How to be totally obnoxious when asking for a link exchange

A blogger pal of mine (who shall remain nameless) was recently approached by a fairly well-known blog (who shall remain nameless – we’ll call them blog X) for a link exchange. At first it all seemed fine and dandy. Then my pal noticed that other bloggers responses to said link exchange were popping up in her email.

Blogger pal o’ mine had not noticed at first, (because who clicks on Gmail details every time) but this email had been sent out to a bunch of folks. She was just one of many emails listed. This is shoddy link exchange handling. At the very least the sender, blog X, could have sent the email to recipients via Bcc (which will send a blind copy).

Why this sucks:

First of all, I KNOW, anyone with an Internet connection can find an email for me if they try. However, that doesn’t mean I like it when bloggers I don’t know send my email off to lots of other bloggers I don’t know, simply to gain a link exchange agreement. That’s just bad manners.

Secondly, like most bloggers I get loads of email. I don’t need a bunch of emails from other folks on list because they hit reply all. A more crowded email box is enough right there to make me turn down a link exchange.

Other ways to be obnoxious when asking for a link exchange:

Address my email: Dear blog editor.. (I have a name, feel free to use it).

Send me requests that will never work:  If I have a fashion blog, don’t send me farm equipment links. Seriously now.

Brag: “You need my link exchange because I have a page rank blah, and blah traffic” So what? Actually, some people like when bloggers send them stats. I guess it’s a personal preference. My preference is that all that jazz doesn’t concern me as much as content. Does our content match? Ok then, that’s a good start. Do I like your blog, would I read it? These are things I think about, not page rank.

Send me a form letter: Even if you use my name, I can tell a form letter right away (you know you can).

Resend like an addict: I actually do check my email. If I didn’t respond, sure, it’s slightly possible I missed your email, but it’s far more likely I didn’t think we matched well. Again, I highly frown on people stuffing my in-box.

Things I don’t mind:

A link exchange request in a comment vs. an email. I won’t likely approve the comment, but I don’t really mind these and may actually email you back and say sure. Some bloggers do mind this though, so I’d be careful with overuse of this tactic.

A short email – you don’t have to sell me too hard core. A nice short email is just fine. Give me a link, mention our blogs are alike, and move on. Nice and tidy.

A longer but nice email – I know, I just said I like short emails. I also don’t mind longer ones, especially when it’s very obvious the blogger knows my blog, has a well-matched topic, and is friendly.

My favorite approach:

When someone emails and says something like; “Hey I linked your blog to mine because they’re a lot alike, and I think my readers might like your blog – maybe you could come check my blog out and see what you think.”

I like this approach when it’s from a relevant blogger. Sure it’s a link exchange game of sorts, but a game that’s low pressure vs. the game of “If you link me, I’ll link you.” It’s also flattering. I know very few bloggers who don’t enjoy a little flattery. Lastly, when it comes down to it, I link to blogs I like no matter if they link to me or not. When I hear that you’ve already linked to my blog, I tend to think that you think a little more like me, which I like.

Do you get link exchange requests? Which ones make you cringe? OR if you’re in a nice mood you can tell me which ones make you smile.