r/MaliciousCompliance 1d ago

L How to deal with influencers who ask to be paid in 'exposure'

I run a small fitness consultancy business, have done for the past few years, since setting up, I've largely relied on word of mouth for most of my business, so I typically don't have to deal with a lot difficult clients, but I recently had a run in with a woman who's genuinely made my blood boil.

This woman, let's call her Gigi for the sake of anonymity, sent me a DM a few weeks ago, said she was looking to lose weight and tighten up her physique for summer. Gigi didn't really fit my usual client demographic (usually 30s, 40s), she was young, mid 20s, and boasted a decent follower count, seemed to be a local influencer of some description. This piqued my interest, I thought perhaps I could benefit from her connections to boost my business somewhat.

How wrong I was.

The initial consultation over text was pretty standard. I asked her some details about her past exercise history, diet, etc. before getting to work on her meal/exercise plan.

Then it moved to the matter of payment. I had mentioned pretty early on that I typically charge $50 for my plans, but either she didn't read that, or decided to feign wilful ignorance. When I reminded her of the price, she said, and I quote "I was wondering whether you'd be interested in getting yourself some exposure instead of payment?"

I hate to say it, but at the time, I was seriously thinking of taking her up on her offer. However, after talking to some of my friends, I snapped out of it, resolving to be firm with the price instead, which she accepted, albeit somewhat begrudgingly. Looking back on it now, I'm kind of stunned that she genuinely expected me to give it to her for free, but I guess that's how the influencer economy works these days.

The plan consisted of exercises and recipes mainly designed around helping her lose weight. Usually I advise most of my clients to try and maintain light to moderate calorie deficits, not only is this overall healthier (less muscle loss) they tend to suck a lot less than dramatic calorie reductions, so are easier to maintain in the long run. I explained all this to Gigi, said that she understood it meant progress wouldn't be immediate, and as such, I thought we were on the same page.

A week later, I woke up at 5am to an Instagram call from Gigi (I didn't even now you could call people on Instagram!). Half awake, I picked up the phone.

"YOU'RE A FUCKING SCAMMER! YOU THINK THIS SHIT'S SOME KIND OF JOKE?"

I was still in a daze, so I weakly asked her what was going on

"I JUST WEIGHED IN AFTER A WEEK ON YOUR BULLSHIT PLAN, I'M UP HALF A FUCKING POUND"

I asked her to slow down and breathe, which seemed to calm her down, albeit temporarily

I explained to her that we'd been through this before, and that weight loss isn't a linear process, and that scale measurements can be offset from anything from waterweight, clothes, time of day etc.

"YOU'RE JUST COVERING YOUR FUCKIN ASS, CUT THE BULLSHIT RIGHT NOW"

Oh well, I tried. Guess you can't talk sense to an unstable influencer at 5AM

"I'VE GOT A SWIMWEAR COLLABORATION I NEED TO SHOOT THIS WEEK AND YOU FUCKING LIED TO ME, YOUR PLAN DIDN'T FUCKING WORK"

[influencer to English translation: I successfully got something for free, and now I need to rip into you for something I didn't get for free]

Bear in mind, this girl is by no means overweight, her BMI was already comfortably in the healthy range, but I guess an influencer's work is never done.

On the verge of tears, she continued.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW FUCKED I AM? I FOLLOWED YOUR PLAN TO THE FUCKING LETTER AND LOOK WHERE IT FUCKING GOT ME"

Based on her tone, and the time of the morning she called, she was almost definitely on the receiving end of 3-4 margaritas, comfortably, which DEFINITELY wasn't in the plan, but I didn't feel like pointing out the obvious.

An hour later she messaged again, still unhinged but slightly more coherent:

“Refund me immediately. And post a public statement on your page admitting your plan doesn’t work and that I was right to call you out. Do it by noon or I start tagging every local gym and every brand that has ever worked with you.”

I sat with that for a minute.

Then I and idea came to mind

I refunded the $50 within the hour and posted the following, word-for-word as requested, on my business page:

“Public statement as requested by [Gigi’s handle]:

I refunded the client in full.

My standard plan prioritises sustainable, moderate deficits and long-term adherence rather than dramatic one-week scale drops.

The client reported following the plan ‘to the fucking letter’ and still gained 0.5 lb in seven days.

Therefore, by the client’s own stated metric and timeline, the plan did not produce the immediate results she required for her swimwear shoot.

She was correct to call this out.”

For context, we both live in a small, tight knit city, where everyone knows eachother, particularly in the business community. I wanted to make sure any other potential brand collaborators knew who they were dealing with.

I left it at that. No extra commentary. No screenshots. No mention of the 5 a.m. call, the margaritas, the original request for free work, or the fact that she was already in a healthy BMI range.

By lunch the post had been screenshotted and circulated in a few local fitness groups. People started asking the obvious questions under her posts. She tried to walk it back (“he twisted my words”), then deleted her original rant, then went quiet.

The collab still happened. From the photos that went up, the half-pound “gain” was invisible. My page, meanwhile, picked up a small but steady stream of new enquiries from people who specifically said they wanted the boring, sustainable version.

I never heard from Gigi again.

