7 Steps to Effective Forum Marketing

Forum Marketing for Being Social

With the push in social media these days, it seems like all anyone is talking about is Twitter this and Facebook over here. Don't get me wrong, while these are very effective ways of communicating with an audience, but there are still hundreds of other ways of connecting with a targeted group of like-minded people.

One of those ways is forum marketing. No, forum marketing is not dead. And yes, there are right ways and wrong ways of using forums as marketing platforms.

Marketing Yourself on Forums

Do you notice how some people have post counts in thousands and they are still there, day-in and day-out contributing to the conversations and answering questions...

Why? Because they give and discovered they get something in return.

Here are 7 steps to using forums marketing effectively:

1. Create accounts only at the ones you think you will participate in. It's a waste of time to register on 10 different forums - there aren't enough hours in the day to participate in them all.

2. Fill in all the blanks - if there's a space for your website address, put it there. Facebook and other social networks? Put those in as well. You want other forum members to be able to get in touch with you, in the way that's easiest for them.

3. Put a picture in your profile. People like to see who you are. Forums are about connecting and your smiling face is a great way to put a face with the name. Plus the default gravatars are just plain ugly.

4. Put a link in your signature file. This is a huge benefit to other forums members - if they like and can relate to your response or your comment, a sig link gives them a place to find out more about you. Some forums require a certain number of posts before you can add links, so check and see how much you need to contribute before you get that coveted link.

5. Introduce yourself. Try to find a thread for introductions or new members - if there's not one just put it in the general forum. Say hi; tell them why you're there, what you are doing in your niche. Introductions are a great way to get your name and face out there initially.

6. Before posting all over the place, take some time to get to know how that forum works - is it really well moderated? Is there lots of activity? Are there several sections for posting? If it's an active forum, chances are, you can hop right in and contribute to something. Remember, forum marketing is a technique, not a shortcut!

7. A longer response is better than a short one. This is a secret tip from me - it seems I get more interaction when my response is a longer response than just a simple answer to their question. Definitely answer the question, but include proof or why it works or how you used it successfully as well. Plus, you'll stand out from all the short, one-sentence responders.

Forum marketing is not a do it once and forget it technique. It requires interaction and a genuine desire to help others.

But, combined with other increase website traffic techniques and lots of consistency, you will see a boost in the targeted traffic to your site.

Forum Marketing Can Build Your Business in 4 Steps

I was recently on a webinar with one of my mentors on the subject of Forum Marketing. What I came away from the webinar with were 4 step by step tips you can use to build a successful business using Forum Marketing.

1. Pick A Niche

First thing you have to do is to figure out what your niche/ market is going to be.

After you decide what your niche is going to be you must then research that niche to make sure you have a profitable niche.

You can do that by going to Google.com and searching for keyword tools in the search bar. This will give you a number of different keyword tools once you have selected a keyword tool.

Put your niches keywords into the tools search bar and this will give you the number of times your keywords were searched helping you decide if you niche is profitable or not.

2. Get an Affiliate Link

Get an Affiliate Link which means get a link to what you're promoting. You can do this one of two ways you can create a product to promote if you don't have your own product you can promote someone else's product.

Once you have decided on a product to promote your next step is to choose whether you're going to send traffic straight to your product link or are you going to send traffic to a squeeze page (this is recommended).

A Squeeze page is a page where you send traffic to and your prospect can opt-in (give you their name and email). The reason you want to have your prospects opt-in is so you can build your list so that you have prospects to promote to on a continuing basis and it's not a onetime deal.

If you don't how to create a squeeze page you can Google it or go on YouTube there should be lots of resources to show you how to create a squeeze page.

3. Find Forums

So now you have decided on a niche and you have your affiliate link. The next step in the process is to find forums or discussion group related to your niche.

How do you know where to find forums in your niche? Go to Google.com and search your niche+ forums or your niche+ discussion groups. This will give you a list of the most active forums related to your niche. Now that you have a list of forums choose 3 forums that you would like to participate in.

4. Post 6 Opinions A Day

Once you have chosen your 3 forums. Read over the threads and make 6 opinions or comments and put your signature (your signature is a link to your opt-in page or product) at the bottom of the post.

By putting your signature at the bottom of your opinion it will create a passive traffic stream to your link. To maximize this process make 6 opinions for 3 straight days on the 3 different forums you have chosen. That would make 18 opinions a day and 54 opinions over 3 days and then just track your results.

Hopefully this was helpful: