That old chestnut - blogger sponsorship

[Ijustneedmycoffee]

I apologise in advance, I know there has been plenty of discussion on this, but I have a question.

I don't read many blogs but I do like one or 2. Lately I've noticed this blogger I like wearing or linking quite a few things from Mango. I used to trust this blogger but now I'm a bit hmmm. Are bloggers not obliged to disclose if they are paid/on a retainer/whatever a company is paying for tax purposes? Or do they just disclose this when they do their tax returns?

Can anyone enlighten me?

botemp I was just coming on to see if anyone had posted the BBB link! Really good read, both the blog and the original article. I was really interested that Jane mentioned the relationship-building gifts/trips etc and the difficulty of declaring them, that was something that (I seem to recall - it was a while back!) came quite strongly out of the last threads.

It does seem like the US regulators are stricter than the ASA at present; it'll be interesting to see what happens with that in the longer term. Do they have any jurisdiction over UK blogs/bloggers with large US readerships? I can think of one in particular who might fall foul of this...

I would follow WIT if she disclosed and returned to planet earth: I really want to see her on the school run in cream silk and Gianvito Rossi heels that pretty much every midsize fashion blogger out there was gifted with.

Mango is not owned by Inditex of Zara fame, they are a competitor and I am pretty sure that they pay/giftcard bloggers.

I'm in Scandinavia and blogger life here revolves around PR showroom events. Bloggers disclose and they still have an audience. But there is a price to pay: a blogger that I used to follow years ago was recently telling her followers to renegotiate their utilities providers

I posted this link on another blog but who does Anti-Hauls. If you are into expensive makeup, please watch her videos Guaranteed guil-free watching

Thread not blog

Oh yes I'm sure it must be impossible to monitor snapchat!

Had a quick glance at your YouTube link Frustrated. The kids were peering over my shoulder, totally fascinated. Will watch again later. Looks good!

I'm really curious about this, I follow a lot of bloggers and really like to think that what they're endorsing is what they really like - so I follow women who have jobs other than blogging... My logic is that if they're not entirely financially bound to their blog they're less likely to try and flog a dead horse... It doesn't really bother me if they are sponsored, good on them and let's be truthful - we'd all like the free shoes...

Can anyone share links to people they like? I'm nervous to say in case you all have differing opinions.

I stand corrected, Mango is not part of Inditex. Thanks Frugal, I lazily clumped them together as both being Spanish. I've seen that anti-haul video too and I like the idea of them, however, like most things on Youtube it's becoming a 'thing' now that everyone down the line imitates (as it has proven a commercial success, naturally everyone wants a piece), same with those videos by vloggers testing out insanely expensive beauty products to see if they're worth it. Don't even get me started on the 'minimalism' trend on there, it's a job in itself to clear out those 'suggested' videos.

katieharper, one of the more surprising things to come out of those disclosure threads on here was that even small time/part time bloggers were not exempt from these practices. I think one blogger by the name of MrsTubbs came on the thread having only just started blogging a few months ago, posted very little, had a very small following, etc. but was already hounded by PRs urging not to disclose, urging to write posts for products without adequate time to actually test something, etc.

I don't think it's a case of individual bloggers misbehaving while others play by the rules but the system as a whole seems corrupted as for every rule there is a loop hole. There are a few (very few) who work very hard to keep it transparent and can afford to take that position both in terms of social and financial capital. It's actually the social capital that has the most value, it was mentioned that someone like Zoella who has very high viewing numbers/following can afford to rely on traditional ad revenue (banners and the youtube commissions) so while perceived more of a commercial entity is actually quite free from committing to a lot of sponsored work. I think that many try the best they can but it is incredibly hard to operate within that system and not have your priorities shifted as it moves along. Iirc it's very much the middling and bottom end tiers of the blogging world who don't rely on their blog as main source of income that struggle to disclose properly, they're part of larger strategies where they are one of many bloggers in a campaign and they simply don't have the standing to demand differently unless prepared to deal with alienating PRs and thus cutting off the material supply they need to keep their blogs going.

Morning all. This thread is really interesting; before my DD I worked for a magazine in the online department - and was shocked at the amount of non-disclosed promotion that goes on. As an example the travel team always recommended one particular company for flights because when the company got a credit in a magazine they gave the staff member x2 long haul free flights. Equally the fashion team were constantly frustrated they had to include certain brands in their shoots because the advertising team has either promised it as part of an ad deal, or were trying to get on the good side of a brand in the hope of a large ad deal.

What I'm trying to say is - this happens, and there isn't much we can do about it. I've looked into it and it isn't a prerequisite in the UK for bloggers to put #spon or #ad unless they're working with an american business.

I wont name and shame but I also read the blogger with the Wedgewood crockery - I agree that it should have been disclosed earlier. I used to read her blog very regularly but left it as she came across as a bit of a princess. It wasn't that I didn't approve of her non disclosing but that anyone who tries to present that kind of perfect life is clearly deeply insecure. I'd see her obviously clinging to other more successful bloggers as she'd without fail post a pic of them together and the favor wouldn't be returned inclinating that it was a one way friendship.

For katieharper it's really tricky to give you recommendations that I don't think will get slammed on here but I recommend Erica Davies, Hart and The Frugality. They disclose their work also present blogging in a very real context, put real effort into their content - I'd imagine their readers get the drill and totally understand that money needs to be made.

