partnerships
I wanted to talk about how I partner with brands, because I understand it can be very confusing if you’re not a blogger or ‘influencer’ yourself. To be honest, it can be pretty confusing when you are!
I can’t speak for everyone, so the below relates only to myself:
- Sometimes, I accept brand partnerships in the form of paid advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions, gifted/PR items or other forms of compensation. I also sometimes use affiliate links where I make a small commission from each purchase that is made when they are ‘clicked’. Sponsored posts are those posts where someone is paying me to write about a specific brand, topic, product or service. Where a post is sponsored, part sponsored or a gifted item is recommended, I will disclose this in the post. The same goes for affiliate links too.
- WHY do I do this? Well, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to earn compensation for something you create. It takes hours to do and hey, a girl’s gotta earn a living! Having said that, my first and foremost priority is and always will be to share my passion with others. I’m certainly NOT in this for the money or the freebies – with all the work that goes into it, it wouldn’t be worth it!
- I have a strict set of standards which I follow when deciding whether or not to partner with a brand. These standards include not working with brands who offer me money to promote their products without allowing me to test or review them first, or brands that ask me to write word-for-word what I think of them. I like to work with brands who allow me the time to test and review their products, provide information on their company and ethos, and are able to answer any and all questions I have. Basically they are open, honest and build a relationship with me. If a brand won’t give me the time of day, I won’t give them mine. There are lots of amazing brands out there who have invested countless hours educating me about their products, history and values and it’s those brands that I’m proud to work with.
- I also strive to comply fully with the ASA guidelines for sponsored or gifted content (The ASA are the ‘#ad’ people in the UK!). I regularly update myself on new guidelines and regulations. Sometimes, as it’s a very new industry, there can still be ‘grey areas’ (bear in mind social media platforms also have their own policies on sponsored content to adhere to, some of which can conflict with ASA guidelines), but I think I do a good job of making it clear and obvious to my audience where my content is sponsored or otherwise compensated, regardless. You can find the current ASA guidelines here.
- As a rule of thumb, I do not work with more than a few brands per vertical market…I’m sorry, but it’s not realistic that every single lipstick is my ‘FAVOURITE!’. Besides, I’m too picky for that! That said, it would also be unreasonable to expect that I would partner with, for example, one makeup brand and one only, for all eternity. NONE of us have a makeup bag with only one brand’s product in it. We can share the love!
- I do not promote products or services that I don’t like. Therefore, if I am recommending something that is sponsored or gifted, it’s because I genuinely like and love it, and think my audience might too. If I don’t like something I will either say so, or will choose not to partner with that brand or service at all. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. No script here!
- Some events that I am invited to have no obligation to post or create content about them. Therefore, I may not disclose this specifically when mentioning that I have attended an event, but if there is any expectation then I will.
- This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest – either with brands I am working with, or with my own set of standards and morals. I blog because I enjoy it; it makes me feel good. If something doesn’t make me feel good, you won’t find it here.
This blog is written and edited by me, Chani Lillian. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.