In internet marketing, everyone wants to spread the word
about his/her business for as little cost as possible.
Ideally, one would like to spread his/her message for
free.

Even though the effective ways to advertise for free
are not as numerous as they once were, there are still
some effective free methods around.

One way that is free and still a very effective way
to advertise your product or service is via the forums.

There are many forums on the Internet dealing with all
types of subjects, from dogs to cars to internet marketing.

What you should do is look up the forums in your subject
area - use Google or your favorite search engine, type
in “SUBJECT forums,” replacing SUBJECT with your topic of
interest.

You should find a good number of forums to choose from.

Sign up as a member, log in, and check out the threads
(topics of conversation) .

Introduce yourself to the rest of the forum members;
mention some things about yourself, including your site.

Since you are introducing yourself, you can mention the
site URL in the body of your message, but from then on,
and under normal circumstances, you should NOT mention
your site URL in the body of your message.

Instead, there is a function used by most forums that
allows you to freely “advertise” your site without
paying for the advertisement and without offending anyone.

This function is called an “email signature” and it allows
you to place a short message (usually no more than 1-2
sentences in length) about yourself, your website, etc.
and place your website URL in the message.

The email signature appears after your posted message,
usually near the bottom of the computer screen, but
clearly visible to anyone reading your message.

This allows you to advertise without spending money
and without offending anyone, as your email signature
is a very small, unobtrusive part of your posted message.

The best strategy to use to make your email signature
the most effective in selling your product/service or
for getting new subscribers to your list is by posting
valuable information and your honest thoughts, opinions,
and advice to the forum community.

If the forum community sees that you are providing
valuable posts and offering genuine thoughts, opinions,
and advice, they will look at you as an “expert” in
the subject matter that is being discussed at that forum.

Chances are, they will probably ask you for your advice
and opinions about many topics in your area of expertise.
In other words, they will begin to “trust” you.

The more they “trust” you, the more likely they
are to check out your website, subscribe to your list,
and purchase your products and services.

This is the best way to utilize forums.

The WRONG WAY is to post your website URL, product and
service offers, and your ezine/newsletter in the body of
your message.

That is because most people will consider this as blatant,
unsolicited advertising, also known as SPAM, and will
file SPAM complaints against you. If this happens, you
and your business will be in serious trouble. So make
sure to use the email signature.

Another way in which you SHOULDN’T utilize the forums is
by talking about a subject that has absolutely nothing to
do with what the thread is talking about. Talking
off-topic does not help the forum community.

Also, do not become adversarial in the forums; even if
you disagree with another poster, politely disagree if
you wish, but don’t start calling the person names,
shouting (i.e. TYPING ALL CAPS,) or threatening any type
of action just because you believe you’re right and he/she
is not. That’s not going to help you make “friends” in the
online community, which is your main objective.

So remember to be courteous and helpful when visiting
the forums.

To your success!

Gilles Rais

Categories: Articles