forum marketing
Introduction
If you are
serious about wanting to promote your website on the Internet, then going via
forums available is the best option for you.
These forums are
easy to join and require no additional monetary deposit to be a member.
Moreover, being a storehouse of information and accessible to anyone, these
forums are an ideal way to go about advertising your web page.
These serve as
social networking centers, where topics are discussed and information
exchanged. Hence if one can search out a forum where discussions held are
relevant to one’s own product or field, then his chances of getting his website
noticed and popularized would be more. So that should be the first step towards
establishing your identity on the Internet.
But remember as
it is with all kinds of marketing…finesse is everything. Do not over do
anything in your enthusiasm. It is best to act calm and not seem like you are
desperate to market your product. Such over eagerness is often the surest shot
way of offending customer sensibility, leading to possible bans against your
website with the allegation of spamming.
It is therefore
better to leave frequent yet understated messages informing about what’s on
offer or rather go to forums, which have questions put up regarding matters
close to your product and then respond to them.
So, go and read
the threads posted on the forum, figure out how best you can respond to queries
and do that.
This is will
help you build a customer base as soon as people on the forum trust you to be
helpful and genuine. Once that is done, all you have to do is subtly lead them
to your website and that is that.
This is an easy
and profitable option for you because it is absolutely free and targeting a
certain niche clientele is very easy. But try and avoid promoting your website
on irrelevant platforms as it might hamper your reputation.
So, do it
casually and always follow up and enquire about whether the directed person
found your website helpful or not. This is a great way to get feedback, which
will help improving your site, build client rapport, and woo new customers
towards your site with show of attentiveness to their likes and dislikes.
But finally the
most important think to keep in mind that though beneficial for marketing,
these platforms are for discussion not sales. So be subtle and it will be a
smooth sailing for you.
Is
Forum Marketing Effective?
Internet forum
marketing is the form of marketing where you market your business through
online discussion groups. First you join a forum and start adding posts to the
discussions. You are though not allowed to advertise or market directly through
your posts, this is called spamming.
After
registering as a member of the forum you can create your own signature file. In
this signature file you can hyperlink a keyword phrase back to your website,
which when clicked can bring on the traffic to your site.
The following
are the five benefits of forum marketing.
1. Always remember when you are posting you are helping out someone. It
is a great felling when you are of any help to the other person. If you are a
believer of the law of when you give you always receive something then online
forum marketing is the place for you.
2. You get to learn a lot for free. When I started my Team
Schuman.com
website I never felt the urge to post. I only read other people’s posts. I hung
out in the Warrior Forum and learned a lot which helped me grow the
business.
3. You’ll get free advertising from your signature profile.People read
your posts and view your signature profile and click on the link for your
website. This type of traffic is very passive and a great source of sales.
4. Search engines would give you credit for a backlink when you
hyperlink your keyword phrase back to your website. As for example, my article
writer website hyperlinks the phrase article writer. And now we feature in the
top 10 on Google because of the backlinks from forum marketing. I try to be
very regular and post on these forums several times a week. You can try Google
search and you will get a large list of forums and discussion groups. Find the
few which has any form of relevance with your business.
5. One other huge benefit I get is that I acquire ideas to write
articles on my blog by going through the different kind of questions people
ask. A good question usually stimulates a lot of discussion. Such questions can
be made into good articles.
These are
several reasons good enough for you to include internet forum marketing to be
part of your advertisement strategies. Be consistent and rip the benefits.
You Should Start with Forum Marketing
Forum marketing
can make your online business get noticed. Forum users, by and large, are tech
and net-savvy and like purchasing things online. Many forum frequenters are
also authorities in the topics discussed in the forum.
Forum marketing,
thus, helps make a good impression in front of a knowledgeable and influential
audience, which can help spread word all over. What follows is a step-by-step
guide that will tell you how to effectively make forum marketing a part of your
marketing strategy.
Not all forums
host the people you want to communicate with. You have to choose a set of 5-10
forums to concentrate your energies on.
Ensure that
these forums have at least 10,000 posts from at least 1,000 members; that there
are at least 10-15 new posts every day. Avoid forums which are hosted by your
direct competitors; and those which are flooded by spam.
Create your
forum accounts as soon as possible. This is helpful because seniority is given
a lot of importance in most online forums: some even require you to wait a few
days before posting for the first time.
