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A UK Pregnancy, Parenting and Lifestyle Blog
April 14, 2017

So you want to get free products from blogging?

You’d be amazed how many times I get asked this on a monthly basis. It’s up there with ‘how can I get 1,000 subscribers overnight’ and ‘how do I become a sponsored Channel Mum vlogger’. Unfortunately, neither of which I’d be very helpful with, I’m afraid!

I started my blog back when I was pregnant with the toddler and it was meant to just be a little hobby. Something to help alleviate the isolation and loneliness of moving to a new area, and not knowing anyone, weeks before our daughter was born. I don’t do well on my own, and like to keep busy, so it was an absolute life saver in those early days.

Anyone who knows me in real life will know I have a bit of a problem with perfectionism (note a rather long period of my life that was slightly consumed by an eating disorder and OCD tendencies). And often when I start a little project, I plough more and more of my efforts and energy into it until it becomes something way bigger than I ever imagined. I’m not very good at failing and get a bit carried away with myself sometimes!

I have been blogging (on and off) for about three years and vlogging for just over two years (I think) and I’ve probably only had a few weeks off doing it, in total, in that time. I also have a full time ‘day job’ (and two kids!!!!) that keeps me busy and so my time for my ‘passion project’ is very limited. I have to work my back side off in the time I do have.

Our blog and YouTube channel have grown beyond what I ever thought they would. Don’t get me wrong, I ain’t no big fish by any stretch of the imagination. I am a very, very small fish in a huge, big online parenting community but I have been able to start to earn an income from them. Some months it’s great. And other months not much comes through at all. I’m lucky that I have my 9-5 stable income from the day job, and so I don’t have to place a huge emphasis on my earnings from this site and the YouTube channel. But it is nice to be rewarded for your work. And that’s exactly what it is. Work. At the moment I class it as a second full time job, whilst I’m on maternity leave from the other full time job!

I’m not going to lie. There are perks to turning your hobby into something that can earn you an income. But, please, never for a minute think that you get sent all sorts of products for free. ‘Free’ implies nothing is expected in return. And if you are working with brands, big and small, advertisers or independent agencies and people, then believe me, there is approximately a 0.000000001% chance they want nothing in return. You will be expected to produce some form of work or content for them.

‘Free’ isn’t spending hours writing text for a blog post, re-wording it, re-reading, correcting and  editing it.

‘Free’ isn’t spending forever and a day teaching yourself how to edit photos, and to spend hours actually doing so.

‘Free’ isn’t trying to answer emails on your phone at any given opportunity – be it in the bath, on the toilet, in the queue at the post office or when your silent reflux baby decides to have an 8 minute nap.

‘Free’ isn’t spending hours upon hours setting up social media posts and replying to comments.

‘Free’ isn’t constantly scoping out new locations for product shots.

‘Free’ isn’t giving up an evening on the sofa with the husband to spend hours editing videos. Making sure you have the right clips shot and the right music, animations and text set up to go with them.

‘Free’ isn’t thinking you are done with the video editing only to remember you now have to create a thumbnail for the video. Often using two different apps, which is the case in my situation sometimes!

And ‘free’ isn’t staying up till 2 or 3 am every single night, because you don’t want to work when the kids are awake, to get all your work done.

Even the amount of work that goes into producing one Instagram photo for a campaign can take hours. I wasn’t aware of things like this until I started blogging and vlogging, and so I completely get it when people immediately say ‘oh you’re so lucky, you get so many free products’. I just thought it might be useful to explain it in a little more detail to help others understand.

It’s also quite hard to balance ‘paid work’/reviews and your own personal content, such as baby updates. I, personally, like having a mix of personal and review content etc, but that can be quite hard to manage and achieve. You have to prioritise the paid work, but then your other posts can suffer. You have to take into account what your readers, viewers and followers will think. I would never want people to think I’m selling out. and so only work with brands I genuinely like the look of and would honestly recommend.

By all means if you want to work with brands and review products then go for it, why not! It’s a great perk to blogging and I feel incredibly blessed and honoured that brands are interested in working with little old me. I still get a ‘pinch myself’ feeling when some opportunities come through. But please, please don’t think that I am swanning about with my ‘free buggies and changing bags’ and not actually doing any work in return for them. I would hate for people to think that. It also takes a lot of time and effort to build up your online presence to a stage where brands will see you as worthwhile to work with. A bit harsh but true unfortunately.

If you do want advice on how to work with brands and review products then my biggest tips would be:

  • have a good, professional looking media kit that you can send through to PRs and companies.
  • review your own products first to build up content on your site or channel.
  • pitch to brands you are really interested in working with (lots of the PR contact details are on their websites).
  • sell yourself. Let them know what you can bring to the table and what sets you apart from everyone else.
  • keep an eye out for opportunities on Facebook blogging groups.
  • sign up with influencer platforms.
  • and only review products you are genuinely interested in. It will be really obvious if you’re not!
  • stay true to yourself, create great content and you’ll do just fine.

As I write this it’s 12.30am and everyone is in bed…but I always get a little buzz at scheduling a post or video and hope you all continue to enjoy them!

I’ll leave you with this quote – ‘The harder you work for something, the greater you’ll feel when you achieve it’.

