1 – They have no intention of making money and no business plan or strategy.
2 – They think they have to choose between making money or doing something with passion.
3 – They believe if they work from home, they have to take less than a junior high school baby-sitter would take in exchange for 90 hours a week of scrounging for links and page views. And they keep talking about how lucky they are for the same reason.
4 – They will let anyone change a contract on them for no reason whatsoever. They don’t negotiate contracts, they accept them.
5 – They work for imaginary future income potential instead of cold hard cash right now. “We’re a start up, so we can’t actually pay you, but we’ll give you the special honor of rolling out 7 posts an hour for nothing and maybe in the future, if we like you enough, we’ll think about paying you for working.” They feel thrilled for being chosen ahead of all the other suckers willing to work for free.
6 – They work for tuna, cup cakes, boxes of cereal, handbags, free trips, and invitations to parties. This is doubly stupid because they have to pay taxes on income they can’t pay their mortgage with. It’s usually stuff they would never spend money on. Again, they feel grateful for this arrangement.
7- They let advertisers advertise on their sites for free because they used the words “give-away.” They think they’ve struck gold when giving the opportunity “review” an item and give it away. Again, paying taxes on items and shouldering the full cost of producing and hosting a blog for special fancy mascara they would never buy.
8 – They feel popular when corporations – especially big corporations with lots of advertising and marketing dough – ask them to give themselves away for free. “I feel so honored to have been chosen!”
9 – They judge the success of their blogs by comments, links and page views instead of income.
10 – They do not value what they do and who they are enough to hit “reply” with a simple message about their consulting, advertising, public speaking, give-away, and spokesman fees. They are, in fact, more afraid of the potential rejection than they are of working for Chicklets and girdles. Here is what a letter like that looks like, Nice Girls Don’t Talk About Money.
Then they wonder why The New York Times is condescending towards them. Here are 10 Reason Mommy Bloggers Deserve Condescension from The New York Times.
Read this book, Secrets of Six-Figure Women: Surprising Strategies to Up Your Earnings and Change Your Life
29 comments ↓
That’s right! You’ve got both passion and a paycheck because The Girl Revolution book is going to be on the bestseller list!
A-FREAKIN’ – MEN!
So true. So true. Wake up ladies!
Telling it like it is!
Good stuff…
Wow! I really needed this…
That “reply” reflex is a bugger! WHY is it so freaking hard?! GREAT post!!!
Huzzah!
Chicklets and girdles? Moat are working for coupons and the chance for someone to say “you’re pretty”
Love this article. So true. But times are a’changin’ I’ve got a feeling.
*snortlaugh* I can’t help but picture a big cardboard sign on the front of a stroller saying, “Will work for tuna!”
AMEN! We need to hear this from people like you, that it is ok to say no! I`m not going to write and edit and upload and wait and wait and wait for your X Company without a freaking paycheck.
Patience is key
I’m as guilty of being into bloggy folklore as anyone. But, I’m not going to do it anymore.
I’ve drafted a letter stating my rates. I will copy and paste it into every email asking me to market a product on my website for free or product.
Imagine if all 50 million Mommy Bloggers hit reply with our new rates.
We’d get paid.
This is phenomenal and I want to repost it everywhere. I’m a journalist first, blogger second, and this happens in the print world as well. “Oh, you write for the newspaper? You HAVE to do a story about my family business and the amazing sale we’re having…” Um, no. As a journalist friend and I say, “you don’t call a plumber and ask him to work for free because you’re so nice, same deal for my skills.”
Please post it everywhere Amy!
Tune in tomorrow for some more wonderful goodness on this topic, the New York Times and a free button for all Mommy Bloggers!
[...] ← 10 Reasons Mommy Bloggers Are Broke [...]
[...] Gottleib and I exchanged letters after I wrote 10 Reasons Mommy Bloggers are Broke. She wrote back that I should double my fees and not do a review for less than $250. I immediately [...]
[...] I think that everyone, not just mommy bloggers, needs to read her two posts about this topic: 10 Reasons Mommy Bloggers Are Broke and 10 Reasons Mommy Bloggers Deserve Condescension from the New York Times. The lists are [...]
So very well said!
Excellent points!
So right and so true and SO what I needed to hear today. Thank you!
This is so true! I’m guilty of all this and need to change. I’ve been so frustrated with all the free advertising work and giveaways without any personal compensation. I have lost complete respect for myself and website. I just need to say no, not worry about the rejection, and go back to basics. I’m struggling financially and I’m to blame. I can’t remember the last time I sat to write an article that didn’t have to do with a product review or giveaway! SHAMEFUL!
I require pay for almost everything unless I really really want it – and have intentions on buying it or would buy it.
I agree w/ all you said…and the only way I turned a profit was to use this word: NO.
Know. Your. Worth.
~Trisha
momdot.com
[...] I hesitate to say, “no more freebies for anyone!” The right freebie benefits me, too, I know. But there is a reason mommy bloggers are broke, as detailed so well by Tracee Sioux at The Girl Revolution. [...]
Very excellent indeed! You stopped me before I had to sell myself for tuna!
I kind of love you right now. That is all.
Speak up bloggers, you deserve pay and compensation just as every other blogger does out there. Ask for it.
What an excellent article! Thank you for taking the time to write it.
Blessings
Honey
[...] I wrote a form letter informing PR Reps that my time and talent was worth money and I have a new policy not to work for free and put it in my post, Nice Girls Don’t Talk About Money, I attempted to incite the Blogger Revolution, which SP Sarah pointed out in her column, is never going to happen, with my posts 10 Reasons Mommy Bloggers Deserve Condescension From The New York Times, and 10 Reasons Mommy Bloggers Are Broke. [...]
I have made many of these mistakes myself, fortunately I have learned from them and we are all NOT broke.
Lacey recently posted..Gerber Baby Food Coupon – Free Printable Gerber Baby Food Coupons
Haha..you got it right..that was mother can do!
melody recently posted..The Advantages a Temp Car Insurance Policy Can Offer
Quite harsh but all your points are true. If these mommy bloggers only try to focus more on their skills instead of wasting away “hardworking” hours to nothing.
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