Forum Posting Tips

First of all, avoid posting when you don't know what you are talking about. That will make you look stupid. Nobody knows the answer to everything. If you are unsure what the proper answer to a question is, take a pass. Spend your time answering posts where you can really offer value. Don't post just for the sake of inflating your post count or showing your signature files. Pick your battles wisely.

Some questions are just too difficult to understand. Or just plain weird. If that's the case but you still suspect you can offer value, ask for clarifications. Ask for more details or ask questions of your own so you understand exactly what the question being asked is. When the question is clarified, post with your answer.

If you don't know the answer, simply don't post. You don't really have to follow up on your initial post. The forum advantage is that you can really think of your answer. Or, you can just avoid answering altogether.

If you are not quite sure of what the answer to the question is (but you kinda know), you can make a "short and mysterious" post letting it be implied that you do
know what you are talking about.

If you know that you spell poorly in general, make sure you spell check your posts before you actually click the "Post" button. I used to paste my post in Microsoft Word, have it spell checked and then post on the forum. But now I use Mozilla Firefox and there's a built-in spell checker that underlines with a red line every word that appears to be spelt incorrectly. If you right click on that word, you will get some recommendations of what the proper spelling is.

Also, you can preview your post before making it. If you are not sure if your post will come out looking ok, click the button that says "preview" instead of "post". Then, you can safely make any modifications you want before you actually post.

Or, even if you do make an error somewhere, you can go back and edit your post. All forums that respect themselves will have an "edit" icon on your post so you can click it and edit your post. Note that you can only do that when you are logged in with your username - so the forum can recognise you. Of course, you can only edit your own posts - and not those of other forum members.

And of course, nothing stops you from creating your own threads. That way, your post will get more eyeballs since it will be the top post and will not be buried within other replies. I admit that I don't usually do this because I prefer giving answers to posts and branding myself as an expert. If you are trying to do this, you can't start making post after post asking "silly" questions.

But you can definitely start challenging threads. Especially if you know that a subject polarizes an audience, by all means go for it. For example, many people hate popups while others hate pop up blockers. In this case, you could post something along the lines of:
"Hi guys,
I know that some people hate popups. But I also know that they still work and they can add to your bottom line. Which camp do you belong in? Do you love popups or hate
them?"

You can get quite the heated debate going there. If you have a popup blocker or a popup generator in your signature file, even better :-)

Or:
"Hi guys,
Do you prefer paying for your advertising and getting fast results? Or do you prefer free promotion methods that may take longer to see results from?Post your thoughts!"

Again, the two camps of free and paid advertising can have a very interesting discussion. If you promote a Google Adwords Guide or an SEO Software in your sig (or both), you can do very well. Make sure you post again after other people post. You want your posts and sig file to be seen throughout that entire thread.

In general, try to start threads that are very related to the product(s) you promote in your signature files. I can tell you that forum threads can rank at the very top of Google, especially when the term is a product name that is about to be released.

Product names have very little competition (plus, people who search for them are great buyers). Let's say that a new ebook called "The Super Ebook" is about to be released.
If someone starts a thread around it, make whatever possible to post as many times in there as possible. Even if you haven't seen the product yet and you aren't promoting it yet. As the name of the product will be repeated throughout the thread, that thread can rank very high on the search engines.

When the product does go live, many people will start searching for it online. Next thing you know, they see the forum thread, they visit it and they start reading
the posts.

At that point, it would be wise for you to read the product, set up a landing page for it offering a review and a bonus for people to buy through your link and, of course, add a link in your signature file saying something like:
"The Super Ebook Review". All your posts will now have a link to your review of the new product. And of course, nothing stops you from posting again in that thread. People usually read the very last post on a thread. You can even be direct and say something like: "I just bought The Super Ebook. Check out my review in my sig file".

If you see a forum thread on one forum that has generated a lot of interest in a forum, you can just start an almost identical thread on another forum in your market. You should get some solid action going.

If you have posted an answer and, several days later, you see the same question being asked again, you can just say something like: "See my reply in this thread as well." Or, you can just copy and paste that answer in the new thread.

Another creative idea
You can visit a forum (in any niche) and then click the "members" link. This will give you a list of all the members in the forum. You can usually sort that list by name, number of posts, etc. If you sort by number of posts, you can find the members that are really active on the board. Perhaps you can select a few of those members and "cut a deal" with them.

For example, you can tell them that you would like to "rent" their signature file space for the next 30 days for X amount of money. If they say yes, you now use all the techniques and you set up their signature file so that it makes YOU money.

You'll get many backlings to your offers instantly. Also, since these members post a lot, your offers will continue getting exposure. Plus, members who search for older posts will almost be sure to find some of the older posts of the members who now have YOUR signature file - and follow those links back to your website.

If you want to find forums in your market, just type "market forum" in Google, Yahoo and MSN. For example: "internet marketing forum." It's simple.

Here are some resources to help you find more forums
http://www.big-boards.com
http://www.forumzilla.com
http://www.board123.com/forum_directory.php
http://www.foruma-z.com/directory.php

How To Use Twitter

PROMOTE YOUR TWITTER PROFILE
Here’s the best bit. When you join Twitter you will get your own unique URL to promote anywhere and everywhere you like. It will consist of the main Twitter website address followed by a forward slash and then your username.

When people visit this web address they will see your profile and your latest tweets listed in the order that you posted them. You can put a short bio and the URL of your website on this page so make doubly sure you fill them in! Every single person that visits your profile page is a potential visitor for your website too, so make things easy for them.

Now obviously you can use this URL anywhere you like—if you are telling people about your presence on Twitter you can use a clickable link to embed your Twitter URL into the word ‘Twitter’. All someone has to do then is click on the word and they’ll be taken straight to your profile page.

