Okay dude, here’s the deal: when someone links to your blog from theirs, they are doing you a favor.  Not the other way around.  I’m sure I’ve missed a few, but I always try to leave a thank-you comment on every blog that mentions Contest Blogger.  And if someone links to us and submits a contest, I make sure to return the favor and give them a cool review.

Contest Blogger was created with the purpose of linking out to other blogs, though, so I don’t expect every site I mention here to give us a backlink in return.  If you submit a cool contest, it’s totally my pleasure to let our readers know about it, and no backlinks are expected. 

But check this out: today I got an email from one of the bloggers whose contest I posted about recently, and he graciously informed me that he would be glad to let me pay him to mention Contest Blogger on his blog.  

Let me get this straight, dude: I took the time to link back to your site and give you free publicity for your blog contest, and you want to charge me for a shout-out?  Sorry, man, but that just doesn’t work out in my book.

Like I said, I never expect a backlink in return for posting a contest.  But it’s just plain bad manners to get a link from someone and then come sniffing around for some cash.