A lil back story….
I’ve been in the game (the influencer/content creator game) for about 5 years now, two years full time. Ive been landing paid partnerships with brands for 2 years and have landed paid partnership with high end brands like Nike, Coach, Nordstrom, and more! Its been a fruitful few years and I thank God for every second of it!
I say all this to say this though…I’ve seen a lot of things. I have had a lot of conversations, connected with a lot of people, been turned down a lot, turned down a lot, negotiated, established long term relationships and been scammed. all of it.
Revolve is a big brand. If you’re a female, you’ve likely heard of it, shopped there, or even added some things to your wishlist on their site. They host tons and tons of brands and if you’re a content creator in the fashion industry, you’ve probably pitched to them or have dreamed of working with them.
Ive worked with them on a gifted capacity for about a year now. They send hundreds of dollars worth of clothing in exchange for posts, and stories with links to their site. I always did it for no pay because I assumed they would see my work, appreciate my consistency and quality and pay me down the line. plus like everyone else, I genuinely loved the brand.
The Invite…
Fast forward to now, festival season, I get a Revolve festival invite! SUPER EXCITING STUFF. VIP ticket access to the event where I know I will make awesome connections and have a great time.
Downfall? they were asking for over 50 pieces of content to be posted within a 14 day time period. Maybe that would have been ok, but they had a page long list of brands I couldn’t post. The exclusivity was CRAZY!! I tried my best to negotiate to something that was MUTUALLY beneficial for both parties but they kinda just let me know that this was the scope of work and to let them know if I could move forward or not cause other people will do it.
Now…I’m a FULL TIME content creator and this is where things get tricky. Let me explain!
I have worked really hard to build genuine connections with reputable brands over the past years. These brands have seen my work, appreciated my creativity, valued my time and paid for my process to create the content I partner with them on. For me to turn around and do triple the work for a brand that wants it all for free is unethical in my eyes.
There comes a point where you start to feel taken advantage of. Now, I really wanted to go to this Revolve festival. I really wanted to meet people, make connections, take fire pictures, make content and attend my first festival as an influencer. It would have been great. But for my integrity, and to remain respect for my personal brand. I had to decline and turn down a dream partnership.
Now I know there are tons of girls out there that took this deal. That’s totally fine. However, for me & MY journey, it was just not something I could do. In my eyes, I saw myself giving more, spending more and putting in more than i would have been receiving. It wasn’t fully worth it.
My Mini Lesson…
So here’s my lil mini lesson…have pride in your work! Respect your own time and never devalue your craft. Who knows, maybe this isn’t my time to go? Maybe something grater is on the horizon. Just know, I will be at Coachella 2023 LOL
xoxo- Tayla S
