger on the planet can (or will) relate to at one point or another. Sometimes…people get pretty ballsy with their comments/questions/requests/etc. As if the whole nine yards of having a presence on the internet isn’t weird enough sometimes, we’ve all gotten those messages that make our eyes roll and heads spin!

SO, here are 17 of the goodies that frequent our inboxes, and/or what people have the chutzpah to say in person.

If ya feel ’em, know ’em, or relate to ’em, let me know in a comment at the end, and/or by tweeting about it and pinning this image: 😉

Influencer Marketing is where it's at. Bloggers are the real deal. Popular Philadelphia lifestyle blogger, Coming Up Roses is sharing 17 things bloggers are tired of hearing (along with why, cos that's important!).

“Oh, so your husband supports you then?”

Ha, no. I would tell you how much I make for our family, but quite frankly, that’s nobody’s business. 😉 But at the end of the day, I’m lucky enough to be able to contribute my part to our household, and I’m also lucky enough to have a husband who supports my dreams and goals and ambitions like no other. I’m lucky enough to have his support and blessing in a situation where my income isn’t guaranteed – where it all comes from my own initiative and hard work, and doesn’t necessarily get vacations or time off (or else that means no income).

At the end of the day, what’s so hard to believe about a woman working her butt off to build something from scratch into something that can financially support her family?

“Blogs are old news and dying.”

Ha…no. Influencer marketing is at an all-time high. 86% of women turn to social networks before buying something. 71% of consumers are more likely to buy something based on a reference from a blog or social media. {source} Influencer marketing content delivers 11X higher ROI than traditional forms of digital marketing. And long-form blog posts generate 9X more leads than short-form blog posts. {source} Influencers who are just regular peeps, have a platform, build an audience, and develop trust are more trusted and more effective than celebrity endorsements on products or even mainstream, traditional advertising. For advertising purposes, blogs aren’t going anywhere. And given the fact that everyone and their mother has a smartphone anymore and is all hooked into every social media under the sun, there is an overwhelming shift and preference for consumers to just constantly soak up digital content over anything else.

And here’s why blogs won’t die.

Because social media CAN die.

The only content you own as an infuencer is your own content, on your own website that you pay for and own. Even if you have 100,000 followers on Instagram, if Instagram randomly shuts its doors, goes bankrupt, calls it quits, etc….there’s nothing you can do. You’re done. If you haven’t built up a substantial presence on your *own* platform, make that priority numero uno for ASAP.

“That must not be hard.”

You’re right, simply hitting “sign up” on a website isn’t hard.

You know what IS hard?

Starting a true community. Generating readership. Growing a genuine, engaged, passionate following.

Influencer marketing means creating fresh, fun, creative content day in and day out to keep said following always interested and coming back for more, in a day and age where there are endless alternative options for content consumption.

If you don’t think it’s hard, start from scratch and see how long it takes you to get at the level of any other blogger whom you respect and/or admire and who makes their financial living from it.

Then we’ll talk. 😉

“Is it even possible to make money doing that?”

You betcha. See here, here, here, here aaaaaand here. Possible to make part-time income as shown there, and possible to make full-time income, as I do now. V. possible.

“So…it’s like your job just for now, right?”

Just like your job is just for now, right? Anyone in a more traditional 9-to-5 setting has the freedom to be at work without claiming it to be their forever-job. In such a dynamic world, new happenings everyday have people losing a job one day only to gain a new opportunity that didn’t exist a decade ago the next.

It’s really the same as any other career. Do it until you don’t love it anymore, then do something else.

No, it’s not my “transition” to anything. It’s a fulltime, intentional job that I feel so blessed to have and (usually) love every single day. It’s for as long as I’m lucky enough to rock it.

“OMG how can I be an influencer too” (in response to seeing PR packages unboxed on Snapchat)

When you see someone unboxing something they were sent through PR on a social media platform, hop up a few points to that “it must not be hard” response. You can wake up one day and start a blog; you cannot wake up one day and be an influencer.

