How to Avoid Being Regarded as Spam?

[ashleypryce]

Internet marketing has been hard because people usually tend to regard you as spam. For instance, when you reach out to someone who needs services or products like those that you offer and you tell them about your brand, they readily say no because they think it's spam or something. Aside from that, creating accounts on different sites like Q&A like Quora for example, I created an account and posted a link to my site on my account. Then, I just tried to interact with people by answering their questions without even mentioning about my website. I even answered questions just for fun and not for advertising purposes but I got banned the day after that. What did I do wrong? It's frustrating!

[vangogh]

It's hard to know exactly what you might have done wrong, but if you were coming across even the slightest bit promotional that could have been enough. I think Quora takes as hard a stand as any site against what they consider spam.

I think when you join any community you should really spend time just seeing what others do and trying to learn the unwritten rules of the community. In some a little promotion is no big deal. In others even a hint of promotion is enough to get you banned. You generally don't want to join communities with the specific idea of promoting yourself. You should always be thinking of what you can contribute to the community. Many will allow a link in a signature or at least on a profile and if you genuinely help people they'll seek you out and visit your site. However if you try to push them toward your site they'll likely see you as being all about the promotion and label you as spam.

[ashleypryce]

It's hard to know exactly what you might have done wrong, but if you were coming across even the slightest bit promotional that could have been enough. I think Quora takes as hard a stand as any site against what they consider spam.

I think when you join any community you should really spend time just seeing what others do and trying to learn the unwritten rules of the community. In some a little promotion is no big deal. In others even a hint of promotion is enough to get you banned. You generally don't want to join communities with the specific idea of promoting yourself. You should always be thinking of what you can contribute to the community. Many will allow a link in a signature or at least on a profile and if you genuinely help people they'll seek you out and visit your site. However if you try to push them toward your site they'll likely see you as being all about the promotion and label you as spam.

Exactly. I contributed as well as interact with the other users. This is Quora by the way. Maybe I just did a promotion once but the others are simply relevant answers to questions. I didn't even mention about my site. I don't really understand that one. :| (and they did not even tell me why my account was removed)

[Harold Mansfield]

Internet marketing has been hard because people usually tend to regard you as spam. For instance, when you reach out to someone who needs services or products like those that you offer and you tell them about your brand, they readily say no because they think it's spam or something. Aside from that, creating accounts on different sites like Q&A like Quora for example, I created an account and posted a link to my site on my account. Then, I just tried to interact with people by answering their questions without even mentioning about my website. I even answered questions just for fun and not for advertising purposes but I got banned the day after that. What did I do wrong? It's frustrating!

Let me save you a lot of frustration and wasted time. You will not get much business promoting yourself on forums and communities unless they are specifically set up for that and offer you a place to list your services. And even then, it's very little, if any. That was ruined at least 10 years ago, so that now any hint of self promotion stands out like a sore thumb.

Use your activities on forums to actually learn and get feedback that will help you grow your business.

Internet marketing is not about dropping your link all over the web every time to see an open opportunity. It's a combination of things that create branding and product awareness in a way that attracts leads or buyers. It requires a plan and a strategy to be effective. Merely waking up everyday looking for places to talk about yourself is not a plan, and does come off as spam, because it is what spammers do and have done since the internet started.

That's not to say that you should refrain from talking about your business. But there's noticeable a difference between engaging in a discussion and sharing things about how you do business to help others, and jumping in on a thread about web design and posting "Hey I do web design. We have very affordable prices. Give me a call or send me a PM and I can take care of that for you".

[nealrm]

Start by reading the site rules. Almost every forum has one posted. Look in the introduction area or there might be a direct link at the top of the page. If you can't find one, ask one of the moderators to send you a link. In most cases they would prefer to have you read and understand the rules than to have to ban you later.

Some site are very hard core. Even a link in your profile will get you kicked out. They usually will make that clear in the rules. In other cases, it could be something as simple as a new member not introducing themselves properly.

It could be that you did nothing wrong. Moderates are people, they make mistakes. Some are good and some are not.

[vangogh]

Maybe I just did a promotion once but the others are simply relevant answers to questions

On Quora, once is probably enough to get you banned. I'm pretty sure they have a zero tolerance policy for promotion. You're looking at it like "well I only broke the rules once, but all the other times there I stayed within the rules." The thing is breaking the rules once is all it takes. Quora doesn't need you specifically. If they see you break their rules once, it's an indication you might later. It's a lot less work to ban your account then it is to have to continue to monitor what you do on the site to see if you break another rule.

