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MY TOP 10 BEAUTY PRODUCTS UNDER N1,000

Posted on October 20, 2015 7 Comments

1. MAYBELLINE COLOSSAL MASCARA : I bought this mascara from my friend Dami, she’s a makeup artist and she recommended it. I first had a love-hate relationship with it but over time I’ve grown to love it! It literally takes my lashes from 0-100. I bought it for N800, but online it costs more so […]

WHAT I DO TO NEGATIVE COMMENTS

Posted on October 9, 2015 7 Comments

Hello! Remember I said I would be sharing posts to help fellow bloggers, under my ‘Ask Tosin‘ segment, well this post is part of it. Read the previous topics HERE if you missed them! Today’s topic is one bloggers rarely address, We all like to create the impression that everyone likes our blog and every […]

WHISPER CHALLENGE FT. MY BROTHER TOPE!

Posted on October 6, 2015 2 Comments

Hello! So while my brother Tope was still around, We did the whisper challenge. This challenge was so much fun to make. My brother is good sports when it comes to videos, remember him from my sibling Tag HERE. I can’t wait for my other brother Jide to be back home so he can join […]

OOTD: GREY

Posted on August 25, 2015 15 Comments

SKIRT: NEWLOOK| TOP: NEWLOOK| SHOES: BANK| HAIR: ANNA HAIR UK Got Questions, requests or suggestions? Kindly leave a comment below, I’d really love to hear from you… XOXO TOSIN

CHOCOLAT AU LAIT

Posted on June 9, 2015 13 Comments

Here’s an outfit I wore the other day to a meeting. It was about to rain so I thought to take photos before it poured. I wore nude makeup to compliment my outfit. Not bad for a nude makeup novice ^.^ . I converted a necklace into the chains on my pants. I didn’t […]

OOTD: SUNDAY

Posted on May 24, 2015 20 Comments

Happy Sunday! Hope you are well?Today I attended my friend Yejide’s church. It was her parent’s wedding anniversary and I decided to join in the celebration. I wore a sequin top and a highwaist front slit skirt from Asos. Yesterday I went for the Africa Fashion show and took lots of pictures from the runway. […]

BRANDS & YOUR BLOG: PART TWO (REWARD)

Posted on May 21, 2015 5 Comments

Hello!

So this post ought to have been published a while ago, but for some odd reason, it wasn’t. Apologies…

First, let me say thank you to all the amazing new subscribers I have, you all are awesome. The last post on this topic brought awesome exposure and I’m grateful for this. In fact the kind of mails I’ve been receiving from brands ever since then has been bringing smiles to my face. Very detailed, polite and ‘rewarding’ if you know what I mean…..

Incase you missed that post, ensure you read HERE! it’s a good one.

Speaking of rewards, I’m going to be discussing that today, basically talking on remuneration. (A.K.A Payment or compensation either in cash or kind) but before I go to the heart of the matter i.e what you should charge or accept I’d like to clarify a few things with you as a blogger. I’d discuss them in bullet points to foster ease of read.

KNOW YOUR BLOG: Now, I say this because many bloggers are starry-eyed and want to get paid substantially. The truth is only a novice company will dole out great compensation to a blog with little/no audience for their target market. Before we begin to call figures and charge brands ask yourself this “how great, effective or compelling is my blog”. e.g in my case, Will someone read Tosin’s blog and purchase that bag embedded in that link. Or is the quality of my blog great enough for a brand of that repute? These are honest questions you should ask yourself. It’s important we know the actual influence we have. Not just by the number of comments or Instagram followers, but how you can successfully direct traffic or create awareness to an approaching brand.
BE REASONABLE: This is just a continuation of the above but its country specific. No matter how truly awesome your blog is, remember we are in Nigeria. Regardless of what statistics says about internet penetration or the impact of social media, understand that ‘bloggers, brands & remuneration” is still a growing tool. Majority of Nigerians are TV watchers or newspaper readers, hence a Large organisation’s first form or advert is via those means. Implying that smaller organisations (SME’s) are your major clientele and in most cases meaning smaller marketing budget. So in your compensation evaluation, acknowledge that these organisations would really want the value for every Kobo spent. Hence, heavier weight bloggers like Linda Ikeji may be considered prior to you.
PUT IN THE WORK: Any brand coming to you with the intention of working with you on any form expects utmost quality. For example, I own a beauty brand (@ekomakeup) and if I send you a product for review, I don’t want shabby pictures taken with a cell phone or a post filled with typos. I’d require the blogger to represent my brand well. So also with these other companies either great or small. As a blogger, try to ensure your work is relatable and of good quality. Doing company A well would attract company B, it’s a cycle. Furthermore, by the time you have 10-20 companies in which you’ve worked with on your blog/website/social media you can call this a ‘portfolio’ where you can use as a yardstick for attracting more brands.

