Hello there, just a quick note, I thought we should catch up and have a chinwag.
There’s been an influx of you asking me to attend events and I am a sociable beastie. But… a couple of small points that you may like to consider when approaching bloggers to attend events:
We have lives of our own, events take time to plan so how’s about asking us if we’d like to come along with a few weeks notice? Asking us 2 or 3 days before makes it far less likely we can come and I must say, there’s talk amongst some bloggers that this makes them feel that they are on some sort of ‘reserve list’ and are only being asked because your first choices have let you down.
London in central, easy to get to, we may not all live there but yes, it’s an easy place for a lot of us to reach. But this costs money , £60 in my case, by the time I allow for train station parking, a return ticket and money on my Oyster card to negotiate the Tube. I appreciate that you are giving us great opportunities such as watcing a film premiere or having some nibbles and wine and possibly ‘forging a long term relationship’ but the facts remain…
You want us to come along so we can write about your clients product / service, you would love us to pass on the ‘good word’.
We have leave our families for an evening, spend, in some cases, a few hours travelling and then spend time preparing a post(s) and writing about the evening.
You may be offering me a bit of a night out out but that night on average costs me £60, 7 hours away from my family (4 hours of which are travelling) and a further hour or so writing about the event afterwards.
You want to impress bloggers and create solid, long-lasting relationships that will be really beneficial to you in the long term? Be fair, be considerate, offer to help cover costs if only partially and for the love of Jeebers – give us some decent notice!
Lub you long time,
Saurus x
I'm Annie and I live in the depths of the New Forest. Mother to many, wife to one, blogger, creative type, lover of real books and a bit of a lush.
I feel for you as I also have this issue. Infact I’ve been called during a hospital check-up with my son asking me to come to London TOMORROW. They did actually give me the money for all my travel in cash on the day, but wow that was a shocker.
Just like yourself it can cost me around £60 to get to London and then I have to top up my Oyster Card. I got my card because I am in London so often these days that seemed only natural to have one. But still it’s money and since I’m a full-time mother I don’t have an income of my own, I could use that £60 elsewhere in my family’s life. Also if they are offering to pay back the cost I’d like to think they can do this either on the day of the event on within 7 working days from being given the proof (ie: sent them a receipt/invoice) not 4 weeks later.
There is a big percentage of bloggers who are stay at home parents like us and like you say with no income it’s hard to find money. I fund going to blogging conferences and meet ups from my ‘housekeeping allowance’ and then end up feeling guilty that that money could have been spent on things for the family and that I am being really selfish.
It’s a tough one that’s for sure.
Thanks for commenting my dear x
The invites are great but sometimes it seems that they want lots of people there to show their clients that they are getting lots of exposure but sometimes the invitations are also completely irrelevant to my audience.
I suppose the theory is, if they ask enough of us, the law of averages means that some of us will turn up …. even if it is in London – eek!
You raise a good point about the relevancy to your audience. That’s something I have given much thought to lately – who are my audience and what do they like? I’m not sure I know myself and I’d hate to nob-off the readers I do have with posts about things that are wholly out of character!
Not that I work with PR’s anyway, nor do I ever attend events that they offer, but the cost for me to attend one of these London-based events, at short notice or otherwise, works out at around £500. I live near the Scottish Borders in North Northumberland, which is clearly stated on my profile on my blog, and it would be much easier to stay overnight which would only incur further costs. They don’t seem to take these issues into account when emailing me with their amazing events. I don’t object to them being held in London because I realise that most PR’s are based there, but it does beg the question, “did they do their homework before approaching the blogger, or are they indeed looking at the ‘reserve’ list and therefore the people who are probably desperate enough to go at a moment’s notice”. Lists of bloggers maybe, but a little in the manners department in so far as doing their research wouldn’t go amiss either!
CJ x
Hey lovely, I am just very lightly dabbling my toes in working with a few companies now and usually not on this blog and as you know up until recently I had nothing to do with any of them,so despondent I felt at hearing ‘tales’ of bloggers experiences and the quite frankly plain daft things that get asked in the name of ‘promoting oneself’.
Research is a really key issue I feel. I imagine that most PR bods would say that they simply haven’t the time to research each blog well but I would challenge that with yes, it takes time and you may not be able to approach as many but what a far more favourable response they would get from good solid research.
It does bother me that there seem to be ‘lists’ of bloggers out there, select choices and back-up plans – where do they get all our info from and how do they even decide?!
I love this, you are brilliant! I hope they read this post and take note.
I live in London so it’s not so bad for me travel expenses wise but I do often wonder… what’s in it for me???? A few nibbles and glass of warm wine is not really appealing – I can do that at home PLUS not feel obliged to write about it.
xx
Exactly that sweet cheeks, exactly that.
If we ever find the main reason we are attending events is to catch up with other bloggers then I say we save ourselves the time and expense and organise our own jolly good knees up!
Well said indeed. Now let’s hope some of them read it!
May be I’ll add the link in to future event request email responses
Great piece, hope they read it! I used to work in PR/marketing so know the ‘type’ who make these last min requests. They were probably asked by their clients weeks ago to come up with bloggers for a launch, and they have left it to the last minute (not that I ever did that
).
We’re all happy to review and help out but they do need to remember that there’s a person at the other end with a life, and like our blogs/sites state WE ARE MUMS so have responsibilities!!!
Keep creating fab post xxx
Thanks chickle
A lot of it is common sense stuff which is so infuriating! I’d love a few of us to get together round a table with some of the PR companies and exchange thoughts as I’m sure they have their reasons for how things are done and a list of gripes about us bloggers too!
I’m up for that. Having been on both sides I have a few pointers. Do I sense a get together/conference/warm glass of wine in the making
x
Well I don’t get a lot of PR contact, but ironically I got an email today, inviting me to enter a competition to ‘win’ the opportunity to attend an event on Thursday 12th July, BUT “you will have to make your own way to London”. Surprisingly enough I won’t be entering the competition!
Oh don’t get me started on those sort of things.
Any of these ‘enter’ or ‘write a post’ to be ‘in with a chance of winning’ anything grate with me like there’s no tomorrow – let alone to attend an event.
It feels like we are being told in one breath that as bloggers we ‘have a great outreach’ and in the next breath totally de-valued by such misguided requests.
x
That’s the smile of someone who went to an event today isn’t it?!
Funnily enough I had an email this afternoon asking me to an event and offering to pay costs towards travel with a few weeks notice. Lovely!
I really don’t get a lot of PR contacts so this really isn’t a issue for me, but I was discussing this with my hubby the other day and he said
“it’s like you pay to go to work”.
While I would like the opportunity to meet more people I do think cost is a big issue.
Oh yes my husband has mentioned the costs of attending events – both brand orientated and blogger conferences. And buying domains…and themes…and font kits…
And it’s a valid point, especially if you make no money from blogging like me :/
I wonder whether the answer is for PRs to focus on more creative ways that bloggers can experience stuff from home, rather than focusing on events which are limited by who can get to them. For example, I get invited to a lot of film screenings on a Sunday. That’s the slowest train day, and for me would mean a 5 hour round trip so 99% of the time I turn them down. But one film company sent me a voucher for the local Odeon so it was much easier for us to see the film, so that one I was happy to review.
I also think that there is a bit of a whiff of hysteria around events, as if getting invited to one is the holy grail, with some bloggers prepared to move heaven and earth at the prospect of a fart in a goody bag. Honestly, most events ain’t all that. You’ll probably have a better time in your house with your own family and your own gin.