Vietnam Urban Forum

Archive for May, 2009

Last month a forum site in my niche was second only to Google in the amount of qualified, targeted traffic it generated for my sales page.

How long did it take me to generate this avalanche of traffic? 20 minutes, including registering for the forum! Now, that’s what I call an efficient way to use my time…

Every niche has forums; you can find them by searching in your favorite search engine for “niche forum”. Try searching for “internet marketing forum” sometime and you’ll be amazed at the number of results that come up.

When you’re selecting a forum to join consider how popular the forum is, how easy it is to find and read some of the other posts. Posting on the right forums will build your reputation and grow your business by generating pre-qualified traffic for your sales page. Posting on the wrong forum, one that has poor ranking and few visitors may have the opposite effect.

Once you’ve found a forum where you would like to post, then you’ll need to register in order to make contributions.

When you’ve registered, you simply search for relevant threads (discussion topics) and post your response.

When you post your response you can write it like a letter, sign it with your name and then include the url for your sales page. This will look just like a professional letter, where people write their title or position after their name. Writing your url after your name in a forum post will give it weight in the mind of the person reading your post.

The tone of your posts should fit in with the tone of the discussion thread you’re posting within. Some forums are more formal in their relations than others, and some posts within forums can be more or less formal in their posts.

The key to successful traffic generation using this Forum Post Strategy is never, never advertising your site or products. If the forum users think you are using their forum for promotional purposes, then chances are you’ll be banned. Or community members will post negative remarks about you and that can be even more damaging to your online reputation!

The point to posting on forums is to build yourself a reputation as an expert in your targeted niche while getting exposure for the url of your sales page. So your posts should be information rich for the forum users and keyword rich in order to get the post appropriately ranked in the search engines.

The beauty of posting on targeted niche forums is that you can follow discussion threads and continue to build your reputation as an expert by coming back from time to time to add further information to the topic.

As I said in the opening paragraph, I have used this strategy effectively to generate targeted traffic to my sales pages. Additionally, I have leveraged the time spent posting in niche forums by building relationships with other forum members. Thanks to my posts in forums I now have several endorsements in the forums, and links to my sales page from the blogs of several community members.

Forum marketing has been one of those evolving entities that has changed with the times, but has at no time become unpopular or ineffective. It is still one of the most effective forms of free advertising available on the net today. If you can write, have an interest in a certain product or service, own a website you”d like to promote, then take a second look at this oldie but goodie of the Internet Marketing industry. Adding posting to forums to your daily routine will go a long way in making your website hum with new, targeted visitors.

What Is Forum Marketing?

The idea behind forum marketing could be considered sneaky by many people but in actuality it’’s not. An effective marketer let’’s the knowledge he/she possesses build credibility for any products that might be attached. What do I mean by attached? The signature or addendum is one of the most important parts of forum marketing. It’’s also quite easy to use. After joining, find the signature portion in your profile.

Add a couple lines in the signature with a URL to your website, product or service. It’’s that simple. Here is a sample of an effective signature line:

“Who Else Wants Orignal Content Without Writing a Single Word. Discover the secret. Click here today: Your URL”

That’’s a signature. It goes on the bottom of every forum post and if you”re smart, you”ll attach it to your email as well.

Benefits of Using Forums

The benefits of using a forum are immediately obvious to most Internet Marketers. While the post and subject matter is important, the signature is a must, and it should be crafted to garner curiosity without being obnoxious. In other words, you don”t want to post a six word post and have a 50 word signature. With that warning, you can go about the business of posting informative comments and ask questions in the forum. Your signature will be automatically added to the end of every post, and you are now marketing. It’’s that easy.

Using Forums Effectively

Posting in forums can be some of the best things you can do if you know the basics of navigation and etiquette. Etiquette means that you have to approach a forum as if it’’s your community. You wouldn”t spam your community or aggravate your neighbors. The same holds true in a forum. Here are five ways to effectively gain credibility and acceptance in any forum you join.

First, introduce yourself. Say hello, talk a little about yourself and start reading other people’’s posts. Avoid writing a sales advertisement for your MLM or network marketing opportunity. You will just aggravate the masses. When reading others posts, if you read something interesting, comment on it and quote the part you are commenting on. There is nothing worst than 20 posts later, you throw up, “Wow, I really agree with that,” without a snippet of what you are talking about.

Answer questions: If you are an expert on a particular topic, feel free to jump in and answer the question. Forums are designed to relay information in a community environment.

Ask questions: People are really nice in forums and if you don”t obviously look like you are “Internet Marketing” they will answer any and all of your questions.

Read and post in popular threads. Just because you are trying to find leads to build your MLM or network marketing business, doesn”t mean that you have to post in the least trafficked subject on the forum. Many forums give you the count of how many views and/or posts a given thread has. Since it’’s human nature to be more interested in posts that have a lot of action, that’’s where you want to be. Don”t pick out the post that has been up since last November and has had 3 views. Tumbleweeds are rolling through that topic. Move on before it kills your marketing efforts.

Avoid trying to “game” the system. What does this mean? Some “saavy” network marketers will sign up on a forum with 10 different screen names all coming from the same IP address. When the forum moderator gets around to reading the logs, you will stand out like a sore thumb as posting from a number of different names.

Make many posts in the forums that interest you. If you are into online advertising, don”t spend time trying to post in the organic fertilizer forum. You will not only be a fraud, but you won”t be able to stay interested long enough to be effective. You are looking for forums that interest you so that you stay there for a long time. Post often, read as much as you can. However, avoid procrastinating in a forum. There is a fine line between marketing and wasting valuable time. Know the difference and you will be just fine.

A dating site forum will inform you on the things that you will expect from forums. A dating site has many features and, you will be in a position to explore all the amazing features that will amaze you. A good dating site forum should offer you many things. Among the vital things that a dating site should have is security. Security is paramount and a good forum will inform you on the things you can do to ensure that you are safe. The following are some of the tips that will come out clearly in a forum. You need to ensure that you follow all the stipulated rules of a dating site or service. Following rules will ensure that you get the most from the service. Rules will be on how you register and more. For example, you should not register with many accounts. This is highly vital and, if you are caught doing this; you might be banned from the service. Before you register with a particular service, you need to ensure that you agree with the laid out terms and regulations.

Before you agree on these rules, you need to ensure that you read them and agree. If you find that you cannot agree with some terms and conditions, there are very many dating sites and dating site forums will see that you get to the right services. In a forum, you will know the importance of looking for a site that will be suitable for you. Apart from safety, you need to ensure that you join a site that will see you get the success you want. A successful service that will see that you connect to the right people is one that is popular with many. You can know that a particular service is successful by the kind of membership that there is. If more people are registered with a particular service than another, chances are that the service with more people offers a better chance for you to get the results that you want.

A dating site forum will show you how to judge whether a dating service is committed to giving you good support or not. The features must be superior and up to date. Chatting facilities are very popular and they have greatly changed the way people communicate. There is nothing more exciting than meeting people through great services which come with great fun. Instant massaging services are also very popular and, you will be in a position to chat in real time. You will also enjoy great video features where you do not just chat but see the person you are chatting with. Join forums and see some of the areas where you can improve if, you are going about dating online. When you get all the tips, you will definitely find the connection of love you are looking for. It is vital that you have a good attitude when it comes to dating this way. You will find that negativity will clog you up and you will not be in a position to concentrate in the right manner.