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What do you want from a blog? [no names please]

onthemitch

Can I ask: I'd love to know what people *would* like to see from blogs they enjoy. I know there are blogs out there that we all read and like – and others that we kind of joyfully hate-read – but what is it that keeps you coming back?

For me, I'd prioritise good writing, a knowledge of the topic at hand, decent blog layout (can't stand centre alignment, for example!) and pics. And then you get into the nuances of personality: I've definitely been turned off people because I think they're full of themselves etc.

And in terms of sponsored posts, how would we like to see it done? Do we want each post that's paid for to say "sponsored post" in the headline, or is it enough to add a line at the end?

As a blogger myself (rosemarymaccabe.com – I tried changing my username on here to be transparent but it doesn't seem to be an option), I'd love to know what people really *do* want to see, rather than what they don't want.

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onthemitch

Noahboah2014 wrote: »

Emm yea okay, I honestly didn't know who you were until I read this thread today & then went on Instagram to find out, as I was curious after reading the raincoat comment and surprised that I didn't know who you are, as I do follow some bloggers. So nope, I'm afraid its impossible for me to have an issue with a person I know nothing about. But as I mentioned previously it was just your raincoat comment that I had an issue with.

I'm just surprised you'd feel so passionately about it that you'd make a boards account especially – but fair enough.

For what it's worth, it was a throwaway comment on my part; I wasn't being precise, and I wasn't trying to be rude about Ember & Earth. I was just making the point that, when it comes to "social influencers" and commercial partnerships, you'd be making a lot more than the value of one coat – so when people claim that "you ARE getting paid because you got a coat!", it's in no way comparable.

Noahboah2014

Emm yea okay, I honestly didn't know who you were until I read this thread today & then went on Instagram to find out, as I was curious after reading the raincoat comment and surprised that I didn't know who you are, as I do follow some bloggers. So nope, I'm afraid its impossible for me to have an issue with a person I know nothing about. But as I mentioned previously it was just your raincoat comment that I had an issue with.

onthemitch

Noahboah2014 wrote: »

My opinion is my own, I am one person an individual, I'm not looking for anyone to agree with me or anything of the sort, I am anonymous on this thread so why would I need strangers to validate my opinion? I simply wanted to ensure that my comment had come across as I intended.
You wanted the raincoat, you said you approached them to ask if you could get one gifted to you, you made an agreement to post whatever number of times in return. You agreed, the company agreed. You got what you wanted and so did they. All fair enough no problems there at all.
My one issue was that you then came on here stating you did the company a favor & you *could* of charged 10 times the amount of the coat.
*I* me, as an individual find this arrogant and also a bit disrespectful to the company.
Its really as simple as that. I have no issue with you, it is just my feelings on one comment you made, on a public forum, which is open to criticism. Just as my comments are.

You created an anonymous Boards.ie account in order to point out how arrogant I am. I won't apologise for taking that personally – it seems that you do, in fact, have an issue with me.

meeeeh

scarbouro wrote: »

So why make such a remark?! There is plenty of skilled jobs out there who are paying well below the average. You sound so insulting.

I am not a native English speaker and I was quickly typing on a phone. I had an inkling it will be misunderstood but I was hoping most will understand from the context what I was trying to say.

Btw 10 Euro per hour is well below average.

Noahboah2014

onthemitch wrote: »

At this stage, I'm really tired of talking about this raincoat – I was under no obligation to be so effing transparent, and I've got pretty much nothing but grief for it (and we want bloggers to be honest – why?).

But to answer your question: I was making the point that I did not, in fact, get paid for the raincoat, and that the coat itself was not equal to payment. I offered to post about the raincoat on various forms of social media – for which I would need the raincoat itself. If I had been charging for the amount of coverage they got in exchange, I *could* have charged 10 times the amount.

I'm not for a second suggesting that the time it took me to post about said coat was worth €1,290 – but the time it took me to build up the social media following I have might be. As has already been said, that's up to the brand in question.

But really, isn't it a moot point? No money changed hands. Your issue is that you think I'm being arrogant – and you want, what, for people to agree with you? I'm sure loads of them do.

For what it's worth, I don't think my time is more valuable than anyone else's – but that's not how the world works. If it was, Beyoncé would get paid less to sing (a talent she was born with) than a doctor would get to work in a hospital (a skill she / he acquired, through years of training). And before you get your pants in a twist, I'm not comparing myself to Beyoncé *or* a doctor – but asking, "do you think your time is more valuable than mine?" is, frankly, childish. Capitalism doesn't operate on the basis of whose time or skill is worth what.

