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Effective Marketing
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Affiliate programmes are springing up everywhere and cover every type of product or service imaginable. Some incorporate fully automated systems that sell high volumes of hard products all over the world. Many have...
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Network Effectively Online
There are many ways to boost your business online - writing
articles, search engine optimization, acquiring incoming links -
the list goes on; but one of the best ways which is often
overlooked is to find forums relating to your line of business
and join in with them.
Being a frequent participant on forums can increase links back
to your website, increase your chances of being seen as an
expert, increase your mailing list, sell more of your product,
get new affiliates to sign up, make you new friends - in fact
there's not a lot to be said against joining a few forums.
However, there are some things to think about before you get
started:
DO:
1. Research each forum before you join. Make sure it's relevant
to your business and see if the participants are in your target
market. Look at how much traffic the forum gets. How busy is it?
- there's no point in joining a dead forum with very few posts.
2. Check the forum rules before you post. Some forums will allow
you to post adverts for your business while others will object.
Check if you are allowed to add a signature at the end of your
posts - adding a small biography with a web link to your
business is a great way to increase incoming links to your site
and to get more traffic.
3. Be polite and treat everyone the way you would like to be
treated. Even though you don't meet people face to face you will
build up some great relationships if you take the time to give
good answers to questions, to be helpful and to respect other
people's opinions. And every post you answer adds to your
reputation. Use your posts to give genuine, useful advice, not
just to plug your business and you'll soon be looked on as an
expert.
4. Don't be afraid to ask for advice - no-one knows
everything
and sometimes you will need help.
5. To make the most of your time on the forums, allow yourself
only a certain amount of time each day. Read only the posts that
are relevant and that interest you and post answers quickly
before moving on. It's very easy to spend the whole day on
forums and not get anything else done.
DON'T:
1. Never, ever use a post to blatantly advertise your business,
particularly if the forum rules don't allow it. Nothing will
damage your reputation faster than spamming a forum.
2. Don't go through the list of forum members, collect email
addresses and send them unsolicited mail. At best you'll be
banned from the forum and at worst the owners might report you
to your ISP.
3. Don't ever get involved in a flame war (this is when a heated
conversation on a forum boils over and degenerates into nothing
but an exchange of personal insults). It might be really
satisfying to say what you think about someone, especially if
they've been getting on your nerves, but just imagine what other
people will think of you if you do.
In conclusion, treat people online like you treat people in
real life. Think of it as a networking event that's taking place
on your computer and don't forget that other posts on the forums
are made by real people with real feelings.
You already know how to make friends and new contacts face to
face. Apply what you already know to online networking and you
could be enjoying great success with a global audience.
About the author:
Chet Holcomb of http://www.internetpromotions.biz is a
successful marketing expert providing advice for web marketers
and webmasters on how to promote your website, or product using
internet marketing tools that work.
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