Rules on advertising oneself on PH?
Discussion
Hi all,
Apologies if this has been asked before, I just tried to trawl through many posts via the search function but have only had minimal success.
I noticed in the forum, there's quite a few references from posters to contact person X as they are in a trade. I've also noticed in the info section you can put down what you do etc and a company website link.
I'm just starting out on a business venture and of course, being mentioned and participating in forums is a great way to communicate to potential audiences. However, my experiences on forums for this means you provide a monetary monthly fee to be able or 'allowed' to promote your own company whilst participating in threads. So far I'm unable to see if this is the same on Pistonheads.
I do not want to break any rules, I'd like to do the above which is to participate in the forums and not just the BMW section (as that's where my focus lies) but also in others as well. I like the fact theres many other forums to which gain knowledge etc.
So what are the do's and don'ts please? I'll update my information with my website and a brief description of what I'll be doing, but within posts etc - am I allowed to say to posters to contact me? or must it be that other PH'ers only can reference you?
I've been 'lurking' here and looking through alot of the forum subjects and enjoyed reading many of the posts so I thought well I must join and participate!
Thanks for reading and any feedback and pointers would be much appreciated.
Cheers, Dennis, West London & Slough UK!
Apologies if this has been asked before, I just tried to trawl through many posts via the search function but have only had minimal success.
I noticed in the forum, there's quite a few references from posters to contact person X as they are in a trade. I've also noticed in the info section you can put down what you do etc and a company website link.
I'm just starting out on a business venture and of course, being mentioned and participating in forums is a great way to communicate to potential audiences. However, my experiences on forums for this means you provide a monetary monthly fee to be able or 'allowed' to promote your own company whilst participating in threads. So far I'm unable to see if this is the same on Pistonheads.
I do not want to break any rules, I'd like to do the above which is to participate in the forums and not just the BMW section (as that's where my focus lies) but also in others as well. I like the fact theres many other forums to which gain knowledge etc.
So what are the do's and don'ts please? I'll update my information with my website and a brief description of what I'll be doing, but within posts etc - am I allowed to say to posters to contact me? or must it be that other PH'ers only can reference you?
I've been 'lurking' here and looking through alot of the forum subjects and enjoyed reading many of the posts so I thought well I must join and participate!
Thanks for reading and any feedback and pointers would be much appreciated.
Cheers, Dennis, West London & Slough UK!
Everything is covered in the site Terms and Conditions and Posting Rules. Specifically:
The Rules said:
7. Post links to websites or adverts for your own commercial gain. Please use our classifieds section for cars, parts etc. or contact the sales team for banner advertising.
So, no promoting or advertising your own business on posts. The guys at Haymarket would be delighted to hear from you if you'd like to sponsor or advertise on PistonHeads. You should be allowed to put a link into your profile to your business.
But of course, starting a thread that's simply "Hey, for all your XYZ needs go to my website at..." would break the rules.
I'd guess if someone's asking for advice in your area, you can say that you might be able to help the link's in your profile. Generally I think the regulars are given a little more leeway as they've generally contributed to the forum aside from just using it to promote themselves.
There should be a link in one of the forums about how to advertise, failing that, email Garlick and he can point you in the right direction.
But of course, starting a thread that's simply "Hey, for all your XYZ needs go to my website at..." would break the rules.
I'd guess if someone's asking for advice in your area, you can say that you might be able to help the link's in your profile. Generally I think the regulars are given a little more leeway as they've generally contributed to the forum aside from just using it to promote themselves.
There should be a link in one of the forums about how to advertise, failing that, email Garlick and he can point you in the right direction.
All the details on how to contact the Haymarket team to advertise are here: http://www.pistonheads.com/contact/
Hi again,
Yes, I'm a very active forum user for varying elements and focusses and have no problem whatsoever in contributing to the PH site and specific interest forums to gain a 'good status' in that respect. I've 'begun' to do exactly that with some of my recent postings, offering to help and providing my own feedback etc.
I have just seen a few more postings where a poster has said 'yep, I can help you with that, here's my site' - now granted, it does appear that they are current 'long term' posters and hence it's ok to do that to a 'good' level and not just blast all sorts of posts with 'here's my site'.
This is what I'll long term aim to be doing, I have other forums on which I'm a regular so I can 'stagger' my coverage on forums as and when I build up a good standing. I'm currently finding the PH site overall, not just forums very very good indeed and hence, I've decided to become, over time, a good contributor firstly and then augment it with the thing's I'll be doing with my business (the overall aim being of course, that with good SEO and good feedback from customers, I won't even have to mention myself, I'll have independant posters doing it for me!)
