Sadly this has been going on since the start, bro. And many veteran bloggers do realise it. That's why companies like (you-know-who) needed to diversify to sell Instagrammers instead. I'm not sure how that's doing now though but I would imagine it's the same business model.

This post has been edited by tonYe: Aug 19 2017, 11:43 AM

There are also those who still thinks that bloggers are like mainstream media. PR agencies get paid to work with mainstream media for their client but they don't pay the media. Difference is those media people are paid by their employers whereas bloggers are pretty much not getting paid at all unless they have millions of traffic every day to earn from Google Adsense.

No worries, I understand your frustration. This is the injustice I felt a few years ago when nobody else cared 'cause they were too afraid of losing their privilege with these agencies. And now they've grown up. Some quit blogging to go make an actual living. Some still copy and paste press releases to get freebies and attend events. And those like myself are rare — who still believes in sharing opinions honestly and not boot lick everyone.

I'd only collab or write free for subjects that my readers and myself are interested in. Agencies who asked for stats would usually offer to pay. I'd name my own price, however much they want to quote their clients is up to them — which is why I hardly get any offers anymore haha... But I don't care as much anymore. I've come to accept blogging as a hobby, a space to voice my opinions and promote things I'm passionate about, and I'm not willing to sacrifice my principles for more. So have fun, do whatever we want, and take a selfie