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Amazon Affiliates and Forums

by Seanstex
12 replies
I've been banned at 3 separate forums now and I have no idea why.

Usually, my first posts are just an introduction of myself in their Introduction Forum.

"Hi, I'm Sean. This is what I like, this is what I do, mention products I like within niche, ask a question to the community" BANNED!

I rarely can get any further than that.

All I'm promoting in my posts is a Signature that goes to one of my sites. I'm definitely not spamming threads. Hell, I haven't even included my link in any posts other than my signature.

I was sure to read their forum rules which seldom say anything about affiliate links in Signatures.

I really do want to contribute to my niche forum, but I keep getting banned without any reason given.

I don't get it.

It's getting frustrating and I'm running out of active forums to participate in!
#affiliates #amazon #forums
  • Profile picture of the author Alex Blades
    Introduction forums are only for introductions, not endorsements to products you like or own. Don't get banned from this forum, this is the cream of the crop.
    Signature
    " I knew that if I failed, I wouldn't regret that.
    But I knew the one thing I might regret is not ever having tried. "

    ~ Jeff Bezos

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    • Profile picture of the author Seanstex
      Originally Posted by Alex Blades View Post

      Introduction forums are only for introductions, not endorsements to products you like or own. Don't get banned from this forum, this is the cream of the crop.
      Right! I don't even have a signature for Warrior Forums.

      I thought that was all I was doing. My posts never have any links in them, just my signature. I never endorsed any products. For example, say I was in the cars niche and posted on an introduction section in a cars forum.

      I'd say something like:

      "Hi, I'm Sean. I'm new here, obviously. I'm 28 and I work in the Web Development and Internet Marketing field. I consider myself an import car enthusiast as I drive a 1991 3000GT and appreciate it everyday. I have the following modifications installed:

      *List of car parts*

      What cars are you guys/ladies out there driving? What mods do you have installed?

      I look forward to sharing my knowledge here at *Forums* and learning along the way!

      *Signature*

      That's typically the kind of post I write. Yet I get Banned.
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      • Profile picture of the author lotsofsnow
        Originally Posted by Seanstex View Post


        *Signature*
        That is the exact thing you should never do.

        Sign up, make a couple posts and AFTER you
        get a few replies to your posts you can add a
        signature with NO link and after maybe 2 or 3
        weeks you can add a link (Make sure you study
        the particular rules. A direct affiliate link in the
        sig WILL get you banned in many forums,
        including the warrior forum).


        HP
        Signature

        Call Center Fuel - High Volume Data
        Delivering the highest quality leads in virtually all consumer verticals.

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        • Profile picture of the author Seanstex
          Originally Posted by hpgoodboy View Post

          That is the exact thing you should never do.

          Sign up, make a couple posts and AFTER you
          get a few replies to your posts you can add a
          signature with NO link and after maybe 2 or 3
          weeks you can add a link (Make sure you study
          the particular rules. A direct affiliate link in the
          sig WILL get you banned in many forums,
          including the warrior forum).


          HP
          OOOOOH. Well I guess that makes sense. I have to establish myself first. Though, I think I'll skip out on forum posting altogether for Affiliate sites. It seems too risky; What if I establish myself over the course of weeks, months, years and then suddenly a mod feels like deleting my account. It's all for nothing.

          I guess that can be said about any 3rd party that I do not own, but man forums are tough!
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          • Profile picture of the author onSubie
            Originally Posted by Seanstex View Post

            I guess that can be said about any 3rd party that I do not own, but man forums are tough!
            Yes, this is a marketing forum and everyone promotes in their sig.

            You can forget that this is not the case in most "normal" forums and many are very vigilant against "spammers". And outside the WF, many people think marketer=spammer.

            I belong to a Subaru forum here in Ottawa. If you login at 3 or 4 AM you will see many one-line posts spamming various links. They are removed and don't show up much during the day when mods are active, but the forum software is not set up very well to block bots.

            Ask the admins here, fighting forum spam is more than a full-time job.
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          • Profile picture of the author lotsofsnow
            Originally Posted by Seanstex View Post

            What if I establish myself over the course of weeks, months, years and then suddenly a mod feels like deleting my account. It's all for nothing.

            I guess that can be said about any 3rd party that I do not own, but man forums are tough!
            That would be very unlikely.