I'll also be taking a look at the business and advertising link - thank you for that! I need to 'grow' a bit to be able to afford the payments at this stage though!
Many thanks - Dennis! West London & Slough UK!
Yes, I'm a very active forum user for varying elements and focusses and have no problem whatsoever in contributing to the PH site and specific interest forums to gain a 'good status' in that respect. I've 'begun' to do exactly that with some of my recent postings, offering to help and providing my own feedback etc.
I have just seen a few more postings where a poster has said 'yep, I can help you with that, here's my site' - now granted, it does appear that they are current 'long term' posters and hence it's ok to do that to a 'good' level and not just blast all sorts of posts with 'here's my site'.
This is what I'll long term aim to be doing, I have other forums on which I'm a regular so I can 'stagger' my coverage on forums as and when I build up a good standing. I'm currently finding the PH site overall, not just forums very very good indeed and hence, I've decided to become, over time, a good contributor firstly and then augment it with the thing's I'll be doing with my business (the overall aim being of course, that with good SEO and good feedback from customers, I won't even have to mention myself, I'll have independant posters doing it for me!)
I'll also be taking a look at the business and advertising link - thank you for that! I need to 'grow' a bit to be able to afford the payments at this stage though!
Many thanks - Dennis! West London & Slough UK!
DennisCooper said:
Hi again,
Yes, I'm a very active forum user for varying elements and focusses and have no problem whatsoever in contributing to the PH site and specific interest forums to gain a 'good status' in that respect. I've 'begun' to do exactly that with some of my recent postings, offering to help and providing my own feedback etc.
I have just seen a few more postings where a poster has said 'yep, I can help you with that, here's my site' - now granted, it does appear that they are current 'long term' posters and hence it's ok to do that to a 'good' level and not just blast all sorts of posts with 'here's my site'.
This is what I'll long term aim to be doing, I have other forums on which I'm a regular so I can 'stagger' my coverage on forums as and when I build up a good standing. I'm currently finding the PH site overall, not just forums very very good indeed and hence, I've decided to become, over time, a good contributor firstly and then augment it with the thing's I'll be doing with my business (the overall aim being of course, that with good SEO and good feedback from customers, I won't even have to mention myself, I'll have independant posters doing it for me!)
I'll also be taking a look at the business and advertising link - thank you for that! I need to 'grow' a bit to be able to afford the payments at this stage though!
Many thanks - Dennis! West London & Slough UK!
We do have one free advertising option, submit your details to the Oily Pages and the re:member business directory by filling out the form here: http://www.pistonheads.com/members/remember/submit...Yes, I'm a very active forum user for varying elements and focusses and have no problem whatsoever in contributing to the PH site and specific interest forums to gain a 'good status' in that respect. I've 'begun' to do exactly that with some of my recent postings, offering to help and providing my own feedback etc.
I have just seen a few more postings where a poster has said 'yep, I can help you with that, here's my site' - now granted, it does appear that they are current 'long term' posters and hence it's ok to do that to a 'good' level and not just blast all sorts of posts with 'here's my site'.
This is what I'll long term aim to be doing, I have other forums on which I'm a regular so I can 'stagger' my coverage on forums as and when I build up a good standing. I'm currently finding the PH site overall, not just forums very very good indeed and hence, I've decided to become, over time, a good contributor firstly and then augment it with the thing's I'll be doing with my business (the overall aim being of course, that with good SEO and good feedback from customers, I won't even have to mention myself, I'll have independant posters doing it for me!)
I'll also be taking a look at the business and advertising link - thank you for that! I need to 'grow' a bit to be able to afford the payments at this stage though!
Many thanks - Dennis! West London & Slough UK!
This will also add a copy of your listing to your profile, which will let other members see what you do.
With regard to the 'yep, I can help you with that, here's my site' posts, it is a bit of a grey area. If it is a helpful response to a genuine enquiry then we will tend to let it stay as long as it doesn't seem like the poster has join only to advertise. Posts that read link and advert or with lots of contact details will tend to go, but an occasional "I do that, check the link in my profile" on an active thread is normally okay.
Sorry if that seems confusing but we try to strike a balance between allowing PHers to help each other out and avoiding the site being swamped by people plugging their wares, which can be tricky at times!
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