Good night :)

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thismamalife

Working mum to 2 👦🏼👧🏼
Wanderer/Military Wife 🌍
💌 sarah@thismamalife.com
💻 thismamalife.com
📽 YT: thismamalife
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Find me here!👇🏻

Kisses and cuddles with my faves 💖💫 Kisses and cuddles with my faves 💖💫
‘Each of us as citizens, has a role to play in c ‘Each of us as citizens, has a role to play in creating a better world for our children.’ - Nelson Mandela ❤️
It’s not enough though, is it? We’ve always h It’s not enough though, is it?

We’ve always had diverse toys in our house (not enough, but I’m working on it ❤️), but when questioned ‘why do you buy your kids Black dolls?’, I’ve faltered and answered incorrectly. I would respond saying ‘because that’s the doll Isla liked the best. What does it matter? We’re all human’, rather than questioning why that person is questioning it in the first place.

In a massive learning curve this week, where I am actively trying to become an anti-racist ally, not just anti-racist/non racist in general, I have found so many shortcomings in my effort to educate my kids and in my own attitudes towards race. But this isn’t about me. So here are some resources I’d like to share on top of the ones shared in my stories.

Some books to read:
Me and White Supremacy - Layla F. Saad.
Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race - Reni Eddo-Lodge.
How to argue with a racist - Adam Rutherford.
Brit(ish) - Afua Hirsch.
White Fragility - Robin Diangelo.
I Am Not Your Baby Mother - Candice Brathwaite.
So You Want to Talk About Race - Ijeoma Oluo.

Diverse kids books:
Anti Racist Baby - X. Kendi.
Riley Can Be Anything -Davina Hamilton.
Look Up - Nathan Bryon.
Mae Among The Stars - Roda Ahmed.
The Mega Magic Hair Swap - Rochelle Humes.
Let’s Talk About Race - Julius Lester.
Welcome To Our World - Moira Butterfield and Harriet Lynas.
This Book Is Antiracist - Tiffany Jewell.
The Extraordinary Gardener - Sam Boughton.
Let The Children March - Monica Clark-Robinson.
Ruby’s Worry - Tom Percival.
A Kids Book About Racism - Jelani Memory.

Some things to watch:
When They See Us.
13th.
Who Killed Malcom X.
Time: The Kalief Browder Story.
Explained: The Racial Wealth Gap.
Dear White People.
I am Not Your Negro.

My to do list:
- Sign more petitions.
- Donate to more causes.
- Listen to podcasts and share.
- Encourage changes in the school curriculum so that my children, and their classmates, get a better, much more rounded and diverse education.
- Call things out.
- Have honest/open conversations.
- Share content.
- To keep educating myself, whilst never expecting others to do it for me.

It’s just a starting point.

Thanks for listening x
Black Lives Matter. I can never pretend to unders Black Lives Matter.

I can never pretend to understand, but I will always stand.

I’ve been on a huge learning curve this week and have, shamefully, come to the realisation, which I should have a long time ago, that it’s not enough to just not be racist. We must also be actively anti-racist and do everything in our power to ensure our children are too.

Today is a day to stop, listen, support, educate ourselves, donate, sign petitions, take action in any way we can, big and small, to make sure that everyone knows we stand with our fellow humans, family and friends. But we can’t just do this today. We must do it each and every day going forward ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻
And breathe! First day without both my babies for And breathe! First day without both my babies for the first time in 10 weeks today and it couldn’t have gone better. Both had wonderful days and were full of stories when they got home. I said over on stories last night, which got an incredible response so thank you to everyone who reached out, that I am completely comfortable with my choice to send the kids back to school and nursery but would never, ever judge anyone who felt different. We are all in different boats in this storm we’ve found ourselves in and what works for my family, might not work for yours. I have deliberately stayed out of the ‘are you sending your kids back or not?’ debate as it started to feel like another toxic discussion, in the media and on social media, that was resulting in yet another parenting divide.
I could have had the kids in this whole time, under key worker provision, but tried my best to hang on till the phased reopenings that I hoped would happen when they did. They were what I was aiming towards. Don’t get me wrong, I have LOVED having the kids at home together for such a sustained period, we have made lots of memories and learnt so much more about each other, but mixed in with the nature of my job and the fact that @thisdadalife is deployed and so I’m on my own with minimal support, I couldn’t have gone on much longer.
When I got in from dropping them off today, and as I went upstairs to work at my desk, I literally collapsed on the stairs and almost cried in relief. Relief that we made it through, as dramatic as that sounds. I don’t think I realised the toll it was taking mentally as I was constantly running on adrenaline.
I am so happy to get a bit more balance back and to, most importantly, feel like a better mum again. Not a snappy trying to juggle it all 24/7 with no break mum.
If you sent your kids back today, whether you wanted to or not, I’m with you and support you.
If you have kept them home in your bubble for longer, I’m with you and support you.
If you’re still unsure what to do and are undecided, I am with you and support you.
Nobody knows the full extent of someone else’s circumstances and we have to stop and realise that before we judge anyone else ❤️
Ibiza vibes in Puerto Gardeno today 😂☀️😅 Ibiza vibes in Puerto Gardeno today 😂☀️😅
This is the first year in YEARS that I have felt ok wearing a bikini. And I feel like it’s more down to how strong I feel, rather than how I look. Whatever it is, I hope it continues ❤️
On another note, how tanned does the @filterbymollymae fake tan make you look! 🙌🏻
(Both bikini and cover up are from last year).
#losingmyboobstho #youwinsomeyoulosesomehaha
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