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Can You Get Banned for Sharing Your Services thru PM?

by Looking4Mentor
33 replies
Hi Warriors!

I am curious, if you have a service that fellow Warriors would be interested in, could you get banned by sending them a PM regarding your service?

I don't want to get banned... I kinda like here

Peace
#banned #pming #services #sharing
  • Profile picture of the author Scott Lambency
    If you send an unsolicited PM, it's considered spam.

    Have you considered posting a classified ad?
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    • Profile picture of the author Looking4Mentor
      Originally Posted by Scott Lambency View Post

      If you send an unsolicited PM, it's considered spam.

      Have you considered posting a classified ad?
      I've thought about classifieds. I actually set up a Warrior for Hire ad and it moved so quickly off the 1st page... then 2nd... then 3rd. Needless to say, it ate up my $20.00 in no time flat.
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      • Profile picture of the author Scott Lambency
        Originally Posted by Looking4Mentor View Post

        I've thought about classifieds. I actually set up a Warrior for Hire ad and it moved so quickly off the 1st page... then 2nd... then 3rd. Needless to say, it ate up my $20.00 in no time flat.
        So... what did you learn?

        If you'd like, you can PM me the link to your WFH ad. I may be able to offer some valuable insights on what you're doing.
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        • Profile picture of the author Kay King
          You can put your WFH link in your signature. That's what many people do.

          Good thing you asked as advertising through PMs can get you banned quickly.
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          • Profile picture of the author Looking4Mentor
            Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

            You can put your WFH link in your signature. That's what many people do.

            Good thing you asked as advertising through PMs can get you banned quickly.


            Hi Kay,

            I am already doing what you stated in your post. About a week ago, I started a thread that was pertaining to the topic and expertise regarding my service. It was going really well until a fellow Warrior was missing the point and I referred him to my signature/link. A Warrior dinged me for it- as sp*amming. My heart dropped, because it wasn't my intention, but nonetheless, I got hit with an infraction... funny thing is (they will remain nameless) they had received their own 4 infractions.

            I guess it would have been nice to be warned or asked about my intentions before slapping me with an infraction. I learned a good lesson and want to be careful this day forward on how I pursue future contacts with my service.

            Peace.
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    I don't suggest contacting people through PM. First of all it makes you look a little desperate for business. Second of all it isn't going to win you too many friends. Place an ad in the Warriors for Hire section, stick a link to that ad in your signature, and then get more involved around the forums so more and more people see that signature.

    Once you get a few customers treat them well and hopefully you can build up some repeat business.
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    • Profile picture of the author Looking4Mentor
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      I don't suggest contacting people through PM. First of all it makes you look a little desperate for business. Second of all it isn't going to win you too many friends. Place an ad in the Warriors for Hire section, stick a link to that ad in your signature, and then get more involved around the forums so more and more people see that signature.

      Once you get a few customers treat them well and hopefully you can build up some repeat business.

      WillR, Wonderful advise!

      1. Haven't done.
      2. WFH done.
      3. Involved in Forums/Threads done.
      4. Treating customers well done.

      Peace
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      • Profile picture of the author WillR
        Originally Posted by Looking4Mentor View Post

        WillR, Wonderful advise!

        1. Haven't done.
        2. WFH done.
        3. Involved in Forums/Threads done.
        4. Treating customers well done.

        Peace
        Nice. Rinse and repeat and results will come.

        Actually, I just had a quick look at your offer and I think it might even be worth listing in the WSO forum since it is about product protection. What you could do is offer credits that people can buy which gives them so many uses of your service. So they can buy them now and use them whenever the issue arises.

        Just a thought. The beauty of placing it in the WSO forum is that you'll be putting your offer in front of the very people who need it.
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        • Profile picture of the author Looking4Mentor
          Originally Posted by WillR View Post

          Nice. Rinse and repeat and results will come.

          Actually, I just had a quick look at your offer and I think it might even be worth listing in the WSO forum since it is about product protection. What you could do is offer credits that people can buy which gives them so many uses of your service. So they can buy them now and use them whenever the issue arises.

          Just a thought. The beauty of placing it in the WSO forum is that you'll be putting your offer in front of the very people who need it.

          WillR,

          Advice from a pro!

          I would need to upgrade to WF pro in order to list a WSO? Plus, how much would it cost to place it in the WSO forum? I am an offline specialist who is trying embark in the online market. That's why my website is simple and ugly :p

          Sorry if my questions seem trivial.

          I love the purchase for credits idea, alot!

          Peace.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mikaedi88
    Forums have really strict rules about spam, even if the intention is not spam.
    One thing I have learnt being a member of several marketing forums is:

    Read the rules ... carefully and ... understand them.

