What's the Secret To Forum Marketing?

Well, for me, it doesn't take long to answer some questions here and there. But you said you signed up to several. I concentrate on one. There's others that I have registered with and made some posts, but just didn't really like the forum much so don't participate regularly.

Forum Marketing is a great way to go Entreprenette, I've been using it for over 15 years. HOWEVER, it is very easy to spend way too much time on forums, bulletin boards and now at Social Media sites.

It helps if you are a quick thinker with a long history and can type fast. OR talk fast and have your program trained to keep up with you (I use Dragon Naturally Speaking when using a voice to text program).

I've helped scores of people over the years and the one common thing is TIME MANAGEMENT, which pops up over and over again.

I think it has to do with GOALS, purpose, intent and what you are trying to get out of your time.

We all have the same hours in a day, yet, as you keenly observed, some of us are able to squeeze more juice from our 24 hours in a day than others.

For me it is about FOCUS, FOUNDATION and FRAMEWORK. Having a very clearly defined goal or purpose helps me to prioritize my activities.

The Foundation at use for me is a good work ethic, work first/Play second. And it can quickly turn from work to play as we interact on Forums. So, I do every thing based on TIME. And my handy dandy little daily calendar which tells me what I should be doing and for what purpose too.

I've found if we WRITE things down and create check lists, it helps to keep me focused on what the time is being used for.

On the other hand, some of my best online relationships are a direct result of my participation in Forums. These include solid BUSINESS relationships that have more than paid for themselves over the years.

I also use "FRAMEWORKS" to construct my day. For example, when writing an article, I try to stick to: Tell em what you are going to tell them. TELL them. Tell Them what you just told them.

It is a simple and easy formula which helps me to "cut to the chase" for a specific article.

It is MY opinion, you've hit the nail on the head when you say it is an addictive HOBBY. I see too many people treating it as a hobby rather than a business.

I keep my hobbies separate from my business, although, in some cases, they are one and the same.

Every single person I've worked with over the years has RAPIDLY improved their results when they have a WRITTEN plan of action to follow. AND, I make them write some time for communication/forums, social media into their plan also.

When it is time to work, WORK. And that could be done in Forum activity too, as long as you keep a FOCUS on your time, you'll be able to soar high quickly.

FOCUS, FRAMEWORK and FOUNDATION are tools which accelerate results although many people treat them as "handcuffs" or restraints. Good luck to you...

and I must ask...Do YOU have a WRITTEN plan of action and a clarified Goal?

gjabiz

Forum marketing really can get you some great targeted traffic, however most people do it the wrong way. On this form the moderators do a good job of keeping the junk out, but on many forums it is chaos!

If you want to succeed in forum marketing, then just provide valuable information. I think that providing people with quality information, accompanied by treating people with respect is a win-win combination.

Another thing, don't get into ego matches on the forum. I see it all of the time and it just comes off as unprofessional. Why would you want to learn from someone who argues all day?

Just provide helpful info, and have a strong call to action in your signature. Do that and you will be fine!

Care about others and help others.

Also, I see a lot of people that just don't seem to care at all about how they come across. They either can't spell or they argue etc.

Contact the forum owner and see if he/she is willing to help you have a contest.

Look for large forums in your niche - lets say with 1 million post or more.

Give the forum owner a free sample, in return he/she sends out a mass email to their members and tells them about your product.

find a formula for people to come back daily to post/read/contribute

The thing that helped me the most w/my forum marketing was that (and this is just my personal experience the way it worked out - won't work this way for everybody) I was a very active member of a forum (not this one - different niche) for a decently long time before I ever decided to create my first product. I'd already established myself as somebody w/credibility, and that I could "walk the walk".

Then, when I decided to write my first book, the forum was cool w/me promoting it there (as long as I didn't go overboard), so I did. I even ended up becoming one of the forum mods.

It's not necessarily a short-term solution, and driving traffic aside, participating in forums can give you a sort of credibility you can't get elsewhere - the kinda credibility that can almost create 'fanboys' in that if your first product (or two) is good, you'll have virtually lifelong customers that will buy anything you put out (and many times even just recommend) simply b/c it was you that put it out.

Do know that this kinda thing doesn't happen overnight, though - it's a long-term deal.

I try to focus on responding to threads where I can contribute in a helpful/educated manner without having to resort to research material in order to provide a response.

That's why, for the most part you will always see me only reply to article marketing related threads, general IM/online business related threads. PLR threads, affiliate marketing threads, product creation threads...etc

Very seldom due I post in PPC threads, CPA threads and a few other speciality threads because I would have to take more time to construct my response.

Continuing with the article marketing related threads example - I don't have to research anything because I can talk/type an answer straight off the top of my head.

By focusing on the subjects you are knowledgable about you cut down the amount of time it actually takes to post in the forum.

Additionally, posting in here is more like taking a break (for me anyway) from the actual work that takes place (building links, writing and submitting articles, creating products, answering support emails...etc).

