'I doubt I’ll ever collab with an influencer again': Small business burned by influencer who refuses to share photos

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    Gesture - 'An influencer took advantage of my small business'
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    Human body - dr/ChoosingBeggars Posted by u/No-Apartment-6158 1 day ago n That one time an 'influencer' took advantage of my small business
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    Font - So I own a small business (bakery) and last year I was approached by an 'influencer' who wanted to collab. She is the wife of a local music artist in our city, but I have worked with someone who was in connection with him so I felt comfortable with collaborating with her. The deal was that I would supply her with goods for her events and she would post pics, tag me and refer me to her followers. The first time we collaborated, everything went okay. I sent her 2 boxes of my signature cooki
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    Font - WELL during our second collab, she requested x20 cookies and x20 cupcakes for an event. I was fully booked and told her I wouldn't have time. She begged and begged and said it was her mothers birthday and she needed me to make those things for her. I told her I wouldn't be able to make that much items for free, but I could do x12 of each. She begged for a few times, so I got fed up and agreed (huge mistake). I ended up getting no sleep trying to squeeze in her order. Then, later in the da
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    Font - After a few back and forths she eventually got someone to collect the order for her later in the night. She was happy and assured me that she would take pics and post them on her page and mention me. The next few days I didn't hear from her, or get any pictures posted online. I contacted her and she said that she was waiting on her photographer to send her the pictures. Fine. A week later I messaged her again and she gave me the same excuse and then sent pictures of the items TO ME. It wa
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    Font - Some people were telling me to take it to small claims court, but it wasn't worth it as I might have to end up paying more than what the order cost. Other people were telling me to name and shame her online, but It might backfire and give my business a bad name. She hasn't messaged me since, but after a while, her sister got my contact and started supporting me by ordering + paying. Its been several months but I still feel pay over it. Never ever collab with 'influences'
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    Font - Ben_Wah_Balls edited 22 hr. ago CONTRACTS +1 22 hr. ago. My wife has worked with a few influencers. They worked out ok, but i advised her to have contracts. Some didn't want to sign, and lo and behold - they were the wannabe influencers. You agree on terms and you agree on quality of images and posts. Should there be a disagreement then there is a mediation clause. Never EVER do something for free without documentation. Because you'll be surprised what may and may not be admissible in civ
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    Font - Protecting your business (and your sanity) is SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than promoting it. Especially if you're a small business owner. € 199 € Reply Share No-Apartment-6158 OP 22 hr. ago Thank you for this!! there wasn't an official contract, but everything was discussed and agreed upon via text
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    Font - fadevelocity +2 23 hr. ago Aside from the issue of her not keeping her end of the deal, you gained a valuable lesson. First time round you gained a few followers. As a businessperson your next step should have been to calculate the return on investment. How much actual business did those new followers generate, in cash terms? If it's zero, then it it sunk marketing budget. Second time around you would then have had a position to say that the first engagement generated net zero (or less th
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    Font - meepgorp 1 day ago I don't know what state you're in, but most states will include court costs on a small claims award. You'd have to collect, which is a whole other thing, but court records are public. Just sayin.
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    Rectangle - Dull_Investigator985 . 23 hr. ago OP sure is in a regretful state.
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    Font - Why_r_people_. 1 day ago Expose her on social media it will hurt her WAY more than taking care to small claims court and all you have to do is screenshot the texts and tag her. You might even get incremental business if the post gets traction, everyone hates influencers that just want free stuff
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    Font - educatedbycat - 21 hr. ago Agreed...people love getting behind the scenes gossip about influencers!
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    Font - Marketing is important, but there's nothing this person did for you that you couldn't have done better by taking a sample tray and some flyers out into a busy shopping area.
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    Font - ItsJoe Momma +2 21 hr. ago Yes, this. What these "influencers" don't realize is that you need a lot of customers coming in to provide enough profit (revenue - cost) in order to balance out providing products to them for free. What one restaurant tells "influencers" who ask for free food is that they can keep their receipt, post about the food online, and if 10 or more people come in giving the influencer's name as the reason they are there, then the restaurant will reimburse the cost of t
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    Font - No-Apartment-6158 OP 23 hr. ago Omgg I wish I knew this back then. This makes so much sense!! I doubt I'll ever collab with an influencer again, but this is very good info to remember. Thank you!
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    Font - Ipso-Pacto-Facto. 23 hr. ago Let it go if her sister has become a reliable client. But lesson learned. I would just add my two cents whenever someone locally asks about collaborating - be careful because a local influencer did not uphold her end of an agreement with you, and it cost you more than buying ads. Be prepared and create a boilerplate for "influencers". Next time, if you think it's a good deal, offer a reasonable discount only, payable in advance with a contract spelling out pic
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    Font - No-Apartment-6158 OPO 23 hr. ago This is amazing advice!! And makes so much sense. I bet you after I explain this to those 'influences', they won't come back lol. But thank you, I will save this just in case
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    Font - +2 22 hr. ago Here WeGo_SportsTime Urgh I hate the term "influencers" because let's face it, most of them couldn't influence anything of value. Calling them content creators is more appropriate. . For this specific story, we also need to consider how many of there followers will actually benefit your business. For example, I live in Australia and I decided to follow your page after seeing the first collab pictures. It's not like I can buy anything from you if you are overseas. I'm just si
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    Font - Less Imagination_352 1 day ago Threaten that you will post the screenshots of your conversations on your Instagram unless she pays you € 38 € Reply Share No-Apartment-6158 OP 1 day ago If I remember correctly, I did threaten to 'expose' her but she just kept ghosting me
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    Font - arizonaraynebows. 1 day ago edited 1 hr. ago Influencers = mooch
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    Font - Scenic Pineapple +2. 19 hr. ago If i run into anyone who says they are an influencer, i stop the conversation and walk away. They can offer you nothing of real value, their job isn't a real job, and they are so lost in their own ego.

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