I do similar here. We're not as strict as Quora, but we're a lot stricter than most other forums. If someone joins the forum and starts promoting their business I often ban the account right away. If they've made other posts where they were contributing I'll probably just delete the self promotion and keep an eye on the member. That's something we can do here, because the membership is still small enough. Even with a small staff of moderators we can keep track of most everyone who's active at a given time. A site like Quora can't, because they have far more members. It's easier for them to just take the decisive action and ban the account.

The general take away is not to use communities to promote yourself, unless you know it's ok. If it's not you run the risk of being banned.

[Dan Furman]

For instance, when you reach out to someone who needs services or products like those that you offer and you tell them about your brand, they readily say no because they think it's spam or something.

Hi Ashley - welcome to our friendly forum. We won't ban you for sig links or honestly contributing. :)

In regards to the above that I quoted, I have to ask - what does that mean specifically? How exactly are you "reaching out?" Personally, I am not a fan of "push" type selling. I don't want telemarketing, I don't want e-mail, and I don't want a recommendation unless I specifically asked for one. In other words, I don't want to be "reached out to". I think most people feel this way.

I do not mind banner ads, search results, signature links, and similar. In other words, put yourself in a position to be found, but let me find / come to you.

[vangogh]

I'll echo what Dan said. If you send me an email with an offer, I instantly delete it. If you send me physical mail with an offer, I tear it in half and throw it out. If you make any pitch to me without my asking you to make the pitch, I'm getting rid of it. If you send me a second unsolicited pitch, I label anything you send me as spam.

Like Dan said, people don't want to be approached with some offer. You can reach enough people on the internet without pitching them an offer to run a successful business. You have a site. Let your site include your pitch and make it easy for people to contact you through it. To get people to your site there are a variety of different things you can do.

1. Create great content on the site. Not sales content, but real information that people want because it's useful or entertaining. It's ok that not everyone who reads your words of watches your videos is going to become a customer.

2. Ideally the content will be high enough in quality that people who consume it want to share it by emailing it to friends or sharing it on sites like Tiwtter, Facebook, etc. You can do things on your site to encourage this sharing like including those social share buttons or providing email this to a friend functionality. You can also encourage it by participating on these same social sites and sharing content other people create that you like.

3. Purchase ads to your site. These can ads through Google's AdWords (or other search engine ads). They can also be banner ads on sites that share a similar audience with your site.

4. Participate in communities like this one. Don't participate with the idea of trying to get people to do business with you. Just try to help people and contribute to the community.

As a very general guide define who your customers are. Think about where your potential customers spend time. What sites do they visit? What magazines do they read? Basically where can you reach them? Once you have an idea where you can reach them, build a presence in those places. If your customers might be at a forum like this one, then join the forum. If they probably read a magazine then think about buying an ad in that magazine. The idea is to reach them in a way that lets them know you have a solution to their problem. If it's a place like a forum where you can be personally active then convince them you can solve their problem, but responding to questions and helping people.

[ashleypryce]

Thank you for all your help and suggestions. I understand all that.. and no.. I don't push people to go and get our products or avail our services... hmm. but is it annoying if you offer something like if you see someone posted something about he has a project and he can't do it because he doesn't know how..then I replied and say that maybe we can help.. or he can check out available products so that he can finish his project..something like that...?

[Harold Mansfield]

Thank you for all your help and suggestions. I understand all that.. and no.. I don't push people to go and get our products or avail our services... hmm. but is it annoying if you offer something like if you see someone posted something about he has a project and he can't do it because he doesn't know how..then I replied and say that maybe we can help.. or he can check out available products so that he can finish his project..something like that...?

If people are on a forum asking for help, resources, or suggestions that doesn't mean they are looking to hire someone, it means that they are trying to learn for themselves. That's the whole point of a forum, to pick the brains of the members and kick a few things around.

Some forums have a marketplace where you can post jobs, or promote your services (this forum doesn't have that). In that case, then that's where you should solicit business and promote your services.

Otherwise, it's spamming and it ruins the quality of the forum and will generally get you banned.

[vangogh]

then I replied and say that maybe we can help.. or he can check out available products so that he can finish his project..something like that

That doesn't sound bad, though I realize we aren't seeing the exact words or the context of the thread. Maybe the products part pushes it a little, especially if there's a link involved. I'm not sure if Quora is different with new members as opposed to long time members, but I know I tend to give a little more slack to people who've been here awhile and have clearly contributed. The line is in a different place for new and old members. It takes less for new members to cross it.

The main thing is to learn both the written and unwritten rules of any community. Before you post spend some time seeing what others do. If you never see others recommending their services or posting links, it's probably not something you want to do. If it's common practice, then it's probably not a big deal.