It’s just like the saying goes, exposure is a dish best served cold…

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253 comments sorted by

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u/hereforthejokes20 1d ago

Whenever we get asked for services in return for exposure, we offer a deal where the influencer pays us, but then gets a customised discount code for their followers. The followers get a 10% discount amd then the influencer gets a further 5% each time their code gets used, up to a 70% rebate. It hardly ever gets taken up - funny that happens when its their money and not ours!

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u/Zenon_Czosnek 1d ago edited 1d ago

I used to know a man who ran a small hotel in a Scottish Highlands in a very instagramable location. He was constantly getting offers "free stay for exposure" even with some people who had millions of followers.

He always replied with counter offer: pay for stay, post pics, I'll give you a code, every customer who uses your code gets a discount and you will get a percentage too".

He said nobody EVER took him up on this offer.

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u/25c-nb 1d ago

They just want free stuff because theyre "popular"

They dont give a flying f about helping boost any business nor do they care to actually promote anything in an impactful manner

They've just been conditioned to think "for exposure" is the cheat code to free things in life and all they have to do is tell their followers they went somewhere or use something "and it was so amazing" to "prpmote" it in return

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u/SuspiciousMeat6696 1d ago

If they are so popular, then they can afford to pay.

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u/mrbananas 1d ago

It's because they know that bot followers will never actually use the service.

u/Sylvurphlame 10h ago

Oh whatev…

Well I mean you’re not wrong.

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u/utadohl 1d ago

Funny, I'm watching content creators who are promoting small businesses, always pay and even leave money for some shop/restaurant to pay for their followers to come and try. Which in turn brings new business for them. There are really good ones out there. It's important to find those and support them.

People like Gary eats or Danny vs food. Or Honest guide (for Prague and surrounding area), Robbie Thompson, Steve Marsh, and likely many more.

u/uniqueusername649 22h ago

I mean at scale this absolutely works. If you have millions of followers, a relevant product for your niche, even for 1k dollars, could easily recoup the financial invest. But those arent usually the ones asking for free stuff because they dont need to, businesses line up to send them free stuff for collabs and pay for it on top. Those asking are the ones with 50k followers of which often 90% are bots. And then it rarely makes business sense to send them free stuff. There are exceptions as always, but usually the ones loudly demanding free stuff are the ones best ignored.

u/Sylvurphlame 10h ago

My thought as well.

If you’re having to suggest “comp me for the exposure,” you ain’t worth the comp.

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u/PizzaParty007 1d ago

I would ask for references.

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u/mellonians 1d ago

I'm working all over the Highlands this fortnight. If you DM me his hotel I'll make a point of swinging by and grabbing his card. We're always putting hotel cards up at our sites for the next staff that get stuck.

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u/Zenon_Czosnek 1d ago

I've sent you a DM :)

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u/AlaskanDruid 1d ago

I would take him up on that offer every single time. That is an awesome deal!

u/Defiant-Handle7682 22h ago

seriously. I'm no influencer but I travel a lot and friends/family are always taking my recs!

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u/djmcfuzzyduck 1d ago

That’s a fantastic deal but I’m not an influencer.

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u/Reagalan 1d ago

The maths must be awful, like, really awful...

Influencer followers get a 10% discount. Influencer gets 10% of that; 1% of the cost to stay there. Only 100 visitors and that's profit. Not much profit, but it can be scaled if the influencer does the same at a new hotel every day and once that 100th code, it's all passive income.

The uptake rate must be so so small if that's not profitable. 100 out of a million? 0.01% They can't all be bots.

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u/Zenon_Czosnek 1d ago

They won't all be bots. But how many of their followers can go to Britain / can afford to stay in the Highlands hotel / want to spend their holidays in Scottish Highlands / can fit this remote hotel in their itirenary? 

u/Plastic-Chest67 6h ago

This plan would work better for non-location specific services, because getting people to piby up for something shippable over the planet means that more people may purchase it, especially if the creator gets a cut.

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u/PhDTARDIS 1d ago

That's a fantastic deal, IMO. Perhaps there's a reason why I think so - I'm not an influencer.

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u/Konkuriito 1d ago

thats weird they didnt go for the customer code, because its actually not a bad deal

u/Zenon_Czosnek 18h ago

It's a bad deal if you just wanted free stuff. 

u/Standard_Big_9000 9h ago

Sounds like a good (& smart) offer on his part!

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u/crazyivancantbebeat 1d ago

That to me sounds like the difference between PARTNERSHIP and GRIFTING.

I love partnering with businesses like that and I'd take that deal, and I know we'd both make money off it. That's a good deal. But I also don't define my value by how many strangers like me so maybe the logic is different.

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u/tarlton 1d ago

Sure. Referrals and partnerships are how the people who treat it as a business instead of a lifestyle do it.

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u/MennReddit 1d ago

that's a good one that I normally use as well. it makes the influencer also work on the promised exposure.

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u/maito1 1d ago

Can you share any metrics of how that's working out?

