We have all heard this before in one form or another. It boils down to as long as I own this and you want to use it, you have to do it my way. No where is this saying more apparent than in the world of forums. There are many different reasons why someone would start a forum; no doubt the most common reason is to earn money. With the many one click install forum platforms now available, the numbers of forums have exploded.

The more popular a forum the more it becomes a target of spammers. Forum owners need to protect their forums and so they put rules in place. Rules can be a good thing for forums as long as they are not too restrictive. And if you find the rules not to your liking, you simply have a choice not to use it. (Granted, this article refers to free forums and not paid ones.)

Know what you are allowed to do and what you are not allowed to do. You must abide by the rules set out for signature links, posts, and replies. Some forums will not allow links inside of a post while others will. Just because you can add a link doesn’t mean that doing so isn’t against the terms of service. The forum moderators are waging a battle with spammers, intentional and unintentional, and they have no patience for honest mistakes. If you break the rules, you’ll be punished.

Forum marketing is a time consuming venture. You have to find a suitable forum and register. Most forums require a certain amount of posts or that you have been a member for a certain period of time before you can start your own thread. If you are a newbie to the forum you shouldn’t expect to have the same perks as a member who has made a 1000 posts. Reputations must be built slowly. It is time consuming but it can be well worth the effort.

And now for the bad news; forums are not a democracy. They are a dictatorship run by a few people known as Moderators. If a moderator wants you gone, he or she can simply ban you and you will have no recourse. Some forums are notorious for this practice. You may not have broken any rules and you may have a sterling reputation, but you can still find yourself banned. It can be frustrating and it can hurt your earnings. Is it fair? No. Still, the forum owner is paying for the hosting and the domain name. It is his or her forum and that means it is his or her rules; no matter how arbitrary. That is the tricky part.

Forum Marketing has been touted as the next big thing in website promotion. It can indeed bring you traffic but you must be very careful with what forum you select. The following five steps will help insure that your time is not wasted. And you must be willing to invest time if you want forum marketing to work.

Choose A Forum Which Matches Your Niche

It seems almost every niche and sub-niche has a ton of forums. Therefore there is no need for you to join a forum that has nothing to do with your product. If your niche is Pet Grooming then there would be no advantage to joining a forum on Gardening. Unless your posts are on gardening, which will not help draw traffic to your site, your posts will most likely be viewed as spam.

Choose A Forum With Plenty Of Members

Scroll down to the bottom of the forum and you should see how many members belong. If the forum only has a few members then move on to another one. You are looking to market your site and you need a forum with a lot of members before this type of marketing will pay off.

Look For An Active Forum

Some forum will have plenty of members so you must also check out the posts. If no one has posted any threads in over a week then it is a sure sign the forum is in decline. Also look to see how many views each topic has and when they were last viewed. Again, if the forum is not getting recent views, then you would be wasting your time posting there.

Look For Forums That Allow Guest Views

Most forums will require you to sign up before you are allowed to make a post. Some forums will require you become a member before you can view the threads. There are also forums which only allow members who pay. While having plenty of members is a good sign, a forum which has plenty of members and plenty of guests is even a better sign.

Does The Forum Allow A Signature

This is probably the most important aspect to look for in a forum. A signature is a place where you can advertise the link of your choice. It appears beneath your post. If you were to write a post telling people to visit your site, it would most likely be viewed as spam. You should always strive to present yourself as an expert in your niche and offer good advice without promoting your site. The theory is that if you provide quality threads or answers, then people will click on the links in your signature file.

Do you want to know the secret weapon that most gurus have in their traffic building toolbox? Discussion forums. What better place to meet potential customers and find out all of their problems than in a forum, where they will quite happily tell you everything you need to know about their issues and more? Here are just five ways your business can benefit from a forum.

1. Build your credibility

If you take the time to write well-thought out answers to people’s questions then you are demonstrating a real understanding of the issues that people face. You are also demonstrating that you have the answers they need to solve their problems. Of course by contrast if you post for the sake of it you will lose any good reputation you have very quickly. Add value to the forums, don’t spam them.

2. You’ll find inspiration

You don’t even have to post in a forum to benefit from it. You can simply spend time reading other people’s posts and learning more about the issues and problems faced by people in the niche. Need an idea for a new article or even a new product? If you are looking for inspiration for article marketing or even product creation then forums are full of golden nuggets.

