Wednesday 25 July 2012

Has Anyone Else Had This Request?

You all know how delighted I was when my Mum agreed to write guest posts for my blog (thank you for originally suggesting it, Kay!), and most of you seem to be quite fond of her angel-themed stories.

So far, it has never occurred to me to publish guest posts from other people - which does not mean I dislike the idea, I have simply not thought of it.
Until today.

I had this email in my inbox this morning and am wondering whether anyone else got this - it seems so standardized, and has nothing to do with what my blog is about:

Hello,

I think of reaching out quickly and let you know that I have been studying your blog.  As a freelance writer, its my hobby finding great sites like [From My Mental Library] that already have interesting articles and an engaged readership. I am hoping for a guest post opportunity so I can increase visibility to me as a writer and provide you with some great free content. As a guest post writer, I’m happy to provide you with content that you can use as you see fit and only ask for link back to my blog http://www.babysittingjobs.com/.  Please go through few of my writing samples:


What do you think about these?  If you're interested, I am happy to get something written up and sent over to you - or if you have another topic you'd like to see  covered, I am more than happy to create a custom article of your choice.

Thank you for your precious time! Looking forward to write up for your blog.

As I said, this request seems rather on the spammy side to me, and here is what I wrote in reply:

Hello Paul,
 
I am sure that I am not the only recipient of your email, and - forgive my being so frank with you - I doubt that you have really been studying my blog. Otherwise you would have realized that nothing about my blog or my regular readers suggests we are particularly interested in anything related to babysitting.
 
And of course ALL content on my blog is free - my blog is an entirely private one, not a commercial one anyway.
 
Guest posts are usually offered to someone who is close to me; a friend or family member, not someone who contacts me entirely out of the blue without ever having appeared as a reader of my blog.
 
Therefore, maybe you'll be more successful if you approach bloggers who are interested in kids, babies, babysitting and so on.
 
Good luck!
- Meike.

Now, do you think my reaction was too harsh? Or not harsh enough? Have you had the same or a similar request lately?
And are any of you interested in reading guest posts from a proper freelance writer here on my blog..?

27 comments:

  1. Hello Meike:
    This all looks very odd to us and we think that you did absolutely the right thing to refuse the 'babysitting' guest post. As you say so well your blog is a personal one and one which engages your readers because it is just that. Personal. To have a freelance writer 'babysitting' your blog would seem very strange to us. We love your posts [and those of your mother] for the unique voice that they bring to the blogging world. Your blog is perfect exactly as it is.

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    1. Thank you, Jane and Lance, you are so kind! And you know, it is readers and fellow bloggers like yourselves who help shaping my blog and make it what it is.

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  2. I've never seen that before! I thought you were right on the money! I've guested on Kittling Books before, she has a guest on her blog once a week.

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    1. Yes, I've been featured on a blog other than mine before, too, and it was good fun to write that ("Scene of the Blog") and receive comments from readers who otherwise would have never chanced across my blog. It was on invitation - not because I asked to be featured, and I think this is how it should be.

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  3. Yes, Meike, I have received those, and just 'trashpile' them.
    It is spam and a rather vile sort I think too.
    Guess we must all have our antenna out for creative spammers!
    xx
    julie

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    1. Does anyone really fall for them, I wonder?

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  4. Not that one, but others, Meike and I usually bin them without even replying, so as not to confirm my email. Occasionally I get that seems more genuine and then I write back politely declining the offer and saying why, just as you did.

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    1. Do they ever get back to you if you reply to them?

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    2. Not so far. I can be quite firm.:-)

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  5. You are so nice to write such a well thought through response! I often get these and mostly just delete them without answering them. I think they get sent out as mass e-mails. If the one making the request would actually check, they wouldn't send requests that seem completely unrelated to the blog in question. Like baby sitting with your blog. When I do write back, I never hear anything else from them.

    I hope you are doing well!! Hugs, Silke

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    1. Yes, I am doing well, Silke, thank you - summer has finally decided to give another brief stint in this part of the world, and so I have just spent a most pleasurable couple of hours having ice cream with my Mum and my sister; who knows when we'll feel like ice cream again!

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  6. I think the English used by your correspondent says it all (especially the opening sentennce!). This is not a genuine "writer", and it was nice of you to bother to reply at all. Spam seems to be very much on the increase at the moment (I've just had a suspicious email purporting to come from Amazon), and I recommend my maxim: if in doubt, bin.

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    1. And that is precisely what I have done, Frances :-) Yeah... "I think of reaching out quickly..." WTF...?

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  7. Ewe. That it a really awful spam you got. Creepy!

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    1. Ah well, I don't think it is particularly awful or creepy, just plain stupid!

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  8. There seems to be a plague of spam going round - although this might be because spam plays off sites that link to each other through references or other links.
    I always wonder - what's the point of this though? Is it to infect our pc's? Why???

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    1. Like you, I don't see the point in this. In "my" particular case, does the sender expect everyone to check out the links of that babysitting-job-site? And what if they do? Does he get paid per click? Or is it a cunning plan to get unsuspecting individuals into babysitting jobs...?!

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  9. I don't think that was too harsh. Who knows what is on his site that you're supposed to click on? I would probably have ignored it but your letter was perfectly polite.

    I don't really enjoy guest blogs. If I want to read another blogger I'll go to their blog. Unless, of course, it is someone I feel I "know" a little bit like your mum - I like her posts. I think it's a little bit like "real life." If I were ever to go to your house on a personal visit, I'd really love to meet your mum, and I am sure you would like her to be there. I would also be interested to meet people who are your real life friends, and who you might also have written about. I wouldn't care too much for some stranger you don't know all that well, but you invited because you thought I might like them. I'd appreciate the thought, of course, but I wouldn't necessarily be that thrilled unless I happened to take to them. And FAR less would I want to meet someone who is at your house because they want to publicise themselves to anyone who will listen to them, who wants to hold conversations with your friends in order to improve their own image. Eeeeek!

    That's the way I think about it anyhow!

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    1. You are so right, Jenny, and that is how I feel about guest posts, too! My Mum does not have her own blog (yet... he he), and so it truly is a privilege for me to host her here every now and then.
      If you ever happen to travel to this part of Germany, we'll make sure to arrange you visiting and meet my Mum! Try December - our Christmas Market is the best I know!

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  10. Dear Meike,
    I love your oh-so-polite reply to this spammer.
    And I hope you are doing well these days! Getting in a lot of good runs? :-)

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    1. Dear Kay, I did go for a nice leisurely 8-km-run on my own on Sunday morning, and will probably go for a shorter one with a friend tonight after work. I want to make the most of the good weather while it lasts!

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  11. You are remarkably thoughtful person. I'd have consigned it to oblivion without a further thought.

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    1. He replied to my email, by the way. Just one line:
      No Issues, Thank you for getting back to me.

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  12. It is surely spam, or spam-mish. I just trash those emails.

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    1. Spam-mish for sure, yes. Maybe I am too nice with such people :-)

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  13. not harsh enough, I don't think I would have replied! Just gives this joker another avenue to get to others who follow you! Sad that people need to conduct themselves in a shady way in order to promote business for themselves. I have always been a little too trusting and cannot see snakes in the grass.

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    1. Well, I have not heard from this particular person again since his one-liner (see my reply to GB's comment). But this morning, I had another, similar request in my inbox; someone is of the opinion that an article on nanny.net about the dangers of piercing could be of interest to my readers... I have replied, asking them to specify why they think my readers would be interested in that.

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