6 comments within 5 minutes of each other on 6 different posts from 6 different people. Not terribly unusual. Normally I wouldn’t be too concerned but, wow, look at those IP addresses. They’re all the same. How could that be? Hmmm…

This is something I’m seeing more and more lately. Sneaky vendors – or bloggers looking to promote their multiple sites with mad affiliate links – are posting under multiple and/or false email addresses trying to get traffic from my site. And then there are the vendors posting fake but oh-so-glowing reviews of their own companies (yeah, certain floral supply company, I’m looking at you). Oh, then there was one last week from a “reader” who commented that she found the greatest company in the whole world at {redacted}.com and their product was the best thing in the history of things. She was certainly going to use them for her wedding. Great! Except her email address was vendorname@{redacted}.com. Uh huh.

After 5+ years of doing this I’m quite adept at picking out the fakers. Some are easier to spot than others but there are certain behaviors and clues that give them away. It’s usually the IP address that seals the deal for me. I do keep notes on the offenders and have a running list of vendors and sites who’ve tried to pull a fast one on me and my readers.

Listen, I know how tough it is to build traffic, to get sales, to operate a website. I’ve spent the last 5+ years doing it here. The difficulty of running a business doesn’t mean you get to abuse the kindness (and traffic) of other sites for your own benefit. That’s just lazy and dishonest. There are no shortcuts in building a business and credibility. Do the work. Don’t be one the jerkwads who give the wedding industry a bad reputation.

If you want to introduce your company to me and my readers email me a quick note. Introduce yourself. Tell me a bit about who you are and what you do and, more importantly, why my readers would be interested in what you’ve got to offer. You have a better chance of getting some PR from me than if you try to pull a fast one. If you go the sneaky route, you’re doing nothing but telling me you’re a  jerk and that I want nothing to do with you. That’s fine. I like shortcuts, too.