(In case you don't speak german: [DeepL](https://www.deepl.com/translator#de/en/Hallo%20%2C%0A%0AIch%20sehe%20Ihre%20Website%20www.enbewe.de%20und%20sie%20ist%20beeindruckend.%0AIch%20frage%20mich%2C%20ob%20auf%20Ihrer%20Website%20Werbeoptionen%20wie%20Gastbeitr%C3%A4ge%20oder%20Anzeigeninhalte%20verf%C3%BCgbar%20sind%3F%0A%0AWas%20ist%20der%20Preis%2C%20wenn%20wir%20auf%20Ihrer%20Website%20werben%20m%C3%B6chten%3F%0A%0AHinweis%3A%20Artikel%20darf%20nicht%20als%20gesponsert%20oder%20Werbung%20gekennzeichnet%20sein.%0A%0ADanke%20sch%C3%B6n%0AJenifer%20Markly))
Obviously, this was spam and I didn't pay any attention to it. But about a week later I got a second mail:
> Hallo,
> Ich wollte nur Ihre Website www.enbewe.de in Bezug auf Werbeoptionen wie Gastbeiträge und Anzeigeninhalte verfolgen. Könnten Sie mir bitte mitteilen, wie wir zusammen mit dem Preis vorgehen können.
> Hinweis: Artikel darf nicht als gesponsert oder Werbung gekennzeichnet sein.
Now they started to get my interest. I had just dusted of the blog and posted my [last post about my safe autodialer]({{<relref "2023-01-26-opening-a-safe-the-DIY-way.md">}}).
But maybe some basic insight: I absolutely HATE advertisements. I can't stand them in TV/movies and obviously I always run an ad-blocker in my browser.
Sponsored content (or native content or native ads or whatever you may call them) are even worse as they blur the distinction line and make automatic filtering harder.
Oh and by the way, the "The post must not be marked as ad or sponsored" is just plain illegal where I live.
But I had nothing else pressing to do, so I decided to waste some time of this person and replied:
> Guten Tag,
>
> das klingt sehr interessant. Was haben sie sich vorgestellt?
>
> Aufgrund meiner sehr speziellen Leserschaft würde ich einen gehobenen Preis für gesponserte Inhalte gerechtfertigt sehen.
>
> Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
>
> Nis Wechselberg
>
> P.S. Ich gehe davon aus, dass in ihrem Hinweis ein Tippfehler war, und sie sagen wollten, dass die Posts natürlich als gesponsert/Werbung gekennzeichnet werden müssen. Alle andere wäre illegal.
Obviously, this was complete bullshit. Why would they pay for my dead carcass of a blog. And calling "little to no readership" "special" is kind of a stretch.
Poking fun at the "sponsored" marking was actually my main point, but I wanted to see if that alone pushed them away.
And ... it did not (and they suddenly switched to english for some reason).
> I can do $50 for 1 permanent (one-time fee) article publish [article content of your choice of topic] with do-follow link to bitcoin / crypto site. Will supply unique content as well.
> Let me know.
> Note :1.Article must not be any text like sponsored or advertise or like that.
> 2. we can only pay by paypal.
>
> Generally we don't mark our articles but for you I can suggest alternative tags such as " Produced in association with" or " Brought to you by" so if you agree then let me know?
Now, I could detail why I don't like this mail, but let me just quote my reply:
> Wow, I didn't actually expect a reply after calling you out on your "Don't mark it as ad" note.
>
> Let me be 100% clear:
> No! Go away! Never contact me again!
>
> If you want to know why, read on ...
>
> * I don't run ads on my site at all.
> * I would never, ever run ads for the slimy, scam-ridden cesspool that you call "crypto".
> * Did you actually look at my site? I have one post in the last 4 years.
>
> So please, go away and delete my contact info.
>
> Maybe even better:
> Stop what you are doing (peddling scam to people) and think if that is actually what you want to do. Maybe you can find something nice to do that is not based on lies and deceit and that actually fulfills your life. Growing flowers or working with wood is really nice, or so I heard.
I think that should do it ... for this offer and hopefully for every other person that might think about these kind of offers.