When you sign
up, you’ll be asked to agree to their user agreements and posting guidelines.
Read these
documents carefully. A lot of people skip this and just click yes, because
there is a lot of legal jargon. But some important things to look for are:
• Are you allowed to include links in your posts?
• Can you promote your business?
• Can you use commercial messages as your signature?
•
Can you contact other members
for business purposes on the forum?
• Are there restrictions on new and privileges for old members?
•
Your user name is the first
thing that’ll be noticed. Pick one that’s memorable, simple and can be easily
pronounced. You might want to use your real name and/or the name of your
company. Do not use random combinations of letters and/or numbers, or something
that’s significant to you and you alone.
Create a profile
that will help you establish credibility. Put up a description of your
experience and expertise. Personal information can help break the ice, but don’t
venture into topics that can alienate anyone, like race or religion or
political affiliation.
Above all, treat
forum marketing as an integral part of your long-term strategy, not just a
one-off opportunity to bombard the messageboards with information about your
hot new product.
Make Your Presence Felt through Forum Posting
Being a part of
the network marketing business, you’ll know that participation on forums is an
effective way to grow your downline if you can do the right forum marketing. If
you are using forums to build your downline, these two basic things you must do
regularly to get hundreds of targets audience interested to check you out and
then join your team.
Regular Participation
Inability to use
forum every day is quite overlooked. Most people think after joining a forum
and participating for a few days that people will check them out. But they
generate no leads because you must post a lot before anybody will check you
out.
For maximum results, here is what you should do. First locate 3-5 forums that are in the network marketing field by searching on Google. By doing this you’ll get a list of forums to join and participate in.
While doing your
search make sure to look for forums which have more than 10000 members and
above. This will increase your chance of getting enough traffic that will
subsequently pay for the time you have spent on posting.
After this
prepare a good signature from your profile settings. Create something that will
get everybody’s attention towards you after reading it. However, do not overtly
try to advertise on your signature, rather be subtle and get the message
across. Every little detailing you think will add to your credibility must be
added in the profile.
Once you are
through with this, introduce yourself to the community.
After that make,
sure you are regular with your postings on the forum.
The traffic would not come if you have not posted in the forums regularly for at least 2 weeks.
You Should Only Post High-Quality Content
Every day you will encounter new people who will post questions. Try to reply to every post that you have answers to or opinion about. Do this for 5 people (at least) each day on each forum.
You can also ask
relevant questions yourself for attracting replies so that many people will
notice your signature link.
Sometimes try to write posts which are very informative and has relevance. This will benefit other people in the forum. You must write articles based on your experience. For example: in areas you have been successful in getting traffic or any similar useful tip that would help others to build their business.
Forum Marketing Can Become an Addiction
Forum marketing
is a great way of marketing if you can do it the right way. But it can be a
financial equivalent of stepping on a land-mine. Forum marketing is basically
showing your expertise and building a reputation.
It does exactly that if you do it the right way. But done wrongly it reflects your lack of expertise and turns your name to mud. Once you have decided the forums to use, go through their rules and regulations. Each forum’s rules are different. Many have some topics banned, some allow advertisement and some don’t.
First learn the rules of the road. Not following the rules will make you banned in the forums. Even if it is allowed you should not advertise through your posts or comments. Rely on the signature to promote you and your business.
Before you start
actual postings go through the contents of the forum thoroughly once. By
reading the forum you will have a good idea about what the forum is all about
and the best way you can approach it. If you try to barge in, that will have a
negative impact within the forum and that is one land mine you would surely want
to avoid.
Always remember
that along with the new comers the best-known brains in the online marketing
industry are also posting in these forums. So, before you post something on a
given topic or try to comment on a post make sure you have the necessary
expertise to do that comment. If you do not have the necessary knowledge and
shoot from the hip then at best you will be ignored or at worse, experience
marketers will call you to task and that will ruin your reputation.
There is nothing
wrong in creating a little controversy in these forums. I sometimes acquire
some of my best and most successful business ideas from such forum topics which
have created some form of arguments within the ranks. But this is entirely
different than from being called a fraud.
Comment when you
can help someone with a problem otherwise keep num. the forums is all about
helping each other with a common goal.
If you can
provide help then go for it. Good or bad the reputation you create in the
forums will be synonymous with you through out your online career and internet
marketing.
Steps to Successful Forum Marketing
You must take
the steps after you have registered in a forum, to ensure your success in forum
marketing.