My opinion is my own, I am one person an individual, I'm not looking for anyone to agree with me or anything of the sort, I am anonymous on this thread so why would I need strangers to validate my opinion? I simply wanted to ensure that my comment had come across as I intended.
You wanted the raincoat, you said you approached them to ask if you could get one gifted to you, you made an agreement to post whatever number of times in return. You agreed, the company agreed. You got what you wanted and so did they. All fair enough no problems there at all.
My one issue was that you then came on here stating you did the company a favor & you *could* of charged 10 times the amount of the coat.
*I* me, as an individual find this arrogant and also a bit disrespectful to the company.
Its really as simple as that. I have no issue with you, it is just my feelings on one comment you made, on a public forum, which is open to criticism. Just as my comments are.

scarbouro

meeeeh wrote: »

Considering I am part owner of a small business that employs more lower educated workf

So why make such a remark?! There is plenty of skilled jobs out there who are paying well below the average. You sound so insulting.

meeeeh

scarbouro wrote: »

WOW!! Maybe you should get down off your high horse there.. What a ridiculous statement to make.

Considering I am part owner of a small business that employs more or less lower educated workforce and I do the wages and recruitment I kind of know what I am talking about. It is very hard to get anyone with some certifiable skills that would work for less than 10 euros. It might seem satisfactory money to a student or a foreigner house sharing with six others but they are not talking about a living wage of 11something for no reason.

What seems generous to a student becomes much much less when you are in your thirties.

To add more on topic edit. One of the main problems is that bloggers are trying to make money in very saturated market. Too many people think that being good looking, knowing how to apply make up and liking what they do is enough to survive. Yes if you also have a day job but being a full time business it becomes much harder. And in the long run taking short cuts won't help.

scarbouro

meeeeh wrote: »

Frankly I can't imagine anyone but apprentice being paid 10 Euro or less in any job that requires some skills.

WOW!! Maybe you should get down off your high horse there.. What a ridiculous statement to make.

on_my_oe

Meanwhile I found a disclaimer that is clear and easy to understand, and makes me laugh. It states her policy on everything (links, adverts, advertorials etc).

http://cosmetic-candy.com/disclaimer/

I've spot checked a few of her posts which are products that other blogs are promoting at the moment, and she seems true to her word identifying PR samples etc. That ticks my honesty box.

The writing's ok, so I've added her to my blog list.

(apologies if I've breached the rules, please delete and tell me off)

meeeeh

Don't bring my paycheck into it I am severely underpaid in my opinion.

But I know at what rate per hour we are starting to make money after all the fixed cost.

Edit: this is joke reply to something about six posts ago.

Sunny Dayz

I'm not a blogger so I'm guessing there are others here who could probably add to my post. But from a business POV there are many expenses involved:
Equipment used, up to date phone, tablet, pc, camera, software. Programs which require paid subscriptions. Internet and phone bills. Business cards. Travel (petrol, tolls, parking). stationery. Website and email hosting. Light & heat, even if it's a room in their house being used as an office, it is costly to have your light and heat in the whole house on the go each day (although only the portion relating to the office would be tax deductible). Taxes, Accountant.

Time involved. I know it doesn't take long to put up a tweet or an instagram post but how many times is it typed and retyped, how many shots are retaken, how long does it take to style the photo? Bloggers need to be up to date on Social Media, think how much time you spend browsing social media, liking and commenting on posts. Any good blogger needs to be bang up to date on what is happening so needs to have one eye on their new feed. They can't just clock off at 5, evening time is when their followers would be most active.

onthemitch

Noahboah2014 wrote: »

I no there is a massive market for blogging/bloggers now, I understand that. But Rosemary & the company both clearly agreed that her postings were worth the price of the raincoat. Why then come on this thread and then say her postings were actually worth 10 times the agreement.
I just can't understand that.

At this stage, I'm really tired of talking about this raincoat – I was under no obligation to be so effing transparent, and I've got pretty much nothing but grief for it (and we want bloggers to be honest – why?).

But to answer your question: I was making the point that I did not, in fact, get paid for the raincoat, and that the coat itself was not equal to payment. I offered to post about the raincoat on various forms of social media – for which I would need the raincoat itself. If I had been charging for the amount of coverage they got in exchange, I *could* have charged 10 times the amount.