Being a blogger means you have a platform and you use it.

Being an influencer means you have a platform, use it, and people listen and take action because of it.

You are an influencer when you have proof that you have an audience who reacts directly to what you create. So, start cultivating trust with people. Become the go-to guy or gal in something. Make people know you, like you, trust you – that’s the first step to being on yo’ influential way.

Influencer Marketing is where it's at. Bloggers are the real deal. Popular Philadelphia lifestyle blogger, Coming Up Roses is sharing 17 things bloggers are tired of hearing (along with why, cos that's important!).s

“Must be nice getting free product all the time…”

Can’t complain there…getting free product is pretty sweet. BUT, it’s not actually free. You have to pay taxes on anything you’re sent. So when companies (or other bloggers, randos on the internet, etc) say, “Why should you get paid on top of that? You’re already getting product!” or “We only compensate in product,” that’s a load of you-know-what.

Because we have to pay for the product in the end. And I don’t know a single soul who opts to PAY to work for other people.

Product doesn’t pay bills.

And anyone else would be laughed at in their face if they were told their paycheck was now free lunch or a bottle of shampoo or a new sweater.

Something sent via PR doesn’t necessarily have expectations attached to it – it’s a true “free sample,” if you will. But other product sent for a specific campaign or project is part of a job – it’s not “free” with no strings attached, because it’s necessary means to achieve an end result, shooting a gorgeous editorial and putting together a production.

So yes, free product is nice. But free product isn’t free. 😉

“Tell me how to start a blog, too!”

I 100% lovelovelove the concept of helping others (and I do it all the time, which you know if you’ve been around these rosy parts for awhile and/or ever chat with me directly!). BUT. What I’m do not 100% lovelovelove (like, at all) is the concept of feeling entitled to free help.

You wouldn’t just waltz into a CEO’s office (or inbox) and say “I would like you to tell me everything you know.”

Better yet, you wouldn’t DARE add in “for free.”

In the corporate world, if you don’t know how to do something, Google isn’t sufficing, and/or you’re super serious about it…you hire help. You hire a consultant. You understand the fact that most people aren’t going to spill their secrets to success (if there are such things) to a random person over an hour at coffee – things that likely took YEARS and DOLLARS to learn and earn.

A better Q is asking to be pointed in the right direction for resources to learn more about XYZ. If someone emails me asking for such a thing, you can bet you’re getting a LAUNDRY LIST of resources that I’m more than happy to share, like this one, this one, this one…the list goes on. Or, ask someone how much they charge for an hour of their time to teach everything they know about XYZ.

“How much money do you make?”

Do you ask random people on the street how much money they make?

No?

You shoudn’t ask random people on the internet how much money they make, either.

“Wish I could just be on social media all day long – so much easier than my job!”

There’s a difference between “being” on social media, and “strategizing” or “growing” on social media. Sure, if you want to scroll your Facebook newsfeed all day long, that doesn’t seem that difficult. But that’s not (like, at all) the job of a social media manager, or a blogger.

The job of a blogger includes (but is not limited to): writing, editing, shooting photography, editing said photography, content planning, negotiating contracts, emailing/pitching brands, networking, learning and mastering every social media platform, accounting, growth projections, and really, a lot of just in-the-moment elbow grease.

And I’ll tell ya firsthand – the art of growing on Instagram is NOT EASY AT ALL. Seriously, if ya wanna swap jobs for a hot sec and help a sistah reach some ambitious Insta-goals, you know where to reach me. 😉

“If I wanna get sent all that stuff too, can I just start a blog?”

Uh, no. See response to “OMG how can I be an influencer too.”

“Write a review of our ___ and we might post it on our social media!”

So let me get this straight.

You found me on the internet, presumably because you used search terms with which I have purposefully optimized my website and social media platforms.

You’re interested in working together, because you like what you see, be that in my aesthetic, following, whatever the case might be.

