How To Use Forums For Marketing
Anywhere a group of people who have a common interest gather together has marketing potential written all over it and forums are no exception. In effect forums, or message boards or discussion groups as they are sometimes referred to, give you a ‘ready made’ market. Here is how to use forums for marketing and tap into the obvious potential that exists with them…
The first step is to find good, active forums in your niche. You’re looking for the ones which are posted to regularly and contain active discussions and debate. There is little point in joining a forum which only gets posted to once every few weeks or not at all.
Once you have found a good forum which covers your subject area you then need to sign yourself up as a user and start participating in the discussions. Look for questions which you can answer, help people and share your expertise. Read around the subject first online to build up your knowledge base.
The golden rule when using forums for marketing is to NEVER come across as a sales person. Don’t go around posting spam adverts – instead join in and participate. Encourage people to private message you and start building relationships with other members of the forum.
Set yourself up with a profile so that people can find out more about you. This is also a good opportunity to include a subtle link to your websites.
If you are allowed to (and it is very important to always check the forum rules because they tend to vary quite widely) include a signature link at the bottom of your posts to one of your websites. Ideally this should link to something like your blog or a good freebie.