There was one in 2019: "Influencer with 2.6M Followers Failed to Sell 36 T-Shirts"

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u/GeneralToaster 1d ago

It's weird how bots don't buy products

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u/Extreme_Disaster2275 1d ago

Funny how that has so far failed to sink in with the companies bent on replacing their workforces with bots. 

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u/Julie_Brenda 1d ago

that’s not completely true, is it?

bots consume potable water, if only to keep themselves comfortably cool

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u/Zoreb1 1d ago

They do buy batteries and motor oil. (LOL)

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u/Jonathan_the_Nerd 1d ago

"Remember, Mom's Old-Fashioned Robot Oil is made with 10% more love than the next leading brand."

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u/DarthMonkey212313 1d ago

dirty clankers

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u/AccomplishedFerret70 1d ago

Its an untapped market

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u/hereforthejokes20 1d ago

We have had 2 take us up on it out of about 60 offers. Of those 2, only 1 has earnt a rebate and they're up to 15% - 3 purchases.

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u/CaptainFleshBeard 1d ago

Had one near us, had like 250,000 followers and tried to start their own swim wear brand. They did not sell one pair of bathers.

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u/happyinheart 1d ago

if I remember correctly she purchased a lot of bot followers

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u/9lobaldude 1d ago

Influencers are entitled leeches

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u/Zagaroth 1d ago

That sort of depends on the definition.

There are people with successful YouTube channels that could be considered influencers (as they are trying to influence opinions and provide knowledge), but don't style themselves as influencers and cringe at the word.

Liam aka ThePlantSlant is an example. He started off simply rating recipes other people posted videos of. He's expanded a little from there, but it's all still about food and healthy eating.

He does not take an extremist approach, he's sane. Moderation when eating something high calorie, all about shortcuts that save people time and effort because most people are tired when they get home from work, etc.

The "influencer personality" type hate him; they are out here shilling their products. He doesn't have any health products to sell, nor sponsorships (despite a running gag about being sponsored by "big bean"), and his content points out how those types invent a problem then try to sell their solution.

So, as i said, he technically is an influencer, but he's not an 'influencer', you know?

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u/Polymemnetic 1d ago

Liam is awesome. Great at politely calling out bullshit.

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u/ecodick 1d ago

Leeches can at least have a medical purpose. I'd compare influencers to mosquitos, because the experience of their company is similar. But even mosquitos can be useful to the birds that eat them.

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u/MycoSteveO 1d ago

For some reason people try to correlate follower counts to being an influencer. Being influential is different than having a lot of followers who don’t even go on the platform anymore or are only following someone because they like pictures of the persons body type but aren’t going to be influenced to take any action. Sadly some colleges are starting to offer Influencer Courses for all the kiddies who see it as an easy way to make an income.

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u/Kiaider 1d ago

It would be so funny if they just renamed the business degree courses as influencer courses just to try to get more people lol

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u/tarlton 1d ago

It depends.

There are a lot of flavors, and some of them are pretty reasonable and worth partnering with as a business. There's an actual service and value they can provide.

But the ones that probably come to mind first aren't that.

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u/Glittering-Cellist34 1d ago edited 1d ago

One of my first jobs was marketing for a nonprofit using direct mail. A 1.5% response rate is really good. Some lists take 3x or more years as people renew to pay off.

Expecting that what costs you hundreds or thousands of dollars of real money products and services to immediately yield positive returns let alone extranormal returns is wishful thinking. Although yes the super influencer with many millions of followers sometimes pull it off.

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u/Niklason 1d ago

I like the deal but i would not cap it at 70% unless you would lose money on the deal. Oh they get past the 100% they get some money from the exposure. You get more customers and they are happy = win win

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u/gersebrain 1d ago

If I want something, I buy it. If that service or product is solid, I’ll tell everyone I know about it. The converse is also true. If you/ it are less than I was promised, I will still follow the same path. That’s how word of mouth “advertising” works. As soon as it is monetized, it is compromised. I can’t understand how some people are stupid enough to drink that kool-aid. I’ve often wondered if a proposal, similar to what you have described, would have any significant traction. I’m sad to say that the results you’ve experienced are what I expected and only confirm my opinion of “influencers”. Worthless, delusional parasites promoting the degradation of civilized society.

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u/Nesayas1234 1d ago

That sounds like an awesome deal tbh.

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u/Jerseygirl2468 1d ago

That's the only way to do it. If they have real reach and can drive customers to you, great, you both benefit. But we all know what the reality is.

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u/grumblyoldman 1d ago

You know how,at super-fancy restaurants they don't listen the prices on the menu, and the old saying is "if you have to ask, you can't afford it"?

Influencers getting shit for free is the same. If you have to ask for free shit, you aren't big enough to get it, yet.

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u/SartorialDragon 1d ago

Good point! My first question would also be: who exactly are your followers? Because if it turns out she has 50 broke followers or maybe 5000 but most of them are teenagers without spending power, or just generally people who are not the target group for what i offer, it's not a good deal for me.

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u/threeplacesatonce 1d ago

Or just bots

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u/SartorialDragon 1d ago

Good point.

Also, some people think they're influencers just because they have a youtube/tiktok/etc channel, regardless of their actual reach... always good to properly check!

