Before I begin this post, I would like to give a shout-out to my mother.
She instilled a drive very early on in me to bargain-hunt. Luckily (or unluckily) for me, I was also taught as a young kid that if I wanted anything outside of food and shelter, I had to buy it myself.
So, really, I learned the true value of a dollar pretty early on. Which in turn led to me finding ways to stretch that dollar as far as I could.
Today, as a blogger, influencer, and overall cheapskate, I am so fortunate to have figured out a few really awesome ways/sources to get free $#!*.
I think it’s funny when people figure something awesome out, only to keep it all to themselves. I am not one of those people! I love sharing my life hacks with you all! SO without further ado, here’s what the other bloggers aren’t sharing with you!
LocalFluence
If you’re an active Social Media user that has over 120 Instagram or Facebook friends, then you can become a LocalFluence Influencer & get FREE things like: color & cuts, restaurant meals, lawn care, dental work & many other free things. Through LocalFluence I have received a lot of free meals, gift cards, and services! (Think Costa Vida, Texas Roadhouse, shopping, waxing, etc.!)
Right now they are active in ALL of Utah (Southern and Northern!) And I also believe they are expanding to Phoenix and Denver as well!
Basically, how it works, is they will release a new list of “offers” every month. You can go through the list and let them know what offers you are interested in! Then, LocalFluence will e-mail or text you if you are chosen for an offer!
If you are chosen, all you have to do is create a natural post on Instagram about your experience. It’s super easy and who doesn’t love a free lunch! The best part is, I have seen that the amount of followers you have doesn’t play into if you get chosen or not. They are really fair about how they distribute, and it gives everyone a pretty even playing field to get some free stuff!
Influenster
Along similar lines, Influenster is a super innovative and unique source to not only give honest reviews and ask questions about products, but also become eligible to test out new products for free!
How it works: Create an account and begin to review products that you already have used! Honesty is totally key here, so you are 100% allowed to bash that product you wish you never bought! Once you are active and have linked your social media accounts to Influenster, you become eligible to receive “VoxBoxes”. Major companies work with Influenster to get the word out about their products!
I have received free Marc Jacobs make-up, Laura Mercier make-up, Kat Von D perfume, skincare products from Loreal, and MUCH more.
It’s super fun, super easy, and totally free! Once you have received a VoxBox, you will work on the app to get a “badge”. Basically it gives you little assignments like posting on Facebook about the product, reviewing it online, etc. Super basic things, and totally worth free product, if you ask me. Oh, and you don’t have to BS a review. If you actually hate it,they want to know!
Octoly
Octoly is essentially the greatest platform on Earth. However, this one does have pretty hefty up-front requirements. I believe you have to have 10k followers on Instagram to apply! BUT, if you do, you NEEEEED to be on Octoly.
Again, this is going to be a product in exchange for an Instagram (or YouTube) review post. However, they have a really unique and easy-to-use App. Essentially, they have a Free Store, and you get to view and apply for the products that you want! They work with incredible brands such as Becca, Dior, MAC, Yves Saint Laurent, Lancome, Urban Decay… Ok, you get it. The brand reps will check you out, and either approve or reject you to receive that product. If you are approved, it gets shipped right to your doorstep and you have to create a review post about it!
I first joined this company in February of 2017 and they have just EXPLODED with their reach and the brands they work with in the past several months! It has been incredible to be a part of. It’s an amazing and very well organized company and I CANNOT recommend it enough!
Collabor8
Collabor8 is an app that connects brands to influencers, and was actually founded by two Utah entrepreneurs. As an influencer, it is really nice to be able to explore TONS of companies that want to and are excited about working with you!
It’s well-organized, and you can search brands through genre, location, amount of followers, and more! I haven’t spent too much time on it since downloading it a few months ago, but it has already landed me a handful of successful collaborations! So I highly recommend it to anyone beginning to dabble into collaborations. Find it in your App Store!
Collaborations
Collaborations are a huge part of what I do, and if blogging or influencing is something you are interested in, you HAVE to know how to do it! I am really fortunate now, because I have a lot of reps seeking ME out in regards to this- however in the beginning, I spent a lot of time researching and finding companies to work with.
Basically, I would find a company that I vibe’d with. I would then send them out a thoughtful and personalized e-mail in regards to why they should collab with me. Essentially, what this means is that they would send me free product/clothing and I would promote them on my blog/Instagram in return.
It’s a simple and very effective exchange, and I am sure you see it all over Social Media! If you get pretty good at it, and have a significant following, you can eventually get to a point where the company will pay you to post, on top of receiving free product!
I will create a post going into much more detail later on about this (including how to create a media kit), as I have learned A TON about how to get a good response from companies, and even get free travel! So, stay tuned! ❤
I know that with more experience and more time, this list will grow! However, it has taken me a lot of time and research to have learned what I have already! So, I hope that this list helps those of you who are interested, and may be able to save some of you some time! ❤
As always, let me know if you have any questions or would like more information about these! (Or feel free to fill me in on what I am missing!)
I am really considering creating some detailed posts in how I got started becoming a real “blogger” and giving out tips in regards to my journey! Let me know if that’s something you would be interested in!
XOXO,
Ruth
the ruth lee diary 