Over the past few weeks, instead of deleting spam comments from the queue, I’ve been letting them accumulate.
For the life of me, I can’t understand why someone might choose this style of marketing.
I’ve heard that many of them rake in quite a bit of short-term money. But it’s so unethical – how can they sleep at night?
On the other hand, you have spammers who really don’t realize that what they are doing is wrong. Some are business owners who were told that this is the way to get more traffic, others are newbies desperately trying to make a buck. In both cases, they just need a bit of education.
It wouldn’t be spam if…
- They gave a real name in addition to the name of their site. I often leave comments as Kiesha @WeBlogBetter.
- They used a gravatar with a real photo. I need to see people’s faces.
- They had a good About Me page. I want to know who they are – if they’re really alive.
- They submitted comments in English. Comments should be written in the same language as the blog’s text. If this blog was written in Spanish, then comments should be in Spanish.
- They actually read the post before commenting. This is especially important if you’re going to argue with me.
- Their blog or website wasn’t so creepy. I don’t like to click through sites that look like total scambait – I feel like I’m going to get ripped off just from viewing the site – not good!
But rather than be annoyed…
I’ve decided to take a more positive stance about it.
Spam is, after all, a sign of a healthy blog – it means you have a blog that’s worth an attempt to drain some link juice. If you’re not getting any spam comments, it might be a sign that you need to visit the cemetery and leave your blog some flowers!
I think bloggers everywhere should make an attempt to reach out to those unknowing spammers who are in fact human, but have somehow been possessed by evil-spam spirits. I want to show them that there is in fact, a better way.
Here’s what I’m going to do:
- I’m going to create an email list that consists of just the spammers who have visited my blog.
- I’m going to make an attempt to communicate with them – I know this could get dangerous… :)
- I’m going to send them a nice note telling that, I’m sorry that I had to delete their inappropriate comment.
- I’m going to send them a link to 10 Ways to Better Network and Connect with your Subscribers.
- I’m even going to invite them back if they agree to adhere to the rules.
- I’m going to ask if they would like me to help them find a better way to reach their target audience.
Join me in my Spam Reform efforts. What else could we do to end the dreaded spammers disease?
About Kiesha Easley
I was so tempted to leave this post with my name as “internet marketing” haha
Interesting post. Right now I just delete spam instantly, but I wouldn’t mind having one day of massive revenge for the accumulated lost time associated with deleting spam. One day we’ll get them.
One day! haha
Great connecting with you on twitter today Kiesha.
rohan recently posted..64 Andrews Air Force Base Open House and Air Show
These spam comments are generated by quite sophisticated software that scrapes the serps for suitable blogs to spam, and automatically posts generic comments everywhere. Some of this software even has captcha cracking built in. The trouble is, the software is so easily obtainable you get loads of script kiddies with no clue blasting the internet with their nonsense. The vast majority of these spammers don´t even make any money.
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi BigJohn,
Yeah, I figured many of them are auto-generated. But I can’t be convinced that they all are – I’ve got hope that at least a few of them can be salvaged.
wah, I seem to have the characteristics as a spammer. I do not have a gravatar, and I have a blog that looks very bad, but that’s okay, I just like blogwalking you do not need to visit my blog. lol
rososusilo recently posted..Increase Twitter Followers and They Will Help Your Sales
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Rososusilo,
LOL! Yeah, and what’s even funnier, is that this comment did in fact end up in my spam folder. I actually did visit your blog, it wouldn’t be half bad if you added some personal touches like your picture and startedwriting posts from a more personal perspective.
That is unless you really are a spammer… are you? Awaiting your response… :)
I fully support this day you are starting Kiesha! I’m glad you are going to try to reach out and change these possessed, misguided spammers. Yes, even one convert is one step closer to making a better blogging world :)
I believe that you can change people better with niceness, rather than harshness. This is definitely a refreshing break from all the spam hate I see on the internet!
This is definitely a blog that continue to spread good will and peace to mankind. :)
BTW, you can see from my last post how I decided to deal with my beloved Spammers :)
Tini | Inzone Internet recently posted..Gotta Love SPAM!
Well I’m interested in what happens, also. The ultimate revenge would be a WordPress plugin that goes and leaves a reciprocal link on their blogs… then again, they probably wouldn’t mind since most of them undoubtedly never actually go and visit the sites. They just keep track of search engine rankings and adsense dollars. *Sigh*. :)
Tia recently posted..How to Engage Readers: Answer the So What and the Now What
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Tia,
LOL! That would be funny – although I probably wouldn’t want my link on their site in the first place. I’m afraid it might suck all the juice out of my blog just for being linked to them! :)
Hi Kiesha,
I think this idea you have is a pretty creative one. Spamming the spammer, but in a good way is a unique.
I hope you will have success in converting them from the dark side of he force…..
jason | theBlogQuest.com recently posted..How to Get Your First Affiliate Sale By July 16th, 2010!
hahaha..
first of all this is kinda funny..but i like your positive approach to the whole issue.
i agree with the fact that spamming on a blog could mean you have something to offer .
anyway, i wish you luck .
lets see what happens ,maybe,we may all learn something new.
mk akan recently posted..Internet Business Ideas from a job search problem
Hi Kiesha,
Spammers are the spawn of the devil! A couple of days ago I removed the nofollow tag from the comments section of my blog and everyone who has left a comment since has a keyword rich name.