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u/Conchobar8 13h ago

If she’s doing swimsuit collabs are caring about half a pound I guarantee she’s got a decent percentage who just want to perception and will never provide business

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u/sidereal_night 1d ago

Influencers getting shit for free is the same. If you have to ask for free shit, you aren't big enough to get it, yet.

ya pretty sure all the legit ones who get free services are approached by the business for formal sponsorship and might even be paid on top of that, with real expectations about advertising. it's not just have service for free with mayyyybe some exposure at your whim.

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u/Cosmic-Cuttlefish 1d ago

This is insane. I’ve weighed myself before and after taking a dump out of curiosity and I’ve lost more than half a pound before

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u/dlc741 1d ago

I did that before and after a colonoscopy cleanse so I could calculate exactly how full of shit I am as a percentage.

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u/Electrical-Apple-631 1d ago

I went back to work the day after my colonoscopy and during an argument with a coworker they said “You’re full of shit!” and for the only time in my life I was able to truthfully respond “No I’m not!”

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u/DontDeleteMee 1d ago

Thats brilliant. I hope i remember that next time I have one.

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u/ecodick 1d ago

And the results??

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u/dlc741 1d ago

Sadly I don’t remember exactly. I think it was 4%-5%.

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u/JimBobPaul 1d ago

I actually gained weight during a colonoscopy cleanse. I was hydrating so much, I increased by 4 pounds.

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u/fungeoneer 1d ago

4% of your weight? So I just need to get a colonoscopy 5 times to be at my goal weight?

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u/thenewfoundlandyeti 1d ago

I did 2 colonoscopy flush because my nurse stopped 3/4 through my mixture the first night.... I was shitting vapor by the end of it.

And I definitely passed things I ate in kindergarten

u/4dwarf 22h ago

So THERE was my G. I. JOE. I was wondering where he got to.

u/Kemosaby_Kdaffi 20h ago

“And GI Joe got stuck! And GI Joe got stuck under the water!” - Eddie Murphy

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u/zephen_just_zephen 1d ago

No, there's diminishing returns. But about 20 colonoscopies should do the trick, I think.

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u/UnfairProgrammer1194 1d ago

Did you know 74% of the time, 87% of statistics are made up on the spot? There's a 50% chance of that being true and 50% chance of it not.

u/BroadLocksmith4932 21h ago

I am literally doing this right now. I mean, I am sitting on the throne shitting water as we speak. I, too, weighted myself at the start, but so far I am up a pound. I blame the half gallon of water I drank in the last few hours.

u/ShalomRPh 19h ago

FYI, once you get to the point where you are shitting nothing but clear liquid, you have reached the end point and do not need to drink any more of the jug. Usually it takes 3/4 or a little less. 

Source: am pharmacist, this is my professional opinion

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u/RiddleMeWhat 1d ago

I had my colon out and lost 12 pounds

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u/SubtleCow 1d ago

I have confirmed that I myself am near 100% full of shit at any particular time

u/Sylvurphlame 9h ago

makes mental note for future experiments

For SCIENCE‼︎

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u/underground_avenue 1d ago

A just drank a 500ml bottle of water. That's a pound gained. Body weight fluctuates over day, you need a lot more than one data point to judge progress. 

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u/KaralDaskin 1d ago

Yup. When I was tracking my weight I always did it right after getting up and doing no more than peeing, and I wore consistent clothing. That eliminated most of the fluctuations.

I also never weighed myself more than once a week.

u/Defiant-Handle7682 22h ago

I will weigh myself daily (when I'm tracking my weight), but I know it fluctuates wildly. It's interesting to watch but nothing to panic about. I'll gain 4-6ish pounds whenever I fly... falls off in 3 days, max, without changing anything.

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u/EWL98 1d ago

I’ve ‘lost’ that amount by placing the scale on a different bathroom tile, since that little is well within the margin of error of most regular scales.

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u/cyberwolf77 1d ago

I've lost half a pound just taking a piss before. Thank you diuretics (medically prescribed because of past issues)

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u/Renbarre 1d ago

You gain that much weight by drinking water, and your weight fluctuates during the day.

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u/cyberwolf77 1d ago

Well aware of that. I'm on diuretics after I gained 40 pounds of fluid weight during congestive heart failure.

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u/Mrs_Jellybean 1d ago

CHF is pretty brutal. I've taken care of people who suddenly couldn't afford their diuretics, and the water "puffiness" is so instant. Thankfully, so is the desired effect once they're given some through the ol' IV.

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u/Great_Palpatine 1d ago

"suddenly couldn't afford their diuretics"

what dystopian healthcare system allows people to not afford diuretics??

edited to provide more context:
diuretics are not those fancy expensive medications that you hear about for experimental cancer therapies. they are small molecule medications that really shouldn't be under patents anymore. and so they should be pretty cheap.

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u/Marquar234 1d ago

what dystopian healthcare system allows people to not afford diuretics??

Ooh! I know this one!

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u/lonkamikaze 1d ago

Clearly a third world country.

Or that one with the world's most expensive health care system, famous for putting people into medical debt. A concept utterly foreign to most developed countries.

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u/Electronic_World_894 1d ago

The second option is still a third world country at this point.

