#1 Marketing Strategy
Some of you might be familiar with forum, but most don’t really see the power of using forums as a big part of their marketing strategy. I will try to draw you a picture of all the positive effects forum marketing can have on your internet business. I will also show you what most people do wrong and how you can get the most out this method with a great marketing strategy.
What are forums?
Forums are communities online in the form of message boards. You can post your own topics or answer to others posts. There are different forums to almost any topic online, from fishing and golf to forum marketing and business opportunities.
How and why should you do forum marketing?
Forum marketing can be one of the most targeted methods online, and it’s so easy to do. You just sign up for a forum and start posting your ads, right?
WRONG!
A lot of people are commonly doing that mistake. They go into different forums and post their ads all around or they us some sort of submitter to do it for them. If you want to get banned from a lot of forums and loose credibility at the same time, this is the way to do it.
The power of forum marketing is that it’s one of the best ways to build relations and a reputation online. Do not start by posting your ads everywhere in the forum. Actually, don’t post any ads at all (except in the classifieds sections, but this is not where the power of this marketing strategy lays).
Become part of the community, ask questions, answer questions, make friends and discuss topics that interest you (and your business). Show people that you’re not just another hyped up guy trying to earn money on tricking them into something. Be seen as a real, trustworthy person that is open to communicate with people. This shows you will be a good sponsor if they want to join your company.
What techniques can help me do this?
- BE SEEN! Be sure to use an avatar (a picture of yourself or a logo). This can be added to your profile and will be shown beside all of your posts. This image will make it easy for people to recognise you and gives them a feeling of knowing you after seeing it all over.
- BE PROFESSIONAL! Do not use foul language or let your emotions get ahead of you. Be clear about your meanings, but try basing them on facts.
- BE POSITIVE! Do not talk badly about other people businesses unless they are proven scams (be humble). In internet marketing, do not make your company look good by talking bad about the competition. Talking bad about other online businesses will only cast a shadow over the whole internet marketing concept (including your business).
But how do I get people to my business?
There are two places you should have links back to you own business.
The first place to add your link is in your profile. It’s a perfectly legit and normal place to have a link to your main business.
The second place is in your signature. This is also done through your profile in the given forum, but be sure to read the forum rules before doing this (some forums do not allow ads in your signature). The signature is added to the end of all your posts with a line in between. Every time you communicate on the forum, your site will be promoted without you looking like an aggressive promoter.
You should make it a short description of your business linking to your business.
SIDE NOTE: Forums do not use HTML to ad colour, font, etc. to the text, but a code called bbc. An easy program to help you make the text and effects you want in this code is FASS. It’s free and can be found here: http://www.pawsoft.com/?p=fass/home
If you really want to make progress you should also track your links in the signature. Many online businesses have tracking software for this purpose. You should always track your results as part of your marketing strategy and you can do that through GlobalNPN or another tracking proram.
What forums should I use?
Since my expertise is in Internet Marketing I have some forums I would like to recommend forums in this category.
The Warrior Forum – The Warrior Forum is a very friendly forum for Internet marketing and learning how to make money online. Many of these forums are rough places. Not for the sensitive types. However, I have never experienced this on The Warrior Forum. The people here are very willing to help beginners learn how to make money online.
Digital Point Forums – Digital Point Forums are very active Internet marketing forums. Digital Point is a hub for people making money (or hoping to make money) on the Internet. I encourage you to check out all of the forums at Digital Point. The amount of information on these forums is absolutely amazing. This might be the most active Internet marketing forum.
Big Boards – This is a directory of forums in every category you can imagine. Find a forum in your niche here.
Hope this marketing strategy will help you do great in your internet marketing business.
Have a great week!
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That is true. As an author and business man, I can relate to how you said, “Forum marketing can be one of the most targeted methods online, and it’s so easy to do. You just sign up for a forum and start posting your ads, right?”. I hope more people discover your blog because you really know what you’re talking about. Can’t wait to read more from you!