    Do that and you will be fine
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  • Profile picture of the author Webkingseo
    Well truly speaking i was banned for sending a service related message to all worriors via PM.... i am very sorry for that.... i was a newbie and heard that here on this WF we can earn.... but i realizes that it is a place for learning more than earning........ !!!!

    If you people think i have done something wrong then sorry from my side......!!!!!
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    • Profile picture of the author Looking4Mentor
      Originally Posted by Webkingseo View Post

      Well truly speaking i was banned for sending a service related message to all worriors via PM.... i am very sorry for that.... i was a newbie and heard that here on this WF we can earn.... but i realizes that it is a place for learning more than earning........ !!!!

      If you people think i have done something wrong then sorry from my side......!!!!!

      Webkingseo,
      WOW, way to put it out there. You're forgiven, man!

      Unfortunately, the reason for this thread is I was given advice from a "veteran" Warrior who said to PM others about my service. It didn't sit right with me. I got dinged once and I don't want to get banned from a forum that has taught me invaluable life lessons.

      My relationship on here is far more important than my product.

      We learn, we grow, and we perservere.

      Peace.
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      • Profile picture of the author seoglobalexperts004
        Originally Posted by Webkingseo View Post

        Well truly speaking i was banned for sending a service related message to all worriors via PM.... i am very sorry for that.... i was a newbie and heard that here on this WF we can earn.... but i realizes that it is a place for learning more than earning........ !!!!

        If you people think i have done something wrong then sorry from my side......!!!!!
        Mate its good if you are apologizing for your mistake and come here again..... Well in starting i have the same thinking but after that i knew that if you want to make yourself strong in IM field daily then no better option then WF... Welcome....

        Originally Posted by Looking4Mentor View Post

        Webkingseo,
        WOW, way to put it out there. You're forgiven, man!

        Unfortunately, the reason for this thread is I was given advice from a "veteran" Warrior who said to PM others about my service. It didn't sit right with me. I got dinged once and I don't want to get banned from a forum that has taught me invaluable life lessons.

        My relationship on here is far more important than my product.

        We learn, we grow, and we perservere.

        Peace.
        Exactly mate relations are more important in this WF... and obviously learning is main thing....
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      • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
        Originally Posted by Looking4Mentor View Post

        Unfortunately, the reason for this thread is I was given advice from a "veteran" Warrior who said to PM others about my service. It didn't sit right with me.
        He may have mean't PM people you have built a relationship with and you consider friends, that's not spam.

        If he meant send unsolicited emails to members you've never had contact with, he may be a veteran but he's also completely clueless and well worth ignoring in future.
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        • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
          Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post


          If he mean't send unsolicited emails to members you've never had contact with, he may be a veteran but he's also completely clueless and well worth ignoring in future.
          If that's what he said, and you have proof in writing, then it would be worth contacting the Help Desk.
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  • Profile picture of the author Audrey Harvey
    I've pm'd people about my products, but I've given it to them for free because they have been having a problem that my product specifically could help with. I don't stress about a lost sale, because I figure someone down the track will help me out. I didn't think of it as spam though, but I guess it is.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Wells
    Originally Posted by Looking4Mentor View Post

    Hi Warriors!

    I am curious, if you have a service that fellow Warriors would be interested in, could you get banned by sending them a PM regarding your service?

    I don't want to get banned... I kinda like here

    Peace
    I would say that if you PM someone an offer, they should have initiated contact first. Such as they posted that they were looking for something specific, and if you can offer it, then I believe it probably is ok, but I would not just send a PM offering services or products, because that for sure would be considered spam....
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Wilson
    I'd search for people who have a problem and are asking here for a solution. Post in his thread with partial solution or explain him what should he do and in a day or two kindly ask him if he needs some help through PM. That is the only way you'll not be prosecuted for spam / being desperate.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tony Marriott
      Originally Posted by Daniel Wilson View Post

      I'd search for people who have a problem and are asking here for a solution. Post in his thread with partial solution or explain him what should he do and in a day or two kindly ask him if he needs some help through PM. That is the only way you'll not be prosecuted for spam / being desperate.
      Hmmm..........

      I see what your saying but if your primary objective is to sell them something then it's not really offering help.

      The forum has clearly defined areas and Warriors for Hire/WSO/Classifieds etc are for selling things. The main forum is for discussion.

      I'm not sure that simply posting to a OP's thread makes it ok to PM them with what is really a sales pitch.

      Offer genuine help by all means.

