PR TIP: RED FLAGS WITH GIFTINGS

Hi beauties! Today, I want to review common red flags associated with receiving press samples. My hope is that this page serves as a reference for aspiring and current creators and influencers, especially if your gut is telling you something does not feel right. 

REQUIRING PAYMENT

While this red flag may seem obvious, many newbies fall for it. You should never pay any amount of money for press samples. Not a single cent. 

But what if it's just the shipping fee? ----> NO. If you have to pay a shipping fee, it is not a press sample, PR, or gifted product. Some brands falsely advertise that this reduced cost makes it a press sample. There are also multitudes of jewelry brand scams that ask for creators to "just pay shipping." Please do not fall for this. If a legitimate company is asking you to cover shipping to try a product, you are being targeted as a regular consumer NOT an influencer. In this case, you have zero obligations to them. If they ask you to post or give you deliverables, RUN.

But what if they promise to refund the product cost? ----> NO. Please be careful here, particularly with Amazon sellers. A legitimate Amazon seller that wants you to try and review a product will always send you the cost of the product first. You will then place your order on Amazon and send them your order number. There are good Amazon-based businesses out there, but unfortunately the refund scam is ruining trust in Amazon sellers as a whole. If an Amazon seller wants to send you a product in exchange for a 5 star review, that's between you and your integrity, but the request is a red flag. 

REQUIRING DELIVERABLES

I have so much to say about this, but I will keep it fair. As a general rule of thumb, I do not accept gifted collaborations, i.e. receive a product in exchange for a post. For one, I do not want to include more products than I care to when planning my taxes. If a brand is sending me a product without obligations, it is a "true gift" and neither of us can use it for tax purposes. Further, in many cases, the value of the product (not just monetary value but social value, too) does not come anywhere close to the cost of my labour in creating content for that product. To clarify, social value refers to the impact this brand or particular product has within the niche of interest. For instance, some brands have a particularly annoying habit of quoting the cost of a product in the total offer you are given for collaborating, even though, for instance, posting a $400 serum that no one in the skincare community knows nor cares about does absolutely nothing for you. Additionally, the cost of the product should be the brand's burden to bear while you are compensated separately for your creative labour. Do you think brands are quoting product cost when reaching out to large creators to collaborate? Absolutely not. So doing this is especially reserved for smaller creators to emotionally manipulate them into expending energy for free. Now, say Samsung reached out and wanted to send you a tv in exchange for UGC, you would probably accept it because the brand and product have lasting value equivalent to or more than the creative cost of making the requested video. Obviously, if you are a more experienced creator, this may not even be satisfactory to you. Additionally, if you have no interest in a new tv, this may also not be satisfactory to you.

But what if I am just starting out or really want the product? ----> I hear you! Sometimes, you are new and want to start building a portfolio and brand relationships. Sometimes, that product is just too good to resist. If this is the case, I implore you to make sure the deliverables make sense. One video, one picture, one story, maybe a website review makes sense for a gifted collaboration. If you notice that they are asking for several things or giving you directions on how to film or what to say, negotiate to cut the deliverables down, send them your media kit for a sponsorship, or RUN. 

REQUIRING A CONTRACT

Repeat after me: I will not sign a contract for a gifted product. If a product is being sent without obligations, you should NEVER sign a contract. Now, if you are doing a gifted collaboration, sometimes the brand may use a platform like Grin or Skeepers to get into a contract with you. I won't discuss my issues with skeepers here (that's a whole post!), but if you are invited to submit a proposal on Grin make sure you ALWAYS check the licensing section. Most brands will try to sneak perpetual rights in there and people mistakenly sign it. NEVER EVER SIGN OVER PERPETUAL RIGHTS FOR A GIFTED PRODUCT. If you see this section, simply email the brand and ask them to take it out. 10/10 times, every time I have asked, they have removed it. You know why it's that easy? Because they are aware that it's wrong but they are still hoping to get as many images and videos they can from people who are naïve, do not read their contracts, or simply don't care. It's a pretty good strategy from a marketing perspective, but looking at it from a creator perspective - it sucks. Moral of the story, contracts protect both the brand and creator, should be used when entering a partnership, should be read closely by the creator, should be open for discussion, and should never be used for pr without obligations. 

NON-BUSINESS EMAIL ADDRESS

Brands and agencies will usually use a business email address, commonly ending in [business name].com, [business name].org, or other professional email. If an email is coming from @gmail.com, it is a scam. Sometimes, a small business may not yet have a professional email. However, if this is the case you would have already been communicating with the primary contact for that business who can confirm if it is indeed them. Gmail scams are very common and they are getting more sophisticated with fewer grammatical errors! Whether or not English is your first language, I would encourage you to make it a habit to check the email address from new senders.

ASKING FOR DELIVERABLES AFTER THEY HAVE MAILED THE PRODUCT

This one is hilarious and has happened to me maybe three times over the past two years. Sometimes, a brand will reach out saying that they would like to gift you a product and ask for your mailing address. You share your mailing address, and they send the product. After the product has shipped or when they are notified that you have received the product, they suddenly start asking you to post or send a long message with deliverables. I've seen so many creators stressed out and frustrated. I've seen brands harassing and maligning creators who end up in this situation. Friends, let me keep this simple. If a brand wants you to post, that should always be in the initial conversation before a product is sent. Once that product is sent, you are only responsible for the communication you had prior to it. Here are some approaches:

• Thank you for sending these products. There appears to be some misunderstanding on your end. I did not agree to receiving your products in exchange for a post. Please refer to the conversation we had prior to you mailing the product.

• Thank you for these products. I just reviewed our conversation and you did not mention that you were requiring a post, otherwise I would have declined. I apologize, but I am not able to fulfill this request. 

If a brand starts harassing you, take screenshots of your conversation and then block them to protect your peace. Please warn other creators so that they can avoid the brand. 

SHORT TURNAROUND TIME

I've seen wild turnaround requests from 3 days to 7 days for gifted products. This is a big red flag. When I work on sponsored projects, I charge a fee for a speedy turnaround of 7 days or less. So, can you imagine how insane it is to be asked to create uncompensated content under 7 days? Think about the pressure it puts on you, and YOU ARE NOT BEING PAID. As a general rule of thumb, 2-4 weeks is the standard for a gifted collaboration. Sometimes, a brand needs to hit a deadline and they need content out in a shorter amount of time. Ask them if they can at least pay you a rush fee. If they say no, that project is not worth it. 

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