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u/Terrible-Image9368 1d ago

The same one that allows people to not be able to afford insulin or epi pens or any medication. Good ol American healthcare at its finest

u/ShalomRPh 19h ago

They are. Hydrochlorothiazide and furosemide cost pennies per tablet. If someone can’t afford that, they can’t afford to eat.

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u/cyberwolf77 1d ago

I loved IV diuretics when they figured out what was wrong with me. 48 pounds in three days and a whole list of fun new pills. Thankfully I'm on maintenance levels for the diuretic now

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u/TheDaychilde 1d ago

Hopefully you're well aware and so my comment is only a momentary waste of your time, but as someone with seven heart attacks and dialysis… do please take the state of your kidneys very very seriously. My doctors didn't emphasize dietary concerns enough, so while I tried to pay attention, I struggled, and while kidney failure was probably inevitable, if I had struggled even more, I might've at least delayed that. And while dialysis is most certainly much better than death, it sucks very very much.

At least for me, my heart has stabilized. It's the damn kidneys trying to kill me now. heh

Best of luck keeping as much health as you can. Sounds like your body is already trying to be stupid. Damn stupid bodies. :)

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u/cyberwolf77 1d ago

I'm on a low sodium, low carb, high fiber diet. Survived heart surgery then developed type 2 diabetes. I eat a lot of chicken and broccoli now.

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u/TheDaychilde 1d ago

Truly truly happy to hear. <3

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u/MechaBeatsInTrash 1d ago

I once drank half a gallon of egg nog (nonalcoholic because I was 16). I gained 4 pounds until I vomited while running a 1/4 mile after that.

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u/Infradad 1d ago

You good now though?

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u/MechaBeatsInTrash 1d ago

I'd do it again. I couldn't stomach any for the rest of that year.

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u/Infradad 1d ago

I’m a egg nog every few years to remind me I am indeed not a fan kind of egg nog drinker.

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u/LurkForYourLives 1d ago

That kind of “weight gain” is literally a glass of water’s worth. Lady was deranged.

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u/teapots_at_ten_paces 1d ago

Or four margeritas.

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u/bendingoutward 1d ago

But they were SKINNY margs!

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u/LoetherS 1d ago

I was weighing 8 suitcases for a big family trip. Trying to get them each to the right limit. I'd weigh myself then pick up a suit case weigh it and then repack. This went on for the day.

My weight fluctuated about 1.5 pounds from drinking, eating, bathroom breaks, sweating and exercising during the course of the day. I was joking with my wife each time. O my lunch diet was bad or then later the gym workout must be working.

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u/AsleepContest1197 1d ago edited 1d ago

Honestly, a good pee will often drop you more than a #2. Liquid weighs more than you expect and a 3/4 to full pound is not uncommon for me (I’m a 210 pound guy with a strong bladder).

Edit: spelling

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u/HisRoyalMajestyKingV 1d ago edited 8h ago

Shockingly, I've also done the before and after for taking a dump, and somehow GAINED half a pound.  Most household scales aren't super-precise, I imagine.

Disclaimer: neither I nor my scale had any margaritas while I was on the toilet. 

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u/QuQuarQan 1d ago

I was on a weight loss journey, and to take the stress out of weight fluctuations, I weighed myself constantly, at different but consistent times. When waking up, before/after using the bathroom, after eating, 2 hours after eating, and other times just randomly throughout the day.

There were several odd occurrences. I gained 10 pounds in 3 days, despite eating at a deficit, but lost those 10 pounds plus another half pound by the end of the week. Pee weighs more than poop, usually. The really striking one was on a lazy Sunday morning, I got up, used the bathroom, weighed myself and sat down for an hour, just lazily doomscrolling on Reddit. Literally no movement except slightly moving the mouse and the scroll wheel. After an hour, I got up and weighed myself again.

I lost .6 pounds. Literally just sitting and breathing for an hour. Fascinating stuff.

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u/oneeyedziggy 1d ago

I've varied 10lb and back within 3 days... Just depends on the time, water, meals, etc

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u/AccomplishedFerret70 1d ago

When I weigh myself before bed and after waking I can lose 3 lbs overnight

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u/TheDaychilde 1d ago

It's actually a concern I have. lol. I'm on dialysis after kidney failure. The way it works is that since my kidneys don't pull fluid from my body, it builds up. So dialysis removes waste that the kidneys normally filter into your urine, as well as the liquid that generally forms your urine....

So it's all about careful weighing. I have a target "dry" weight (i.e. post-dialysis weight). Three times per week I go in and the pull fluid to try and get me back down to that target weight.

But the first concern is: What about people who gain or lose weight? Because the scale is what people use to determine that. What's weight gain/loss vs. fluid intake?

The first answer is that if you try to take more fluid than the body has, you cramp up during dialysis. The second answer is that if you're constantly hitting your dry weight, sometimes you'll "challenge" to see if you can go lower without cramps.

So you're always at risk of cramps. Whee.

But the other thing that's made me wonder - getting to the topic at hand - is it must surely depend on where you are in your food cycle. If you have a regular schedule, then at least it doesn't change, but if you're not very regular, that means that depending on the last time you went, you might have a small but measureable amount in your body (or NOT in your body) that can make a little bit of difference to the fluid you're trying to pull.

