"Overly Promotional" - Be My Guest

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   Billie Kelpinposted 9 years ago

   So after reading the "Say something you're grateful today" forum (I think by schoolgirlforreal) and reading the post of LisaVollrath in that forum saying she was grateful she sold her painting, I started thinking. I was thinking about all the writers here who have businesses on the side - writing businesses, art businesses, widget businesses - I don't know.  I imagine there are all kinds of businesses represented by the writers here.   
   
   THEN after reading the forum by Billybuc regarding "Do you really want to write for a content mill",  I started thinking again. This time it was about joining together and empowering ourselves. 
   
   How does that all relate to the modern day internet mortal sin and my topic of being "Overly Promotional" here and on other websites and comment sections?  I'll tell you. 
   
   Never being one to accept reality, I thought, "Why NOT be promotional? Promotional is a GOOD thing.  Here's my idea: I have a bizblog.  It's hard to write content everyday.  Sooooo... if there is anyone here on hubpages (where I have a trust level) who wants to promote his or her business on my biz blog, I think it might be a win-win all around.  Telling WHAT your product is and how you create it or sell it would be great.  I think articles about HOW and WHY you started your business would be of interest to people who read my blog.  (To tell you the truth, I don't know where they come from.I don't promote the blog.  The content brings them.)  If you have a brand new product, tell us about it. Link back to website or the product online. If you can match the educational/language focus of my business website, all the better. 
   
   I can't guarantee ANYTHING except a chance to promote your products or website, etc.  Of course, I'd have to adhere to all internet standard respectful protocol of non-violent, non-inflammatory, and non-sexual nature. You can visit my blog to see the size of images and blog postings.  Just give me something similar.  I'm thinking maybe one blog a week would work.  Of course, I'd have to determine if I had space and the final decision would be mine as to the appropriateness of the content for that particular time frame.   
   
   Perhaps this could eventually even be a network blogging thing with being guest bloggers about our products on each other's blogs. I know this happens elsewhere, but rather than soliciting the general public, I feel more comfortable with the hubpage community. I'm willing to give it a whirl if you are. 
   
   So as not to be overly promotional here on hubpages, I won't put my blog address here. If you're interested just send me a private email at leftpawedpuppy@gmail.com.  If we can't do that, just use the hubpages email.  I think that would work.
   
   Cheers,
   
   Billie

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      Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I think you may be misunderstanding "overly promotional".
      
      The overly promotional rule on HubPages is very simple:
      
      You cannot have more than two links to the same website on any single Hub.   
      
      However, you could have ONE link to your business website on every single one of your Hubs if you wanted, and that would be perfectly legal, PROVIDED your website is directly relevant to the topic of your Hub.
      
      So for instance, if your website sells blue widgets, you could write 50 Hubs about blue widgets and put your website link on every one, and it would be legal.   But if you write a Hub about pink fandangles, you can't put the website link on that one.
      
      There is one other aspect of the overly promotional rule, and that is that you can't write press releases.  If your article isn't a proper informative article, but just a marketing blurb on how great your business is, it won't be accepted. 
      
      So you see, we're all able to promote our own businesses and products on HubPages effectively already.  However I'm sure many people will welcome the opportunity to write a guest post for you.

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         Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Hi Marissa:
         
         I believe you have posted that Google ignores backlinks from one domain to another after it counts 2-3 links to the same sub-domain or domain.  So are you advocating using one link per article just to lure the reader to the other site?  Are there any potential negative ramifications in doing this?
         
         Also from another thread, the Ezine Articles one, what would links from Bubblews be considered:?  Are they social media or a crummy article site?

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      lisavollrathposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'm glad my post inspired you, Billie.

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   Billie Kelpinposted 9 years ago

   Marissa,
   
   Thanks for your comment.  I think I do mean that for me, I need the ability to be directly and openly overly promotional rather than to write an informational blog about the widgets I make and then link to my website.  That wouldn't be enough for me. 
   
   My intention on the guest blog aspect is NOT to have someone write FOR my blog because I NEED it.  My intention is to promote the products of other people I trust, and I trust many of the people here on hubpages..  I just believe in that concept - not as a Tupperware, come- to-my-party and I'll come to yours like in the 60s - not for people to buy from each other.  No, my idea is that there is really no place to advertise without a boatload of money, and I'd like to provide that. 
   
   Let's say John Jones had this concept and I looked at his blog and said, hey, I'd love to write about how and why I started my business and talk about our newest product and why we even decided to create it.  So then, I tell my husband that I just wrote on John Jones' website and he is so proud, he puts it on FB and so on.  So people in my husban'ds circle seem mildly interested and go to John's blog and hey, they might see something they want or they glance at another person's blog who is in John's network and voila, that looks interesting to them. It's just a network of people who "know" each other and advocate for each other.  It's not that I'm seeking guest bloggers.  I'm seeking to help other business people like myself.  Why?  because its something I wish I had offered to me, so I'd like to create it for others - whether or not it's offered to me. 
   
   There is a contest that is presently being sponsored for writers of Children's picture books, by a writer solely who believes in promoting other writers.  There is no entry free, nothing. That's the kind of thing I mean.  There's nothing in it for her other than that. A cynic might say it's an easy why for her to get a bunch of children's ebooks on her computer or print versions or visitors to her site, but I highly doubt that's her intent. 
   
   How I see my idea as different than writing an article about my newest product is that of intention.  The INTENTION is to BE promotional and, as opposed to writing about it here, I don't have to think of 92 different ways for it to be informationally beneficial on a broad spectrum for a wide audience. My blog is about small business and this would make it about many small businesses and their stories. 
   
   But I might scrap the whole thing as I am wont to do with the 1000 crazy ideas I get.  I throw things out, make a decision by majority input and then decide from there.  So I thank you for YOUR input

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