I'm not for a second suggesting that the time it took me to post about said coat was worth €1,290 – but the time it took me to build up the social media following I have might be. As has already been said, that's up to the brand in question.

But really, isn't it a moot point? No money changed hands. Your issue is that you think I'm being arrogant – and you want, what, for people to agree with you? I'm sure loads of them do.

For what it's worth, I don't think my time is more valuable than anyone else's – but that's not how the world works. If it was, Beyoncé would get paid less to sing (a talent she was born with) than a doctor would get to work in a hospital (a skill she / he acquired, through years of training). And before you get your pants in a twist, I'm not comparing myself to Beyoncé *or* a doctor – but asking, "do you think your time is more valuable than mine?" is, frankly, childish. Capitalism doesn't operate on the basis of whose time or skill is worth what.

on_my_oe

Noahboah2014 wrote: »

I am actually a 3rd year nursing student, have not qualified yet, but work as a care giver. Which also needs a recognised certificate. Saying those in lower paid jobs don't involve "skills" is slightly rude really.

I agree that the wording could have been better, but I am sure that wasn't the intention of meeeeh.

Unfortunately some careers do pay better that others. I have friends who are trainee nurses and/or home help caregivers, and their wages are unfairly sh*t, especially if you are visiting clients as you don't get travel time. I personally have a Masters and am a part qualified accountant. I've got 8 years of experience as a C suite level EA. Today I got messaged on LinkedIn about a role as a EA in a government agency demanding 5yrs plus experience - they wanted to pay a salary equal to minimum wage yet the role states frequent overtime will be required. It would be great if our skills and experience was reflected in our salaries but that doesn't always happen. I don't begrudge Rosemary or meeeeh if their pay cheque does.

meeeeh

Noahboah2014 wrote: »

Add your reply here.
I am actually a 3rd year nursing student, have not qualified yet, but work as a care giver. Which also needs a recognised certificate. Saying those in lower paid jobs don't involve "skills" is slightly rude really.

Look it was not my intention to insult anyone's level of skill but I know the rates that we have to pay and Solass rate for third or fourth year apprentice is higher. My point is that business cost is way higher than rate of pay for employees. You are not paying just for time spent doing promotion, you are paying also for time blogger invests into building a brand, creating following etc. I have no idea if that rate is expensive or not, I am guessing it is more often than not heavily discounted. I would also suspect someone like Pippa would be much more expensive for the same because of the following she has.

Gordon

Cost price versus sale price. Pizzas cost nothing to make, but extortionate to buy. Good actors get paid lots for small amount of time working. Etc

Noahboah2014

I no there is a massive market for blogging/bloggers now, I understand that. But Rosemary & the company both clearly agreed that her postings were worth the price of the raincoat. Why then come on this thread and then say her postings were actually worth 10 times the agreement.
I just can't understand that.

SB_Part2

Noahboah2014 wrote: »

Add your reply here.
Your missing my point really, the company agreed to this, yes. At the cost of a raincoat which was 129euro. It's Rosemary's comment of her postings being worth 10 of these said 129euro raincoats that bothered me.

Do you realise how much other bloggers get paid to do similar posts?

Noahboah2014

SB_Part2 wrote: »

Noahboah2014 wrote: »

I've no issue with different jobs paying different rates. But find it quite arrogant to claim posting a few pictures on social media is worth 1290 euro. And that she was doing the business the favour by only taking the raincoat worth 129euro in exchange. Please. Come back to the real world.

If the business didn't think it was valuable to them they wouldn't have agreed to it.

Add your reply here.
Your missing my point really, the company agreed to this, yes. At the cost of a raincoat which was 129euro. It's Rosemary's comment of her postings being worth 10 of these said 129euro raincoats that bothered me.

on_my_oe

Noahboah2014 wrote: »

Sorry I have to return to this above comment made by rosemary,
I went onto your Instagram page as I was very curious about this raincoat, and noticed it was priced at 129. In my line of work this is the equivalent of 13 hours work. For you to claim that posting 2 Instagram posts, 5 tweets, a mention on a blog & two snap chat mentions was actually worth 10 of these 129 coats makes me wonder what sort of person you really are? I'm so shocked by this statement. Yes I no posting snaps etc take time, but let's be honest here, by no means did it possibly take more then a hour tops? And for you to think that hour of "work" is valued at the price of 10 of these coats is just totally insane.

