What Not to Do When I Ask You to Consider Advertising on Our Community
Role playing time! I manage a good sized community around a particular niche. I am looking for advertisers. So, I identify some online stores that sell products to the people who comprise my community’s audience. The online store that you work for is one of those I find and I contact you.
I e-mail you, I introduce myself and share some information about my site. I think we could be a good fit for you. I offer to send you our media kit and rate card and to answer any questions that you may have. Do you:
a. Thank me for my interest and ask for more information.
b. Thank me for my interest, but decline.
c. Decide not to respond.
d. (This is the good one). Register on my community and post links to your site, acting like you are unaffiliated with it.
So, I e-mailed this store and got a reply back from someone there. They said they probably weren’t interested, but encouraged me to send along the information anyway. I did so. And that was it.
You can imagine my surprise when I visit my community shortly there after and see a new member with that store’s link in his or her signature, having made two posts mentioning the store. The posts and the signature both give the impression that the poster is unaffiliated with it. They remark that the they simply shop at this store.
Want to take a crack at the confirmed e-mail address associated with the account? Why, yes, it was the exactly same e-mail address for that person I spoke with that worked at the company! You nailed it!
Ridiculous. And a quick way to alienate potential customers. Plus, as it stands right now, I wouldn’t want them to advertise on my community, anyway. I wouldn’t want to take their money. They engaged in unethical marketing right in front of my eyes and tried to take advantage of my community. Done.
Hi Patrick,
I agree with your sentiment, and it does appear like this particular individual was pushing the limits of ethical behavior. OK, perhaps that was an understatement, but I would like to offer another point of view.
I used to work for a very smart man who often said, “Do not assume malice and forethought when ignorance or lack of thought is an acceptable cause.”
The concept of internet communities is fairly new and though your revenue objective is clear, for many it is more obtuse and paid participation is not so obvious. Until the concept of communities with the benefits of participation are well understood, I believe it is possible that the uninitiated may trespass unknowingly.
Just food for thought with the hope that you do not suffer further intentional misuse.
Cheers,
Gordon
Hello Gordon,
Thanks for the comment. I appreciate it.
I don’t necessarily have a different viewpoint from the one that you express. I don’t assume malice and I’m pretty understanding. But, this is a good example that people can learn from and identify with, and that is why I wrote about it. You can have plentiful excuses, but at the end of the day, that doesn’t matter. Someone who engages in this sort of activity is (rightly) labeled a spammer and they damage their brand and their business. So, that’s the overiding principle here.
You’ll note that I didn’t mention the person’s name or the company. That’s because it isn’t about them or about publicly shaming them. What they did is something that other people do and, again, it is something that can be learned from so that is why I wrote about it.
While I may not assume malice, I do not excuse lies or deception. This isn’t even a matter of paid participation/advertising. The company in question didn’t need to advertise on my community. No big deal.
But, when they made the choice to join my community and post as someone they are not, effectively attempting to trick or deceive my members, that is where an ethical standard is crossed and that is where I must defend my community.
Online communities are relatively new (I’ve been managing them for 10 years and was talking with the owner of one launched in 1984 the other day), but deception is not. When I started working in this space, I never thought to post “Hey, check out this cool site that I have no affiliation with (even though I actually do).” For the majority of people, I believe that you either think that way or you don’t and the internet doesn’t turn you into that. But, that’s just me.
I appreciate your time and hope that this adds to the discussion.
Thanks,
Patrick
It says it all that they had the barefaced audacity to use the same email address when spamming. I take into account what Gordon has said and there may be merit in it but for me it sounds like they knew exactly what they were doing.
What i hate about people leaving comments on my blog is when they are giving me false hope. I have a shop along with tutorials and whatnot, and i really greet almost all the comments, even “nice site” ones. Just dont come on post where i am actually selling something, saying how you will/want to/thinking of/ buying it. I know they came for a link, i can see when they come from “dofollow” lists, so why cant they post comments elsewhere saying anything but “i will buy your product” . It’s my bread lol, dont give me false hope.
I am surprised he actually commented on your blog after treating you in such a way. it is amazing what people will do these days.