So...i have been rejecting advertorials lately as i don't want my blog to give people the impression that i blog just to earn $ and all i ever write is ads and more ads (got too many blog shops adverts this month!). I blog cus i love sharing stuff happening in my life and that will always be the reason why i'm blogging. Since day 1 till now, 4 years later. When i started blogging, i never thought i'd actually get to get $ out of it! I blogged for 3 years and suddenly someone told me about Nuffnang! So yeah i earned a bit from Nuffnang and slowly i got approached by Blog Shops where i earned even more! I'm so so happy to be able to earn $ doing what i enjoy! It feels like....MONEY DROP FROM THE SKY?? Because i don't see it as "work" at all! :) Even if i no longer earn $ blogging, I WILL NEVER STOP! I feel like i'm used to sharing about my life? Lol what a thing to get "used to" but it's true!
Well i'm writing this cus i'm quite shocked at the amount of blog shops that approached me.
WHY SO MANY?!?!?!
I swear i've no idea there're sooo many blog shops in Singapore. I estimate at least 1000. No joke. I've never bothered to go find out who my competitors are, i just do my thing so i only found out the existence of the many blog shops because everyday i get at least 1 e-mail from a blog shop asking for my rates.
So....
If you ask yourself this and want an honest answer....
I would say No.
No, no, no!
I'm not saying no cus i don't want competition. Uhm look, i'm already competiting with say, 1000 blogshops? What's one more to me right?
I'm saying No because GOSH THERE ARE SO MANY IN SINGAPORE?!?! I think the number of blog shops in Singapore can win the number in Malaysia or something - which is much bigger and has more people than Singapore.
It's a pretty insane amount! If you asked the above question 3-4 years ago, SURE THING, WHY NOT? But it's definitely a no-no to open it now.
UNLESS.....you can design and manufacture clothes then YES. Then again, it's not that easy to find a supplier who can do that for you. They only work with people who can sell big quantity!
No point importing readily available stuff. Too much competition and everyone gets their stuff at the same places!
Don't monkey see monkey do. Just because there are a lot of people doing it, it doesn't mean you should do it too. Yes, you may see them making money but ask yourself, how long did they take to get it up there? How will you be able to pull other people's customers away? Why would someone shop at a totally new shop instead of a shop with many years of experience (Selling the same thing)? Won't that be safer and better for them?
There are hundreds of blogshops still not making money after months of trying...so really, my advice to you if you want to start one, DO NOT. Save your money and your time. If you really want to start a business, maybe start a blog shop selling shoes, bags, accessories - it's safer! NOT CLOTHES!!! Trust me!
Ok you can approach Bloggers to do adverts for you - to raise awareness but it doesn't guarantee that you'll do well. Almost every blog nowadays would be advertising for a blog shop, do you think the public would REMEMBER yours after reading the advertorial? Yes they might, for a day or two, then after that a new advertorial comes up and *poof* FORGOTTEN!
I don't want people to look at me and be like "hey! i can do what Tammy is doing too!". Well, Hey! I started 4 years ago! I like that people want to follow my foot steps but really, IT'S NOT WISE NOW. Not at this point of time. I don't want you to waste your money! I dont want you to pay me to do advertorials thinking that i can help you bring your blogshop to the top just by doing one post because it isn't that easy!
Yknow i can continue writing advertorials for new blogshops and earning money from them (honestly, i do earn quite a big amount from it) but I DON'T WANT TO! I don't like that here i am writing for them, trying my best to add a good word in (it's always the same), earning their money and then there they are, not making enough to cover for their stocks and the ad fee.
I would gladly do ads for blogshops who've been around for a while, like they wanna feature a certain product etc etc. Yes, the ad will work - because it's an experience blog shop, people can trust it easily. But for those who start a new blog shop and expect the ad to work, IT'S QUITE HARD. I'm being really honest.
Look at the above questions i raised. Think about it. Make the wise choice. :)