If 2 Instagram posts, 5 tweets, a mention on a blog & two snap chat mentions does equal €1,290, that is frankly insane but if she has customers (media buyers, PRs etc) at that price, I'm also happy for her. I doubt Rosemary is pricing herself out of the market, and an agency will only pay it if she can deliver on reach etc. I havent seen any specific figures from Irish bloggers and I've seen some rumoured figures for 'popular youtube celebrity bloggers' (I'm sure you can guess, but I'm trying to avoid an infraction for naming names). I did randomly find a Singapore blogger who is err known for being feisty. She states on her blog that she charges;
Blog advertorial: $3,500 and up / €2,300
Sidebar banner: $500 a month / €330
Youtube $4,000 per video / €2,620
Facebook or Twitter post $300 / €200
Instagram $500 / €330
(conversions are my own)
So if you have built the audience, there is money to be earned, but again, I don't have an issue with this.

My bug bear will always be disclosure - if a blogger puts #ad, #sp etc, I have no issues with them earning money.

Noahboah2014

meeeeh wrote: »

In my line of work 129 would equal maximum 3 hours and I would dearly like to increase the rate. What employee gets is totally different to the cost for company or of contractor work. Frankly I can't imagine anyone but apprentice being paid 10 Euro or less in any job that requires some skills.

Add your reply here.
I am actually a 3rd year nursing student, have not qualified yet, but work as a care giver. Which also needs a recognised certificate. Saying those in lower paid jobs don't involve "skills" is slightly rude really.

SB_Part2

Noahboah2014 wrote: »

I've no issue with different jobs paying different rates. But find it quite arrogant to claim posting a few pictures on social media is worth 1290 euro. And that she was doing the business the favour by only taking the raincoat worth 129euro in exchange. Please. Come back to the real world.

If the business didn't think it was valuable to them they wouldn't have agreed to it.

Noahboah2014

I've no issue with different jobs paying different rates. But find it quite arrogant to claim posting a few pictures on social media is worth 1290 euro. And that she was doing the business the favour by only taking the raincoat worth 129euro in exchange. Please. Come back to the real world.

meeeeh

In my line of work 129 would equal maximum 3 hours and I would dearly like to increase the rate. What employee gets is totally different to the cost for company or of contractor work. Frankly I can't imagine anyone but apprentice being paid 10 Euro or less in any job that requires some skills.

SB_Part2

Noahboah2014 wrote: »

Sorry I have to return to this above comment made by rosemary,
I went onto your Instagram page as I was very curious about this raincoat, and noticed it was priced at 129. In my line of work this is the equivalent of 13 hours work. For you to claim that posting 2 Instagram posts, 5 tweets, a mention on a blog & two snap chat mentions was actually worth 10 of these 129 coats makes me wonder what sort of person you really are? I'm so shocked by this statement. Yes I no posting snaps etc take time, but let's be honest here, by no means did it possibly take more then a hour tops? And for you to think that hour of "work" is valued at the price of 10 of these coats is just totally insane.

That's really not relevant. Just because it would take you 13 hours to earn 129e doesn't mean anything.

Different jobs pay different salaries and if the company were ok with Rosemary's rates then that's no real business of yours.

Noahboah2014

So I got back to them saying exactly what I'd do, in a very clear list: I think it was something like two Instagram posts, five tweets, a mention in one blog post and two mentions on Snapchat. In that case, I was happy to guarantee because I'd seen the product, knew it was gorgeous and I wanted to support an Irish brand, too. (In case you're about to say the raincoat itself was payment, it wasn't; if I were to do that amount of work for a brand, and charge them for it, it would be cost them about 10 of those coats.)

Sorry I have to return to this above comment made by rosemary,
I went onto your Instagram page as I was very curious about this raincoat, and noticed it was priced at 129. In my line of work this is the equivalent of 13 hours work. For you to claim that posting 2 Instagram posts, 5 tweets, a mention on a blog & two snap chat mentions was actually worth 10 of these 129 coats makes me wonder what sort of person you really are? I'm so shocked by this statement. Yes I no posting snaps etc take time, but let's be honest here, by no means did it possibly take more then a hour tops? And for you to think that hour of "work" is valued at the price of 10 of these coats is just totally insane.

on_my_oe

I think some of the post lengths need to looked at - I wonder if they find it so easy to instagram / snapchat / pin it, that writing an actual post has become too much effort. Some of the UK bloggers have been writing about a Lancome gloss - one or two wrote less than 100 words, others wrote a decent sized 300 words. If I was a PR, I'd be a bit peeved. I know its not quality over quantity but what they wrote wasn't quality!

