Advertising: Ezines vs Forums

[yocupp]

I am interested to see what the majority think as to which is the "better" ROI in the two methods of: EZINES vs FORUMS.
I realize:
One requires $$ and time vs time and thought,etc.
One is pursued mainly for monetary rewards vs main intent is to learn/help
others along with possibility of monetary rewards.
So I guess the important thing is: How does one define "ROI"?

But that is a matter of philosophy?

How does EZINE vs FORUM match up for ROI in general?

I would appreciate all opinions as I am attempting to decide on which route to concentrate more heavily.

Thanks

[GT]

Hello:

My choice is forums. Yes, it takes longer, but the foundation you build for your image and presence as a serious Internet Marketer is far stronger. To me, that is much more valuable.

Let's say you did nothing but advertise for a couple of years. What will you have at the end of that time? Some cash in the bank from sales? But who really knows and trusts you? At that point, if you want to brand yourself, it's almost like starting at the beginning.

On the other hand, if you develop your presence via forums and other social sites, it may (or may not) take a bit longer to generate a steady stream of sales, but in a couple of years you will be known as a respected marketer and business leader. You will have developed valuable relationships and, quite likely, some profitable partnerships, too.

Of course, you could go for the best of both worlds. Work on the forums, but do a little advertising, too!

GT

[Jeff Casmer]

Hi,

My vote is forums as well.....

However.....they must be forums specifically targeting work at home or home business.....not "niche forums" or "entrepreneur forums" where the members ALREADY have a business so where you can brand yourself but its not going to get you PIPS sales...

Take care
Jeff Casmer

[pbwsfi]

I also agree that forums are the way to go. I've seen a lot of clicks on my signature in the various home business forums I belong to. GT and Jeff have handle the particulars pretty well in their responses as well, but if I were to add anything it would be to think about building an email list since this will allow you to focus your advertising on people who are already interested in the product/service you are offering.

[GT]

Hey, Bob:

That's a great addition to this thread!

It makes me realize that many of us use our own PIPS newsletter to help build our mailing list. If we can build up our list big enough (with targeted prospects), that's even better than paying for ezine ads.

GT

[Jeff Schuman]

I like forum marketing better. My writing company was developed 100% in forum marketing. We have never paid for an ad and write over 500 articles a month now. If you offer soemthing people need in your sig file, and make quality posts, people will find you!

[ezine ads]

Originally Posted by yocupp

I am interested to see what the majority think as to which is the "better" ROI in the two methods of: EZINES vs FORUMS.
I realize:
One requires $$ and time vs time and thought,etc.

That's a very strange poll!

How does someone calculate the ROI for forum marketing and how accurate is such calculation?

First you have to value the time, which is not easy at all, and the result will be very different from one person to another. For some people, time is not money and is worthless (their investment will always be zero and the return on investment will be higher). For other people time is money and they prefer to spend some money instead of their time that is valued BY THEM more than the money they invested. Other people know they don't know too much and even if time is money for them too, they may prefer not to invest money because they know they will throw away the money (since they are not experienced). And so on ...

If the people from these categories analyze a specific forum marketing "campaign" (the SAME campaign), they will have DIFFERENT ROI (for exactly the same thing). The same case + different perspectives = different results.

And finally since people are so different and have different skills and knowledge, for YOU is not very important what other people prefer, what other people are good at, etc. It's important what YOU are good at, it's important how YOU value YOUR time, it's important what YOU are willing/able to invest (only time, only money, both time & money).

It simply doesn't matter what I prefer between apples and oranges. It simply doesn't matter what John Doe prefers between the same fruits. For you, your person and everything related to your person are important.

Originally Posted by GT

Let's say you did nothing but advertise for a couple of years. What will you have at the end of that time? Some cash in the bank from sales? But who really knows and trusts you? At that point, if you want to brand yourself, it's almost like starting at the beginning.

GT, are you sure? That's a weird (and very wrong) perspective. I never seen Coke's staff posting on forums And you cannot say that Coke is not a brand and they need some forum marketing They advertise a lot [I know, I know, you'll say that Coke is a giant, not like us. So what?]

Whether some people like it or not, whether some people understand it or not, in business, the truth of this society is this: "Advertising your business doesn’t always work. But when you don’t advertise, YOU don’t work”

Adrian

P.S. Don't get me wrong. I'm selling ad space in ezines but I'm not trying to tell you that advertising in ezines is better than forum marketing. This is false. The same like the other way around. Forum marketing is not better than advertising in ezines.

Do what works FOR YOU. Do what YOU KNOW to do. Do what is best FOR YOU. But DO SOMETHING and don't forget that we are different, we have different skills and knowledge! TAKE ACTION, real action, and don't ask me what works for me. For YOU, it does NOT matter. For you, YOU are the most important person. Ask YOURSELF what is best for YOU.

P.P.S. I'm so unhappy when I see a lot of people MISLEADING the others (usually not intentionally). A is better than B, C is dead, D doesn't work, E is the best way, etc. These people don't understand that "For me A is better than B" is fine. However, the simple "A is better than B" is just another meaningless myth.