My Site, My Rules

I was about to write a post about self-esteem and feeling good but that's going to be postponed while I vent about an advertiser/PRFAIL.

I think it's going around but I've been receiving a few advertiser requests recently including requests to be "guest writers" on my site, embedding links, link exchanges etc. Currently I have minimal advertising on my site. The few that I do have are through Project Wonderful and I've been using the money mainly for things like donations. The links I have on my site are sites that I go to almost every day or that I shop with frequently. I almost always reject a request to swap links. I have done product reviews but those are always positioned as such to maintain transparency.

But I am open to working with companies if the fit is right. I have had sites ask if I wanted to review or try their products but it wasn't a good fit so I politely told them no and why. I don't write this site to generate a ton of money. I write it because it is my hobby, I have fun with it and I love the people I connect with. I spend a lot of time on the site trying to do as good a job as possible to educate and entertain. My new position this year was if a company asked for a link exchange or other request, I told them when was and was not available on my site in the way of advertising opportunities.

So when a company contacts I expect them to be respectful of the years of work I've put into this site. Why else would they be interested in advertising on here. I also expect them to be respectful of me as a person and to act professionally in their communication with me.

However, I just went through a very curt exchange of emails with company representative.

Their first email to me was:

I've been trying to promote a /// site by writing articles and putting up links.

I was wondering if you would be open to having me write a guest blog entry or have a link on one of your pages as a referral to my site. Even turning a word or two in one of your blog posts into a link to my site would helpful.

Let me know how we can make this work.
Thanks.

Seems okay so far. A bit assuming there at the end. I responded with the following information:

Thank you for your interest. Site links are a part of the right hand navigation . This navigation is consistent on all pages of the site. The pricing structure of the site is as follows:

Monthly - $xx
Six months - $xxx
One year - $xxx

A sponsored post or embedded link is something that I would need to review and approve the proposed content prior to agreement. The cost for this is the same for each scenario and is $xxx.

If there is other information you need or if you are interested in a different opportunity, please let me know. I am happy to work with you in a way that will achieve your goals.

I created rates which I felt were fair and consistent with other similar sites but gave breaks based on longer term agreements. Here's the response I got back:


Sorry, your sites only a PR2, it's not worth that much. If you have another site let me know.

Thanks anyway for your time.

Now I may be "small-time" (not sure if that PR is accurate but whatevs) but wow, did I feel insulted. There was no negotiation, just a quick kick to the curb. I had not even had an opportunity to check them out to see if they were someone I wanted to work with.

As I stated above, I'm not getting rich off this site. I'm not trying to. But I'm not going to subject my readers to sites and companies that don't make any sense either. I'm not going to put link to companies I wouldn't shop with. I want to work with great companies. I want bring great sites and products to the attention of everyone. And that's not going to happen with rude and unprofessional behaviour.