Blogging is More Than Just Sales + $150 Giveaway!

Recently I chatted about the struggle of working with brands because I find that some brands expect bloggers to work for free, but other brands expect us to work off a commission percentage. To which I say, I don't work off commission. Blogging is not just about sales.

There's simply so much more to blogging than sales.

Lots of the time bloggers link their outfits, their makeup and so forth in their Instagram post, their blog post, their profile bios, etc. Many of them make a lot of money from their audience shopping their goods, but that's never how I've operated. I started blogging in January of 2013, so it's been a little over four years of this blog. When I first started blogging, I talked only about beauty and travel. When it comes to travel, there's nothing I could really link to when it came to affiliate links. Which leaves makeup. Makeup is more about familiarization. When I recommend a mascara or a facial moisturizer, you're not going to jump out of your chair and go out and buy it right then and there. You will likely finish your existing mascara and moisturizer first, and then you will think back as you're finishing both, and remember that perhaps I posted about XYZ mascara and XYZ moisturizer. This will entice you to go and grab those goodies once you're completely out of yours, but unless you're done with your existing ones, you're most likely not going to run to the store to grab new ones. It's different from clothing where a pair of shorts may be 50% off for another 3 hours and people have to buy it then and there.

My biggest point with this post is that sales are not the only reason to blog. There's SO much more to it than that, and for some of us, sales are not something we even CARE about. I don't give a crap about how much I sell on RewardStyle, and to be honest with you, I don't even trust the commission system. People could be buying my clothes, but I wouldn't know. It's not like I can see more than the likes on my photo. Hence why I don't necessarily trust it to begin with let alone assume it as my main income. It's unreliable and not a good way to secure income over time. Some days people may buy my entire outfit and the rest of the week, no one may buy anything I wore. 

Recently I've started replying to brands explaining to them that my main goal with sponsored collaborations is to familiarize my audience with their brand and their products, just like a billboard would do. We've used billboards in advertising for years, and as those die down, the new billboard is the idea that bloggers and influencers can post content for various brands. It's a digital billboard.

While I understand the brands want to monetize us, that's not the best way for us to build our audience or build trust within our audience. I don't want to constantly push the people who take time out of their day to read my content, to buy from me. I also don't like the desperation it causes within our community. PLEASE CLICK THIS or I won't get this opportunity. Come on, we've come way too far to be begging for clicks we don't really need. What's the point of the click? To say someone clicked something and had some interest? Just the idea of them landing on the blog post should be enough. What do they then have to click on something too? Needless to say, the model is broken when it comes to what many brands expect and what they think they should pay us.

What're your thoughts on blogging? Do you think it should be about sales?

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If you recall my post about some of the best skin care in the game, you know that I am a huge fan of Colleen Rothschild. If you've ever had the pleasure of trying all of her products, you know the high quality 

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