i got contacted by a marketing company wanting to place ads on my site

[loginname]

Hi

Today I got email from totalmarketing.com asking to pay $185 (check or paypal) annualy for a link on my site. It has never happend to me before that any marketing company has contacted me, so before I go ahead I want to check if it's not a scam?

any here have nay advice? anyone been contacted by totalmarking before? They offer $185, could I send email back saying $250 is a fair price or will they not be interested then?

[aaron_nimocks]

Call them +1 (919) 234-5030 ?

[yukon]

Post their link on your site, If the check doesn't clear, hit the delete button on their backlink.

Chances are the check will clear before 30 days is up.

Or counter their offer now & tell them $450 for the first 3-months, they save $105 upfront.

If the check doesn't clear in less than 30-days hit the delete button again...

[yukon]

Oh yea, no matter what, don't spend any money until that check has cleared the bank...

[loginname]

Wonder if I break any google policy or CPA network policy if I link to a casino. They are now offering me $335 for an image link

[yukon]

Originally Posted by loginname

Wonder if I break any google policy or CPA network policy if I link to a casino. They are now offering me $335 for an image link

Ask yor AM what the rules are for their CPA offers regarding gambling links on the same page.

When you say Google Policy is that Adsense? If not I would care less what G thinks.

If your running Adsense I would not have the gamling links + Adsense on the same site, let alone page.

[texeyes]

@Loginname How did it go? Did you post a link for them? Satisfied? Any thing shady occur?

[Diane S]

I also received an email asking to buy a link at one of my sites. They asked me how much I wanted to charge. I asked them how much they wanted to pay. Never heard back from them. Waited a week, contacted them again, nothing. I think it was not a real offer, just an email mining attempt. They used my contact form, and I replied, thereby revealing my email.

I hope yours is a real offer and you should just take their offer. You can always raise the price on them for year two.

[Sean D Kelly]

If its real take it in a heartbeat. Ask for more money upfront and check outtheir company after following up. There are many fake offers, but many real ones too and it would be a shame to discard a good opportunity

[stealthpromo]

Is this a common practice for companies to seek publishers like that? I've never heard of that before!

[aliva]

Get in advance. If they scam then they will not offer you in advance.

[Pete Williams]

How did you get on with this? I've just been contacted by the same company.

[perfect]

Do the suggestions above and tell us how it goes.

[MrWonton]

Originally Posted by stealthpromo

Is this a common practice for companies to seek publishers like that? I've never heard of that before!

Very, I've had lots of legitimate companies (or people representing them) approach me this way. (Not for the site in my sig btw)

Knowing the Google standpoint on purchased links, they're surprisingly open about it.

[paulgl]

yes indeed, google does not hate paid links. If they did, their
whole business is doing what they hate.

I make more money from selling links than anything else.
Link buying dead? Hmmmm.

I am flexible. They waive money in my face, I never walk away.
Sometimes you charge less, sometimes you hit a home run.

It seems like most have settled into the $35-$55 a month range.
I give a small discount for paying yearly. Some even go for multiple
years in advance.

It all adds to the bottom line...

Paul

[TeamGlobal]

Originally Posted by MrWonton

Very, I've had lots of legitimate companies (or people representing them) approach me this way. (Not for the site in my sig btw)

Knowing the Google standpoint on purchased links, they're surprisingly open about it.

That's a good point to bring up in this thread as many who might sell links on their sites may not be sure of Google's stance on the matter. Here's the lowdown straigh from the horse's mouth:

Paid links - Webmaster Tools Help

All The Very Best,


Tony

[meshselect]

Originally Posted by yukon

Oh yea, no matter what, don't spend any money until that check has cleared the bank...

What do you mean by this?. I got the same email from those guys but they are paying me a slightly different amount. I aksed if they can transfer to paypal and they said its ok, but what do you mean dont spend any money until it clears?

[MikeFriedman]

Originally Posted by meshselect

What do you mean by this?. I got the same email from those guys but they are paying me a slightly different amount. I aksed if they can transfer to paypal and they said its ok, but what do you mean dont spend any money until it clears?

Meaning if you accept payment by check, make sure it clears before you go writing any checks against it. Personally, I would wait 6-8 weeks if I was uncertain about a company. Even if a check "clears" it can be returned later as fraudulent. I worked in a bank for 8+ years. Saw it happen all the time.

If the check gets returned, even 8 weeks later, you are still responsible for the money if you spent it.

With PayPal, I would check what their limits are on a chargeback or dispute. I want to say 60 days, but don't hold me to it.

[meshselect]

Thanks Mike, so how do i find out this chargeback timeframe with paypal?

Could the scam be them sending you the money and then asking for it back in a few weeks, and praying that you'll be dumb enough not to delete their link?

Man....I just wish the guy who started this thread would reply. It has been very hard to find any good info on this guys on the net.

[marketwarrior06]

Dude 335$ per month for a simple image add is not that bad
i think you should accept them

[meshselect]

It just seems strange that this guy never came back to tell us how it went.

[speedbird]

You need to contact them and maybe negotiate for a fair price. I don't think it is a scam.