Using Forums for Listbuilding

If you’re not a member of Internet marketing forums, you’re missing a golden opportunity to build your list and increase your overall visibility online. Networking with others is an important aspect of listbuilding, so take advantage of every opportunity you can to mingle with the people who can help your business thrive.

Use Affiliate Marketing Forums to Increase Your Presence

Check this out. I just typed “affiliate marketing forums” in Google. There are 12,500,000 hits for that search alone. “Internet marketing forums” gives a return of 55,600,000 results. With all these available forums—and more—to get the word out about your product, there’s no reason why you cannot start building your list.

Use Niche-Specific Forums to Establish Your Authority

There’s no need to stick with marketing forums alone. Conduct a Google search to find forums full of people that are interested in what you have to offer. If you’re selling gaming software, join gaming forums. If you’re selling craft supplies, find a forum that’s compatible to your business. Niche it down as tightly as you can to build your authority as well as your lists.

Add Your Website, Blog, or Landing Page Address to Your Signature File

Once you join a community and people begin to know you, they’ll want to check out what you have to offer. Always add your website address to your signature file in the forum to attract visitors to your site. Some forums prohibit signature files but allow posters to add their website addresses to their profile page.

Don’t Rush in Like Gang Busters

One of the biggest mistakes new forum members make is to rush in and post dozens of times in the first week or two. That’s overkill and will annoy some of the more seasoned members of the forum. Because forum rankings are often based on the number of posts, some new members try to boost their rankings by posting as much as possible.

It’s better to just introduce yourself at first. Then, read some of the older posts to get a feel for the flavor of the forum as well as the personalities involved. It’s too easy to be offended by some of the stronger personalities until you understand where they’re coming from. They’ll also need time to get to know you.

As you get used to the community, feel free to ask questions. Also, give back and offer your own expertise. This is how you attract attention and gain credibility.

Once You Establish Authority, Consider Starting Your Own Forum

Many people like to start their own forums but be cautious. Starting a forum takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make it popular and to keep it going. You’ll also need to recruit moderators to set rules, police the forum, and put out an occasional fire when personalities clash.

Using forums for listbuilding is a fun and easy way to increase your visibility. The biggest problem with forums is that many people get addicted to the attention they receive from them and spend hours each day reading and posting in them.  Just be careful not to get so involved that you lose track of time and neglect your other duties. Otherwise, have fun and find a few forums that fit your personality as well as your business goals.