There are multitudes of different types of forums on the internet today. Beyond the obvious topical types, of “marketing” or “special interest”, amongst many others, the 2, being “Marketing” and “special interest”, are two types of what are commonly referred to as “open forums”.
There are, however, business and professional forums, which do not operate under the same rules and, more often than not, will disallow any and all types of advertising or self-promotion within the posts. Forums that have been created to support the membership of a particular program can be especially adamant on this topic and often demand that all members refrain from all types of advertising on their sites.
However, even with all these hurdles, it is possible to successfully advertise in forums. In all cases a pre-requisite for success is developing a good reputation and a good relationship and maintaining both. So, while it is true that this a form of free advertising, it does require a certain amount of investment as far as time and energy are concerned. Then there is continual learning to think about as well, as you will surely learn along the way as well.
To successfully market on any forum, the first requirement is to take a personal interest in the main topic of the forum. This usually is not a problem, as the topic of the forum you are visiting is usually the topic that your niche is targeting as well. This step can take a lot of time and effort on your part, as you are required to not only develop a good relationship with the members, but also with the moderators as well.
This step also, will often involve taking an active roll in the conversations that occur in the forum, whether about your niche topic or not, as well as being willing to help others wherever you can. It does, however, go without saying that you must always abide by any and all rules that have been set for the forum, and these are usually only a single click away through links at the base of the page. By developing this step, you can develop a reputation, and also you will find that your business will just naturally develop because humans tend to work together with people they trust.
Since the main purpose of a forum is the exchange of information and ideas or opinions, etc. as a marketer you must respect this objective and abide by it as best you can. Remember that the submissions you make to a forum, represent you, and therefore your business, and so they should always be quality posts. Marketing forums, where everyone involved has something to advertise and sell, usually have even more stringent rules, as these forums work on a complex plan aimed at making it fair for all users.
One other tactic, which has been known to generate a lot of success, but is generally not used, because of the amount of tact required to make this tactic succeed, is to criticize! An example of this tactic is when a marketer will point out a rival’s product and then make a controversial claim about the product. This will draw a lot of attention to the post and will gain a big readership fast. However, and this is where the tact comes in, you do not want to slam another person or their product without being able to prove it beyond a doubt.
Using tact, a marketer might consider using controversial claims such as “Product X is too highly priced according to recent results!” If the example Product X, that was used, was dearer to buy than your own product that was based on a similar niche, then your post would go on to describe that, in your opinion, Product X is too highly priced, the results that were quoted can be shown by describing your own product in direct comparison as well. Again, however, tact must be used here. If you are to use your own article as a comparison as evidence of your claims, then you should also be 100% sure that your product is better than the above product, and also be able to demonstrate that fact as well. This is why it get complicated, it is a fine mixture of ethics, advertising savvy and common sense, that are needed to make this tactic work.
There are, however, business and professional forums, which do not operate under the same rules and, more often than not, will disallow any and all types of advertising or self-promotion within the posts. Forums that have been created to support the membership of a particular program can be especially adamant on this topic and often demand that all members refrain from all types of advertising on their sites.
However, even with all these hurdles, it is possible to successfully advertise in forums. In all cases a pre-requisite for success is developing a good reputation and a good relationship and maintaining both. So, while it is true that this a form of free advertising, it does require a certain amount of investment as far as time and energy are concerned. Then there is continual learning to think about as well, as you will surely learn along the way as well.
To successfully market on any forum, the first requirement is to take a personal interest in the main topic of the forum. This usually is not a problem, as the topic of the forum you are visiting is usually the topic that your niche is targeting as well. This step can take a lot of time and effort on your part, as you are required to not only develop a good relationship with the members, but also with the moderators as well.
This step also, will often involve taking an active roll in the conversations that occur in the forum, whether about your niche topic or not, as well as being willing to help others wherever you can. It does, however, go without saying that you must always abide by any and all rules that have been set for the forum, and these are usually only a single click away through links at the base of the page. By developing this step, you can develop a reputation, and also you will find that your business will just naturally develop because humans tend to work together with people they trust.
Since the main purpose of a forum is the exchange of information and ideas or opinions, etc. as a marketer you must respect this objective and abide by it as best you can. Remember that the submissions you make to a forum, represent you, and therefore your business, and so they should always be quality posts. Marketing forums, where everyone involved has something to advertise and sell, usually have even more stringent rules, as these forums work on a complex plan aimed at making it fair for all users.
One other tactic, which has been known to generate a lot of success, but is generally not used, because of the amount of tact required to make this tactic succeed, is to criticize! An example of this tactic is when a marketer will point out a rival’s product and then make a controversial claim about the product. This will draw a lot of attention to the post and will gain a big readership fast. However, and this is where the tact comes in, you do not want to slam another person or their product without being able to prove it beyond a doubt.
Using tact, a marketer might consider using controversial claims such as “Product X is too highly priced according to recent results!” If the example Product X, that was used, was dearer to buy than your own product that was based on a similar niche, then your post would go on to describe that, in your opinion, Product X is too highly priced, the results that were quoted can be shown by describing your own product in direct comparison as well. Again, however, tact must be used here. If you are to use your own article as a comparison as evidence of your claims, then you should also be 100% sure that your product is better than the above product, and also be able to demonstrate that fact as well. This is why it get complicated, it is a fine mixture of ethics, advertising savvy and common sense, that are needed to make this tactic work.
© Allan Street, 2008
About The Author:
Allan Street is a professional author who has been writing content for websites, newsletters, e-Zines and other periodicals since 1992. You can find more of his great articles at: http://shadowsarticles.blogspot.com/