[omid]

Internet marketing looks spammy to many people as it was for me because there are many people abusing the blogs and websites to promote what they have. I promote my business online too but within a circle of bloggers and webmasters who I have already made a two sided connection with. :)

[vangogh]

It doesn't have to look spammy, but unfortunately it does more than we'd like. Also unfortunate is that in many ways pushing the envelope works. Many will say they dislike pushy advertising, but many of the same people respond to it by buying the product or services being advertised to them.

[Wozcreative]

I personally don't enjoy being contacted to be told about services someone is offering. Unless I subscribed, I don't care. I will either ignore, or answer the phone rudely as you will be interrupting whatever I am doing.

[vangogh]

I'm the same way. My rule is if you contact me to sell me something my answer is no. It doesn't matter if I want what's being sold to me or not. I don't appreciate being sold to. I know how to find things when I'm ready to buy. If you haven't annoyed me with phone calls and spam and you can answer my questions when I reach out to you, there's a good chance I'll buy from you. If you have annoyed me, I'll have made a note to specifically avoid you when it's time to buy.

[Dan Furman]

Thank you for all your help and suggestions. I understand all that.. and no.. I don't push people to go and get our products or avail our services... hmm. but is it annoying if you offer something like if you see someone posted something about he has a project and he can't do it because he doesn't know how..then I replied and say that maybe we can help.. or he can check out available products so that he can finish his project..something like that...?

I think you are taking the word "push" the wrong way. I meant "push" marketing as in you do the contacting without being asked - which it does sound like you are doing.

The best way to handle this in regards to forums is to just make yourself known as a valued community member, and perhaps have a link in your signature. Let them come to you.

[Wozcreative]

Further to Dan's comment..

The way I usually do it is say I can help them, without going into detail too much giving lists of products etc etc.. I let them search me via my signature, profile details or ask them to message me if they are interested, but the only time it is accepted in forums is if you are ACTUALLY contributing. Otherwise submitting a link will just get you banned.

Basically refrain from advertising your actual business, instead advertise you (if that makes sense haha).

[billbenson]

I sometimes listen to their pitch if they call me and are a good salesman. I can learn from that. I never just hang up, it doesn't take any time to just say 'thank you but I'm not interested at this time' and hang up. Not to say I've never been rude, but its not necessary. The other person on the phone is probably in a room with 50 people making phone calls and getting rude remarks and hangups. That's about the worst job in the world. No need to be rude.

[webnetpromo]

My friend, you may have been over active. It is must to balance you activities even if your activities are not promotional. Some moderators take the over activities or references as spam practices. Do not put more than 4-5 posts a day to q&a forums.

[vangogh]

I meant "push" marketing as in you do the contacting without being asked

I much prefer "pull" marketing. I just feel better about doing business that way. I'd rather not spend the time convincing you that you need a solution. I prefer to convince you I'm the best person to provide the solution you know you need and I generally prefer doing that by example when possible.


I sometimes listen to their pitch if they call me and are a good salesman. I can learn from that.

You have something more to gain that what's being sold to you. I would listen for a learning experience.

[jacksarlo]

You have to follow rules of the website you're part of...
E.g. - forums most don't allow you to link to your website (unless from signatures)
- you also can be considered spam if you email people telling them about your services... (I get these emails many time)

[vangogh]

You have to follow rules of the website you're part of

That really is the key. Different sites will have different rules so you should get to know the rules of the particular site. I'd also add you can't just look for the written rules. Most communities have a set of unwritten rules as well. The best thing to do is join the community and start seeing what other people post to see what seems to be acceptable and what isn't. Once you figure out the line stay far behind it. Over time you'll get a better sense what the line is and you can move a little closer to it.

[KirbyRaymund]

I've read this thread and I just have to say thanks. Working on putting out a social media presence, and just want to drive some traffic. I've been on the fence on how to present this to people, and it great to hear some stories so I don't step on toes. Thanks guys!

[nealrm]

Another thing that can get you labeled as spam is repeatedly starting posts that mentions a blog you read. Especially when they all happen to go to the same site and consistent of poorly written articles with little or no information. If the moderators start seeing a trend they could bane you for that.

[patrickprecisione]

Another thing that can get you labeled as spam is repeatedly starting posts that mentions a blog you read.

Yeah, if you are sharing links, you'll really want to make sure there's some diversity there. If you keep referencing the same site over and over again, that will look really spammy.

[dianecoleen]

You also have to make sure to provide informative answers to threads that you are into. Along with the variety of links you are to share on that specific thread. It will also help you to build credibility on your profile along with your linked services/products. Thus, giving them the idea of what your services/products are.

[Daniel Arbizu]

I prefer pull marketing for the most part as well (aside from web ads). I love forums and communities so that I can continually learn, and keep on the cutting edge. I have also made great contacts on forums. However, I don't think there is anything wrong with promoting to someone who is actually looking for a product/ service you offer. Also if you have good quality leads (people that are prone to buy what you got), there is nothing wrong with reaching out to them. Yes, most of them will delete or opt to not receive further emails. But if you can convert on a small percentage of them, then why not grow your business. The best way to get honest and quality leads are through form submissions.

