Some misconceptions about selling on BHW

Before we dive in​

What does initiating a sale mean? ​

How can one indicate that they want to buy something?​

1. Post a thread in the Hire a Freelancer (HAF) or Want to Buy (WTB) sections, asking for a specific service or product you sell.
2. Commenting on your BST (sales thread), not another member's BST offering something similar to yours.
3. Sending you a PM asking for a service or a product.

Responding to HAF and WTB threads​

1. Sending a PM with your proposal or starting a discussion about a buyer's specific need - this works if you can supply the exact thing the buyer asked for or if the thread wasn't clear or specific enough.
   A good practice is to link to the buyer's thread so they can see which thread you're responding to, and so it's easy to demonstrate that you were responding to a request by the buyer and not just outreaching.
2. Commenting on the thread with your contact details (or preferably, an invitation to DM you) - this works anyway, but especially if the buyer wants to buy something that you have an alternative to.
   For example, if a buyer wants to hire someone to post 1000 articles on their WP site, and you want to offer them a plugin you developed that does that instead.

Selling via PM​

How to attract potential customers without breaking the rules?​

Be helpful​

Be friendly​

Use your signature​

It's a nice place, let's keep it like that​

roydan said:

Selling via PM​

It can be a bit confusing seeing Jr VIPs banned for that reason, because technically, becoming a Jr. VIP should allow you to sell on BHW.

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HenryObi said:

Don't you think this section needs to be elaborated further?

You only briefly mentioned that Jr.VIPs get banned for this but never explained how they get banned and how to do it correctly.

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roydan said:

The basic principles are that you cannot sell unless you upgrade your account, and no matter what your membership type or rank is, you cannot initiate a sale.

What does initiating a sale mean? ​

Basically, approaching someone out of the blue to offer your services without them first indicating that they are looking to buy such a service inside the dedicated areas areas (WTB, HAF).

How can one indicate that they want to buy something?​

1. Post a thread in the Hire a Freelancer (HAF) or Want to Buy (WTB) sections, asking for a specific service or product you sell.
2. Commenting on your BST (sales thread), not another member's BST offering something similar to yours.
3. Sending you a PM asking for a service or a product.

Responding to HAF and WTB threads​

There are a couple of ways to respond to WTB or HAF threads that are acceptable:

1. Sending a PM with your proposal or starting a discussion about a buyer's specific need - this works if you can supply the exact thing the buyer asked for or if the thread wasn't clear or specific enough.
   A good practice is to link to the buyer's thread so they can see which thread you're responding to, and so it's easy to demonstrate that you were responding to a request by the buyer and not just outreaching.

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roydan said:

Doesn't this answer it?

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roydan said:

Basically, approaching someone out of the blue to offer your services without them first indicating that they are looking to buy such a service inside the dedicated areas areas (WTB, HAF).

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HenryObi said:

Is the below the only reasons Jr.VIPs get banned for selling via PM?

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roydan said:

I wanted to post this thread because I sense some confusion on BHW, and especially with some newer Jr. VIPs about whether or not they can sell or offer their services in some particular situations.
In some cases, it leads to warnings or infractions that could have easily been avoided.

I'm not posting it in the Jr VIP section because some of the information here is relevant to Premium Members and Marketplace Sellers, as well as to "yellow" members planning on upgrading their membership soon.

Before we dive in​

The basic principles are that you cannot sell unless you upgrade your account, and no matter what your membership type or rank is, you cannot initiate a sale.

What does initiating a sale mean? ​

Basically, approaching someone out of the blue to offer your services without them first indicating that they are looking to buy such a service inside the dedicated areas areas (WTB, HAF).

How can one indicate that they want to buy something?​

1. Post a thread in the Hire a Freelancer (HAF) or Want to Buy (WTB) sections, asking for a specific service or product you sell.
2. Commenting on your BST (sales thread), not another member's BST offering something similar to yours.
3. Sending you a PM asking for a service or a product.

Responding to HAF and WTB threads​

There are a couple of ways to respond to WTB or HAF threads that are acceptable:

1. Sending a PM with your proposal or starting a discussion about a buyer's specific need - this works if you can supply the exact thing the buyer asked for or if the thread wasn't clear or specific enough.
   A good practice is to link to the buyer's thread so they can see which thread you're responding to, and so it's easy to demonstrate that you were responding to a request by the buyer and not just outreaching.
2. Commenting on the thread with your contact details (or preferably, an invitation to DM you) - this works anyway, but especially if the buyer wants to buy something that you have an alternative to.
   For example, if a buyer wants to hire someone to post 1000 articles on their WP site, and you want to offer them a plugin you developed that does that instead.

When you respond to a HAF or a WTB (either via PM or by commenting), take into consideration the time the thread was posted.

Last week? Fine.
Two weeks ago? Meh.. but acceptable.
September 2014? Nope. You initiated that sale.

Selling via PM​

It can be a bit confusing seeing Jr VIPs banned for that reason, because technically, becoming a Jr. VIP should allow you to sell on BHW.

That being said, as mentioned above, even if you have upgraded to Jr. VIP, you can't just send messages to people with intention to sell.
And this includes offering review copies, by the way.

How to attract potential customers without breaking the rules?​

Be helpful​

BHW is a forum before it is a marketplace. So by participating in discussions or posting informative threads about your area of expertise, you have a chance to showcase your knowledge and experience.

Be friendly​

No one wants to hire a douchebag. Be nice and respectful.

Use your signature​

You signature will appear right next to your helpful and nice posts, and you are allowed to promote services in your signatures, as long as it doesn't violate rule #5, also explained here.

Take advantage of that.

It's a nice place, let's keep it like that​

It's important to follow these rules to keep a clean forum, and your account warning and infraction free.
Remember that if you're planning on having a sales thread soon, you must keep your account clean and without any infractions or warnings that haven't expired.

Cheers, and happy selling.

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Funiki said:

If you don’t post at WTB or HAF but you posted in another place that you want to buy something and i sent you a PM selling you that service , that can give me a warning or in other cases a ban.

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