Oh, I don’t think so!
Geez…. apparently someone decided Google+ would be the way for marketing people to make contacts, specifically cold-contacts. Cold-contacts are where the marketer initiates the contact, hoping to make a deal.
This first one I received early today was this one:
Advertising proposal for Knitivity.com
Hi Ray,
I was wondering whether you’d be interested in selling advertising space on Knitivity.com? The advertisement would be unobtrusive and we can pay you an annual upfront payment for the advertising space.
We can also provide guest blog posts from industry experts in many cases.
I am from Media Discovery, a new media agency headquartered in the UK. We plan out and acquire advertising space on major websites and portals, as well as smaller niche sites. I personally deal with our smaller publishers, increasing brand awareness and share of voice for the major brands that our group works with.
We’d love to work with your site. If you have any questions or would like further information, please do not hesitate to email me directly.
Kind Regards,
Kxxxxx Cxxxxx
And I responded with this:
Ms. Cxxxxx:
I hope you realize I receive your solicitation as a joke.Beyond my first name and URL, you give no indication you have bothered to familiarize yourself with my Website, nor do you show knowledge of the industry I am with, yet you ask me to let you place advertisements on my webpage and even suggest you might provide guest blog posts from industry experts.
You do not know me and should not address me in the familiar form, especially when making a business solicitation. How am I supposed to know that the ads you intend to place are even relevant to my industry? Why should I believe “guest posts” are actually written by “experts” and not some random blogger pilfering information from real experts?
I know my industry, I know the manufacturers and their products I would promote, and I know the names of people who are considered experts. If I wish to promote certain products, or feature articles by actual experts, I would contact them directly. If they wish to be featured on my Website, they are free to contact me and form a professional business relationship.
It would appear your only role is to artificially insinuate yourself between me and the leaders in my industry, so as to make a nickel for your pocket. I will not be used that way, no matter how much money you offer I know where and how to secure advertising income if that should be my desire.I bid you good day and good luck in weaseling your way into someone else’s pocketbook. You will get nothing from mine. Please do not contact me in the future.
Most sincerely,
And then came this interesting exchange this evening:
Specific Colors – client’s logo
Hello, there!I read on your website that you do not have a phone number listed – I have somewhat of a specific project that we are producing for a natural foods client of ours that would need specific colors that match their logo colors. Is this something you are able to do?Feel free to give me a call at the number below if you are able to!Cxxxxx Lxxxxx
I answered like this:
Hi there.
Yes, I do not normally schedule telephone consultations as I have some issues with breathing and talking at the same time. I consider it rude to be coughing in someone’s ear.
Please do tell me more about the project you wish to create. It would also help to know how many skeins of yarn you would need, or the approximate yardage, and what size/type you need (lace? fingering? sock yarn? something thicker?) Also, I would need to see the colors in the logo to see if I could come close to interpreting those colors onto a knitting yarn.
Thanks!
Ray Whiting
knitivity.com
She answered:
Let me know how much info I can give this lady…
Cxxxxx Lxxxxx
and I responded:
Cxxxxx:
Before I can provide any useful information, I need to know how much yarn you need, what size/type of yarn, what color(s) are needed, and how soon it is needed. Please do feel free to have your client contact me directly, if you are unable to provide these details yourself. I normally work directly with my clients, rather than a third party in the middle – just like you wouldn’t normally use a third-party to explain your needs to a dressmaker or dentist, who also have to work directly with the client.
Thank you.
Truly, I hate to seem rude, but didn’t I tell her the first time what I needed before I could give a solid response? And what sort of professional person refers to a client as “this lady”??? I strongly suspect the person writing to me has no clue that I hand-dye individual skeins of yarn direct for my clients, and that I do not work with marketers in this manner. If they don’t know what I do, why do they go on these fishing expeditions. If I needed a marketing representative to expand my work, I would hire one. I do NOT need some stranger trying to find out what I do, and then try to find clients for me. I work directly with my own clients.
I LIKE working directly with clients. They tell me what they want, or they send pictures, and we communicate back and forth until we both understand what is expected, what it will cost, and when it can be delivered. I am not the best in the world at what I do, but I do have some bit of reputation for being good at a few things. I can’t match the big boys on volume, but try calling BigBox Yarn company to get 3 skeins of yarn to match the colors of your Hawaiian vacation photo — they can’t do small orders, and can only change colors after consultation with their “experts” and maybe try to get 400 skeins lined up into next season’s run, or something like that.
I suspect I will be adding a whole new category just for these new marketing ploys. 🙂
Follow
Oh geeze :(. Stupid Google . . . scroogle!
Yeah, it’s not really the fault of Google+ – some really good knitters and crocheters there, and I’ve made several good customers there as well. It’s just these marketing people who seem to put anyone and everyone in their circles and then use their circles as their personal marketing database for cold-calling. Marketers do not care about specific industries — they just look for ways to link producers with consumers, while insinuating themselves into the middle to make money, without actually doing any of the work involved. But if these jokers can’t be bothered to first find out what I do and for whom, their overtures in my direction are laughable.
Anyone asking you to call the, also gets ignored in
Lots of scams here in UK tricking people into calling premium rate phone numbers which add huge charges to their phone bills. Anyone I don’t know asking me to call them gets ignored!
Both these emails sound like scams to me! Be careful!