      Originally Posted by Looking4Mentor View Post

      Hi Kay,

      .... I got hit with an infraction... funny thing is (they will remain nameless) they had received their own 4 infractions.
      Having ifractions does not stop you knowing when soemone else is not following the rules. In some cases it may make you an expert

      I guess it would have been nice to be warned or asked about my intentions before slapping me with an infraction. I learned a good lesson and want to be careful this day forward on how I pursue future contacts with my service.

      Peace.
      So it seems the infraction has done it's job well.

      I know it stings (I'm not 100% innocent) but don't blame them. It was you who broke the rules, knowingly or not.

      see the sticky "You Are A Moderator".

      Plenty of now advanced Warriors fell foul of the rules in their early days (and few still do). It's all part of the learning and why this forum is a good as it is.
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      • Profile picture of the author jvjoe
        It may get you banned read this thread by Alexa Smith

        This will explain why

        Hope this help?
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      • Profile picture of the author Looking4Mentor
        Originally Posted by Tony Marriott View Post

        Hmmm..........

        I see what your saying but if your primary objective is to sell them something then it's not really offering help.

        The forum has clearly defined areas and Warriors for Hire/WSO/Classifieds etc are for selling things. The main forum is for discussion.

        I'm not sure that simply posting to a OP's thread makes it ok to PM them with what is really a sales pitch.

        Offer genuine help by all means.



        Having ifractions does not stop you knowing when soemone else is not following the rules. In some cases it may make you an expert



        So it seems the infraction has done it's job well.

        I know it stings (I'm not 100% innocent) but don't blame them. It was you who broke the rules, knowingly or not.

        see the sticky "You Are A Moderator".

        Plenty of now advanced Warriors fell foul of the rules in their early days (and few still do). It's all part of the learning and why this forum is a good as it is.

        Tony, thanks for the tough love.

        Peace
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        • Profile picture of the author Kay King
          I didn't think of it as spam though, but I guess it is.
          Audrey - I don't think that's spam at all.

          I've sent free things to people after reading about a problem they have - or have offered advice through PMs rather than start a fracas on the forum.

          That's different than offering a service or a product that will profit the person sending the PM. Helping someone is good - and giving help without any income potential involved is not spam to me.

          kay
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Looking4Mentor View Post

    Hi Warriors!

    I am curious, if you have a service that fellow Warriors would be interested in, could you get banned by sending them a PM regarding your service?

    I don't want to get banned... I kinda like here

    Peace
    Do it once and get some people who report it and you'll at least get a warning. Do it some more and likely get banned. Most people don't want their pms flooded with pm spam. Pay for advertising like many here do.

    There's Classified section, there's WSO section, Warriors for Hire section, Complete Sites for Sale, etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author Suthan M
    Well, if someone asks a question to you aboutr your service and then you PM, then its OK.

    But if you randomly PM people about it, then its not OK.

    I suggest that you try promoting through your signature line, or buying a WSO or for Hire thread if you want to sell a commercial service in WF.
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  • Profile picture of the author joekoffi
    That will be outright spamming and if you are reported, you are gone.
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  • Profile picture of the author David Keith
    like most things, i dont beleive there is a true black and white answer. many deals have started here on WF from pm's between people who have never had any real dealings.

    it really depends on how you approach things. if your first contact is a "hard sell" approach you will likely not only get poor results, but you will probably piss people off too.

    but i have contacted several warriors over the years with something more on the line of " hey, i have seen many posts of yours about (insert topic). i am considering doing this, can i ask you a couple of questions?"

    i guess the key is to make sure you do your homework and put some effort into who you contact for what reasons? dont go by post count or forum celebrity status.

    and volume is another area people mess up big time. dont go sending 20+ pms a day to different people offering them a jv deal on your new product. its very likely a few will report you and cause you grief.

    but if you limit your pm's to 1 or 2 well thought out mails every couple of days to highly targeted people, you will probably be able to make a few nice contacts.

    i think you also have to "earn" the right to contact people via pm. when i get a "solicitation" pm from someone with 10 posts, i hit the report button real fast. but when i get a similar email from someone who has several hundred posts and several "thanks" who i have seen around the forum, i give them a little more lead way. I am likely just to hit delete, or warn them that what they are doing might not go over well.

    most people are quick to "just say no" on stuff like this because the reality is that most people who use such tactics ALMOST ALWAYS get it all wrong and end up just spamming pm's.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zabrina
    Others have offered great explanations already, but I noticed you mentioned that you've already posted a Warriors for Hire ad.

    Maybe it needs to go into the WSO section with a credits system like someone suggested above (great idea, seconded!)... wrong location can kill it. Maybe it needs to have better sales copy... not attracting readers to become buyers can kill it. Maybe it needs to get more eyeballs on the thread... not getting any views means it doesn't even get a chance at life.