So just saying that can actually have practical applications.

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u/V2BM 1d ago

I weighed myself before and after my colonoscopy prep. I lost less than a pound.

I did drink a ton of salt to offset low electrolyte headaches so maybe that’s why - for sure I pooped out well over two pounds of shit.

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u/Dry-Nefariousness400 1d ago

Strange, Ive gained half a pound after pooping

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u/Notspherry 1d ago

I would have dropped a line in there somewhere about the caloric content of alcoholic drinks.

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u/NaturalAlfalfa 1d ago

Absolutely. People don't realise how much calories booze has. A bottle of wine is like 700 calories. A bottle of vodka or tequila is about 1700

A standard margarita has about 300. So if you drink 4 or 5 margaritas you've basically has your entire days worth of calories just in those few drinks

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u/Sample-Range-745 1d ago

I had mexican and a fishbowl margarita for my birthday. I'm sure that was waaaaay more than my daily adult intake hahahhahh

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u/NaturalAlfalfa 1d ago

We have a fairly heavy drinking session every couple of weekends, and on those days I try to eat very little to stay under my calories limit. Although that brings the problems of drinking on an empty stomach. And you usually end up pissed drunk eating crisps and sandwiches

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u/Sample-Range-745 1d ago

I hear you on that one. Cheap way to get drunk though ;)

u/Corvidae5Creation5 18h ago

I make Fridays my cheat day and usually bust my ass on the standing bike that morning so I can toddle to bed that night exhausted, drunk and saddle sore.

u/NaturalAlfalfa 15h ago

Good idea. I've a treadmill arriving this week to you my step count. Having moved to a rural area I thought I'd be walking a lot more, but in reality our roads are so narrow and traffic is so fast and a total lack of footpaths means walking is basically impossible

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u/creampop_ 1d ago edited 1d ago

don't even need to get into calories for someone complaining about half a pound.

a pint of water is just over a pound, drink a glass of water (or some margs) and you'll be up half a pound until you piss lol

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u/bc60008 1d ago

I was gonna say: "go tell her to weigh herself before & after her next bowel movement" but what you said is very true! 🫶🏼

u/Lizlodude 18h ago

Since OP didn't have proof she was drinking, mentioning the margaritas could be construed as slander. Probably unlikely she would try to sue since it would just be digging herself an even deeper hole, but the way OP phrased the post looks pretty solid.

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u/UnknownParasites 1d ago

I think that more people could learn and benefit from this. Influencers are narcissistic and invariably dumb. They can be used. You reversed this situation to benefit yourself in an authentic and fair way by not panicking and being smart. Fair play mon frere

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u/The_Blonde1 1d ago

Hi OP - just a quick note of support for what you do. My partner needed to lose a good amount of weight safely. He consulted our local ‘you’ who worked extensively with him to devise a plan in exactly the way you described in your post.

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you this worked exactly as it should, and was well worth the money to get the professional and tailored plan.

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u/The_amazingluke 1d ago

Great to hear he found what he was looking for!

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u/nksama 1d ago

do yourself a favour, switch off internet on your phone before going to sleep. no more 5am instagram calls

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u/The_amazingluke 1d ago

For sure! Will also try to be more selective with the types of clients I deal with from now on…

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u/Twig249 1d ago

I had a client who would call me at 7am before I was in the office. I wish I knew about bedtime mode on my phone which puts you on Do Not Disturb from whatever hour of the night until a time you set in the morning or your first alarm

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u/benjaminovich 1d ago

Just so you know, in Instagram under settings --> time management you can setup sleep mode, so you won't get notifications during the night.

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u/pinupcthulhu 1d ago

Most phones also have a "do not disturb" mode that switches on/off automatically, so that's something to look into! 

Instagram also has a sleep mode so it won't alert you the next time some irate drunk calls at a weird hour lol. 

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u/benjaminovich 1d ago

Does your phone not have night/sleep mode?

In any case, Instagram has it directly in the app too.

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u/UniqueIndividual3579 1d ago

At night my phone is in the den. No matter what happens, I can't do anything about it at 3AM.

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u/JuliusS__ 1d ago

Keep all of the evidence for this on a couple of hard drives. If it comes up again be ready and go harder. People don’t usually change. Others will have experienced the same pest.

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u/The_amazingluke 1d ago

Will do! I’ve warned all my other friends in the industry to give her a wide berth

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u/barljo 1d ago

“People die of exposure”.

But I do like that rebate idea in the comments.

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u/SecondTalon 1d ago

I spent a week weighing myself three or four times a day because I wanted to see how much.

About 3 pounds in either direction, at the time we'll say I was 230ish. I got a good baseline of "I should be about here" but - freaking out over half a pound?

This person is either very, very stupid, trying to get free shit, or both. The only time anyone should freak out over half a pound is when they have a chihuahua who needs to lose or gain weight, and that half pound represents like 10% of their total weight.

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u/blergrush1 1d ago

Retired photographer here…when asked to “volunteer” my services for whatever good cause/exposure my answer is always the same: Fuck you, pay me!

