subject: 7 Reasons Why You Should Be Marketing On Forums [print this page] 7 Reasons Why You Should Be Marketing On Forums
As we are social animals by nature, joining a forum seems like a sensible idea. Find a forum which caters for your interests, something you know a bit about. In my case it is internet marketing. While most people join forums for social benefits, there are a lot of reasons for internet marketers to join forums. Here are 7 reasons for you to think about.
1. The number one reason is the search engine benefits. A lot of the bigger forums are very popular with the search engines so they are regularly crawled by the search engines and rank well. Most forums will allow you to add your website link in your signature. This means whenever you post or comment in the forum your link will show up at the bottom. You will also have the chance to drop your site into the conversation if you are in a forum relevant to your website. These links can benefit you with search engine rankings and relevant back links.
2. Join a forum that will help you learn more about your niche. Even if you regard yourself as an expert you will always learn something new by hanging out with other people knowledgeable on the subject. That is the good thing about forums, there seems to be a community for every interest.
3. You should also join forums that are not in your field. Something like getting help in how to run your business. Find forums of other entrepreneurs and small business owners. You will soon find people who are at the same level as you and also more experienced marketers, who may share their hard earned lessons. You can soon repay that debt by passing on your knowledge to others with less experience than you. This hand holding and sharing is the reason why these forums are so popular.
4. You should also look out for forums to help you with your internet marketing. There are many ways to market on the internet. Some like to try many different methods but most just concentrate on one or two methods. Test different methods until you find one you are comfortable with then find a forum that focuses on that method. You can then refine what you are doing to get the best results.
5. One of the problems with working online is you can feel isolated. Forums can help by being a community as well as a source of information. You can forge friendships and the camaraderie and laughter will help you through the trials and tribulations you will encounter whilst building your business.
6. You will also find customers for your business in the forums. As you join in and share information about your business some people will no doubt be interested. You will have a better relationship with your customer if you are not too pushy, just allow your expertise to shine through and do your selling for you.
7. Forums can also be great places to find business partners to help you promote your business. Your businesses may compliment each other so you can do each other a favour. You may even find the ideal joint-venture partner. You will also find people you regard as competition. Try to look at it from a different angle and see if you could both benefit from a partnership rather than be in competition.
Remember there are rules and regulations you must follow in the forums. Make sure you know these before jumping into discussions. It is hard to undo a bad first impression online. Take your time until you are sure of what you are doing. Don't be too pushy with your business as this can get you banned pretty fast. Keep your posts helpful and on topic and you won't go wrong. Most forums have areas for advertising and sales posts. They also allow you to blatantly promote in your signature so don't try plugging your offer in your posts.
