Advertising this site

Richard019

I know we're not allowed to advertise our own websites on here, but are we allowed to advertise this site on our own?

I work for another website in my spare time but make a loss on the job as I'm doing it for an acquaintance (it's his personal website and it's free for all his users and advert free) and want to use it to gain experiance and learn things at my own rate rather than being under pressure to get it right to start with.

In order to minimise my losses I've decided to do bits of the job through my own website (still free to all the users) as I can make more from adverts than it will cost me to set up and maintain and will go some way to covering the costs of the prizes.

As well as those adverts I'd like to have links to websites that have helped me in some way. This one being one of the main ones as even without the personal gains in other areas I've discovered how easy it is to become self-employed, a company that will pay a flat rate for adverts even on low traffic sites (which in fairness it will be unless I advertise it on more public forums) and has provided me with a couple of tools that I'll be able to use. All of which has led me to 2 questions:

1) Am I alright to just do it? ie are there any conditions that MSE towers have on sites doing it?

2) Is there a premade image to be used for links? I've had a look around the website but can't find one. I know there's one used on the saynoto0870 site but I think (for some reason that site is unavailable to me as I write) that it has on it something about being endorsed by this site, which I obviously don't want to claim.

MothballsWallet

I know it's OK to link to this site from our own ones, including having a link image, but the advertising of it I'm not sure - perhaps one of the Board Guides or Forum Team will be along later and can advise?

Richard019

MothballsWallet wrote: »

I know it's OK to link to this site from our own ones, including having a link image, but the advertising of it I'm not sure - perhaps one of the Board Guides or Forum Team will be along later and can advise?

I think that actually answers the question. All I was planning was a picture link and a small comment at the bottom of pages on the site, and possibly another on the "links" page.

I figured that would count as advertising the site (as that's actually more than I have to do for the "paid for" advertising) and thought it best to check I was OK to do it. Whilst it's not the same thing if a dodgy scam site were advertising this site off their own back I'd expect there to be objections due to the association it would create, as though they were using this site's credibility to make people think it was legit.

Savvy_Sue

For the definitive answer, you need to email [Removed by Forum Team] - you could include the link to this thread to save having to retype the question!

sra

The latest thread to discuss advertising MSE:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=695211

I'm afraid that my answer in post #2 is still the most current state of affairs

MothballsWallet

So, sra, can we link to MSE from our own sites and use the masthead logo as a link image or it's a total "no no"?

sra

MothballsWallet wrote: »

So, sra, can we link to MSE from our own sites and use the masthead logo as a link image or it's a total "no no"?

It's not very clear is it? Afraid I can't answer that.

5.5.1 can display a MoneySavingExpert.com logo but mustn't otherwise use any MoneySavingExpert.com trade marks without our written consent;

5.5.2 mustn't remove, distort or otherwise alter the size or appearance of our logo;

5.5.3 may link only to our homepage unless we have given you our prior written consent;

...was written in the days when this was the logo -




Now there isn't really one single logo. There's Martin's head, and there's a separate bit that says MoneySavingExpert.com

MothballsWallet

And I reckon that anyone who knocked up a dummy page to privately show the forum team what their link would look like would/could technically be in breach of the clauses of the Ts & Cs you quoted.

Ok, many thanks for trying - hopefully Martin and the team can take a look at that part again one day to clear it up.

MSE_Martin

My general view of this. If people would like to tell others about the site. We love it - best to link to the home page. Where I get protective is if it looks like MSE is endorsing anyone elses site - for obvious reasons.

If the text is all about you suggesting people visit this site we're generally happy. Though of course rights are always reserved yada yada yada

Thanks for thinking of us

Martin

Richard019

Thanks for the responses everybody.

From what's been said both on here and in emails with MSE Towers I should be fine with what I'm planning. Just to be on the safe side though, once the site is finished I'll send a link before I tell the intended users it's there.