Traffic Tips: Forum Advertising
SPREADING THE WORD .. LITERALLY
Forum advertising is probably THE greatest form of “non advertising - advertising” that you will ever find. If that sounds like a lot of double talk, it’s not.
Let me explain.
Forums, especially the very popular ones, can bring you more sales, if done right, than any other form of advertising on the Internet. But you have to be patient because this isn’t something that you can just dive right into.
What exactly are forums? Well, they’re places where lots of people hang out. There are forums for just about every niche in existence. If you were to just type in the word “Forum” in a Google search box you’d get over 1 billion results. You heard me correctly, 1 billion. Think there isn’t going to be a forum for your niche? Trust me, there will be unless your niche is underwater pole-vaulting.
Most forums are members only. Meaning, in order to participate in the forum discussion, you have to sign up. They’ll ask you for your name and email and some other info and then most will send you a confirmation email that you have to either reply to or click some link in to verify that you’re a real live person. After that, you’re in. But, here is where most people make their mistake and quickly get themselves booted out of the forum, usually for good.
Many people, when they join a forum, well immediately start blasting their business opportunity all over the place. This is the best way to get yourself thrown out. Almost all forums, unlike message boards, have a strict “no advertising” policy. That means, no ads, period. You can ask about certain programs or products and engage in discussion, but no “hey guys, check out this cool web site and don’t forget to sign up under me.” That kind of behavior will NOT go over well in a forum.
Okay, you’re probably scratching your head and wondering, if you can’t advertise in a forum, then how can you advertise in a forum? Steve, have you totally lost your marbles? Maybe you’ve just been working too hard. Yes, I have been working very hard, but I haven’t lost my marbles. Forums are absolutely the BEST place to advertise your business.
Let me explain.
Most forums, though not all, will allow you a signature. You can usually put anything you like in this signature, but check the particular forum rules for just what you can do. What I do is simple. I put my name and then under it I put a brief description of what I want to promote, usually one line, and then under that, the URL of the site. And that’s it.
Now, the key is to get people to actually look at your signature because most people don’t. How do you do that? By building credibility. How?
This is what you do.
After you join the forum, don’t start your own thread. Look at other threads, particular ones that ask a question, like “How do I respond to a JV request?” Read the post and if you know the answer, respond to it. Make it a fairly lengthy response so that the answer is really helpful. Do this for as many posts as you can find that you know the answer to. Eventually, people will start to recognize you. But don’t do what I do and answer 80 posts in one day unless you REALLY have the smarts to back them up. I sometimes charge into a forum like a bull in a China shop. I can get away with it now, but if I tried this when I was just starting, a lot of eyebrows would have been raised.
Anyway, keep doing this. After people get to know you, then you can start your own posts, but no ads. I usually will make a post with some suggestions about how to do something. I will usually get a lot of thank you’s for those. Or sometimes I will even ask a question myself. Nothing wrong with that, especially if you’re really stumped on something. Shows you’re human.
You do this long enough at enough forums and you will start seeing sales come in by the bucket full. Three forums in particular that I am a member of are responsible for a big chunk of my product sales. So take my advice. Hang out in forums. If you contribute, the rewards will come.
And you won’t have to advertise a thing.
Jake Riley
http://www.Memberzilla.com
Forum advertising is probably THE greatest form of “non advertising - advertising” that you will ever find. If that sounds like a lot of double talk, it’s not.
Let me explain.
Forums, especially the very popular ones, can bring you more sales, if done right, than any other form of advertising on the Internet. But you have to be patient because this isn’t something that you can just dive right into.
What exactly are forums? Well, they’re places where lots of people hang out. There are forums for just about every niche in existence. If you were to just type in the word “Forum” in a Google search box you’d get over 1 billion results. You heard me correctly, 1 billion. Think there isn’t going to be a forum for your niche? Trust me, there will be unless your niche is underwater pole-vaulting.
Most forums are members only. Meaning, in order to participate in the forum discussion, you have to sign up. They’ll ask you for your name and email and some other info and then most will send you a confirmation email that you have to either reply to or click some link in to verify that you’re a real live person. After that, you’re in. But, here is where most people make their mistake and quickly get themselves booted out of the forum, usually for good.
Many people, when they join a forum, well immediately start blasting their business opportunity all over the place. This is the best way to get yourself thrown out. Almost all forums, unlike message boards, have a strict “no advertising” policy. That means, no ads, period. You can ask about certain programs or products and engage in discussion, but no “hey guys, check out this cool web site and don’t forget to sign up under me.” That kind of behavior will NOT go over well in a forum.
Okay, you’re probably scratching your head and wondering, if you can’t advertise in a forum, then how can you advertise in a forum? Steve, have you totally lost your marbles? Maybe you’ve just been working too hard. Yes, I have been working very hard, but I haven’t lost my marbles. Forums are absolutely the BEST place to advertise your business.
Let me explain.
Most forums, though not all, will allow you a signature. You can usually put anything you like in this signature, but check the particular forum rules for just what you can do. What I do is simple. I put my name and then under it I put a brief description of what I want to promote, usually one line, and then under that, the URL of the site. And that’s it.
Now, the key is to get people to actually look at your signature because most people don’t. How do you do that? By building credibility. How?
This is what you do.
After you join the forum, don’t start your own thread. Look at other threads, particular ones that ask a question, like “How do I respond to a JV request?” Read the post and if you know the answer, respond to it. Make it a fairly lengthy response so that the answer is really helpful. Do this for as many posts as you can find that you know the answer to. Eventually, people will start to recognize you. But don’t do what I do and answer 80 posts in one day unless you REALLY have the smarts to back them up. I sometimes charge into a forum like a bull in a China shop. I can get away with it now, but if I tried this when I was just starting, a lot of eyebrows would have been raised.
Anyway, keep doing this. After people get to know you, then you can start your own posts, but no ads. I usually will make a post with some suggestions about how to do something. I will usually get a lot of thank you’s for those. Or sometimes I will even ask a question myself. Nothing wrong with that, especially if you’re really stumped on something. Shows you’re human.
You do this long enough at enough forums and you will start seeing sales come in by the bucket full. Three forums in particular that I am a member of are responsible for a big chunk of my product sales. So take my advice. Hang out in forums. If you contribute, the rewards will come.
And you won’t have to advertise a thing.
Jake Riley
http://www.Memberzilla.com
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