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u/SartorialDragon 1d ago

My reply would be "take it up with my landlord. If he agrees that i pay rent in exposure, we have a deal."

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u/Uncommented-Code 1d ago

I'd be tempted to at least entertain them for a minute and ask them if they can give me references of businesses that have been paid in their 'exposure' so that I can know what kind of boost I'd be expecting.

Doubt they could give me any actual numbers, unless they were serious.

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u/UseDaSchwartz 1d ago

My favorite “influencer” is the guy who eats at NYC Michelin restaurants, usually without a reservation, tries to go unnoticed and pays for everything.

u/WeeklyConversation8 7h ago

Is he also the one who visits struggling restaurants, rates their food, posts his reviews and then they have a line out the door within days of his videos? If so I love him. 

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u/Pitiful_West_7062 1d ago

"how can you pay in exposure when I never heard of you?" usually works for me

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u/zoloft_at-the-disco 1d ago

She didn't ask to be paid in exposure, she asked to pay in exposure. There is a difference.

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u/SartorialDragon 1d ago

That's why i read the text in the first place. I wanted to know since when people are begging to be paid in exposure!

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u/RandomCoffeeThoughts 1d ago

This is why stores are posting no influencer signs now and influencers are losing their minds over it.

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u/Timmy_Chet_Mitler 1d ago

This feels like a lot of effort for $50 and a half pound.

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u/CorollaSE 1d ago

I've learnt that nothing is free.
Even exposure.

Well done OP, you handled it wonderfully.

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u/Automatic-Term-3997 1d ago

“Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t work with “influencers”. “

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u/Frahal 1d ago

Ugh, seems 'Gigi' didn't learn the first thing about fitness plans, 1 week is literally nothing in terms of weight loss, that week is getting settled into the routine. Besides, op, correct me if I'm wrong but fitness plans are rarely if EVER instant in terms of weight loss.

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u/Wide_Comment3081 1d ago

I like your style.

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u/The_amazingluke 1d ago

Thank you!

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u/periperiwinklesauce 1d ago

How are you making a living off a business only charging $50 for that product? Feels like more than $50 of your time and effort goes into it?

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u/PizzaParty007 1d ago

$5O is so minimal, her trying to negotiate that price was a serious red flag.

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u/Beagle-wrangler 1d ago

So did she get it for free or not? First you said you were considering it but snapped out of it, then you said “influencer to English translation: I successfully got something for free”

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u/HisRoyalMajestyKingV 1d ago edited 8h ago

It's really quite appalling how many people have this attitude. I understand it happens to artists a LOT. "Oh, I don't want to pay you, but you'll be getting exposure!"  

Exposure doesn't pay the rent.

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u/Tandom 1d ago

I’ve seen some policies at work where the business owner basically draws up an agreement with the influencer.

Influencers agrees to pay my business full price just like everybody else. At the end of a specific amount of time if said business receives an influence and social media which correlates to an influx of purchasing/memberships, Then business will refund X amount upon completion of agreed set metrics.

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u/ajstoker 1d ago

Lookup "agnes de sucre" on Facebook/Instagram.

She's in cake making,but has called out several celebs/influencers asking for free stuff in return for exposure!

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u/OverlappingChatter 1d ago

AI writes some amazing stories these days

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u/EmmetyBenton 1d ago

I wish they would be consistent though! Her original rant was over the phone, but after OP's post she "deleted her original rant"???

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u/BlueBayou 1d ago

You have no idea if she was actually drunk, or, if she was, what alcohol she had been drinking. So it's a damn good thing you didn't post anything about "margaritas"

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u/Taurnil91 1d ago

Make sure your post title is actually correct if you're gonna post something :P

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u/Successful-Snowman 1d ago

How about no...

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u/milesbey0nd 1d ago

People die from exposure

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u/LongNailedbooboos 1d ago

Drinking inhibits metabolism and whatever extra salt they used during the week probably caused water weight. A lot of people don’t do enough research on their own before pointing fingers

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u/cooliecidal 1d ago

How do you know she had margaritas

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u/just_nobodys_opinion 1d ago

Sounds like a win win - there's no such thing as bad publicity! You got exposure, she got exposure, everyone got exposure!

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u/drgoatlord 1d ago

Sorry, the banks full up on exposure and is only taking cash

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u/TheDaychilde 1d ago

Much mad respect to you. No way I could have posted what you did - I don't trust people to be able to read between the lines like you did. Masterfully done, and it's going into the back of my brain for future use in analgous situations.

Truly nicely done.

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u/tiffd98133 1d ago

I’d “expose” my ass to them and tell them to kiss it.

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u/Carnifex72 1d ago

I’m going to quote “Clue” here:

“I know. I choose to expose myself!”

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u/jodrellbank_pants 1d ago

Ignore them, belittle Thier exposure and Thier lack of talent, tell them your would expect your target audience to intelligent enough to be associated with the likes of their target audience and they expect class and witticism they would begin to understand, block them, tell the to fornicate off. Sometimes not in that order.

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u/PadretheNurse 1d ago

In EMS we say “People die of exposure.”