3. You can drive traffic through your signature

Most forums allow you to include a link in your forum signature. Your signature appears on every post that you make, so it’s a great way to tell other forum members about your free ebook or report. Think of your signature as an article resource box; other forum members who read your well thought out and helpful posts are more likely to click on the link in your signature and visit your website.

4. You can build backlinks

The other useful thing about publishing your link in your signature file or even in your posts where relevant is that the search engines will often count these links as backlinks. Remember to use relevant anchor text for your links where you can and don’t post links for the sake of it, you don’t want to be labelled a spammer.

5. You can learn something new

Don’t forget that forums aren’t just for marketing your business, you can also develop your business and learn more about internet marketing by becoming a member of forums such as the Warrior Forum.

If you are a newbie, you are probably wondering, what the heck are forums? A forum is a website geared towards people that are interested in the same niche and they come together and converse. They ask and answer each others questions, they share their opinions with each other and they also network with one another. So what role do forums play in your website traffic and sales?

Below are some tips to help you use online forums to your advantage:

- Search and join as many popular forums that are related to your niche market. These website are full of people who would love to work with you and share their ideas with you.
- Create your own signature for every single forum that you signed up to. A signature is similar to your resource box except in your signature you are not trying to sell. Your signature should be simple so only put your name or online business with a link to your website.
- Introduce yourself in the welcome boards. Keep it simple and do not sell to anyone just tell them who you are, introduce your business to them and just and maybe some of your hobbies.
- When you are done that just log out and check it tomorrow.
- Once you’ve signed up and introduced yourself, surf the forum and answer any questions that you know. It’s important to do that because you need to interact in order to gain exposure.

And that’s about it!

Make this a daily routine and before you know it you will be generating so much you wont know what to do with them.

Article Marketing

Information is in high demand, in fact, it’s the fuel that drives the internet. Web designers are constantly looking for fresh content to fill their sites and those surfing the web are there for the same thing, info. If you have information that will be helpful to others in your niche you can easily become a reputable source for information and therefore people in your niche will look to you for answers to their questions. Article marketing involves creating short focused articles related to your niche that can be distributed through article databases and posted as content on other sites. In your articles there will be a “bio box” with information about the author and a link to your site. Imagine the power of those inbound links and the resulting business.

Opt-In Marketing

When you offer information to your readers you have the chance to provide them with more information, but don’t pass up such a wonderful opportunity to get to know your readers. You can legally gather contact information from your “readers” by making them “subscribers”. On your sales page you can offer free information in exchange for your readers opting in to your mailing list. This will benefit you both in that you will be able to contact them directly when you have new product to offer and they will not have to keep returning to find out when you release new products. In order to keep your list legal and ethical you will want to use a reputable list management company.

Forum Marketing

If you find an active forum that has been built around your niche you should become an active participant in that forum. Don’t just bust through the gates with your sales pitch in hand, really become an authoritative source for help in the forum and you will earn the trust and respect of the community you are trying to market to. Conduct yourself professionally by replying in a reasonable amount of time and respecting the input of others. The sales pitch comes in your signature line. Most forums will not tolerate using their forum as a platform just to advertise your product, but since most people in forums begin as perfect strangers, the other members will want to know who you are and how you know what you know so they will look at your signature. If you are allowed, include a link to your website and maybe a short & soft sales tag. If you treat the community right, they will know where to look when they need your product.

Advertising dollars can sometimes be a gamble. That’s why you shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to advertise for free. Free advertising is right under your nose on the web, all you have to do is take advantage of it.

Social networks such as Facebook will allow you to create fan pages for celebrities, bands, and companies. If you already have a list of satisfied clients and you want to get the word out, create a page (for free) and then suggest that those clients become “fans” of your page. it’s like word of mouth advertising with pictures and links!

Forums and online communities are a great place to make people aware of what you have to offer. When you can sign up for free and give advice for free, then you have a platform for telling others about your product or service without having to lay out cash. If they like what they see you could make a sale, but if they do not you’re not out any money.

Article writing will give others a small snack size sample of your ability. It may give them an insight to your knowledge of a particular topic and therefore create a desire for your services or products. Then when they want those services or goods, they need not look any further than your signature line to find a link to your site.

Newsletters and mailing lists will help you develop a relationship with your demographic and build a level of trust that will ultimately lead to sales. Once they know they can trust you they will feel comfortable with your products and services. You must respect this relationship in order to protect your reputation with the people on your list, so you should be confident in the offers your present.

Search engines can be a great source of clients and should be considered when promoting your site. check with the latest SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques to make sure you are getting the most mileage out of your site.