Last year, I asked followers on Instagram what additional content you wanted to see from me on EDF. It was a mixture but one subject that came up often was posts about business. There are a wide range of topics that could fit under this category and this is one of them. I plan on doing a post later on how I choose and work with brands for sponsored content but today, it’s all about the time I got ghosted by a local brand.

First, let’s back up a little.

If you’re a frequent visitor to EDF, you know I don’t run ads here. I used to back in the day but they were so cumbersome and almost never had any results. When I thought about the type of brand that I wanted to build, I removed the ads and started to think about how I could use my skills and expertise to mesh with Eat.Drink.Frolic. From that moment on, I began thinking about how I could incorporate sponsored content into EDF without being too over the top and pushy.

recent campaign I did with Food City

I think I’ve done a good job at that. Most of my sponsored content stems from a range of me reaching out to the brand or a brand reaching out to me. I’ve loved finding creative and evergreen ways to incorporate a brand’s message within EDF. Truthfully, I don’t have hundreds of thousands of website readers and the same goes for social media BUT what I do have is experience. My background is in communications and PR so when I’m speaking with brands that’s what sticks out the most.

Also, I said this to a friend the other day but a lot of brands would much rather work with writers who have less followers but have more individual impact than pay the Kim Kardashians of the world. That’s because when I get comments or DM’s about a product I’ve posted about, I can directly connect with that person which ultimately may lead to them buying said product. Kim isn’t doing that, y’all.

I say all of this to say: yes, followers, website traffic and all that jazz is important but what’s more important is being able to seamlessly connect with your audience and create content that you can always come back to. That’s what I do.

That time I got ghosted by a local brand

Like I mentioned above, most of my sponsored content stems from either me feeling brave enough to reach out on my own OR the brand finds me themselves. I was super-excited when I got an email from a local brand here in Chattanooga who was interested in partnering. Typically when I get emails like this, I don’t say yes or no immediately; I think about it and a lot of factors go into why I would turn it down or decide to work together. Some of those factors are:

• Is this a brand I would use or am I already using it?
• What’s the turnaround time/due date?
• How much are they asking me for (is it multiple blog posts, do they want usage of the photos, etc.)?
• Are they paying or is it product only?

You get the point.

So back to the local brand. They reached out with an idea that sounded right up my alley: recipe development using their product. Sounds easy enough. I was extra excited because this is a brand that’s been around for a while and when I moved to Chattanooga, I was shocked to know that the company was based here. I was asked for my rates and like any good freelancer, I sent over my media kit along with examples of posts, similar to this campaign, that I’d previously worked on. By similar I mean, bigger and national [shady font].

After connecting with this person and sending my media kit, I welcomed any additional question or negotiations. Then. . .nada. Initially, I didn’t think much of it. Lots of brands reach out to ‘influencers’ and sometimes it can take some time to land on someone. More days went by and now this is starting to get unusual. Even when a brand decides not to work with me, I’ve always heard back. Always. So I followed up. If we’re going to do this campaign together, I need to know so I can start testing the recipe.

Nothing.

We’ve had a handful of email conversations pretty regularly, then nothing. Sent the follow up, still nothing. Later (like weeks later), I saw a friend post about this same campaign (as a participant). So I checked my email and my spam folder to confirm I hadn’t missed a reply from the brand. Nope, I hadn’t missed anything.

Why am I telling you this?

There are a number of reasons why I’m sharing this. Here are a few of them:

• Bloggers, writers, influencers (whatever you want to call yourself), send your rates and be proud of them. The rates I sent to this local brand are rates I’ve *actually* been paid by other brands. In some scenarios, I’ve been paid more.
• Collaborating on campaigns for product only is cool. However, until I can pay my bills with a bottle of alcohol, money is the currency I accept at EDF. There are a couple of brands I work with where I waive that rule because the partnership is mutually beneficial with or without the money. You have to make that decision
• Brands, make sure the person you have handling the outreach for your business is equipped to do so. Make sure they understand the importance of communicating and even negotiating, when necessary. Certainly ghosting is not an appropriate communication strategy in any industry.
• Bloggers, please realize that not accepting actual payment for your sponsored work is what I would call a privilege. It makes it more difficult for those of us who charge for our quality and time-consuming work to actually get paid what we’re worth.

I’m done ranting but I’ll leave you with this. Most of you know I’ve done a lot of writing about the lack of diversity in influencer marketing. What saddened me the most about being ghosted by this brand is that they went on do it with folks who still don’t look like me. Instead of making an attempt to negotiate or find another qualified Black person, they brushed me off and went back to what/who they know. Actually, they didn’t brush me off they completely ignored me which is more disrespectful than a brush off.

Before you ask, I’m not naming the brand. Have you ever been ghosted?