So, you’ve been outreached by a brand but it’s not exactly what you want to do, so you need to turn them down. It is your blog after all, you have worked really hard on it and you should always, always only work with people who will benefit your blog and your readers, and who you are interested in enough that you want to put in the huge amount of effort that it takes to create a blog post.
With this in mind, have a look at the three different ways you can say ‘no thank you’ to a brand and still have a positive engagement with them.
- No thank you- but maybe in the future
If you are emailed by a PR who is outreaching to you on behalf of a brand, then you want to stay on their good side. Even though this particular brand isn’t right for you, another one they work with might be. Respond to their email detailing why this brand isn’t right (wouldn’t interest your readers, the action they want you to perform isn’t in keeping with your blog…) and then thank them for thinking of you, and say if they have anyone else who might fit better with your blog (detail what you are interested in) then you would be interested. That way, you have a potential connection but don’t have to put something on your blog that you don’t want to.
- No thank you- your brand isn’t relevant
It’s okay if you don’t think a brand will be a good match for your blog, it’s better you tell the brand that rather than just ignore their email- they might keep contacting you for other projects which will be a waste of both parties time. Thank them for their interest, but say that you don’t think you will be a good match. If you have a blogger friend who you think would be a good match then mention them in your reply, it’s lovely to be able to help people out!
- No thank you- I don’t do these kinds of posts
If you don’t accept guest posts, or infographics etc. then explain that this isn’t the sort of thing that you do, but thank them for thinking of you and leave it at that.
The most important thing when declining a brand is to be polite. It takes a lot of time and effort to contact a blogger, and although the person contacting you would probably prefer it if you did want to work with them, they would appreciate honesty and politeness in your response. If you are rude, or simply don’t reply then you have lost a contact for life, and you never know what they could have offered you in the future!
Do you have any more tips? Leave them in the comments below!
Thank you so much for this
My blog is still small so I don’t have pr’s/brands reaching out to me but am sure one day they will.
please have a look at my blog and let mw know what you think.
intheloopwithcoco.blogspot.com
I’d like to know what I’m expected to do with press releases. I get these every week, random information about something with no request to do anything with it. What are the people sending them expecting? Also, if it IS something that interests me, how do I use the press release and should I charge for using it?
Hi!
In terms of press releases, these are routinely sent to journalists in relevant industries in case the journalist in question is interested in the news story and wants to develop a piece. As the blogging industry has become more and more important to brands, bloggers are often being added to press lists. It sounds like you’re on a few!
However you’re right- press releases are often not so relevant to bloggers, who tend to focus on putting a personal spin on topics rather than churning out news. I’d suggest emailing a few of the PR’s sending you these releases, letting them know you’d prefer a more bespoke approach, and that if they’d like to work with you you’d love to- but press releases aren’t your thing!
If you get a press release you like the look of and you think it’s really relevant to your readers you might want to consider asking the brand for some more information.
I hope that helps!
That does help, thank you Rebecca
My next question, if I do want to develop a piece about the press release, can I ask to paid for doing so?
Great! That is a tough one, and should really be left to your own discretion.
My inclination is to say it completely depends on the tone of the press release, but often charging may not be appropriate. Press releases are usually just industry updates and product launches, and there is often no action asked of the recipients. So, if the content of the press release excites you and you think your readers will be interested then I would go ahead and write up a piece if you want to- but only if you want to. There may well be opportunities for a larger collaboration with the brand you write about later on!
I’d suggest thinking about this in your own time, and deciding what you feel comfortable with.
Does that help at all?!