A lot of forums
have specific threads designated for welcoming new members, where those who
have just registered are encouraged to introduce themselves. Your introductory
post should basically inform the other members who you are and why you’ve
joined the forum. The reason you give should not be in any way
business-oriented. Making a sales-pitch in your first post will definitely be
frowned on and may get you banned.
Do not post immediately. Most forums have at least one, large, close knit community in it. If you suddenly post on a thread where discussions have been carried on for days, you shall be shunned and ignored. Spend some time going through the archives—figure out which topics are perennial favorites and which users are the unofficial leaders. Also observe the particular etiquette of the forum.
Whenever there
are questions asked that fall within your area of expertise, answer them to the
best of your ability. Back up your answers by providing links to trusted
sources and answer follow-up questions promptly. If you prove to be a helpful,
efficient member, you’re more likely to be paid attention to.
Do not get
involved in heated arguments, no matter what you think of the question at hand.
Keep reminding yourself that you’re there to build up a clientele for your
business; stay away from topics like religion, race and politics; don’t immediately
respond to criticism; make sure the others know when you’re joking; leave
discussions when they become contentious.
Once you’re
acknowledged as a respected user, start marketing your products aggressively.
Focus on techniques which are likely to prove beneficial to the community as a
whole. Offer forum members free samples and/or discounts. However, make sure to
obtain the forum moderator’s permission before you start a marketing campaign.
If you are
hiring a marketing agency to run your campaign for you, research their methods.
A lot of agencies use robots to spam forums. While spamming might ensure
temporary traffic, in the long run, it’ll do you more harm than good. Forum
users dislike being flooded with spam and can blacken your reputation if they
so wish. So, accept the services of only those marketing agencies which will
abide by the guidelines set out above. If at all possible, you should handle
your own forum marketing.
Importance of Forum Based Marketplaces
If you are
trying to make a mark in deliberate online marketing, then you should
definitely try to utilize the different forums that are available online. To
begin with, forums are excellent to get information. Thus, one should frequent
these forums to establish one's professional status.
This can be done
prior to actually starting to sell his/her product or service. Almost every
full-time marketer is fairly active on the various popular Internet Marketing
forums. These serve as excellent medium to achieve brand awareness for one's
program.
These further
serve the cause of generating several useful contacts.
There are a lot
of likeminded people you can find online and these forums help on to garner
networking prospects like never before. Thus, the forums are extremely useful
social mediums too.
One thing that
you should definitely avoid while making use of the forums is to push your
product indiscriminately and too frequently to ruin your professional image and
lose all trust of fellow users.
There is only
one way of garnering the trust of the forum members and holding on to it and
this can only be done by offering information or services which are genuinely
useful to fellow users along with a proper promotion through signature tags,
valuable posts etc. There might also be the case when the forum would itself
allow for promotion for example many forums have marketplaces where you can
actually sell your products and services.
A significant
part all online marketer’s effort should be framed on forum marketing. This can
prove to be another very useful equipment to create a brand of one's own. To
create a professional brand on a forum is the most efficient kind of promotion.
Trust does not come as something easily buyable.
Forum
Based Market Places - It's More Than About Making Quick Money!
Do you have a
product or service in the Internet Marketing niche? Perhaps, you have a list
building campaign going on or you are selling an E-book on making money online
or may be, you have created a software that could prove to be a boon to every
Internet Marketer? If you have any such product or services, then forum based
market places can be very beneficial in selling and marketing your products or
services.
Contrary to the
common belief, forum based market places are not at all meant for making some “quick
cash”. Instead, you should make wise use of these channels to leverage your
business.
Here, I am not
talking about the significance of signature tags but I am focusing on doing
some REAL business through the market places of the various forums.
Did you know
that some of the popular Internet Marketing forums receive a huge amount of
traffic every day? Most of these forums have over 60,000 members who are quite
active and regularly visit the forums. Therefore, you can well imagine the
potential that the forum market places hold in terms of marketing and
generating sales of your products and services.
In an Internet
Marketing Forum, all people want to display their superior copywriting skills
while composing a special offer. I have listed some tips for you to follow
while posting your ad in a forum based market place.
Do not try to
overdo the title - if your offer cannot be understood, there are high chances
of you losing out. They should be directed to your sales page and the offer
copy should be short and pin pointed.
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