Learning Conversations

I've started getting a number of queries from web marketing companies (who will remain nameless!) wanting to pay me to put links into my posts.

The conversation normally goes like this:

Marketing company: Hi there, we'd like to pay you $x if you'll put a link to my client's website in your post at http://www.learningconversations.co.uk/[post_url]

Me: Thanks for the offer. Yes, that's fine, as long as I can put it in a section explicitly marked as advertising.

Marketing company: No, the link needs to be embedded in the post. Something like: "If you're interested in [service offered with link to relevant page], [Client] offers [service description]

Me: So you're asking me to break the Advertising Standards Authority rules which govern UK advertising? No thanks.

Just for the record, I will not accept advertising unless I can explicitly mark it as advertising copy. Any links that you come across in my posts are there just because I thought they'd be useful, and not because I've been paid to put them there.

And, if you're not clear what the rules are:

Committee of Advertising Practice > Recognition of Marketing Communications > Rules

2.1 Marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such.
2.2 Unsolicited e-mail marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as marketing communications without the need to open them (see rule 10.6).
2.3 Marketing communications must not falsely claim or imply that the marketer is acting as a consumer or for purposes outside its trade, business, craft or profession; marketing communications must make clear their commercial intent, if that is not obvious from the context.
2.4 Marketers and publishers must make clear that advertorials are marketing communications; for example, by heading them “advertisement feature”.

Don't ask me to break them!