Thank you emma! I already follow Anna and Alex but didn't know Erica. That's disgraceful about your old magazine but then I'm not surprised. As I said before I have no problem with the concept of being a blogger and making money out of it but I don't like it when things aren't disclosed!

I'm not if you saw but as you mentioned her did you see Anna pull out of the free trip to Sri Lanka? There were a couple of them but given the floodings they pulled out last minute on the grounds that it was inappropriate to promote a place going through such turmoil. 10 minutes later another blogger with no morals at all announced she was going to Sri Lanka with very little warning (obviously she'd been contacted by Thompson last minute). Absolutely disgusting!!! I unfollowed her that very minute! I can't work out how to link to it but if you go on her Instagram (annaelerihart) it's on there about the decision not to go.

emmahall82 why is every single one of your posts on this forum either referencing Anna Hart's blog, or followed by a sock puppet weird looking post that does? Are you her?

I'm not troll hunting, but I am wondering about the possibility of a lack of disclosure here. Oh the irony!

I disagree that 'there isn't much we can do about it.' Just talking about it openly (in a non libellous way) is a good thing and decent bloggers welcome it. The ones who get huffy, good - helps you decide which ones to avoid.

And we can withdraw our custom and our clicks, which I have done.

I agree about magasines being even worse and I gave up on them a while ago.

Remembering those old threads makes me quite nostalgic! I'm not as pissed off as I was then but I won't be going back. I've rediscovered people watching which so far, the corporates haven't found a way to spoil.

I really like Erica and Alex (The Frugality) and I do look at their posts. Good professional blogs. But even they are slow to disclose. (Unless I'm missing it) Disappointing.

If you are still subscribing to blogs but don't look at any posts does that show up on their figures? I assume it does? But the total subscribing figure is probably the most important, is it?

Yes Ijustneedmycoffee, if you remain subscribed but don't visit their page you are still contributing to their stats. Iirc they present the traffic numbers (unique and monthly visits) with the subscriber numbers across various social media channels to clients in order to warrant the rates a blogger can ask, which is what makes buying followers technically fraud (though I have no idea if the law has caught on yet, I'm guessing not). The only way to follow without contributing is through an old school RSS feed although there might be metrics available to measure that too so I'm not 100% on that but I'm pretty sure previewing posts through an RSS feed does not contribute to their stats.

It is a bit nostalgic isn't it Floisme, it seems so long ago when it wasn't. I'm kind of surprised I can still remember much of it. Frankly I'm thankful for the lack of blog noise. It's very true that those who welcome the conversation (while rare) are the ones to commend, unfortunately for the rest it means anyone who gets defensive is instantly suspicious. If they're not overly diligent about disclosure, acknowledging press samples, affiliates, etc. with every single post and you find yourself questioning whether they are disclosing fully or not you pretty much have your answer. Sigh, the internet and the promises of more transparency she says anonymously on a forum.

I am quite late to the party when it comes to blogs and only look at a couple I like. Mainly beauty blogs, I realise products are sent to them and I am ok with that. What does however irritate me is that a lot of them are aimed at teenage girls. My niece watches them and doesn't do so with the filter that us with more years under our belts hopefully have. Bloggers / Vloggers sell a certain lifestyle which is often unattainable and a lit of products they push are incredibly high end. Not sure a 13 year old needs £100 serum in their life!

Agree JAB - I have a teenage, minimum waged niece.
Admittedly I used to hang on every word I read in Jackie but there was just the one and it wasn't updated a squillion times a day.

I've just remembered something else! Have you seen the posts where they got an armchair? I've seen two who got it and then lots of posed photos of them draped artfully across it!!

Agree that the non-disclosure is just so ridiculous and ultimately distorts the trust between blogger and reader. WIT is the worst. Her comments in the telegraph last weekend about wanting to give readers an insight into her world and tell the truth were laughable.

I commented once on insta about how lucky a blogger was to be invited ok so many amazing trips and get gifted so many beautiful things. She came back with a huge tirade about how hard she works and how she had started with nothing on a magazine. I don't doubt either of those things to be true, but the vehemence of her reply made me feel I'd touched a nerve.

ANYWAY. all that stuff is so easily fixed and their hands will, I'm sure, soon be forced. But the thing I'm increasingly turned off by the unrelenting presentation of perfection: "Here is my perfect life/ bed/ lunch..." I find it alienating and just so FAKE.

I hope the bloggers realise that their early success came from being honest not just about sponsorship, but about their lives, and move back in that direction. It was an important point of difference between them and magazines.

I'm on the lookout for more 'imperfect' bloggers. Keen to hear any suggestions.

civil I really like Esther Walker from On the Spike. She had a great cookery blog but has now gone more 'lifestyle'. On her cookery blog she had one affiliate link to Lakeland and wrote a very funny blog post about why she had chosen to do that. AFAIK she has no affiliate links on the new blog. She is a journalist regularly published in The Times and also married to Giles Coren so presumably not completely obsessed with making money from her blog.

Thanks mrsvilliers. Off to google now.

Oh On the Spike is a great read. I love it. And yes, it seems she has no 'business associates' on this blog. It very good and funny and relatable to, and well written. Although after this thread I'm not sure I can trust any of them.

I've just unfollowed the Anneli Bush one, another product pushing post 'created' with a brand.