We received an interesting link solicitation on the Search Influence info email that I thought I’d share. It’s interesting that they never ask for a “link”, but they do offer payment for posting content.

Here’s the email, names changed to protect the (maybe) innocent:

Hi,

My name is Michelle of [name removed].com. I came across your blog searchinfluence.com and loved it. I know your site is not exactly about bowling but you seem like you enjoy staying active and participating in group events. I think your voice and energy are perfectly in line with the kind of people we’re looking to attract to our brand.

Our bowling stores carry products that are not just functional but also fashionable. We carry fun bowling accessories that will personalize your style and improve your game.

I’d love an opportunity to work with you, in one of two ways. You can review our products in exchange for one piece of merchandise or publish an article on our behalf. Below are the details for each option:

1 – You can choose one pair of Elite bowling shoes ($40 max) from [name removed].com (We’ll ship either of these to you for free). Write a review by talking about your experience, whether it’s our website or our products. Please take note, this option is only offered in the USA at this time, due to high overseas shipping costs.
Check out the flyer for more details here: [link removed]

2 – You can post a bowling related article we give you with pictures on your blog for us. For this we can pay you $20 for posting it. The article will be very well-written and the topic isn’t centered aroun bowling perse, you can also edit it however you like.

Here’s a sample article we did for one blog:
http://ampedupmag.com/2013/11/20/unexpected-yet-popular-places-get-great-comfort-food/

As mentioned before, we’re always looking to building future relationships with our bloggers. If we get a good amount of referral traffic from your site, we’re totally open many more collaborations down the road.

Not to rush you, but please respond ASAP. We’re contacting a lot of other similar bloggers, and we only have a limited budget for the month for both giveaways and articles.

Keep up the great work with your blog!

Regards,
Michelle
[name removed].com

I left the example post link above because I think it’s instructive for a couple reasons. 1. they are using very targeted anchor text on a followed link. 2. it’s not particularly interesting meaning it’s unlikely to get a lot of social traction or pass-through traffic — i.e., it’s just a paid link.

What do you guys think?