            There is no such thing like undeserved evil. If they ban you you must have peed in the wrong place.

            If you truly contribute to a forum you will make lots of friends fast and no mod will ever even thing about banning you.

            It's actually very difficult to get banned if you at least somehow try to be decent.

            If you are an arrogant ahole: well, then it's easy to get banned in a snap.


            HP
            Signature

            Call Center Fuel - High Volume Data
            Delivering the highest quality leads in virtually all consumer verticals.

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            • Profile picture of the author Alex Blades
              Originally Posted by hpgoodboy View Post

              That would be very unlikely.

              There is no such thing like undeserved evil. If they ban you you must have peed in the wrong place.

              If you truly contribute to a forum you will make lots of friends fast and no mod will ever even thing about banning you.

              It's actually very difficult to get banned if you at least somehow try to be decent.

              If you are an arrogant ahole: well, then it's easy to get banned in a snap.


              HP

              I think he is leaving something out, it is very hard to get banned from a forum, alot of forums even give infractions before they ban you. I suspect spamming has something to do with it.

              What ever you were doing Sean, it's not working.
              Signature
              " I knew that if I failed, I wouldn't regret that.
              But I knew the one thing I might regret is not ever having tried. "

              ~ Jeff Bezos

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              • Profile picture of the author Seanstex
                Originally Posted by Alex Blades View Post

                I think he is leaving something out, it is very hard to get banned from a forum, alot of forums even give infractions before they ban you. I suspect spamming has something to do with it.

                What ever you were doing Sean, it's not working.
                Absolutely not. At all. 9 Forums, 12 Posts and 3 Bans. Never once linked to any URL in my post. I know that's grounds for easy termination of my account. If I did, I would had mentioned it here to better determine the issue.

                The only link in my posts consisted of a signature. It could be a combination of my Signature link, or my About me section stating that I'm in the IM field that lead to my banning.

                I'm not going to stress over it too much though as there are other methods of linking that I dabble into. I tested the water and I got burnt... easy as that.

                I'm fortunate enough now to know not to make the same mistakes again. I'll keep in mind the suggestions from this thread if I ever do try Forum Posting again for Affiliate sites.
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      • Profile picture of the author kingrich21470
        Hi, I'm Sean. I'm new here, obviously. I'm 28 and I work in the Web Development and Internet Marketing field. I consider myself an import car enthusiast as I drive a 1991 3000GT and appreciate it everyday. I have the following modifications installed:
        I think they seen in this area was "Internet Marketing field" alot of forums don't like people in the IM to join there forums to promote affiliate products.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Blades
    Maybe you made one liners just to get your sig links to show, could be affiliate links like hpgoodboy said. Had to be a good reason if you got banned by 3 straight forums...
    Signature
    " I knew that if I failed, I wouldn't regret that.
    But I knew the one thing I might regret is not ever having tried. "

    ~ Jeff Bezos

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  • Profile picture of the author khooster1
    Hi Sean,
    The introduction looks okay for me.
    I guess it is one of the unfortunate case.
    Warrior Forum is a Great place to hang out.

    Contribute regularly with value information .
    I am sure you will do fine.
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  • Profile picture of the author onSubie
    I would not have any signature in a forum until I had posted for a while. They probably auto block anyone who has a link signature in their first post.

    While the example posts you use above appear to be legit and helpful, they are also the kind of generic posts spammers would use in swipe files.

    Your best bet would be to contact the Forum admin/owner, explain the situation, tell them you didn't know signature links were not allowed and ask for a clarification of the rules and whether you can be reinstated.

    One problem in many cases is signature rules are set to defaults in the forum software that allows signature links. Forums owners don't have the time or knowledge to tweak the forum software settings so even through links and/or images are not allowed in the forum rules, the forum software still allows them.

    One thing I do in forums I want to market to before I register an account (or before I create a sig if I need an account to access the forum) is I go through several long threads with a lot of discussion and check how many other forum members have signatures. Those with sigs, I check to see if they are an admin, platinum user, 10,000 posts, etc.

    If nobody has signatures, or only admins, then I know my new member profile will stick out like a sore thumb. If many different users have sig files, then that gives a better indication that the forum is sig friendly.

    Most member of non-marketing forums or not marketers and therefore have little use of a link in the signature. They usually have favorite quotes or personal information.
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