I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of these posts circling around the Internet lately on why bloggers shouldn’t work for free (or why it’s okay to blog for free – I have seen some of those too) so I thought it was time to share my two cents on the matter. Here’s a few key reasons why bloggers shouldn’t work for free.

Why Bloggers Shouldn’t Work For Free

I’m going to be honest here, I used to accept opportunities that paid in product or free promotion when I was first starting out so you’re not alone. Sometimes it takes time to realize your worth and that’s completely okay. It’s hard to be a brand new blogger and feel comfortable charging for posts but it’s so essential to start doing this sooner rather than later. Continue reading for a few key reasons why bloggers shouldn’t work for free.

You deserve more

I know how much work it takes for sponsored posts because I do them myself. You have to test out the product, take pictures of the product, write a post that authentically weaves said product into your blog post, edit the post, promote, and so much more. For this, you should be fairly compensated. Your hard work as an influencer is SO valuable and you deserve to be compensated for it. You do not need to have a humungous audience to get paid for sponsored posts. As long as you have an audience who genuinely cares about what you have to say, then you’re golden.

Because free promotion doesn’t pay the bills

I’m sure you’ve had at least a few inquiries of brands reaching out and saying something along the lines of “I’d love to work with you in return for promotion across our social media channels.” As a blogger, you know that free product or promotion isn’t going to keep your lights on or pay your rent.

The people who work at these companies don’t get paid in free promotion or product so why should we? Stand up for yourself and other bloggers by acknowledging your worth from the get go. You can use this site called SocialBlueBook to see how much to charge for sponsored opportunities.

It hurts other bloggers

When you accept posts for free promotion, you’re not only hurting yourself but you’re also hurting other bloggers. These companies will continue to devalue the worth of influencers if you continue to accept free promotion or product as payment.

Final Thoughts:

Blogging for free not only hurts you but others in your industry as well. I hope you enjoyed this post on why you shouldn’t blog for free. Do you currently blog for free? Why or why not? Please feel free to let me know down in the comments.