7 Tips on How to Sleuth out #Email Solicitor Requests
I’ve noticed in these part 6 months as I began my author guest post series and after being invited to other writer’s blogs to guest appear that my website had garnered a lot more attention. This has been great, but like everything else in this world of technology, when more people become aware of our blogs, we also tend to attract more attention from spammers and/or people requesting to be on our blogs.
In the past few months I’ve been receiving at least 5 emails a week from people I’ve never heard of, but claim, ‘they love my website” and would love an opportunity to guest appear on my blog. This may seem flattering at first, but you have to search for the intent in these offers.
First, I’d like to state that the authors and books I promote on my blog are of my choosing. I like to help promote friends and authors, especially, to give back to the many who support me. These interviews take up a good chunk of time to prepare questions for and put the draft together, so I don’t advertise on my blog to contact me for interviews.However, several people I have no affiliation with persist to offer me a chance to have them over to my blog.
So today I want to share what you should be looking out for if you are also receiving such offers. For some of you, you may find these offers lucrative, but still, there are things you should check out before considering.
What to Look Out For
Salutation – Did they use your name or greet you with “Hello siteowner” or something similar?
Did they leave their name and website address so you can look at their work?
Have they ever visited or commented on your blogs?
Does what they write about have anything to do with what your blog represents?
Do they keep sending you emails to convince you why you should be having them on your blog?
Are they professional in their email to you or sounding aggressive?
Here’s a big flag: Do they ask you to add a permanent link to their website on your page?
These are key things to check out when you are approached to consider email offers to host someone you aren’t familiar with. You may find it flattering that someone is reading your work and approaching you, but you have to feel out what it is they’re after.
Personally, if those requesting a spot on my blog don’t address me by name, I will suspect their email is a generic send-out. If they don’t even leave a website to check out their work, don’t waste your time searching or replying.
Many of the emails I receive are from people who do content writing for companies and the website they leave is the product’s website containing a post they’ve curated for that company. Since I’m also considering doing some content writing for extra income, after taking a course late last year, I can spot these offers easily.
Most often, these emails inform me that they write about similar things as I do, and when I go over to a link they’ve left me to check, I find the topic has nothing to do with what I write about. Some of these people are mainly looking for a place to post about a product they’re likely to make an affiliated commission on. I have nothing against them for trying, but my blog isn’t a place where I promote random products or people unless I have used that product or know the person asking for a plug.
There are plenty of avenues to find appropriate places to offer content writing for without having to bother authors to promote their products. Some of these people are professional, but not many. So when these pitches are telling me how they’d ‘be a great fit for my blog’ and they aren’t, I do email them back and tell them why they are not. Some people persist and then I don’t bother replying again; some are so unprofessional I don’t bother replying at all.
If you’re someone who appreciates these offers and may find them to be beneficial to your blog, by all means try them out. But do keep in mind the important tips I’ve talked about to help you determine the offers that are legitimate and the ones that will be beneficial to your blogs.