But the website also provides you with an opportunity to create your very own badge for use on other sites, and this has the advantage of being more visually appealing. You’ll find the appropriate page for getting your customized badges at
http://twitter.com/badges.

Getting your own unique badge
This is easy and it’s well worth doing because it really helps to draw attention to your Twitter profile. A badge is basically a widget, and you can choose one to blend in with your Blogger based blog, your MySpace account, your Facebook account or your TypePad blog.

Alternatively if you don’t have any of those click on the ‘Other’ option and you’ll get three other options to choose from. You can have a Flash style widget that either contains you and your friends tweets, or just yours—although either method allows people to click on your Twitter ID and join up so they can follow you.

You can also choose an HTML or JavaScript option if you are able to do a bit of simple copying and pasting and you can put JavaScript wherever you want to put your widget. Again every single entry can be clicked on to allow people to find and follow you on Twitter itself. These widgets not only highlight your contributions to your Twitter page, they also make it easy for people to follow you—which is what leads to a bigger audience for everything you do and write, both on Twitter and elsewhere.

Promoting your Twitter profile is only one side of the story though. Not only do you want to promote it, you also want people to keep in touch with it. Now if you take a look at your profile page once you’ve joined the site, you’ll notice that you have a little stats box on the right hand side. Among other things, this will show you how many updates (otherwise known as our tweets) you have posted, how many people you are following and more importantly, how many people are following you. It is in your best interests to make that last number as big as possible, since the more people you have following your tweets the better the impact is likely to be on your business as a whole.

Getting people to follow you
This is a bit like leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for people to follow. First off, they won’t follow you if they don’t know you’re there, so get those badges and widgets sorted out and get some clickable links announcing the fact that you’re now on Twitter for everyone to find and post them on your blog and website.

Another cool tactic is to announce you’re a Twitterer at the bottom of all the emails you send out to anyone—even your bank manager. Hey you never know; he might be a Twitterer too.

The more people who know about your tweets, the better the chances are of some of them deciding to follow you. Most people won’t just follow someone who tweets about anything and everything though, so make sure you bear in mind your reason for being on Twitter in the first place.

You want to promote yourself and your business, right? Okay, so although Twitter—in common with a lot of other sites like this—doesn’t like you promoting your wares heavily through your tweets, it doesn’t mind you sticking to the subject your business and interests are all about. For example let’s say you have a website which sells pet accessories. You wouldn’t promote items directly from your tweets; instead you could share a few bizarre facts and figures about animals through your tweets. It should be something interesting that will entice people to read more of your updates and maybe even sign on as a follower.
Don’t forget that it’s really not necessary to sell directly via your Twitter updates anyway, since your profile page will include your website address for everyone to click on and visit. Twitter is pretty easy to get the hang of, so even newcomers will see your website address and are very likely to click through for a look see if they read and enjoy your updates.

Follow other people
Another great way to get people to follow you is to start following them first!
The trick to doing this successfully though is to make sure you follow the right people. If your updates are concentrated around unusual and fascinating facts about animals to help attract people who will also be interested in your website, you should start following other people who have a similar interest in animals. But how on earth do you find them?

Twitter Blocks
These are worth looking at purely for the amazing image you get—but they have a far more intriguing purpose as well.Twitter Blocks give you a virtual map of who you are connected to on Twitter. So let’s say for example you start following someone. If you go onto the Twitter Blocks part of the site you’ll see the option to look at your own Twitter block.
This will show a link from you to the person you are following . . . and then another link (or more) to their neighbors. While they won’t all be interested in following you, you can certainly follow them and as soon as they realize they have a new follower they’ll be sure to sit up and take notice of you. It’s the Twitterer’s way of standing up, waving and saying “Hi!”

Using the search feature
If there is one sure way to find like minded people on Twitter (without the joy of seeing all those hovering blocks) it’s via the search feature. This trawls through the information people give on their profile page and returns any profiles featuring the word or words you have asked it to search for. Incidentally a search for the word ‘animals’ returned over a thousand results, so even if only a fraction of those are interested in you and your animal accessories business, you’re off to a great start.So there we go—we’ve made a great start. But there’s plenty more to learn and take advantage of yet.

Social Media Marketing

What is social media?
Media (content that is published) with a social (anyone can add to and share it) component. Social media is like a business networking reception without the constraints of time and space.

• Social Media is Inbound Marketing
• Social media helps with SEO
• Social media promotes your blog
• Social media is permission centric

The conversation has already started… it’s time that you’re aware of it and develop a strategy for engaging in it and using it for marketing.

Get Found Online Using Social Media

STEP 1: Guidelines for Engagement
• Meet people and start conversations, become a real member of the community – don’t join to just advertise your products.

• Add value to the community – answer questions and help others.

• Ask questions – trust others’ advice.

STEP 2: Publish, Share, and Network
• Publish: Everyone can publish anything for everyone

• Publish everything you have anywhere you can

• Monitor what others publish and promote it


• Share: Anyone can promote anything to everyone

• Monitor what’s being shared about you

• Find where your audience hangs out

• Promote valuable content, yours and others’

• Product content your audience will love

• Network: Anyone can connect with everyone from anywhere

• Make friends – find your existing connections and build new ones

• Be helpful – answer questions, share interesting content

STEP 3: Measure & Analyze

• Key metrics to consider are: number of blog visitors and subscribers, del.icio.us bookmarks, inbound links, Facebook fans and activity, friends on Facebook or LinkedIn, votes for blog articles, posts in forums.

• Measure real business results: number of visitors, leads, and customers generated by each social media effort.
• Empower your customers to publish