Thank you all so much for your comments on yesterday’s post. I was actually surprised to see how many people could relate to many of my “lessons learned,” and it once again reminded me of WHY I put up such personal posts (trust me, I always hesitate pushing the publish button).
As you can clearly tell from the title of today’s post, I’m letting you all know that I’m no longer an Ellie Ambassador. I thought I’d take today as an opportunity to explain why.
If you know me, you know I’m the type of person that likes to see the silver lining; I’m the type of person that puts a lot of faith in other people and always believes the best in them. That is why it took me so long to make this decision.
A few months ago Lindsay chose to leave PV.Body at a time of high controversy with the company. Although I understood and respected her reasons, I personally hadn’t experienced enough of the “bad” to make that kind of decision. Well, after learning more about the company from Heather’s post, and then my own personal experiences over the past two months, I finally ended my business relationship with Ellie yesterday.
As an ambassador, I received (well, was supposed to receive) a couple free outfits that I would review for my readers, and then for any of you that signed up I got a small commission from that sale. Sounds pretty good, right? Well, after finally getting my March outfit this past week, I hit my last straw. The bottom line is: I realized that this service is not something I would personally pay for and therefore I could not suggest to you all to do the same.
In my e-mail to Ellie, I gave them my reasons for leaving in hopes that it will help them improve in the future. My biggest two reasons were timeliness – I never received my replacement February outfit and just received my March outfit last week; and quality – I honestly felt that the quality of their clothing was barely worth the subscription price and definitely not worth what they are charging for purchase on their site.
Thankfully, my contact at Ellie was incredibly kind in her response to my e-mail, which made me feel much better and still confident in my decision to say good-bye. Although it’s been a frustrating experience, I’m so glad that I was an Ellie Ambassador because I learned a lot.
I learned how important it is to only promote the best to my readers and only associate myself and my “brand” with companies that I truly believe in.
I learned how to let go of something I really wanted when I realized it just wasn’t working.
I learned how to end a business relationship (I have a hard time letting go of things).
I learned that I should do my research when promoting a brand.
I learned that all of my actions and choices have consequences and that I need to do my best to keep the respect of my readers and peers.
This week is full of lessons, isn’t it?
Molly did want you all to know that she’s a little sad she won’t get to check out the outfits anymore.
But I’m sure she’ll be fine.
Have you ever had to end a relationship that wasn’t working for you?
What do you think about bloggers promoting products and how they should handle it?
I have to admit that I was curious as to why you were still with Ellie when it seemed like all of the other bloggers were complaining and dropping the service. I really admire you for not just following the pack though, and using your own experience as your guide. I think Ellie has the ability to be a great company, but it’s going to take some time because they are so new.
You handled it really well and I’m glad your Ellie contact understands. Sometimes when you end a relationship people take it personally and when dealing with business, it’s not personal. It really is just business.
Thank you! I understood everyone else’s reasons for leaving, but I wanted to make my decisions about them based on my own experiences. And I hope they do improve, it’s a great concept!
Thanks for sharing. I find your decision respectable and your honesty refreshing. 🙂
Thank you, Tiff!
Well played, Katie! I think that bloggers that promote products should only promote products they truly feel are useful, quality and worthwhile. Each writer’s blog is a window for the outside world into the blogger’s personality and style. If you promote a bad product, what does that say about you?
It can be hard to end a working relationship with someone (especially when you’re such a nice person!), but it’s for the better and this’ll free you up to promote something way better to us readers!
Thank you, Bailey! I agree – what products I choose to promote say a lot about me!
A very great post Katie. I personally have never has any promotions but if I were to promote a product I would want to also believe in the quality of that product. For me, personally, I really do not like when some bloggers have post after post about product reviews. I’m glad that you learned some good, valuable lessons. 🙂
Thanks, Christina!
I think it’s great that you choose to end the relationship with a company you weren’t believing in. It makes me (and other readers) more likely to trust you in the future, because it’s clear that you only promote companies and products that you only enjoy. I feel like a lot of bloggers promote everything that comes their way, so I appreciate it when a blogger lets readers in on their honest feelings about a company.
Thanks, Sam! I definitely feel like I can only promote something I would buy myself because my readers are supposed to trust me!
I recently chose to leave them as well for the exact same reasons- u couldn’t have wrote it better myself.
And I think a lot of bloggers promote products to get free stuff! Granted, they might actually love the product, but I just don’t think it’s fair- and now it makes me actually stop buying the products if I already had been, because I lose respect for some brands for only acknowledging those with a large readership rather than those who might actually find the product lost useful (if that makes sense). (Also that was a massively long run-on sentence).
