| One of the quickest ways to begin advertising online is | | | | Once you have joined a few forums or groups, be a |
| by posting on forums or group message boards. You | | | | lurker for a little while and see what people are |
| can advertise your own websites or you can | | | | interested in, and what kind of questions they are |
| advertise affiliate products. There is a certain finesse | | | | asking. This will tell you exactly what people want to |
| to posting on forums and several steps that must be | | | | know. Become a "familiar face" by helping people. |
| taken before using forums as a marketing tool | | | | Provide informative solutions to their questions - |
| First of all, keep in mind that a niche market is a group | | | | truthfully. If you don't know the answer to a question, |
| of people who are all searching online for a solution to | | | | do not post! You only want to post relevant, helpful |
| a specific problem, but are not finding many useful | | | | and informative messages on an online discussion |
| results. This is where you come in with a solution to | | | | group that is targeting the audience you want to reach. |
| their problem. It is important to only post on forums and | | | | Remember that you are building a reputation as an |
| message boards that are relevant to your specific | | | | authority in your field of expertise. |
| area of expertise. | | | | A word of caution: |
| To find forums, groups and message boards that are | | | | DO NOT promote the report or product directly in your |
| related to your chosen niche, you can begin by | | | | post, it may violate the spirit and the rules of the forum. |
| searching for them by using your favorite search | | | | I could also brand you as a pushy marketer or a |
| engine. Type into the search box: | | | | spammer instead of a helpful friend. Many forums do |
| "forum: your keyword" | | | | not allow it anyway and will delete your post. |
| The search engines will bring up hundreds of forums | | | | DO NOT SPAM the forums! You can't just start a |
| that are related to your keywords and your specific | | | | thread, nor do you want to post on a thread, with |
| niche. There are also forum directory sites that list | | | | some nonsense just to get your signature links seen. |
| forums and message boards in every conceivable | | | | This is called spamming and the forums will ban you |
| topic. You can also find the forum directories by using | | | | for doing this. |
| your favorite search engine to find them. | | | | Begin by helping out other forum posters. You never |
| Read the Forums TOS First | | | | want to leave a post that just says "I agree" or "Good |
| Prior to joining any of these platforms, be sure that | | | | point" or some other benign statement just to get your |
| you are allowed to leave links in your signature. You | | | | links seen. This is also considered spamming. |
| will need to read their TOS (Terms of Service). If you | | | | Remember to be helpful by offering your expertise to |
| can not leave links, then don't join it. Move on to | | | | questions that other posters may be asking. |
| another one that does allow it. Many, but not all, do not | | | | Post regularly, but avoid meaningless fights and flaming. |
| allow affiliate links in the signature. Try to find forums | | | | If someone leaves a nasty post in response to |
| that allow both. | | | | something you have said, just ignore it or be VERY |
| Here is the Key.... | | | | kind in your response. NEVER retaliate with anger. It |
| Your links should link to something other than an | | | | only makes you look bad, immature and unprofessional |
| affiliate page. They should be linked to a page you | | | | instead of the nasty person with the nasty message. |
| created to pre-sell an affiliate product, or to an auto | | | | Again, contribute useful, on-target information to |
| responder squeeze page that is used to capture email | | | | discussions. In a matter of 1-2 weeks, you will have |
| addresses. The links usually, but not always, have to | | | | developed a reputation as an authority in your field and |
| be linked to your own platform, be it a website, a blog, | | | | other forum members will want to come to you and |
| a Squidoo lens or a HubPage. | | | | follow your recommendations. |
| You would set your links up in your profile section of | | | | Last, be careful about adding loud and flashy graphics |
| the forum you have joined by using BBC code instead | | | | to your signature. You want to attract people, not |
| of HTML coding. It would look like this: | | | | scare them away. Add your signature in some |
| [url=" Link Text Title[/url]. | | | | attractive way that draws visitors attention, but is also |
| Before joining a forum find out how many active | | | | likely to convert them into interested clickers. |
| members the forum has. Avoid groups that only have | | | | Depending on your niche, sometimes subtle is better |
| a few hundred members, as you will only be wasting | | | | than flashy. You will have to test this for your specific |
| your time. They just won't bring in much business. You | | | | topic of interest. |
| want to find a large audience to see your post. | | | | In the end, you will find that this form of advertising |
| Next, take the list of forums you have found - that are | | | | pays off considerably, and does so much faster than |
| both relevant to your topic and that allow affiliate, or | | | | many other methods that are available online. |
| commercial, links - and begin developing a reputation on | | | | Remember to repeat this process in all applicable |
| those forums. Some forums will not allow signature | | | | forums. Look for high traffic forums that allow |
| files to new members. Some will require a certain | | | | commercial link posting in signature files, and be sure |
| amount of post before the signature file is approved. | | | | that they are a fit to your specific targeted audience. |
| The Correct Way to Advertise Using Forums | | | | |