Yesterday a guy called “software” left a comment, it was valid but I deleted it. The thought never entered my mind to email him, maybe I will do that next time.
I don’t mind giving people a link, but when they are blatantly after link juice it irks me.
Good luck with your experiment!
Stephen TBA recently posted..WordPress 3.0 is here!
Kiesha,This seems like a risky idea but I like your positive outlook though but writing them seems more complicated though or better still don’t waste your energy contacting them and remember time is money lol.. Thanks anyway.
Valentine Belonwu recently posted..What is WeNetProfits?
I agree, I hate spammers but what can you do? I mean, luckily I haven’t had any on my blog yet xD — on my previous blog I was getting 20-50 spam comments a day, honestly I got so sick of deleting them. I truly do get annoyed with spammers.
Karl Hadwen recently posted..Stop buying and start doing
That seems like a risky idea but I like the way you think. This is like inviting more spam into your site but hey it’s worth a try to reach out or just spam them back in return. LOL! I’m gonna do this but creating another yahoo or gmail account just for the spammers. Don’t want to get my inbox spammed. :)
Kviklån recently posted..Ferratum
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Kv,
I’m not actually inviting spam, I’m just going to reach out to the ones who’ve already spammed. That sentence makes me want to laugh for some reason… :D
I had to tweet this Keisha, “If you’re not getting any spam comments, it might be a sign that you need to visit the cemetery and leave your blog some flowers!”. I started laughing so hard for some reason. Made my day!
Lauren recently posted..Ran Hwang’s Amazing Button Installations
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Lauren,
I forgot I wrote that – yeah, I guess that was kinda silly of me! :)
That is a good plan, but I think most of these people are usually automating their work and it would really daunting task to convince these people to write good comments
Gautam Hans recently posted..Innovative Things I Learned With Guest Blogging Contests
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Gautam,
Yeah, they probably won’t want to listen to reason, but I’m compelled to try :)
Hey Kiesha,
I LOVE it! This is a great idea….gutsy…but great idea.
TheInfoPreneur recently posted..15 Things About Me – TheInfoPreneur
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Brandon,
Yeah, I know. But if figure if I can just reach a few and reform them – it would be worth the effort.
You go, girl! It would be really interesting to see what kind of response you get. I remember the advice from someone who collects those annoying free credit card offers in the mail. He lets them pile up, and then uses the return address envelopes to send them magazine inserts back. They are pre-paid postage so it costs them money. Kind of funny when you think about it. Let us know how it goes in this experiment.
Karen recently posted..Are You Ready To Build Your Empire?
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Karen,
LOL! Your friend is hilarious. I guess I’ve got a similar practice. When I get those “get a $50 gift card when you try our service for 30 days” invites – I actually accept and then I cancel a week or two later – I’ve made good use of those gift cards… :)
Funny post. I once read an article about somebody stuffing junk mail coupon books in prepaid business reply envelopes; a very similar “junk the junk” approach. Spam unfortunately ruins the credibility of many different websites and leads to lost revenue.
Have you ever encountered phone verification? It is a tool used by many different websites to alleviate their spam related problems.
-TeleSign Matt
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Matt,
What’s funnier is that your comment ended up in the spam filter – for a moment I didn’t know if you were a human or not. Maybe you should try some of my “It wouldn’t be Spam If” tips from above.
Kiesha, 99.5% of my spam must come from some sort of robot commenting or something. Those I wouldn’t bother with at all.
Then there’s the .5% from somebody who’s selling something online, like fishing lures, and they’ve heard they need to leave comments on blogs. So they leave vacuous one-sentence statements all over the place, often with a link to their sites in the actual comment.
I have written to a few of these folks over the last two years; maybe one has written back.
Let us know how it works out…
John Soares recently posted..Declining Traffic: Why It Happened
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi John,
Wow, that’s interesting that you got a response – that gives me some hope. My belief is that if just one can be changed, it would be worth the effort :) I’ll definitely let you know how it works out.
Hey Kiesha,
That sounds like a good plan. However, I would say don’t even bother. Use your talent and time on something more productive. Since I installed a Captcha plugin my spam comments decrease to 1 or 2 day. I use to get about 20-50 day.
Chat with you later…
Josh
Josh Garcia recently posted..The Secret of Overcoming Procrastination
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Josh,
Yeah, it’s a possibility that it might just be another time-waster. But I’m curious… hope I don’t end up like the cat.
Now that’s a creative approach! And you just might get through to some of them too. Maybe in a few weeks we’ll be reading an update here and you can interview some reformed spammers.
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Jean,
I’m planning on experimenting with this real soon. I’ll definitely keep you updated. Hmmm…I like the idea of interviewing reformed spammers. I’ll see what I can do! :)
Hi Kiesha,
Please do a follow up post. I am definitely interesting in learning the out come of this!
-Jason
jason | theBlogQuest.com recently posted..How to Get Your First Affiliate Sale By July 16th, 2010!
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Jason,
Thanks, I will definitely keep you posted :)