I've been thinking about this post for a few days now. The initial nudge came from a comment of a reader on the Bloggers Vs. Editors post. There is a lot of buzz about fashion bloggers not being treated equally to editors and being accused of taking gifts in return for positive reviews of products and fashion collections, but it it never dawned my mind that bloggers can actually be pushy, greedy or demanding. How do designers view us, bloggers? Here is what one emerging designer: Tricia Hoke encounters in her efforts to promote a fashion line.
"As an emerging designer I feel that blogging offers me many many more opportunities to be showcased as opposed to editorials... Bloggers have so much to offer the public in the way of personal opinion and fashion sense. They are also more in touch with what is new, and available. I also feel that editorials feed off of the blog posts, and blog posts regurgitate editorial designers (style .com for instance). I love being featured in blogs, but lately I am having a few issues with bloggers who are contacting me...
I understand that in fashion, there is a certain amount of "freebies" given to editorials... and I am also assuming that it is true (slightly less I am sure) of the blogger world.
As an independent and emerging designer, I of course have to watch my budget, and set a standard for price... I have been approached lately by some very "grabby" bloggers who are asking me to send merchandise so they can "inspect the quality", but they will not return it. They are asking for hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars in samples... which sometimes are my only ones (as I do mostly custom order at this point.). I wouldn't mind sending a piece usually, but the way I have been approached has seemed very demanding yet underhanded. None of them would allow me to ship the items with a refundable deposit... saying that I should just give them free items as they are the "new form of editorial magazines". I would prefer a set price (ad prices) or a set number, and an up-front, professional business dealing, not to mention, I do not think it fair to prey upon beginning designers. We all know the regurgitated post of Marc Jacobs fashion week show did not convince him to send thousands of dollars to them...
I am looking for a way to connect and make quality relationships with members of the blogging community, but I do not want to literally loose my shirt doing so."
photos from Tricia Hoke's signature collection.
In my own opinion and from the bloggers I know, I think that this is not typical for fashion bloggers. Unfortunately there are no set practices for bloggers to adhere to in their relationship with designers. Since anybody can publish a blog, then anybody can voice an opinion, which is the best thing about having a blog. But how does a designer know who to send freebies to and which blogger to ignore? Well, this is where designers need to get educated in understanding Social Media too. Designers need to understand the power of the blogosphere as a tool to promote their business as well as the need to ask for statistics and demographics from a blogger they consider working with. Saying "YES" to bloggers who speak to the customer demographic a designer sells to and "NO" to bloggers who just want to get products for free, but cannot in fact bring traffic to a website can be a daunting task for a designer.
Each case I'm sure is different for every designer and blogger but a beneficial relationship should be just that: beneficial for both parties! Coming to specific terms is up to both: the blogger and the designer. Reputable bloggers have their terms of advertising and a disclosure statement set in writing and posted on their website for all to see, and they adhere to it. They are ready to send a report of their web traffic stats and a media kit with all info needed by an advertiser or designer to better understand how a designer can benefit from the blogger!
Designers on the other side should have a set budget for advertising and possibly give-aways. If they want to just lend clothing or accessories for a photo-shoot by a blogger {just like an editorial for a magazine} they should write up a contract and an invoice and be clear about how long the product is given for and that they expect it back by a certain date.
There is no easy or short answer I can offer in a single blog post, but I would love to hear from you all, on both side of the coin!