Now that I’ve discussed these three I’d like to answer the almighty question of “how much should I charge for posts/reviews/ads”.

The answer is hidden in the above points. meaning it’s totally up to you and your work. There is no fixed fee or stencil rate in which all fashion or food bloggers should adopt. The proof is in the pudding.

Personally, I don’t always seek cash compensations. I’m pro partnerships and lasting offers. Money will finish except when extremely substantial and even as at that…….

Some company prefer to send products worth a specific amount while some rather just pay you cash. For instance when it comes to product reviews you ‘may” decide to do it for free if the product is worth a lot. e.g Gadgets/Luxurious Hair/or shopping vouchers, still the choice depends on you.

However, this doesn’t mean I do not accept or have not received cash compensation. In fact most of my sponsored posts/reviews were paid for.

These are a few clauses I consider when considering ‘compensation’ :

Is this company selling a product/service? How can I benefit, how can my readers benefit?
Am I simply creating awareness for an event or is it for a charitable cause?
Is it a one-off/long-term collaboration? e.g Product reviews Versus affiliate programmes.
What is the size of this brand? e.g Are they a known gadget manufacturing company or Becky who makes beads. This would certainly influence pricing or compensation agreements.
How will my blog add value to their brand. i.e. do I represent the face of a product, am I only creating more awareness, is my integrity or reputation needed in this collaboration? or am I a product of a generic search of Nigerian bloggers?…….
How much work am I actually doing? is it a long/short write-up? a tweet? an Instagram post? or a video as they case may be with youtubers.

The above points are what I consider before accepting or making an offer, but then again this is what works for me, another might prefer something different. The truth is we all blog for different reasons some for fun, some from passion, some for solely business and this would certainly affect how we work/blog. ( I discussed more on this in a previous post, read HERE) .

So! that’s all for the part 2 of brands and your blog. I hope I was able to provide some pointers for consideration when next you’re taking on a new collaboration. My aim is not to provide stern guidelines, but to simply share what I feel and I practice.

Do Feel free to drop a comment and ask questions below….

xoxo

Tosin.

This post is owned by Africanismcosmopolitan.com and parts or all of it must not be republished without prior consent of author, in cases where the post is being referred to, kindly link the blog name. Legal actions would be taken when otherwise.

BRANDS & YOUR BLOG: PART 1 (APPROACH)

Posted on April 11, 2015 44 Comments

Hello,

So Cassie Daves and I have been discussing this topic in secret and I think it’s the appropriate time to share my thoughts.

Since I started blogging I’ve been privileged to work with a substantial amount of brands, see them HERE. Both in Nigeria and internationally. With that, I have noticed a lot of difference in the business of blogging in Nigeria and abroad. Many of which are not favorable to Nigerian bloggers.

I’d be doing a series on this topic, and this is the first of three. Today’s topic is “Approach”. I hope a fellow blogger or brand would read this and effect some changes in their PR & business activities.

Many Nigerian companies approach bloggers for brand exposure (meaning they acknowledge your value & influence). However, the remuneration and manner of approach they bring to us sometimes isn’t the most encouraging. Let me give you a vivid example of a UK company that mailed me for partnership, Versus a Nigerian company.

UK COMPANY

“Hello Tosin, Trust you’re doing well. I’m Mark from xxxx company, We got your mail from the contact section of your blog. My team was doing an online round-up of Nigerian bloggers and africanismcosmopolitan.com came up. Your content is fresh and original which resonates with what our brand stands for, we especially loved your post on xxxxxx. That being said, we’d be honoured if you’re interested in participating in our new campaign targeted at youths between ages 18-29. For now our company cannot afford to give cash compensations but is willing to offer you products worth £200, with an extra 10% coupon code for your readers. You’d be given the liberty to choose the products you want from our website embedded HERE.

Kindly let us know if this is something that would interest you. Our company & Campaign information can be found here & here, do not hesitate to reply this mail with any questions you may have.

Regards,

Mark Cumming( Marketing & PR)

NIGERIAN COMPANY,

Good day sir/ma,

Please find attached a press release for your blog, Our company xxxx is currently undergoing a new brand campaign, we have selected a number of bloggers in Nigeria, and you’ve been included. Kindly send your mailing address and contact number so we could send you a product from our new range. Otherwise you can pick up from our outlet at No. X, xxxx street, xxxx, Lagos.

