Know Your Demographic

*****EDITED*****
I received a response from Linqia expressing their apologies.I didn't need an apology but it was very nice and professional.

Dear Linqia,

It's a good thing I'm in a pretty decent place in my life right now. It's a good thing I trust in God's timing and I truly believe that we're waiting for some(one)thing amazing. A few months ago, the invitation to participate in your contest probably would have wrecked me. Here's part of the first of two emails that I received.

Hello!

My name is Brenna St------, a community manager here at Linqia, where we connect online influencers with brands to share engaging stories. Your community has been selected as a great fit for an exciting campaign with Huggies Snug N Dry! Help us spread the love with Huggies #UltraHug selfie contest!

All you need to do to participate:

            1. Take a adorable selfie with your baby and upload it to Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag                             #UltraHug

            2. Write a small blog post (1+ paragraph) describing a local charity or community project close to your                     heart. Include your selfie in this blog post.

The email goes on with more details but includes the bold and italicized portion stating that:

The child CAN NOT be a nephew, niece, friends child, etc.

So, Linqia people, my main concern is the lack of actual browsing on the "community" site you are planning to contact for help with your campaign. I get my fair share of inquiries regarding my help with promoting a company. Some of them I participate in and some I don't. Usually, though, they actually take a glance at my community/blog and make sure I fit the demographic.

LINQIA PEOPLE! YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO READ MY BLOG TO KNOW THAT I CAN'T TAKE A SELFIE WITH MY BABY. The side bar shows my children. Two of them have long since outgrown diapers and the third one never needed them. I do not have a baby. It would be one thing if I was merely offering free diapers to the community (seven or so people) that reads my blog. That would be fine. I'd be all for promoting free diapers on my blog. Maybe, I'd even partner with you if you wanted my readers (all seven of them) to take their own selfie with their own baby and hashtag ultra hug it. But you expressly asked ME to take a picture with MY baby after claiming that I was a great fit for your exciting new campaign.

You know the ultrasound picture on my sidebar? The one with the Born into Heaven date under it? That's the only picture I have of my daughter and I can't selfie myself into it. I mean, maybe I could but it would be really weird and disturbing.

So I'm in a good place, like I said. I'm not a basket case over this one. But how many people did you send it to without even consulting their blog? How many moms read about this campaign when their pain was still fresh? Next time, I'd encourage you to actually look at some blog content or, for the love of all things, glance at the sidebar, before you send repeated emails telling me that I'm a great match for your campaign.

Sincerely,
Lori Bassham