More often than not, I have a more significant online presence than you. AND I’m the one with “influence,” as they say.

And instead of compensating me dollah dollah bills for my hard work, time, and influence doing marketing for your company, you think offering the “chance” to be posted on your Facebook page is appropriate?

Gets me every time.

Influencer Marketing is where it's at. Bloggers are the real deal. Popular Philadelphia lifestyle blogger, Coming Up Roses is sharing 17 things bloggers are tired of hearing (along with why, cos that's important!).

“I wish I could get paid to just sit around taking pictures all day.”

You won’t when you realize how many pictures and how much time it actually takes to get that one stupid Instagram shot to get the desired engagement that either you, your followers, or your brand partners want, need, and expect.

But actually tho, the whole point for many bloggers is to make things look easy and as in-the-moment as possible, when it reality, that’s often not the case. Powerhouse blogger Caitlin Covington takes upwards of 100 mirror #ootd pictures before narrowing it down, editing, and posting the final winner. As much of a first world problem as it is, it’s hella frustrating to have to take so many pictures to get one damn good one. To do the job *right*, it’s not something where you can just snap-and-go. Everything requires intentionality, planning, and orchestration to land something picture-perfect (which, although it’s not for everyone nor what everyone does or likes personally, is a popular goal and aesthetic for many).

“I just followed you/liked your page/clicked on your name, so follow me back?”

Follow people because you genuinely WANT to follow them – not because you expect anything in return.

Create content that is so good, people can’t resist following along.

And quite frankly, if you only followed me or did XYZ in the hopes of getting something back, just unfollow me now. It’s like on The Bachelor. Do it for the right reasons, or don’t expect to get very far.

“Are you gonna blog about this right now?”

I get it – blogging is a total enigma to most people. It’s weird. It’s new. People naturally assume that every waking moment of every waking day is going to somehow get on the internet.

Thank the LORD that isn’t the case – I couldn’t survive like that. Ha! My editorial calendar is planned out at least a full month – oftentimes more – in advance. While certain things have absolute room to weave in real-time thoughts and moments, more often than not, it’s not gonna be on the blog. That’s what Snapchat is for. 😉

“Hello, I work for ____, and I would like you to review my product on your blog. I do not have a budget.”

I equate this to me walking into Nordstrom, picking up a Gucci bag, and waltzing over to the store associate saying, “Hi there. I really love this bag, and I want to have it. I cannot afford it. Can I have it anyways?” or, “You should let me have this for half the price, because I don’t have enough money for it.”

In what way does this help Nordstrom?

…it doesn’t.

If you have no budget, you should not be expecting other people to give you charity cards. If you’re a business…build a marketing budget. Whether your marketing budget is $10 or $10,000 (or heck, $10 million), you need something on the books for marketing or promotional purposes. It’s important. It’s worth it.

Second point here: Just because you can’t afford something doesn’t mean anyone owes you anything. You are not entitled to whatever you want simply because you want it. The same way that you’re trying to grow your business and make a living…so are bloggers. And bloggers don’t have a guaranteed paycheck at the end of the day, more often than not.

Be respectful. Personally, if you’re respectful of me, my work, my time and my space, you’ll receive a different response (and oftentimes, a way more flexible response) than if you reach out with demands, expectations, and lowballs. Pay can be negotiated – respect cannot.

“Hello, can I advertise on your site? I can pay $14 for a blog post or $7 for a banner ad for a year.”

*Hits delete on message and blocks sender*

Influencer Marketing is where it's at. Bloggers are the real deal. Popular Philadelphia lifestyle blogger, Coming Up Roses is sharing 17 things bloggers are tired of hearing (along with why, cos that's important!).

Bloggers, what are you tired of hearing? What’s the craziest ask you’ve ever gotten?

Can we share some stories + laughs in the comments below? We’re all in this together!

P.S. ICYMI, here are 29 ways to fall in love with your life this month (with a $500 giveaway inside!), and here’s a new style series on CUR – don’t miss it!

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