"We'll send you free product" is an insult with shipping

"We'll send you free product" is an insult with shipping

Everyone says "lead with gifting — creators love free stuff and it lowers the barrier." Myth. To a nano account, maybe. To anyone with a media kit, "free product for a post" reads as "we think your audience is worth a $40 sample." It's not a generous opener, it's a valuation, and a low one. If you can't pay, say you can't pay and offer something real — affiliate split, exclusivity, a usage license. Free product as the headline tells them exactly how you rank them.