Dear All
Thought it was time I got around to posting about this subject.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, A1 is starting to see quite a few threads and posts appearing where people are using various forums on A1 to plug their business - either through either obvious or not-so-obvious posts.
Forums are to raise and discuss
business-related topics (except in Time Out and Lively Banter) so here is some guidance to help you on what is allowed:
A1 has speficic forums for:
Press releases: this means a formally written press release not just a few paragraphs thrown together for the purpose of a plug. Press releases do not focus on plugging the business they are meant to tell a story and the business supports it with information in the article. If anyone would like to see one, PM me and I will email you a sample.
Similarly for news articles: it will be a news-worthy story and your business details support within the article. Editors chop out where it starts to get stuffed with advertorial. We dont have time to edit so we just dont approve them if that was the case.
We assume these 2 types of articles may be published elsewhere because of the very nature of what they are.
Company Profiles: This is where you tell us all about your business, some background, what you do, where you're based, what you sell, etc. As much info as possible. Not a hard sell though as it is what it says on the tin - a company profile.
Special Offers and promotions: these should be genuine, give a price, or if too many articles to list, give a percentage discount or similar, but prices should be visible on your website. Example: how does someone know if you are giving 25% off if they dont know what the original price was? You cannot determine it as a special offer otherwise. The offers should be exclusive to A1 members and also, remember to give a closing date - leaving it open doesn't make it quite so special. Follow Admagic's tips for advertising and you wont go far wrong
and last but not least, try not to over-do it - it could start to look like the never-ending DFS sale and eventually start to be ignored!
You should add your own business competitions to Special Offers & Promotions stating what the prixe or reward is. Again, make sure they are clear and give full details. Anything wishy-washy, vague, missing key information, etc wont get approved.
Note: You need a minimum of 25 posts to post in the pre-moderated forums above.
Bumping these with continued plugging will end up getting them deleted so please dont abuse what they are originally meant for.
We also now dont allow web addresses / URL's in full or part in the thread title, so we will edit if we see any appearing.
Finally on this note, Mods/Admin are voluntary and we run our own businesses so please be patient when waiting for approval in moderated forums. If after 2 days we have not approved it, drop us a PM. Make sure you have ticked the box in your settings that allows for PMs from Admin so you get our reply. We will normally tell you if your post falls short of being appropriate but we cant give any promises on response times.
The Introduction forum: this is to say hello and tell people a little about yourself, ideally, but not mandatory! And of course tell us what you do, what business you run or what job you do, so just a very brief plug is ok. If it just becomes self-promo it will look like spam and be zapped.
So just to recap, plugging your business blatantly through threads is not allowed. Replying to a request for products and services if you happen to have what the OP is looking for, well that's fine of course because it is relative to the post and of course that they asked for it. Going off course and trying to sell your wares when it wasnt what the OP quite asked for doesnt look too good. Dont ruin your cred!
Repeating posts through different forums in an attempt to get it seen will result in all but one being deleted if it is otherwise acceptable. Repeat, naff, non-sensical posts will also be determined as spam and be deleted.
Of course, all of this is to ensure your visit to A1 is a pleasant one and that all posts are on topic! It also ensures we give the right image to all members and guests on the A1 and not a place that allows rubbish to be strewn around or it's
Any great ideas or feedback would be most welcome
Thanks!