    Look at the number of views the thread has gotten. If there are no replies and lots of views, maybe it's in the wrong section or isn't converting well enough. Those are problems that can be fixed, and PM'ing people isn't going to help if your offer isn't appealing or properly placed.
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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
      Yes, it's possible to get banned for promoting an offer via private messages. It happens more often than you might think.

      Sending an outright ad for a product via PM will get you banned for some period if you're reported. That's almost guaranteed. Stay away from that. Even people whose sole reason for being here is to send PM spam won't profit from it, as we can just delete all of their sent PMs as soon as we see a report and figure that's what they're up to.

      If you're running a WSO and want to recruit affiliates, getting all your PMs deleted might be bad for business. We don't have (and I generally wouldn't want) the option to read them. It's an "all or nothing" proposition. If your customers get mad because your reply to their questions got deleted before they read them... Well, that's the risk of using the PM system in iffy ways.

      To be clear: Proposing joint ventures and the like using the PM system is NOT absolutely against the rules.

      Here's the rub... If you mistarget enough to get repeated complaints, those PMs may be treated as spam. If you send "JV" messages to people without a clearly demonstrated reason to believe they'd be interested in the topic, they will be treated as spam.

      "Clearly demonstrated" means something that's mentioned in the PM and obvious to the moderator who may have to review a complaint.

      The fact that someone sells a similar product or was an affiliate for someone else is NOT enough basis to be PMing them. In fact, PMing people to get them to be affiliates for a WSO is generally a bad idea. It's one of those "If you let it happen, it will happen far too much and become a threat to the system for the affected users" things.

      Sending generic copy-and-paste PMs to multiple members will add to the appearance of spamming. If they're worth working with, they're worth hand typing an individual invitation.

      For the folks who want to say that the PM system should never be used for proposing commercial deals... Sorry. Reasonable networking is an expected part of business. If you get a PM that basically says "Buy my stuff," report it. If you get one that's clearly untargeted, report it if you feel it's inappropriate.

      If you get one that looks like a deal someone might have proposed in person if they saw the reason for thinking it appropriate, and if you wouldn't find the offer rude then, deal with it. It's part of business.

      We don't ban established members for a report or two of unwanted JV offers in PMs. We're not crazy. But if you just signed up and have barely enough posts to send PMs and send a bunch, you're gone. And if you send enough, no matter how long you've been here, there will be steps taken to correct the situation.

      It's all about balance.


      Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    Business is about building relationships. When I see people posting stuff that resonates with me I take note of them. If I see this several times I'll invite them to be friends because we have something in common. I often do this with people I see who appear to really be making an effort. Then I may or may not drop them a note and reference one or more of the posts they made that I appreciated.

    So many people forget that this is a community and set out to exploit this place from day one. That's a shame because there's so much more here than a venue for drive-by marketing.

    I got a request a couple days ago to do a review on a member's special report. He was smart enough to reference a comment I'd made a couple of months ago in a post to him about the topic of the report. I did the review. From time to time I hit up people on my friend list to review something I'm going to release. I usually get a pretty good response.

    But to come here and target senior members (or any members) based on popularity or post count or whatever is a mistake. And as Paul pointed out, a mistake that could get you da boot.
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    • Profile picture of the author Looking4Mentor
      So much great insight on here!

      I have learned much. Thanks to:
      Paul Myers, travlinguy, Zabrina, David Keith

      I would multi-quote you guys but each one of you wrote a short novel in your posts.

      Your words of wisdom should be noticed and applied by everyone!

      Thanks again!

      Peace.
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      • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
        So much great insight on here!
        Indeed. The best post in this thread, in my opinion, is the one from David Keith. He summed it up nearly perfectly.

        That advice is worth your computer's weight in gold if you follow it.


        Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author IwebSeo
    Banned
    If your services are pretty cool so definitely you get many business here.
    but you are sending PM to many people who never have this requirement so you get banned here. try to create thread here and create sig link in this forum. if your services are great so definitely you get many clients here.
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    • Profile picture of the author Looking4Mentor
      Originally Posted by IwebSeo View Post

      If your services are pretty cool so definitely you get many business here.
      but you are sending PM to many people who never have this requirement so you get banned here. try to create thread here and create sig link in this forum. if your services are great so definitely you get many clients here.

      IwebSeo,

      If you look at my prior post - I did a thread regarding my service and had every intention of sharing my advice and hearing the advice of other Warriors.

      I made a mistake mentions my sig and got hit with an infraction. Creating a thread on what you are promoting is putting yourself in a sensitive spot and can easily get dinged for saying the wrong thing.

      Lesson learned tho
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