Online Forums… also referred to as Discussion Boards, offer some of the best advice you can find on the Internet. Forums exist for almost any niche you can think of: from Internet marketing to cooking.
As a home-based business owner, you normally lack the camaraderie of associates such as in an office building setting. However, you can learn from others in forums and even develop some friendships that can assist you in running your own business at home. Your first visit to an online forum can be a bit intimidating in the beginning, but if you follow some basic rules and learn some basic terms, your visits will be much more productive and comfortable for you.
Let’s identify some basic terms used in online forums or discussion boards:
Moderator - The person or persons assigned with privileges to monitor the quality of the posts. A moderator may be the owner of the forum or one that volunteers to assist the owner or even appointed by the owner to monitor and provide answers to posts.
Visitor - Also referred to as a guest. These are people who are visiting a forum but either have not registered as a user or member, or have not logged in as a user or member.
Member - Also referred to as a user. These are people who have registered with the forum and have chosen a user name to be identified when making posts to the forum.
Stalker - A person who visits forums as a visitor or a member but doesn’t post any messages. They are there to read other posts and learn from them.
Nuke - To remove a post. Most posts only get nuked if they violate the forum’s rules. An originator of a post may sometimes make a request of the moderator to nuke the post also.
Flame - To post a message in reply to another post that attacks another person and their post.
Sig File - A file you create in your member or user profile that is appended to the end of all your posts. Sig files can contain your real name, a URL text link to your website and on some forums, a graphic. This lets people know who you are and can be an acceptable way of subtly advertising offers on your website.
Thread - A series of replies to a post.
When you begin visiting a forum, it is a good practice to be a stalker for awhile. During this time, you become familiar with the environment of the forum and get a feel for how posts are accepted and responded to by members. This gives you time to gain knowledge and even the courage before actually posting messages themselves. Get into the flow of the forum and be comfortable being a stalker before you begin to post yourself.
Every forum or discussion board has a written or implied rule about advertising. Even if advertising is not specifically banned in the policies or rules of the forum, it is highly discouraged anyway. Blatant advertising is the best way to get flamed and lose all credibility in the forum. Best advice: don’t EVER post a blatant ad.
The main reason why you don’t want to post an advertisement in a forum or discussion board is because people go to them to look for information and learn. They are not there to buy something. Many newbies are ignorant of this fact and begin to drool over what they perceive to be a captive audience for their ads. They think that with all these people reading through the posts, that they can post an ad and sell tons of products or services. This couldn’t be further from the truth. If you post an ad, not only will you lose all trust of the members and visitors, but you will tarnish your name and reputation that cannot be made up for with even the most brilliant informational posts in the future. If you get flamed because of an ad you place, you might as well not ever visit the forum again.
However, with that said, there are ways to develop credibility and thereby increase the number of visits to your website. When you are comfortable with the forum and begin posting replies to questions submitted by other members, you can build up your own credibility on the forum with fellow members. As they learn to admire and respect your knowledge about certain subjects, they will be prone to visit the link in your signature file and seriously consider your offer(s).
Visiting a forum can be a very rewarding experience. How you behave in the forum depends on how valuable it can be for you.
A good rule of thumb to guide you is that “silence is golden” in most cases. In other words, it is better to remain silent and have people think that you’re ignorant than to post something stupid and remove all doubt. Think before you post. Keep in mind that as you are composing your post or reply, that what you finally submit to a forum will become a permanent record of who and what you are. Submit a post or reply and you own it. It will make you appear as a hero or mark you as a loser.
No matter what you do, if you find a flame thread in a post (even if you are 100% in agreement with the other flamers) do not ever post a flame yourself. Do not ever attack anyone on a forum. Remember, what you post is permanent and if the victim of the post should decide to take you to court, your post can be used as evidence against you in court. A precedent has already been set that forum or board owners and moderators cannot be held accountable or responsible for the posts of others. You bear 100% of the responsibility of the content in your posts.
Some people visit forums, create a member or user name that they think is anonymous and start posting away with blatant ads or flames. Don’t think for a minute that you are anonymous on any forum. Owners and moderators and even visitors with the right know-how can track you down if necessary.
Even if a forum or board allows you to post as a visitor or guest, I highly recommend that you do not do this. If you are going to post a message or reply to a post, make sure you register as a member or user. When you create your profile, you will also setup a password for your profile. This will prevent someone using your member or user name and posting something totally inappropriate pretending to be you.
If you find a forum that you feel comfortable with and visit it frequently, give the owner the courtesy of visiting any links they provide within the main forum or board. Your support will ensure the on-going operation of it.
Now, with everything I stated above, make use of forums to your best advantage. Once you have a good feel for the flow of the forum, don’t be afraid to post a question or reply. There really is no such thing as a stupid question. You’d be surprised at how many people may have the same question and be afraid to post it. Many times, you’ll get a simple reply such as “great question! I’m glad somebody finally asked that!”
Until next time, enjoy your home-based business success!
Posted by Administrator in General, Skills