I never get tired of writing about poker link requests that suck. Here are two example poker link request emails, along with some explanations of what’s wrong and what’s right with them. (Yes, I’ve written similar posts in the past, but I never get tired of these.)

Poker Link Request Email That Sucks

This is an actual poker link request that I received in my in-box.

Dear Webmaster,

I visited your website and found it to be having pretty useful
content.
I invite you for a link exchange (3-way linking) with our
website(s).

Your link will be added on one of the following sites:

(I removed the list of sites here out of some misguided sense of courtesy or respect.)

I have many more casino sites for link exchangeand i can also paste articels ,plz do reply if you have quality casino sites.I do sell links on my sites with very good offers.

In case you need link on more than one sites, we would like to have more than one backlinks on different domains.
As you know backlinks helps in generating more traffic to our sites as well as achieving higher search engine rankings.
If interested, please feel free to contact me

Best Regards,
Smith

Why This Poker Link Request Email Sucks

Do the opposite of what “Smith” did wrong, and you’ll go a long way toward getting more poker links than he will:

1. Addresses the email to “Dear Webmaster”. I know that websites always don’t make it clear who you’re emailing. But my sites all have my name on them . And in this case, not using my name is even dumber because my email address is “my full name” at gmail.com.
2. The first line of his email is vague and poorly written. “I visited your website and found it to be having pretty useful content.” Since I operate multiple sites, it would have been good to point out which of my sites he visited. And saying I have useful content is fine, but be specific. Which content was useful and why?
3. Inviting me to be involved in a 3-way link exchange. “I invite you for a link exchange (3-way linking) with our website(s).” I don’t do 3 way link exchanges, and it’s made clearly stated on my sites that I don’t do it and why.
4. Not adding my link before contacting me about a link exchange. It’s sad how many poker webmasters don’t bother with this. They’ll write to me about a link exchange, but they haven’t even bothered to put my link up yet? What’s the reasoning behind that? If you want to show me that you’re legitimate, then put my link up on your site before you contact me about getting a link. Heck, if you just want a link without offering me a link, I’m cool with that too. If your site is good, and the link makes sense for my audience, I’m eager to add it to my site even if I don’t get a link in return.
5. Offering me links to/from six different sites. If you have six sites for me to choose to link to and to get links from, that’s fine, but let’s start off by doing something that actually makes sense for you, me, and our visitors. If you have a website about Texas holdem starting hands, then ask for a link from my Texas holdem resources page. After we’ve done that, then we can talk about more opportunities to cooperate.
6. Offering to sell me links. “I do sell links on my sites with very good offers.” Don’t assume that I buy or sell links. Your poker link exchange email should have a single purpose, and buying and selling links is a secondary purpose. I don’t hate you for selling links, and I don’t disrespect people who buy links. But why give me apossible reason to not link to you?
7. Patronizing me. “As you know backlinks helps in generating more traffic to our sites as well as achieving higher search engine rankings.” Dude, I’m sorry, but I know more about backlinks, generating traffic, and achieving higher search engine rankings than you ever will. (I’m basing that on how bad his link exchange email sucked.)

There was nothing about this poker link exchange email to make me consider linking to this person’s sites. I didn’t even click on his list of links. I’m baffled that sites like this exist. Surely they don’t get traffic?

What kind of response rate do you think this email gets? 1/10 of 1%? Wouldn’t you rather have a 30% response rate? Or 50%? It’s not hard to do if you’re willing to put some effort into crafting your email request.

A Poker Link Request Email That Doesn’t Suck

I want to get a link from First Time Poker Player. I’ve picked out 2 pages on his site where he’s indicated that he’s willing to link to other sites: his helpful poker links page and his thanks page. Here’s what I email him:

(For this poker link request email, I’ve taken the email that he wrote me and rewritten it so that it would reflect my experiences with him and my site information. His poker link request email was the best one I’ve received in two years, and I think he’ll do very well in this industry if he continues to operate his business with this much style and class.)

Dear First Time Poker Player, (His name isn’t available on his website, and I know him, but he prefers that I don’t use his name in my blog, so I’m using his site name as the salutation. Normally I’d write to him using his first name.)

My name is Randy Ray. You might remember me from some of our discussions at the PokerAffiliateListings forums.