Respectfully,
Tim

for me, being in this forum must have 2 things :
learning and sharing.
have a balance in doing that and you will be OK ^_^

Hi Entreprenette,

Before the day starts I decide what I will work on that day.

I divide my tasks into 45 minute blocks, then break for 15 minutes. For each hour of my workday I hold to the 45/15 split without exception. The frequent breaks create peace of mind and balance, allowing me to hit all my tasks without being sidetracked or overwhelmed.

This is a little variation on the 25 min work/5 min rest Pomodoro Technique.

I use a little app for Google Chrome called Chromodoro, it sets off an alarm when it's time to break/work.

Ryan Biddulph

Forum marketing, in my opinion, is the toughest to market. I never had much success. There are a few good tips in here though.

I always tried paid banner ads which never worked. I realized my mistake now.

Warrior forum, Facebook, Twitter etc all are great places to market and expand your reach but all need guidelines and limits.

I schedule my forum visits and when the time is up...I'm out. Some reading, some posting, some head shaking and then BOOM...click the red X and move on.

Forum marketing certainly works but should only be a small sliver of your overall online marketing efforts.

Secret to Forum Marketing:

1. Add value
2. Be real
3. See #1 and #2

facebook is the devil. Stay away from it and all social networking sites! Unless of course you use a bot to manage your accounts rather than chatting with people. It will only waste your time.

I visit 4-5 forums in my niches, time management and self development and try to find posts where I can be helpful to the poster ie answer a question. Because it is in my niche if people think I am adding value they will visit my sites and hopefully buy something.

Here's one of the biggest things for me. I remember a long time ago being a newbie and trying to figure everything out myself ....mostly technical things. I would work on a problem for hours and then finally, I would ask a question in a forum. Usually, I didn't get an answer right off the bat. Sometimes I'd have to join another forum and ask again.

Finally, when someone took the time to answer, and the lightbulb went off and my problem was solved, I was so thankful. Simple things can make a big difference to people who are struggling to get something done but just can't find the one answer that they need.

I don't even think about marketing when I'm on the WF most of the time. I've got my signature and it's there for anyone who wants to take a peek, but since I work at home by myself, it's often a social break, networking, and helping someone out that are my primary motives.

The key is to not think all that much about marketing and think about the value you can add to the forum and who you might be able to help out. Sometimes my favorite threads here are the ones that all the class clowns jump in and I sit there and LOL. A good laughing break in the middle of the day is priceless.

I totally agree with Suzanne.

Forum marketing is all about building your reputation by providing value, giving thanks here and there and being helpful to people who need it. As your reputation grows, more people will click on your profile and click on your signature therefore driving more traffic to your sites. Help the community and you will get a following.

As gjabiz also pointed out, time management is also a big issue. Personally, I set myself an hour to do things, whether it is commenting on blogs, forums whatever. Give yourself a time limit and stick to it helps increase the focus.

Simon

Forum not a bad place. However, beware of spending too much time. Like what you said, it can be addictive.

Always remember 80-20 rule. You can put tons of your time in forum & get some results but not neccessary Amazing result.

Ultimately, it still boils down to your Time Value. How much is your time worth?

$10 per hour?
$100 per hour?
$1000 per hour?

If your time value now is $100 per hour. If spending 8 hours in forum can generate you $900 profits, then you could spend more time in forum.

It is simple concept to keep in mind for your time value. But this is NOT a absolute RULER for you. Just an idea to keep in mind so that you always aware about your time value & the activity you are doing every single moment

I think just being cool, social and helping out in a way that stands out is key...

Entreprenette,

What I'm finding to be effective is to focus on solving problems people have posted. All of us are one step ahead of someone else in some area of life. You don't have to wait to be the guru to offer advice. The main internet marketing discussion forum is a good place to start.

Also thank people who have offered information you find valuable

Really good tips people.

I used to "hate" forum last time because I think it's too much information for me to read per day. I didn't know where to start. I do not have a system to really extract out some good information and throw out the junk.

But then I came to realize that I have to really participate in my community if I want to build a serious business on the internet.

Forum trains me to express my ideas, trains me to contribute and interact with the rest of the marketers, trains me to focus as I do not want to consume too much information so I restrict my time spending on forum, I only read those that useful to me and contribute as much as I can. and much more!

Forum marketing is beyond driving traffic.

The most important thing, from a marketing point of view, is to provide high quality and actionable information.

That is, don't respond to a post purely because you want to up your post count. That's obvious as soon as you've done it. The amount of inane questions and comments that get added to some posts from people doing that is incredible (both in this forum and in the WSO Forum).

Your forum comments will be there for the life of the forum.

If you can build up a slow reputation (and you can do this smartly, as other people have said, in a few minutes a day), this will help you in the longer term when you do come to market your own products and look to make sales.

Thom

Make sure your forum covers a diverse range of topics, then try advertising and you'll see the number of visitors picking up. Also make sure your rules are not extremely strict, some forums loose a lot of members because of strict rules.
Good Luck