Forum marketing is a great way of marketing if you can do it the right way. But it can be a financial equivalent of stepping on a land-mine. Forum marketing is basically showing your expertise and building a reputation. It does exactly that if you do it the right way. But done wrongly it reflects your lack of expertise and turns your name to mud.
Once you have decided the forums to use, go through their rules and regulations. Each forum’s rules are different. Many have some topics banned, some allow advertisement and some don’t. First learn the rules of the road. Not following the rules will make you banned in the forums. Even if it is allowed you should not advertise through your posts or comments. Rely on the signature to promote you and your business.
Before you start actual postings go through the contents of the forum thoroughly once. By reading the forum you will have a good idea about what the forum is all about and the best way you can approach it. If you try to barge in, that will have a negative impact within the forum and that is one land mine you would surely want to avoid.
Always remember that along with the new comers the best known brains in the online marketing industry are also posting in these forums. So, before you post something on a given topic or try to comment on a post make sure you have the necessary expertise to do that comment. If you do not have the necessary knowledge and shoot from the hip then at best you will be ignored or at worse, experience marketers will call you to task and that will ruin your reputation.
There is nothing wrong in creating a little controversy in these forums. I sometimes acquire some of my best and most successful business ideas from such forum topics which have created some form of arguments within the ranks. But this is entirely different than from being called a fraud.
Comment when you can help someone with a problem otherwise keep num. the forums is all about helping each other with a common goal. If you can provide help then go for it. Good or bad the reputation you create in the forums will be synonymous with you through out your online career and internet marketing.
