Project Traffic! For Your Niche Site – Turn Forum Participation into Forum Marketing Part 2
Part 1of Project Traffic! was a deliberate abbreviation to give you an idea of what the general traffic tools that even the gurus used to generate traffic.
In the next parts of Project Traffic! we shall discuss the "How To" with individual focus of some of the tactics in detail.
Forum Participation is In Focus today at Project Traffic!
Online Forums are good places to interact and Forum participation can be a very effective branding tool if done right.
The Benefits of Forums Participation are essentially the following:
Make Great Word of Mouth and Viral Marketing. The power of the Word of mouth of forum is both lateral and simultaneous. That is, if you are good, or for that matter, bad, you will be renown in no time at all! And of course, the good or the bad you have done would be circulating virally throughout the forum. Imagine the amount of traffic you drive to your site.
Connect to Build an Industry Network of Relationship. Get into the know. Be seen as being on your toes when you network with other forumers within the industry. This could easily take you offline from your online activities and help you connect with industry figures.
Do Test-Marketing & Feel Your Demand. Test your theory by posting it at your niche forum and let others give their opinion. This platform serves as a quick test and you are then able to get an overall perspective of how well your idea or product is accepted, assuming of course that the forumers are representative of your intended niche segments.
Create Direct Sales Opportunities. Notice that I use the word "Create … Opportunities". This is a by-product of your forum participation activities. If you do get buyer traffic, I congratulate you. But always bear in mind that this is not you’re your priority. Referrals, Self-Branding, future long term traffic flow should be your key prerogatives.
How To Search For Your Niche Forums
Do a Google search for your related niche forums to best leverage your expertise. Assume that your niche is about dog training, Key in the following line into the Google search box and press enter.
allintitle: dog training filetype:html forum
Voila!! Enjoy!!
How to Behave in Forums
Give good quality advice in your niche. Always position your persona as the industry expert, adopting an advisor or mentor role. But be non-intrusive, show respect for fellow forumers, especially when you are new to the forum. Build and enhance your credibility with active interaction and free advice. People appreciate people who wholeheartedly help them resolve their problems. When people what you do for them, they will begin to visit your site, wanting to know more about your work. So keep building those relationships but be real!
Post A New Anchor Article In The Forum. In fact, tactically, high trafficked niche forums is one place which you could sufficiently impress your target niche groups if and when done correctly. For instance, consider posting an new anchor article of yours at the niche forum, instead of your own blog. How do you think the outcome will be? Well, a certain internet marketer tried it, and now he is an internet marketing guru!
Be Disciplined and Set a Target. Set target for forum participation on a per day basis. Make Time for it. Do not participate only when you have the time to spare.
Quality vs Quantity. Post quality comments in your niche forum rather than going for quantity. Be active in one or two niche forums which you think you could penetrate and establish a branding and expert position. Post actively preferably daily or alternate daily.
Use a Clear & Simple Signature. Keep a clear and simple signature. Do not use a complicated and cluttered sign-off or break any forum rules as some forums limit the number of links, the form of links and affiliate links.
If you have missed Part 1 of Project Traffic! Here it is. Also, Check out the rest of Traffic Generation Articles & Project Traffic! Series Here
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This is the first post I have read in the project traffic series. I’m off to go read the rest and hope to apply it to my new niche blogging efforts. Traffic is key and this forum tip will really help get things going for me