generic email asking me to add their link to my site, and in exchange my link will be added to not their site, but another website and/or directory. No thanks, it is hard enough to verify my links are remainin on other people sites. asking for a link exchange, but requesting that I add the link first. Excuse me? you wanted to make the link exchange, YOU take the first step. getting emails from 3-4 different people for the same link exchange request. If your gonna get a service to do this for you, pick on out that runs their business a little better than this. It really looks bad when you get an email from a different person for the same website and you set the link exchange up 3 weeks prior. /rant
You could take a look at some software called SEO Studio. It has recip. link management on it and it lets you monitor if the links are showing up and where. It's nice.
Whats worse is getting emails with a subject like "reciprocal link not found on your site. First warning" I just reply to those with a "go f*ck yourself" It is already a pain in the butt to be getting that spam, and now the idiots are warning me?
Yes, all bug the hell out of me. I have a submission form, and the link details are emailed to them once they submit. I ask for a reply once it is up and running, and I am fastest at adding those sites. Those that don't get looked at when I have time. I hate it when I get 2 or 3 requests at once from email addresses out there on the web - whois, etc. They usually start with "I have visited your site..." but if they have, they would find the submission form easily enough, or my contact form at worst. I actually reported one for spam after getting 3 from him. He had the nerve to contact me again, I guess he got suspended for it. But he did not visit, he hit 2 others I know of, and was not personalizing anything in it. Spam. My advice: Actually visit the site before you email someone, look for a submission process or contact form, and personalize any blind contact. Only contact one domain through one email address. Number 2 happened with an SEO company that is now well known... he was just starting and did not seem to understand that custom dictated that he needed to add my details first after I emailed details and explained it to him - twice. I figured the link would be worth number 2 anyway in the end, and just ignored him.
Yeah, sending me a warning a day or two after you have sent the link request is a very solid way of getting your original email deleted. Sorry folks, I dont update my links page everyday, nor will I start in fear of your warning.
I don't answer requests you described in your first post too (those with unknown addresses, asking to link first, etc). But when I see a quality link exchange request (or it seems to be quality at least), I do check this site (at least it's PR, title, link popularity, etc) and add a link if it is good (I feel happy to be able to update my links page in a single click, so it doesn't takes too much time