On the other side of that however, there are SO MANY bloggers that companies do have to pick and choose who they send their products too. Although I do agree they need to do research on who would really appreciate their products, I’ve gotten too many e-mails for products that have gluten!
Thank you for sharing the reasons that you chose to end the relationship with ellie. I think its nice that your being honest with us as well as shared your honest opinions with the company.
Thanks, Nicole!
It sounds like you made the right choice for you, and that is what matters! PROUD OF YOU! xox
Thank you, Krysten!
ugh what is Molly going to do without her monthly workout outfits??
Seriously. She’s pretty upset with me.
Thank you for sharing your reasons why you left and your experiences. I think it’s tough as a blogger with these sort of opportunities. You want to provide the best and most honest reviews to your readers, but if you’re truly not happy with a company, it’s tough to make that decision to cut ties and do what’s best for the blog.
Thanks Sarah, and you’re right, it’s hard to cut ties like that!
Good for you! I applaud you for ending it. I think that bloggers can be under a lot of pressure, but you admitting that something was not worth endorsement and being honest on your blog is something all your readers will appreciate!
Thanks, Maureen! And I agree, bloggers tend to get scrutinized so there’s a lot of pressure to make the right decisions.
I LOVE this honesty! I’m actually brewing a similar post (but other things have to come first, as I’m sure you understand. hah). But I appreciate your honesty. After finding out about the company a bit more, I stopped promoting anything of theirs. But I legit wanted a free outfit. I made this clear though to my readers. But I also think, the appearance of promoting a bad product or company is just as bad. p.s. I finally just got my March outfit too (IN APRIL!!)–
Um, YES other things should come first!!! I can’t wait to hear about everything! And they said the March outfits were late because they got the clothes and they weren’t good quality, but I feel like they should have the clothes there and quality check them before people start ordering them… not after.
Way to go, girl! I am VERY impressed with how professionally you handled everything and with how honest you’re being with your readers. I think it takes a huge amount of courage to not follow the crowd and then realize that you yourself weren’t happy and give plenty of valid reasons why. Learning lessons is how we grow, girl…I’d say you’re growing up a storm this week, which will serve you very well 🙂
THANK YOU, Caitlin! That’s so sweet of you to say!
I think you handled it very professionally! As long as bloggers are honest about their relationships with companies, I see nothing wrong with it!
Thanks, Jane!
I think you made the right decision by following your gut and giving Ellie a chance. You never know… things might have worked out. I’m sorry that things didn’t get better though and that you had to deal with poor service and clothing quality but you’re right, at least we all learned something from this!
Thanks, Linds! And I really appreciated you being supportive through it and not judging me for ditching them earlier!
That’s really honest of you, and I’m happy that you only promote the products and companies that you truly believe in. Good for you, lady 🙂
Thanks, Lindsay!
I think there is a fine balance for bloggers and promotions. Sometimes it feels like some bloggers promote waaayyy too many products and it overtakes their blog. Kudos to you for stepping back when you realized that the partnership wasn’t one you wanted to support!
Thanks, Becky! I understand that it’s tempting to take products from companies for free just for a blog post, but I’ve learned it’s important to only promote things that you would buy yourself!
Thank you for being so honest about the company. Sometimes I have my doubts about sponsors, and I really appreciate you taking the time to thoroughly investigate before giving your recommendation, even if it was negative!
Thank you, Melissa!
Ugh, can I just copy and paste this post for myself? I’m coming to that conclusion as well. 1.5 months for an outfit? Yeeeeah, I’m out – if I were paying for it, I would not be okay with that kind of customer service.
Lol I wasn’t okay with it and I was getting the outfit for free!
Good for you! I haven’t heard a ton of great things about this company :/. My sister is still working with them, but she hasn’t had any major problems with them yet. With that being said, it’s a little too expensive for my taste, especially for what you get!
Thanks! And as long as your sister is enjoying the service, there’s no reason to stop!
Good for you! This is something to be proud of. You stood up for yourself, and everyone else! 🙂
Thanks, Leigha!
Thank you for sharing your honest opinions! I signed up for PVbody, and when it switched over to Ellie, I felt a little weird about it. After having a very slow exchange experience and receiving my shipments rather late, I’m thinking about canceling my subscription. Little did I know that all of this was planned! Thank you again for sharing, and I admire that you could be so real with your readers.
You’re welcome, Amy! I think it’s important to be as transparent as possible about these kinds of things!