You can reply this mailing address with any question you may have,

We anticipate your response,

Follow us on twitter, Facebook & Instagram

Kind Regards,

Toun Okoro ( xxxx company)

Notice the difference in the manner of approach. Both companies may/may not have a budget for this campaign, however if I were to do a free post/review/advert, the company I’d choose is clear. The first company did the following:

Addressed me with my name
Mentioned my blog and referred to a post (showed they went through/acknowledge my work)
Mentioned their target audience to show its in line with my readers.
Explained that they do not have a monetary form of remuneration currently.
Offered a substantial compensation, that could add value to me and my blog readers.
Left contact details and a website to learn more about them.
Asked/hoped if I’d be Interested, not assumptous.

WHEREAS THE NIGERIAN COMPANY

Referred to me as sir/ma.
Did not mention my blog or name (makes it seem impersonal or was a mass email request)
Did not tell me about their campaign or where I could learn more.
Said I was ‘included’ as though it was something I applied for.
Assumed I had an obligation to publish their attached press release.
Overall message seemed imposing, instead of coming off as a proposal for consideration.

To bloggers what I’m saying is this, These companies approached you for a reason, they felt you could add value to them some sort of way, hence you should be seen as an asset to their company. As a blogger you fall under advertising and media, which is included in their yearly budget.

What you spend your time, energy and money on you value. So when these companies approach you, see yourself as an asset as well.

Many big name firms would approach you, which truthfully is a great opportunity, but in business there is no charity. Partnerships favours BOTH parties either monetary or not.

So as a blogger do not say ‘ WOW Apple contacted me to review their new watch” Instead think like this “I’m glad Apple reached out to me, it shows my hard work, online platform and audience base is well valued”.

Point is this, don’t sell yourself short. Freebies won’t pay for your internet data, camera or domain name maintenance.

I hope this post communicates my thoughts well, I sincerely do not mean to sound abrupt, I just feel Nigerian businesses have a lot to improve on as regards their business modules and marketing efforts.

The next post on this topic would be on ‘Budgets and Fees”. The money aspect of blogging.

Please Feel free to share, drop a comment and ask questions below.

xoxo

Tosin.

WHEN “YOU” ISN’T GREAT.

Posted on April 10, 2015 4 Comments

Funny how lately I’ve been on about people who are comfortable in their excesses. In the sense that some are aware of their bad personalities but are absolutely comfortable in saying “This is me, love me or hate me”…… Well, when that could be applicable and justified in some cases, it’s often said by those with questionable attitudes.

This morning I saw this image below on Instagram and when this could also be the plain truth , I felt it would give individuals with unpleasant characters e.g (prideful, Overbearing, abruptly rude a.k.a Blunt) the justification to bask in their folly.

With the above image, what happens when ‘YOU’ is just not nice.

I feel it’s not just OK to only acknowledge our areas of growth, it’s necessary to identify, evaluate and make corrections. It’s like repentance. You don’t only confess your sins to God, you need to turn away from them to be truly repentant.

I shared this scripture with a friend this morning, “Do not give your pearls to pigs…” Matthew 7:6

However, the hard reality is that sometimes you are the pig that no one should give their pearls to. We all need growth but some virtues are foundational. e.g integrity, humility, selflessness and walking in love.

No body can fix you except yourself and Jesus, And the moment we acknowledge our dirt and filth, the faster we get washing.
Give yourself time to find your self and know where you need help. Don’t Exhaust people with your emotions or excesses. Learn to be whole, happy and content alone before expecting a commitment from another.

People can’t always accommodate that which you struggle with. Don’t expect everyone to always understand that you need to grow.

Instead, Make a conscious effort to Grow ……..

God help us all.

xoxo

Tosin

9TH APRIL

Posted on April 9, 2015 15 Comments

Hello,

How’s your day going….. Here’s an outfit post from today. My friend Henry came over to see me during lunch break and we took these photos. I’m getting used to people staring while I shoot blog pictures on the road……I love Nigerians LOL. Henry is super cool, He blogs at Thefashdiaries . Do check him out…

Today is my brother Jide’s birthday, and coincidentally I received some lovely cakes from Demi’s desserts, soo yummy! I would review them later so be on the look out…..

My outfit today was impromptu, I rushed out to the office this morning, but I guess it turned out good. I’m back to my hair.

Hope you’re doing awesome! and Excited about the coming weekend?

Stay Happy

xoxo

Tosin

Got Questions, requests or suggestions? Kindly leave a comment below, I’d love to hear from you…

All personal images/Pictorials and videos are owned by Africanismcosmopolitan.com (Water marked/not……Except otherwise stated) and they may NOT be used in any way without prior consent of author, Legal actions would be taken.