On Tuesday night I shaved my face. Yes, you read that correctly, I shaved my face.

This woman that I follow on Instagram, Living with Landyn, has been talking about the benefits of shaving your face for the past month or so …

Her skin is pure goals, so I figured if she shaves her face, I’m going to shave mine too.

It went something like this – she posted a video of her shaving her face and linked the razor she uses. I bought the razor and then did exactly what she did and shaved my own.

My nose, my upper lip, my forehead, my cheeks. I shaved off all the peach fuzz (and dead skin).

Prior to seeing this video and following Landyn on Instagram, I can assure you that face shaving my face is something I would have NEVER considered.

I would have told you that you were insane, and wished you luck with your five-o-clock shadow (which is a myth by the way. My face feels Ahhhhhh-mazing!).

But that’s the power that influencers can have.

She recommended that I shave my face, so I did it.

I’ve followed her for over a year now. I like her style, I like her content, I like her messaging, I like her shirts. He has the KNOW, LIKE and TRUST factor!

This got me thinking…

It is so important that anyone with an online following recognizes the power behind their recommendations.

Endorsing a product or telling your followers to do something (like shaving your face for instance), is something that should be taken very seriously .

You need to understand and respect the fact that, when you recommend something there is a good chance that people are going to do it.

This type of clout should never be taken for granted.

Over the last little while I’ve turned down 3 of 4 brand partnerships that I’ve been offered.

I briefly talked about brand partnerships in the post How I Make Money From Blog. But if you’re not familiar with how this works, I’ll give you the run down.

Bloggers and content creators work with brands to promotes certain products to their following,  Through pictures, videos and blog posts, we share how we use the product in our own life and recommend that you check it out too!

For example, lately you may have seen me talk about Catelli Pasta, RBC and Hello Fresh and First Response. Those were all brand partnerships (and brands/services that I use on a regular)

Since I’m all about being fully transparent, brand partnerships are a great way for bloggers and content creators to make money.

The problem is – many content creators don’t take it as seriously as they should.
It’s really easy to get caught up.

By simply writing a post or posting a picture, you can make some pretty good money. It can be VERY appealing, even if the product isn’t something that you believe in.

When offered brand partnerships, content creators often ask themselves “how can I make this work?”… “how can I authentically incorporate this into my story?”

But that’s not the question you should be asking.

You should be asking yourself? Do I use this product? Would I use this product? Would I call my bestie and tell her how awesome it is?

if you have to ask yourself how you would authentically incorporate something into your story, there’s a very good chance that you’re not being authentic at all.

I’ve learned that if it’s not an immediate HELL YES, it should probably be a HARD NO (in all areas of life really)

even if you need the money
even if you want it so bad to start working with brands

If you wouldn’t recommend it to your best friend then you shouldn’t be recommending it to your followers.

Because guys I shaved my damn face ….

But this often isn’t the case. Lately, I scroll through my Instagram feed and see sponsored content that makes me raise an eye brow.

I’m like:

Do you really recommend that product?

Do you really use that every day?

Do you really put that on your kids?

How much did they pay you to say that?

I’ve had this conversation with fellow content creators, and their argument is always, “well I need to put food on the table”

I get it. Trust me.

Last week I was offered a really good chunk of change to promote a product. The money would have really helped us this month. But after trying it, and looking at the ingredients it wasn’t something I Could get behind, so I had to turn it down.

Because I know if I promote a product that isn’t something I actually believe in, and you go and buy it, I lose my credibility. I lose trust and I lose respect. My word becomes garbage.

Then, when I promote something that I really and truly believe in, my post won’t be taken as seriously.

So, if you’re reading this, and also have an online following, I want you tell you three things!

1.  Saying NO, leaves more room to say YES to things that feel right. Don’t sell out. Your word is your everything

2. The number of followers behind your name is something that should be taken very seriously
Whether you have 500 followers of 100K followers – that’s the number of people who you have the ability to influence. You have the ability to affect their lives on some way shape or form

3. If you haven’t already, I think you should shave your face too. My face feels like a baby’s bottom

P.S If you like this post or think this is something that more content creators need to consider… show me some social media love and give it a share!

If you’re not already, come follow along on Instagram!