I wouldn't be pleased to be included on a blog unless I had agreed to - I'm protective of my privacy, not because I'm up to mischief but because I don't want every man on the street to know what I am doing. Those bloggers forcing 'internet fame' on their loved ones should rethink their behaviour.

Bloggers struggling with spelling and grammar (if any are still reading this thread), write your post in Word which will show you the errors; correct it then copy and paste it across to your blog.

Sinead must be the most popular teacher in school, with her colleagues, students and mothers of students

I don't mind if a blogger makes an income from blogging (I'm delighted for them actually!), I just want transparency.

ChloeElla

I have to say, I feel really uncomfortable when bloggers/digital influencers talk about how their friend/boyfriend/mother doesn't want to be on snapchat then they spend the next couple of snaps trying to force them into it or trying to catch them unaware. I'd be so annoyed if my friend did this to me and I'd resent them.

The biggest thing I want from a blog is decent writing. I can forgive the odd spelling or grammar mistake, but if someone can't get the basics right, I leave their blog. Also I want actual blog posts, not just constantly posting on Facebook or Instagram and maybe updating their blog once every few months.

frogstar

Brandojan1 wrote: »

I love all the new Irish make up artists on snapchat who do little tutorials and tips ect I'm over people's cats dogs visits for cups of teas I also cannot understand all the boyfriends trying to become snapchat famous its embarrassing
like someone said earlier trying to keep their child and partners privacy and a million snaps of the child and the partner can't wait to get his face into a snap
I love the beautiful truth her honesty is amazing her husband has no interest in being a snapchat "celebrity"
She responds to all questions asked on Twitter Instagram and snapchat
She's pregnant now and stated she has no desire to change her blog she's a beauty blogger and that's how it will remain

To be fair , the ones I follow that have boyfriends or husbands, they do not actually want to be in the snap. It's usually the blogger forcing it on them. Still boring though.

But is there not major difference between snapchat and the actual blogging?? As in snapchat offers snippets into the daily life, it should not replace an actual blog. For most blog posts, when they are written, they do not feature items as described above.

I think people are getting fed-up with the constant snapchatting about everything and anything but this is not the actual blog post. They are related and as someone said previously, the content on snapchat should reflect the brand of the blogger to keep consistent but not all do this

ameliams

Brandojan1 wrote: »

I love all the new Irish make up artists on snapchat who do little tutorials and tips ect I'm over people's cats dogs visits for cups of teas I also cannot understand all the boyfriends trying to become snapchat famous its embarrassing
like someone said earlier trying to keep their child and partners privacy and a million snaps of the child and the partner can't wait to get his face into a snap
I love the beautiful truth her honesty is amazing her husband has no interest in being a snapchat "celebrity"
She responds to all questions asked on Twitter Instagram and snapchat
She's pregnant now and stated she has no desire to change her blog she's a beauty blogger and that's how it will remain

I love Sinead she's amazing. However as she always states she makes no money from her blog, she is a full time teacher and that is how she makes her money. So she doesn't have to in any way feel the pressure to have her pregnancy be part of her blog. Another recent blogger has announced her pregnancy and is being criticized for giving updates. But her wages come from being a blogger, so in reality her pregnancy is not something she can decide to keep private. In order to sustain popularity and grow her business further she will have to have that part of her life open to the public.

I think we as readers need to be mindful of the differences in circumstances. The beaut truth is probably the most popular blog on boards. And I agree she's fantastic, however she is still a different type of blogger from others whose blog is their livelihood.

Brandojan1

I love all the new Irish make up artists on snapchat who do little tutorials and tips ect I'm over people's cats dogs visits for cups of teas I also cannot understand all the boyfriends trying to become snapchat famous its embarrassing
like someone said earlier trying to keep their child and partners privacy and a million snaps of the child and the partner can't wait to get his face into a snap
I love the beautiful truth her honesty is amazing her husband has no interest in being a snapchat "celebrity"
She responds to all questions asked on Twitter Instagram and snapchat
She's pregnant now and stated she has no desire to change her blog she's a beauty blogger and that's how it will remain