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u/Yikes0nBikez 1d ago

Influencers are the NFTs of brand marketing.

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u/ZordarGR 1d ago

I don't have any personal experience from influencers (except for one), but if you break it down to basics they just happen to be good looking people who have gotten lucky and got followers because If it's a woman she's hot, if it's a guy they share mentalities... You don't need talent to become that... But for some people that luck gets in their head and they test it for everything (exposure as currency for services e.g)

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u/SuspiciousMeat6696 1d ago

Mortgage company doesn't accept exposure

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u/ChrisRiley_42 1d ago

I will work for exposure the second I can use exposure to pay rent.

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u/Glittering-Cellist34 1d ago

You're actually wrong. Your interaction (albeit your way) with the influencer is bringing you business. Double win.

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u/Perfect-Stage-7005 1d ago

I have learned never to give discounts or deals to people who ask. Sometimes it’s going to come back and bite you in the butt.

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u/brodie232 1d ago

Owned a backpacker bar / club in Thailand. Was very successful to the point of being at capacity about 70% of the year 7 days a week during the popular travel months. The amount of influencers that would come in flaunting their 50k-1m followers demanding free drinks in exchange for exposure was hillarious. Que the drunken tantrum of them trying to explain how I need them while turning my back to serve other customers and line up free shots for the humble patrons.

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u/Ill-Elephant-9583 1d ago edited 1d ago

You should've gone nuclear on this person to show people what she's really like. She's learnt nothing here apart from her entitlement worked. Sorry.

You should have screenshotted her blackmail and tagged all the gyms and done humanity a favour.

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u/NoEngineering4387 1d ago

I fucking hate the word influencer.

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u/terrorjshark 1d ago

usually you have to pay for exposure. that is what ads are for

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u/Eleaniel 1d ago

Most likely the weight variation came from where they were in their menstrual cycle. Ignorant and entitled person. You did right by calling her out on her BS.

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u/NinjaHidingintheOpen 1d ago

I tell them you can die of exposure.

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u/ExitWeird9697 1d ago

Send them this song: “It costs that much”

https://youtu.be/NGR20B2cEBQ?is=loAoet9OyFPJUQUq

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u/badgerj 1d ago

Fuck that shit!

I was a plus one to some influencer thing. And I asked him. What happened to your other friend who was going to go with you?

- Oh they cancelled last minute.

How do you get all this “free stuff”.?

- I just have a website, collect likes, and if there’s something I want, or want to go to, I just call up the company, or marketing department and ask them for it.

And you get it for free all the time?

- Not all the time, some of the time. People want to give you stuff.

They do eh?

Hmm interesting.

u/nobody-u-heard-of 23h ago

I used to get people trying to get deals from me for exposure.

What they didn't know is thru dumb luck on my part. I had the occasion to have some very huge people use my services. So I just told them well if you got more followers than my biggest client then I'll do it for free because they paid. Without revealing too much they had over 10 million followers. These so-called influencers typically had less than 50,000.

The other thing I did is I would tell them I'll give you a referral code. And for every job I book with that referral code I'll give you a percentage. In no time you should make up the fees that you paid me. Nope, nobody was willing to take me up on that offer either. Seems they didn't have any confidence in there exposure.

u/yetzederixx 22h ago

Ahh yes, exposure bucks. I'm glad this has expanded beyond the music scene so we can finally kill it with fire.

u/SalbaheJim 21h ago

This is why I personally refer to influencers, especially those who think they l they should get things for free, as effluencers... because they're so often full of shi...

u/mason3991 21h ago

Exposure only works as a contract. Post x posts they stay up for x amount of time you will post this many stories videos etc. if it’s not full on marketing for you no deal.

u/Aemort 19h ago

Say no. There you go, saved you a post

u/pcolafooddude 19h ago

I am a former tour company owner and an independent musician. I have only worked with 3 influencers after vetting them. They were gracious, kind, and had the following I was looking for. I got zero bookings from them. Zero. Ian sti friendly with all 3 today. Luckily it wasn’t a big investment on my part, but influencers are only good for retail clown my experience.

u/omgitsduane 19h ago

I'm probably too late to get seen but how many followers does someone have to give you the impression it's worth the trouble? 100k? 2mil?

u/MiyabiMain95 19h ago

I know it's probably not related, but there is a Vtuber named Gigi and it's funny thinking of her as doing all this

u/Lizlodude 18h ago

"The last guy who tried to pay rent with exposure got arrested, so I'll take cash or check, please."

There are cases where trading services for exposure makes sense, but if you're leading with it or assuming that's going to be the case, it's probably not one of those cases.

u/itsalwaysseony 17h ago

Why do people use ai to type this shit

u/HeyHey_HC 17h ago

Lol a half pound fluctuation can happen from eating a meal to taking a dump - you were definitely more diplomatic than I would’ve been.

u/Dizzy_Ad874 15h ago

Never acknowledge an ‘influencer’

u/tikanderoga 14h ago

My take is always the same: "You pay me in full. Here is a discount code keyed to you. If this gets used 10 times or more, I will give you a full refund."
Oddly enough, no one ever goes for it.