Sometimes I just shake my head in disbelief. Like this morning, for instance.
I received an e-mail (regarding UltimateFatBurner.com) from an individual at a recognizable Search Engine Optimization firm that went like this…
“I cam across your article on a websites and we would post an article of yours on one of our weight loss related websites if you would post our article on your website.”
Now I don’t want to sound like a prude here, but if you are going to send me an e-mail soliciting some sort of venture, the first thing you want to do is to make sure you spell check your message, and (gasp!) use proper grammar.
Next, don’t make the assumption the webmaster on the receiving end of your e-mail is a complete moron. Show him or her some respect. Seriously.
Because my first question is…
Oh yeah? What article? Where?
Because I don’t do article exchanges. Sure, I’ve had my articles re-printed on other web sites. These are articles obtained from an article directory, or a webmaster has approached me directly about re-printing them on his or her own site.
If you want your invitation to have some credibility, the first thing you need to do is put your money where your mouth is. In this case, that means saying…
“I came across your article at ‘www.somedomain.com.’”
Next, don’t make the assumption I am interested in article exchanges. Follow that up with…
“Are you using article exchanges as a means to build up your in-pointing links? If so, I was wondering if you would be interested in exchanging articles with one of our clients?”
Those are two good first steps.
But here’s the big one.
This individual has asked me about article exchanging without telling me what site I’d be linking to, or showing me which article I’d be posting on my site.
Accordingly, this is just about the stupidest question I could be asked. Because any webmaster who has a Net-leading resource in any niche is not going to link to any site that damages the credibility of his/her site. And she is certainly not going to post any articles that promote products or theories that are not in accordance with those published on her site.
So the answer, obviously, is “that depends.”
But, since this e-mail is coming from an “SEO expert” who darn well ought to know better, there is no “that depends.”
Instead, it’s a quick shift to the right, and a quick stab at the DELETE button.
You want a link? Make the effort.
Sheesh.
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