A few days ago, I applied to blog for one of my absolute favorite brands. Today, I got the rejection. I won’t pretend it didn’t sting. It did. When something means a lot to you hearing “no” is never easy. For a moment, I felt that familiar disappointment settle in, the little voice that wonders what more you could have done, what they were looking for that you didn’t have.
But here’s the thing: I’ve reached a point in both my Second Life and my real life where setbacks like this don’t define me the way they once did. It hurts, yes. Then life keeps moving. This isn’t the first rejection I’ve faced, and it certainly won’t be the last. It’s simply one of the realities of being a blogger in Second Life. Not every brand will see your vision. Not every creator will connect with your style. And sometimes, no matter how much you love a brand, you just aren’t what they’re looking for.
That doesn’t mean I’ll stop supporting them. It doesn’t mean I’ll stop blogging their work when inspiration strikes or stop sharing the things I genuinely enjoy. My appreciation for what they create wasn’t built on an application, and it won’t disappear because of a rejection.
So rather than dwell on the disappointment, I want to talk about something bigger: the reality of rejection in Second Life blogging, the expectations we place on ourselves, and how we keep creating even when we’re not everyone’s cup of tea. Because if you’ve been doing this long enough, chances are you’ve been there too.
Second Life, to me as I am thinking it is to many others, is a game where you are social, can hang out with people, get to know others, look and feel however you want. And one of the many perks of this virtual world is the fashion. Which I have always admited it is one of my favorite things to do so after being a part of the modeling world and being featured in both runway and magazines in Second Life blogging was the logical path I was to follow.
After leaving that world, the path to being a self sufficient blogger was not an easy one. It came with a lot of help and a lot of rejection. Of course, back then, my stupid young brain and the many chemicals and hormones it released made me feel left out or ignored never saw it like that. Not until many years later, and I have Second Life blogging to thank for that. If you are interested in how I found my voice, you can read that blog here.
Now let’s actually discuss blogging as a job, not only in SL, but RL also.
Blogging in Second Life has always seemed to have been two types of content creators, those with an independent website to host their content, from video, opinion pieces, photo blogging and more. And photo blogging/influencer types. These last ones will usually use a platform that is more photo oriented, if they have a blog, it will most likely showcase a gallery with the item list and where to buy in the description.
Making this difference is important because every brand in SL trades on exposure and that matters as who they choose as their representatives will impact the content and exposure they will have towards the broader Second Life user base. Let us break it down:
Brands will look for what fits their vision.
You read that correctly. A brand will usually receive a lot of proposals and on rare occassions reach out to influencers to have them review and give feedback on products. In Second Life, most of this interactions are based purely on aesthetic. What the brand owner/brand rep wants, the type of pictures they would love to see and the type of content they want to see their items be featured in.
Brands receive a LOT of applications/collab requests.
This is just a reality, we all would love free stuff but a brand cannot simply be giving away items to everyone all the time. They have to pick and choose. Sometimes you will be put on a waiting list, whether you are told or not. They need to pick and choose who and what fits what they want to show. So do not get discouraged if they have to be selective and reject you.
Target audiences and numbers are important, but not everything.
Any small business or brand WILL look at your target audience. Who likes your photos, the number of views it gets. How often do you post, who are your followers. Where can people find you. They need to know the reach they will get and if it is something they want to relate to. At the same time, they are not everything, sometimes brands just enjoy someone’s work and pair up with them because of their style alone (is on a case to case basis).
All of the above deals with the reality of being a brand manager, now let’s discuss the important points for bloggers/influencers:
Genuine interaction is best.
Bloggers that actively engage with fellow bloggers and their audience beyond just interacting on their own photos leads to bigger engagement. Brand managers will look at the type of content you put out, if it vibes with them and they see people vibing with you and your activity matches it all, they will consider you.
Word of mouth vs. the numbers game.
Yes, numbers are important, but just as I mentioned above, interaction and word of mouth is as important as numbers. When others recommend your work, talk about you, see what you do, they WILL talk and that talk will reach ears. Slow growth is best because it means you are actively working for it.
Know your brand
This is probably the most important, in my opinion. If you know who you are, and what content you want to bring forth, you will become more recognizable. You can be a jack of all trades and talk about it all, from reviews to video blogs to photo blogs. Or you can be a specialized blogger and just do one thing REALLY well. This is entirely up to you and only you. Brands will resonate and vibe with this particular point. At the same time, you need to learn to say no to what doesn’t vibe with your brand and learn to set boundries when needed (best example of this is to have a review and disclosure policy, aka your do’s and don’t’s.)
Rejection comes with the territory.
Finally we reach the most dreaded on the list. We all want to get the big sponsors or we have specific brands that we LOVE and would love to blog for them, yet when the time comes and they open for their blogger searches, poof they reject you. Some give you the basic excuse “team full, sorry keep up.” Others straight up reject you without a given reason. And you know what, that is okay. Not everyone will vibe with your style or your content. So chin up, keep working on your brand, content and eventually the sponsors will slowly come to you. But you do need to have a high tolerance for rejection. Sorry.
Do not overwhelm yourself
As a blogger sometimes we want to just bite the world and blog and do everything but we need to be realistic about the commitments, the deadlines and the balance between our RL and our SL time. So try not to take on too much. It’s okay to eventually drop brands or not apply to a few others. Your mental health is more important, so always keep that in mind.
The reason why I wanted to make this blogpost is to share the experiences I have accumulated through the years from both ends of the stick, as a blogger manager and a blogger myself.
Blogging is an art form, one I particularly enjoy seeing. From the lewd oriented bloggers to the kawaii looking ones, they all inspire me to be better. So keep that chin up, keep learning, keep watching, keep creating because someone somewhere will become a fan and will want to be part of your brand and sponsor you.
EXTRA: Mykie was kind enough to share some blogging points for anyone starting I recommend you give them a read and give her a follow on Twitter. You can read the thread here:
MiwaBunny 
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