How to offer an afiliate program?

... without being considered a spammer.

[bcc1234]

Hi, I'm thinking about going to dmoz and picking sites out of related catgories. After that, I want to send those guys e-mails, asking if they would like to sell referrals to me.

Would that be considered spam?
Will I have problems with my provider?

Thanks.

[Jane_Doe]

I don't think so, especially if it is a personalized email not sent out to a thousand sites. The mass mailing emails sent to me get picked up in my spam filters and I ignore those.

I get personal emails every now and then from people who either have affiliate programs that fit in with the content of one of my sites or want to advertise on one of my sites. I always view these with interest.

[korkus2000]

I quick search on google for similar products may also help your search for possible publishers. If it is personalized and targeted (they are offering similar products) then I don't think you have a problem. Some people just don't like unsolicited email. Even if you know them. As long as it is not a mass mailing I think it is ok.

[europeforvisitors]

I don't mind getting unsolicited e-mails from affiliate programs that are related to my site's topic. I do mind getting irrelevant e-mails, which I consider to be spam.

If I'm running a site on Widgets, a personalized e-mail about a Widgets affiliate program won't bother me, and I'll probably be courteous enough to reply even if it's to say "No, thanks." But if I get an e-mail about Whatsits, which have nothing to do with my topic, I'll just hit the delete key after forwarding the e-mail to Junk Spy's spam-reporting address.