Thanks for making my sleep deprivation problems even worse than they already were!  First I spent hours reading your helpful posts at pokeraffiliatelistings, then I got started on your guide to playing poker online. I’ve enjoyed the content on your site, especially your insights into multi-tabling at http://www.firsttimepokerplayer.com/multi-tabling.php.  I like your site design, but what really inspires me is the honesty and motivation with which you write your poker content.Your site is exactly the kind of resource I like to share with my visitors, so I’ve linked to it from my resources page. (I don’t have a resources page here, but I would include the URL here if I did).

It would mean a lot to me if you thought the content of PokerSEO.org would be worthy of a link from First Time Poker Player. Do you think my site would be a fit on your “Helpful Links” page or your “Thanks” page?  You could place a link to my home page, or maybe use a text link from one of your articles to link to one of my blog posts. Some of the posts that might interest your readers include:

• http://www.pokerseo.org/blog/poker-link-building/poker-link-building-services/
• http://www.pokerseo.org/poker/seo/link-building/
• http://www.pokerseo.org/poker/webmasters/

If you have any questions about PokerSEO.org or would like to discuss something else please don’t hesitate to email me at randyray at gmail dot com. You’re also welcome to call me anytime at 972-442-9393. I’m a real person, and I answer my own phone when I’m in the office. (Leave a voicemail if you miss me.) I enjoy constructive feedback about my site too, so let me know if you see something I can improve.

Regards,

Randy Ray

About PokerSEO.org

PokerSEO.org is a guide to poker search engine optimization and poker link building from Randy Ray, who has six years of experience doing SEO and link building for some of the top sites in the poker industry. His site features dozens of articles and blog posts with advice and tips for poker webmasters of all experience levels: beginning, intermediate, and advanced.

Why This Poker Link Request Works

I mentioned this above, but the link request email I received from First Time Poker Player was VERY similar to the example I just posted above. Not only did he get the link, he got 4 links. (I linked to his homepage above and to 3 of his internal pages.) Why did it work?

1. He used my name in the salutation. You don’t see that in the example above, but in the original email to me, he did use my name. I delete all emails that begin with “Dear Webmaster”, so he cleared the first hurdle easily.
2. He gave me his name in the first line. I like doing business with real people. Seeing a first and last name increases the likelihood that I’m dealing with a real person.
3. He interacted with me before. We have participated in discussions together at PAL, so he’s got more credibility than a stranger. This isn’t a necessity in a link request, but it sure is a help when aplicable.
4. He demonstrated knowledge of my site. You don’t have to be as flattering as the email above, but it doesn’t hurt to say something nice. What’s more important than being nice, though, is being specific. I want to know that you emailed me as an individual. I don’t want to receive the bland, vague, bulk emails.
5. He linked to my site already and showed me where. He also explained why he linked to me. This is the kind of thing that builds relationships. Next time I launch a Texas holdem site or a poker websites directory, do you think I’ll link to First Time Poker Player? You bet your ass I will.
6. He again demonstrated his familiarity with my site by suggesting where I could add his link. When you’re contacting a website asking for a link, you should do some investigative work first. If a site never links to external sites from any of its pages, then asking for a link is futile. Skip that site and move on. If a site only links to external links from a single page of resources, then that’s where you can ask for and expect to receive a link. If a site links to several resources from within the body of or at the end of its article pages, then you have an opportunity to request deeplinks. Linking to content from content is effective linking, and getting links to content from content is effective link building.
7. He gave me detailed contact information. He’s not interested in getting a single link from my links page, he’s interested in being a professional colleague. He’s offered to talk to me on the phone, and he’s asked me for feedback on his site. That demonstrates professional respect. And if I’m not going to link to people who respect me as a professional, then who am I going to link to?
8. He provided a description of his site. I could just copy and paste this onto my links page. And if I didn’t remember what his site was all about, this description would jog my memory.

What Puzzles Me

What I don’t understand is why I don’t receive more good link requests? It’s not hard to request links with style, grace, and class. And the payoffs of putting pride into your email requests pays off in so many ways.

Are poker webmasters that lazy? Are they so focused on volume that they can’t write a real letter? Is the entire industry so greedy that the only thing they’re interested in when linking to and from sites is how much they’re paying or how much they’re getting paid?

You can break this cycle. Requesting poker links with style and class might be a small change to make in the world, but why not make it anyway and see what happens? Everyone benefits from more respect and kindness in the world.

Gandhi wasn’t a poker webmaster, but what he said about the world applies:

• “Be the change that you want to see in the world.”
• “There is more to life than increasing its speed.”

As Eric Ward often says, link well my friends.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 at 6:14 am and is filed under Poker Link Building . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.