Fashion & Blabbage #14: The Blogger/Creator System - From A Seasoned Blogger's Perspective - Part 1

 

        In light of the current heat that I've seen on social media regarding this subject, I decided to put my own perspective on the Blogger/Creator relationship based on my nearly decade worth of experience as a second life blogger. The job isn't easy, but it can also be a very fulfilling thing to do in secondlife that has its own rewards. I hope that my blabbing here inspires not only future and new bloggers, but also future and new creators that are aspiring to get into the business of social media blogging and creation for Secondlife. I will be breaking this series into parts because there is a lot to cover and I tend to get wordy. But I hope that it helps new bloggers and creators in stepping into this community and helps everyone. ♥

Humble Beginnings

        I think it's crucial that I start off with my own beginning story. I never actually aspired to be a blogger when I came to secondlife. I came with a friend from IMVU, another virtual website, and was actually doing ads and animated icons for creators on that site, along with some basic modeling work. The plan was to come to secondlife and create the same kind of environment for myself. 

        However, after finding that the system in secondlife was different and also kinda complicated, I really decided to enjoy secondlife for what it was instead, and some of my first actual "work" was me on social media just taking pictures of myself. I decided that I wanted to be a photographer in secondlife and took classes to perfect my craft, planning on taking pictures of people. At some point, people began to ask me where I bought certain items, which I then gave freely, then after a while I just began to post the "basics" of what I was wearing every time I put up a image. That escalated into a few creators asking me to blog for them, and after a while, I began my first official blogging website with a friend called "Martian Brat." After collaborating with them for a while, I moved my work and blogging to another collaborative group of bloggers called "Defined Style," where I stayed until I finally went solo and launched my first solo blogging site which you now know as "Detached Enigma." 

        With that history in tow, I am just going to emphasize the basics of blogging in secondlife and what to expect! Many bloggers and creators do things in their own way, so this is what you will encounter the majority of the time. I just wanted to ensure future creators and bloggers that the craft of this relationship isn't as dramatic or hard as it can appear when something appears on social media. The key is to know what to expect when you enter this system. 

Let's Make A Blog!

        My advice for starting? Do it with current items you have. When it comes to blogging, in most cases, you won't start out with a lineup of sponsorships. Creators pick up bloggers in most cases based on history, and for a beginning blogger, that means starting out with your own items you have purchased and building up this history. History in blogging means showing that you blog quality work, and can include showing items and gaining a following on social media. Blogging can be a expensive job due to this. Purchasing items and displaying them can really add up, and with that in mind, you should always purchase creators items you love and aspire to blog for when you are trying to build history. This way, not only is it enjoyable for YOU, you are also building "reputation" for the creators you aspire to blog for in the future. Once you begin to gain sponsors, this really doesn't change, as even a decade into blogging, I still find myself purchasing items not only for myself, but to build history for creators I think I may want to work with in the future. A key aspect in blogging is being able to purchase a few things to show off. If your budget is a bit tight, make sure to make good use of group gifts and freebies from your favorite creators, which are also good in building a history with them.

    The second task is to "develop your craft." Regardless of if you edit your work, or if you are like me, and do unedited photography, you should work to put out quality images in order to sell yourself. Most creators love to see their work as the "focus" of your images, and this is something you should work on perfecting in your own way. Also developing being seen on social medias. A lot of professional bloggers use several sites, such as Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and personal websites to name a few. There are many ways to do it based on if you are focusing on fashion, furniture, or something else, and a good reference is to use Flickr and other social media current bloggers use to see how they display items, and add your own twist to it. Building reputation and your craft can be a lengthy process. It doesn't happen overnight. You may see anywhere from a few months to half a year or even longer of you just building reputation before you actually get sponsors. In addition to just gaining reputation, you want to develop a following, as most creators want to know that you are being seen, thus their products are being seen, so they can impact their sales. So it may take some time as you do this to build up that kind of following that sponsors require. Creators vary in how much they want you to be seen, and where they expect you to be seen at, so its always good to take a "peek" at any blogger searches to see what your favorite creators require in order to work for them.

    Make sure to link and mark where items are when you are blogging, so that creators see that you do a great job of not only showing the product, but giving information to those viewing your blog so that the items can be purchased. Bloggers have to remember that this is a key factor in gaining sponsors, also a key element in why sponsors hire you. Sponsors WANT THEIR THINGS TO SELL, and in order to sell, people need to know where to get it, when to get it [if in an event] and how to purchase. Adding details like sizes that creators make and how items are sold will also gain you good reputation with creators. The blogger/creator relationship is not only that you get to blog their items, but they get the benefit of their product being seen, and also purchased from other people. 

All this work...What can I expect to gain?

        Blogging can be a lot of work here as you can see, even in the basic aspect, so for most, they expect something in return for it. What can a blogger expect to gain in light of all the hard work they have accomplished with making a blog and displaying work?

        In the majority of cases, bloggers gain access to items for free in exchange for their work when they sign up to sponsor creators. These free items, of course, come with a price. Majority of the time you are receiving full fatpacks/megapacks of items from the creator. This comes with a QUOTA attached. You usually have a certain amount of time to turn in a blog post for items you receive, with a list of details that the creator requires from you. This can get more advanced as some creators expect you to blog a number of items in a month, from anything from twice a month, to having to display every new item put out in order to keep your sponsorship. Quota agreements are mostly set out before you begin so you can decide whether or not you can handle the requirements of sponsoring a brand. Now and days, with Blogotex, a site used by most professional bloggers and creators, this too, can impact your reputation not only with a specific creator, but also the blogging community, as putting in work and showing it gains you merits and  trust within the blogging community. So keeping your part of the bargain is crucial in developing a blog with sponsorships. 

        For most professional bloggers, the payment is the satisfaction of doing something they love, as well as others enjoying their work and their love for the products they display. A lot of bloggers simply enjoy the work, and because of that, the free products are bonus points and helps them to acquire this goal. Yes, blogging for the most part is a personal reward. Quotas can be demanding as you gain sponsors and putting out quality work can take up a lot of a person's free time not only in secondlife, but in real life. Having a love for the process is usually the key to most bloggers success, as they keep pushing forward in their craft despite hardships and issues as it makes them happy. This is something I find personally important when wanting to start a blog. Eventually, the free items aren't enough, and you need something deeper in order to keep on doing this kinda work.

        With all this being said, I think I have covered the basics of the Blogger/Creator relationship. I hope this has given some insight to what the typical blogger encounters when they work for creators, and gives new creators some insight in what they should expect from bloggers when they start their blogger searches. I am open to feedback on this series, and encourage people to message me if they have any comments, concerns or would like me to speak about any specific topics as I continue to add on to this series. ♥♥ I will go more in depth to this basic process in part 2.