Sunday, July 12, 2009

Using Forums to Increase Your Traffic

By Theo McLanahan

Most people who are used to using the Internet on a moderately regular basis are very familiar with forums and message boards and how to use them. These online communities let people get together to ask questions, give and receive answers, share stories, and forge relationships. As a website owner, participating in online forums will allow you to get in touch with other Internet Marketers as well as with individuals who could potentially become your new customers. For these reasons, forums can increase the volume of traffic your website receives.

The majority of forums give you a signature line to use with your profile when you make posts. You can include your name, a catchphrase, a logo, and a link to your company's website. The business related information you include in your signature line will draw forum readers to your site.

When you are new to a forum, post an introductory greeting and let people know who you are. These forums are a great way to build relationships. However, it takes time to build relationships and establish credibility. Try to post regularly and avoid blatant advertisements of your business. Forums often attract a number of spammers whose sole purpose is to advertise their site. These spam messages are usually deleted by the forum's moderators.

When you answer the questions that people have in a helpful and genuine way, they will eventually trust your advice and see you as an expert on the topic at hand.

You can also include links to your opt-in pages for your newsletter. This will drive traffic to your site and increase the amount of people on your mailing list. Adding links to your newsletter that leads to articles and other information on your website will further increase the amount of traffic to your site.

Whenever you feature a special offer like an e-course or a discount on a certain product, let forum members know by posting about it. They will want to know so that they can take advantage of such special offers.

Since word of mouth advertising is an extremely good way to build up your business, do not be afraid to ask your friends on the forums to refer you to others. Doing so will make your business internationally known. Contacting other Internet Marketers on forums can also help you, as you may be able to get involved in some joint ventures.

Using forums to make new friendships, make others see you as an expert, and link readers back to your website will all help you increase the traffic to your site.

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