Southern In Law: FOMO & Bloggers: Why It's Okay to Say NO (and be told no!)

If you popped by the blog over the weekend, you'd notice that... well... girl got a little ranty in Would You Like To Work For Free?. If you're a blog reader without a blog yourself, you probably had no idea what I was ranting about, but the post definitely connected with a lot of fellow bloggers and I've been receiving comments, messages and emails about it ever since.

But in those responses, I noticed a bit of a common theme in the emails that were hitting my inbox. A lot of bloggers have a huge FOMO when it comes to brands.

A whaaaaaaaaa? You might be saying? FOMO = Fear Of Missing Out.

It's that fear of missing out that is perhaps the biggest problem of all (and quite possibly the reason brands think they can use bloggers!) and that's what I thought we could chat about today. Chat because I don't want to be the only one doing the talking - I want to hear your thoughts to!

My drawings are back too, because it's really hard to find stock images to illustrate my crazy thoughts :P

FOMO and Bloggers - Why It's Okay to Say No to Brands

So let's think about a situtation that most bloggers have probably been in. You open up your inbox and Hey! Would you look at that!

You've got an email from a brand... and for this scenario (for ultimate FOMO-inducing-ness) we're going to say it's a brand you've been wanting to work with FOR. EVER.

FOMO and Bloggers - How is the right way for bloggers to work with brands

First thing's first, you need a moment. You jump up and down, do a little happy dance and modesty flies out the window because HELLO BOSS LADAAAYYYY! Look at you, this awesome brand reads your blog. BOOM!

How should bloggers and brands work together - FOMO for Bloggers and Social influencers

Oh yeah.. the email... you should probably read past the first line.

The email's a lot like the usual ones you get, the brand "loves your blog" and wants to "offer you the opportunity" to promote their products.

They've talked about products and reviews and they've listed out all the ways they want to work with you - recipe develop, review posts, social media shares, you name it - but they haven't mentioned a thing about compensation.

They're asking a lot of you. They want a guaranteed feature on your blog and a whole heap of things checked off their to-do list. You know it's going to take up hours of your time and you know that you're going to give them a pretty decent amount of exposure - so what do you do?

You think about bringing up the compensation side of things, but what happens if they say no?!

What happens if they do say no? Well nothing, really. It's as simple as that.

The question is, is your FOMO really worth it? What are you worried about? Is your life really going to change because of a free lipgloss sample or a new kitchen appliance that you need to develop XX recipes with? Probably not.

They say you never know unless you ask and that's exactly the thing to remember in this situation. Your fear of missing out shouldn't stop you from asking the question - and it shouldn't make you do something you're not comfortable with either.

What Are Bloggers Really Worth How to Monetize Your Blog

And so what if they say no! It's easy to get caught up in the frenzy of writing posts for free products, however, you need to ask yourself;

What is right for me?

And is it really worth it?

When one individual or business provides a service to another, it involves compensation. It's not about deserving (that word gets thrown around a lot, however, to be honest, you don't deserve anything simply because you blog) - it's about fact. The game shouldn't change simply because that service provider is a business.

When a blogger offers an endorsement that is valuable, content that can be used to generate sales or profit or information that a brand desires, we should be asking what the compensation should be and not if compensation should be offered.

Remember; Compensation does not necessarily have to be monetary, it has to be right for you. What you need to do is come to an agreement that works for both you and the brand.

How Brands Can Develop a Relationship with Bloggers

What we want to strive for is developing a partnership that works for everyone. You want to be happy but you always want the brand to be happy, too! The best partnerships are ones that deliver results and value for both parties.

We need to be thinking about What value can we deliver and what value is that to the brand? That's what is going to deliver success and that's what will deliver results.

Remember that every blog is different, every blogger is different and every opportunity is too. It's all about finding what works for you and remembering that no really isn't something to be scared of.

You should never put yourself in a situation simply because you're scared of missing out on an opportunity that really doesn't deliver you any benefits - or because you feel pressured to say yes because you're too afraid to say no.

It's okay to say no - and it's okay to be told no too. You're not missing out on anything, other opportunities will come along that are better suited to you!