Dear Dayre,

Midnight rant.

Some companies and advertisers really 不会做人, not say I say but is other people also say and ask me why I still so polite and nice. 😤

To cut a long story short, basically, this X sent me a product but did not want to pay. I agreed to mention the product on my Instagram and Dayre in return for the sponsorship.

However, X was very persistent and demanding and emailed me 5 times within the span of a few weeks (this was after I replied after 3 emails sent so that's a total of 8 emails), wanting to know when I could put up the post for them.

In addition to that, X wanted me to do a video as well to show off the product function.

When X didn't get a reply from me (I was overseas, remember?), their emails sounded like this:

Hey?

Hey?

Hey Yina, really appreciate your response on this.

😤😤😤

What I'm most angry about is that I happen to know that X did pay some bloggers to do this ad for them, but they did not want to pay me, yet still hounded me persistently to get a post up for them (ask for video somemore wtf)!

I actually recorded some videos and even took pictures for the post already, but I didn't think they were up to my standard so I wanted to re-take them.

But because X was being SO annoying, I emailed X to apologize and tell them that as this is not a paid engagement, any posting on my part is up to my own discretion.

I then said that I had enjoyed using the product, and would be happy to pay for it instead of feeling rushed to have to put up a post for it.

So I asked X to send me an invoice instead so that I could pay for the product.

If you are a good marketing/PR person, here is the part when you should say "I'm so sorry to hear about that, we'd like you to have the product for free nonetheless, and no rush, perhaps you could do the mention for us when you have some time to?"

Instead, X replied me that they were "slightly disappointed" but they understood and would still wish to work with me for future product launches.

After which X gave me the link for which I could purchase the product from the website.

赢了咯.

So I paid for this product even though I could just put up one of the pictures or video that I'd already taken, because on principle, I'd rather pay the $159 than do this ad anymore. Further more when I knew that this person was paying other bloggers to do it but did not want to pay me, this shows how much (or how little) I am being valued as a blogger/social media influencer.

My friends were so outraged they advised me to do a number of things such as pay for the product, then find another website that sells it cheaper and advertise/Instagram/blog about that website for free instead of X.

I'm not so chek ark, but for such advertisers, I only have one thing to say:

FOBB 👋

Learn from @jaynetham one hahahaha.

But back to this advertising thing,
I feel that bloggers are always being exploited and under-valued.

It takes a lot of effort to do advertorials and blog posts, and I know all the fellow bloggers agree with me when I say that. So when we do accept products and sponsorships for free, the last thing an advertiser should be doing is to hound after and chase the blogger for the post.

If your product is really good, the blogger will most likely want to share about it positively!

But if such a bad impression is made like in my case, I honestly don't even want to share about this product and website anymore.

Am I being too 过份 here?

I may not be the most popz or biggest blogger out there, but I am a very honest one and I know that most of my readers and followers trust me a lot whenever I recommend anything.

I am very thankful for all the great sponsors and advertisers I have that really value me for what I have to offer. Those are the companies and people that I sincerely want to rave and gush about because I believe in them and they believe in me!

Speaking of which, I just received an email from a very reputable wedding photography company, and they want to sponsor my pre-wed and AD photography services worth more than 5k!!!

Really elated to get the offer!

And I really have all of you to thank, I'm so touched. Cos a lot of these sponsorship offers come from the boyfriends/partners of my followers and readers, who recommended me to their partner! Thank you ❤️❤️❤️

😢

真的很感恩!

This emoticon is awesome! Waking up to a good day, I'm gonna work on the next #thevelvetdolls launch and stock-in. Also day three of detox.

I think I know why it's ingrained in me to be so polite and nice. Because I've been well-trained by TVD for the past four years doing customer service and replying to angry customer emails at times 🙊

Unfortunately my minions don't seem to be as good at customer service yet. Must train and whip them into shape to serve customers better! 🔫

Last post before it hits midnight!

Spent today at office preparing for stock-in at KissJane racks 👍 Lotsa goodies gonna be up on the rack by Friday! Yippee doodles! Thank you LBN @yingdan for giving me a ride home! 😘

Photoshoot on Friday, and hopefully next launch on Sunday night 💪

Excited for the last two weeks and launches before CNY is here! Best time of the year 😬