[jkconley]

I understand the frustration. You have a product or service that you are sure will help people if only you could get them to listen. It is easy to let that enthusiasm overflow, resulting in the perception that you are pushing something on them. This happened to me years ago. I was customizing osCommerce and participated in the forums. I answered questions without being pushy; most of the time. I got a temporary ban after directly offering my services a couple of times. At first, I was angry. I was just trying to help people. Then, I realized that if everyone on the forum was offering their services, the site would soon turn into a giant sales forum. I appreciate the low tolerance for marketing on the forums.

[Harold Mansfield]

I understand the frustration. You have a product or service that you are sure will help people if only you could get them to listen. It is easy to let that enthusiasm overflow, resulting in the perception that you are pushing something on them. This happened to me years ago. I was customizing osCommerce and participated in the forums. I answered questions without being pushy; most of the time. I got a temporary ban after directly offering my services a couple of times. At first, I was angry. I was just trying to help people. Then, I realized that if everyone on the forum was offering their services, the site would soon turn into a giant sales forum. I appreciate the low tolerance for marketing on the forums.

The real issue here is that marketing your product or service needs to amount to more than going on other people's established websites and dropping links. That's not a solid plan, and quite frankly, it's a pretty lazy and arrogant one. Not to mention completely disrespectful to people who HAVE invested the time and money to build their brand.

It's kind of like walking up to someone's home, and just assuming that it's OK to place your lawn sign in their grass.

Most forums let you create a sig, so that you have some place to promote yourself. Considering that access to forums is free, I'd say that's a pretty cool offer.

"My product is so cool, I'm sure everyone will want it if they just hear about it", is a fine attitude, when you are using your own resources to promote it.

If you are serious about letting people know that your services exist and enticing them to do business with you, you will invest the time and money (like a real business) to do it properly with a proper website, SEO, blogging, Social Media strategies, professional marketing materials (landing pages, PDF Brochures, Video and so on), advertising and offline promotions as well.

The web isn't here to serve you. It's not tax payer funded. It's not a right. Everything on it isn't free for the taking.

If you want to succeed on it you have to put in the work. Your own work. Not piggy back someone elses.

[vangogh]

Then, I realized that if everyone on the forum was offering their services, the site would soon turn into a giant sales forum.

That's exactly it. There have been times where someone was a little promotion here and I removed the post. What they might have done wasn't all that bad and might even have been in the spirit of wanting to be helpful, but once you start allowing it, it's hard to stop allowing it and before you know it the forum becomes little more than a site for classified ads. I know sometimes we let promotional stuff get through and it can be a subjective call, but overall I think it's important to keep the marketing and promotional talk to a minimum. That's not really why the forum is here.

I think a place like this offers lots of opportunity to generate business, but not by being pushy. We all have the ability to show what we know and what we can do by answering questions and taking part in conversation. Supply well thought out responses and people are going want to know more about you. They'll click your signature link or send you a PM or find some way to contact you.

[patrickprecisione]

I think a place like this offers lots of opportunity to generate business, but not by being pushy. We all have the ability to show what we know and what we can do by answering questions and taking part in conversation. Supply well thought out responses and people are going want to know more about you. They'll click your signature link or send you a PM or find some way to contact you.

Agreed. It sort of how you need to approach social media marketing. First you demonstrate your value and earn trust. Then you've earned someone's business.

[vangogh]

First you demonstrate your value and earn trust. Then you've earned someone's business.

Exactly. It's a shame some people can't see that and think it's about tricking someone into giving you there business or just seeking every shortcut there is. It's funny,people probably end up spending more time trying one shortcut after the other than they would have spend had they started by doing things right in the first place.

They key is to earn what you want to get. Not find ways to get it without earning it.

[patrickprecisione]

Exactly. It's a shame some people can't see that and think it's about tricking someone into giving you there business or just seeking every shortcut there is.

Not shortcut for any of this stuff, unfortunately. You've got to be as transparent as possible with people in order to earn their business.

[vangogh]

I wish more people understood that you have to earn their business. It seems like every forum and online community in general gets people who seem to think the rest of us can't see through their promotion. I can't count how many posts I've deleted here where someone joins and their first post just happens to be a recommendation (with link included) for a business they recently found and thought we'd all find valuable. Aside from the fact that it's pretty obvious when your first post is recommending some random business that the post is spam, it usually takes less than a second to connect the recommended business to the member's own business. It's comical at times how stupid they must think we are that we won't notice.