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How To Use Forums For Efficient Advertising And Networking

I am talking regularly about forum advertising and since I posted the list with MLM forums last time I thought it was a good time to come back to the subject again. Well, if you don’t know it and you haven’t learned it yet, your signature there is the most important factor when used for advertising your product or opportunity.

Most forums allow you to set up a small message with links that would be inserted automatically at the end of your post. And this is the place that you put your small ad with a link or more to the relevant webpage of yours.

Be careful at that point and read the forum rules of what is allowed or not. Every discussion board has its own rules and you should read them and comply accordingly. Wat’s the use of all that fuss if you end up becoming banned or posts get deleted? It’s just a waste of time so you better be safe than sorry.

Also don’t try to spam them cause it doesn’t work and for sure you are going to make a lot of enemies which is not to your interest at all. After all, when it was the last time you followed a spammer’s link and bought something from him? Exactly, as you don’t trust them yourself don’t expect others to trust you enough in order to transact with you if you follow that fashion.

Ok after the necessary “Be Careful Statements” let’s get back to the interesting part.

You should write your message in your signature in a way that is not boring and the reader actually follows your link for more. To accomplish that, you can either use a strong call to action by mentioning what they can get and how you can solve their problem or structure it in such a way that you don’t reveal anything and ignites their curiosity to go for more.

A good thing is to test different forms and words and see what gets the highest response and sends you the most visitors. Of course, this is easier said than done, since besides your website’s stats you would need to check how many times the threads in which you have posted have been read in order to draw conclusion and they won’t be 100% accurate since a lot of other things intervene. So at some point you would have to rely on your instinct, too.

Next, after you have your signature set up you go on and start posting right?

Well, not exactly. At least I wouldn’t advise you to rush from the first minute and start participating. In fact what I would suggest is to not even use your signature at the first days until you have some posts in your roster. Discussion boards is like small communities and everyone is unique in a way, since it’s the amalgam of its members. Every forum has it’s own personality and character. It’s like small European villages with their own charm, their own way of doing things, their own sense of what’s important or not and of course its own people from the wise ones that everyone listens to and respects, to its clowns.

Photo By Jeff Wilcox

What you should do at first is to browse through the treads and read as much as you can the first days. Try to get the “feel” of the discussion board. Understand its personality. Find out who the big names there are. After your reconnaissance you can start by introducing yourself and then by replying to various threads that you find of interest. After a few days of posting then and only then start using your signature. That way you would be more easily accepted by other members without risking get alienated and being mistrusted.

Second, you have to bear in mind that you should bring value to the community. Your posts should be useful, relevant and intelligent. Your chances of someone following your signature link are greater in that case. People who find interesting and valuable what you are saying would also pay attention and in your signature, too. Quality pays over quantity here.

Another thing you should have to consider is that when you concentrate you have much more to gain. There may be many forums out there in your niche and if you try to share your time equally among them you may dilute your efforts to such an extent that you may not accomplish anything.

Find the 3 or 4 big ones that gather the most people and concentrate your biggest effort there. That way you will gain more visibility, make more connections and you increase your chances to start being perceived as one of the leaders there that everybody respects and follow their advice. Use the smaller ones more sparingly just to keep a presence there just in case.

Of course, on the other hand, there’s the saying that it’s better to be a big fish in a small pond. Sometimes you may be able to accomplish more by concentrating on a few small ones and becoming a leader there faster. That is something you have to decide for yourself after you evaluate your strengths and weaknesses when you are planning your strategy. Obviously if you can’t spend a lot of time in forums the latter method may be more suitable for you.

Technorati Tags: Forum, Advertising, Networking, Signature, Discussion Board,   Community, Link, Traffic

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