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The Forum Phenomena
WHY OWNING YOUR OWN FORUM IS THE NEXT *BIG* THING!
by Michael Green
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It seems like every Tom, Dick and Harriett
now owns their
own Ezine or Newsletter. So where are savvy
marketers
looking to gain their next competitive edge?
Here's the answer...
... They're setting up their own Discussion Forums!
Almost overnight discussion forums have become an
essential
weapon in the armory of every successful online
marketer.
And that's no surprise when you consider that some
of the
big marketing forums are now attracting 4 million
page
visits per month.
Just before Christmas I set up my own forum and
within a
matter of weeks was receiving thousands of visitors
per
day.
BUT HOW DO FORUM VISITORS EQUATE TO PROFITS FOR
YOU?
Okay I hear you say... so forums can drive a massive
amount
of traffic, but how does that help me make money
through
internet marketing?
Actually in pretty much the same way as owning a
credible
Newsletter can build your wealth and, over time,
generate
a healthy income for you.
You see, as the owner and moderator of a forum, your
credibility will grow fast and before you know
it...visitors
will be hanging on your every word.
From that point onwards, it doesn't take a massive
leap of
the imagination to appreciate how this kind of POWER
can
lead to increased profits for you.
All you now need to do is quietly talk about the
right
products and services and others will likely pile
in. If
you like, it's a subtle form of product placement.
Plus of course, since you own the forum, you have
the
opportunity to include your own banner ads or text
links to
every thread or page. You can see how this is done
on my
own forum
http://www.howtocorp.com/forum
BUT... just like the responsible newsletter editor,
you
MUST ensure that you are recommending only the BEST
products
and services. Otherwise you'll quickly lose all your
credibility . Oh and your forum audience and regular
posters
will disappear too.
OWNING YOUR OWN FORUM CAN HAVE OTHER SPIN-OFFS
* WITH A FORUM YOU CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTION JUST
ONCE
If you find yourself in the position of
repeatably being
asked the exact same question about your product or
service, then a forum can provide a place for you to
post
the answer once and for all. After that you'll just
refer
people to your forum thread on the subject.
* OTHERS WILL ANSWER QUESTIONS FOR YOU
A bunch of enthusiasts will most likely gather
at your
forum and act as an external customer services
facility
for you. Your forum can cut your workload
dramatically.
* SHOWCASE NEW AND UPCOMING PRODUCTS
I often release information about my forthcoming
projects
to the folks at my own forum before anywhere else.
It's a
trusted community where I can get valuable thoughts
and
feedback before launching a toolkit to the public at
large.
SO WHAT ARE THE DOWNSIDES TO RUNNING YOUR OWN
FORUM?
Well you'll need to devote a certain amount of time
to
monitoring the posts and ensuring that SPAM isn't
turning
up on your forum. Naturally it will, so you'll need
to
delete it. Ignore your discussion board and you'll
quickly
discover that it has been filled with worthless JUNK
posts
and this will immediately devalue the board.
Newsgroups have been around since before the dawn of
the
internet - so you may well be asking yourself: "Why
are
they really *hot* now?"
Traditional Newsgroups used to require special
software to
access and even though they have been popularized
through
Google, they're gradually losing their importance.
At the same time anyone who can set up a website can
now
set up their own forum - so they're here to stay and
naturally "switched-on" internet marketers are
taking full
advantage.
I look forward to posting in your discussion forum
soon!
Michael Green
Founder "How To" Corp
HowToStartAForum.com
------------------------------------------------------------
The author has created the web's first ever eGuide
tutorial
which shows you precisely how to establish your very
own
online Discussion FORUM. Discover everything you
need to
know in order to create and draw visitors to your
very own
FORUM today at
HowToStartAForum.com
------------------------------------------------------------
© How To Corporation. All rights reserved.
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