How to make money by Forum Marketing

Forums are big authority sites that get tons of traffic and have many loyal members. Forget trying to build all that from scratch. Just tap into it! But you need to be respectful and not an ass, ok?
Posting on forums is a great way to make money. Sure, you could reach many of the same prospects with Search Engine Optimisation and Pay Per Click advertising - but we will use this alternative channel here.
Many people know how to market online pretty well but t hey have trouble getting that initial traffic that will kick-start the process. Some initial traffic so they can do split tests on their sites. Some initial visitors who will buy the product and offer feedback and testimonials.
Guess what: Forums can provide all that! You don t have to do Pay per Click and go out there in the cold cruel world and try to hunt for your first prospects.
The most popular forums in each market have many members that are passionate about what they do. The internet can be a very lonely place. Forums create a sense of community and a sense of "hey, there are others like me". People use forums every day in different ways:

• They can just browse the newest topics to see "what's new" - as most people hate missing out on new information.
• They can ask a specific question so that other members will give their opinions.
• They may be very knowledgeable and want to help other members by answering their questions.
• They are not knowledgeable but they still want to give their opinion. - They use the "search" function of the forums to gain knowledge about a specific aspect of their industry.
  Hanging out on forums is a great way to gain insights into your market. They can reveal things that keyword research tools just can t. People go there to bitch and moan about all the problems they face. They can complain about this and that. This is great for you because you can understand what are the real problems people have.
  You can also pick up on trends and what some of the subniches in your niche are. For example, if you are in the weight loss industry, you may see many threads about weight loss pills, diets that don t make you hungry, exercise programs for busy people etc. Take your pick.
  So, how do you make money from this?
  Your job is to post regularly in these forums. Then, people who read your posts, will read your signature file (a paragraph that says something about you or your offer) and, hopefully, click on your link.
  When posting on forums, I would use my real name as my username. This is a great way for people to get to know you and brand yourself as an expert or at least as someone who isn t hiding behind a screen.
  As days and weeks go by, you ll see that things start to look up for no apparent reason. You will start getting preferential treatment from other members of the forum. Joint Venture requests, getting free review copies or samples of products etc.
  If you don t want to post with your real name for whatever reason, at least post with something that can be remembered. Don t use bg234rty . Use something like Spiderman s Uncle or Big Bad John . Or whatever. Just make it easy to remember.
  Before you start posting in the forums, you need to understand...How to set up an effective signature file:
  Here are some ideas for you to set up a "sig file":
  If you promote an affiliate product (or even your own product), you can just copy the headline from the salesletter and then include a link to the salesletter.
  For example, if I wanted to promote a product like "The Super Ebook", I would copy the headline of the salesletter, and then paste it as my signature file.
  Then, I would include a call to action like "Click Here".
  Or, I would hyper link the name of the product and then include the headline of the salesletter.
  If the product is yours, use the name of the product hyperlinked as I just explained. This is a good way to brand your product. For example:
  The Super Ebook
  If you are an affiliate, you can use a "blind" promotion and not mention the name of the product. Let curiosity get the best of people and then click on your link.
  Or, you can create a short, sweet and controversial description of the product you promote.
  For example:
  Adsense Arbitrage Voodoo: The dirtiest Adwords and Adsense tricks ever told.
  Another thing you can do is set up a landing page and offer a positive review of the product you promote as well as an added bonus for people who purchase through your affiliate link (and when I say affiliate link , I essentially mean through the site that you have set up by cloning the merchant s salesletter).
  Especially if you have used the product yourself and have gotten great results, I can tell you that this can work extremely well.For example, if you used weight loss pill xyz and lost 27 pounds of fat in 3 months, you could create a sig file that says something simple like:
  How I Lost 27 Pounds of Fat in 3 Months Without Feeling Hungry
  And you would link that to your landing page that would say something like:
  I had tried everything and couldn't lose weight - but then I discovered weight loss pills xyz and I started losing fat like crazy. In 3 months I had lost 27 pounds of fat.
  If you purchase weight loss pills xyz from the special link on this page, forward me your receipt and I will send you a special report with the exact exercise program I used to lose all the weight." (And guess what that special report can have affiliate links to exercise equipment you use).
  I obviously used a short version of what you could say here - but I think you get the point.
  If weight loss pill xyz is extremely well-known in your industry, you can use the name of the product in your signature file. Like:
  Read My Case Study of Using Weight Loss Pills XYZ - And Get The Exercise Program That Helped Me Lose 27 Pounds in 3 Months
  Something else that can work very well is to make a special offer for members of each individual forum. For example, if you post in a forum called "Atkins Diet Board", you can say something like:
  Special Offer For Members of Atkins Diet Board (that's it). Point that to a landing page that reinstates the fact that this offer is for members of the "Atkins Diet Board".
  Of course, you can do the same with another forum called "Super Fat Loss Forum": Special Offer For Members of Super Fat Loss Forum. And you would
  link that to a page mentioning Special Offer Forum.Another thing you can do is have several links to several different products separated by a "pipe" (|). There's no "law" that prohibits you from linking to more than one resource. For example, you could have a signature file that looks something like:
  Weight Loss Pills XYZ Review | Lose Weight Quickly | Atkins Diet Tips | Fat Loss Workout
  You can have each link point to a different landing page of yours. You can use your desired "anchor text" in your signature file. So, if you do keyword research and you see that some specific keywords get many searches (and you can provide a solution or a product to point people who search for them to), you can use these very keywords to link to your landing pages.
  Over time, more and more links will be pointing to your landing pages. Links that will be on the same forum page (the same thread), different threads on the same forum or even several different pages across different forums you post on (more on that later).
  The popular forums in your industry are considered huge authority sites and they have a lot of weight in the search engines. If you don't believe me, search for 10 random terms. You'll see that many times, some of the top results are nothing more than forum threads.
  Having these sites link to your page is a great "side effect" of you using a well- thought-out signature file. Many links from different authority sites can make your landing page(s) rank high on the search engines.
  Note that you can modify your sig file at any time. You can promote a different product, add another product, stop promoting a specific product etc.
  If you suspect that a new product will start gaining popularity in your market (or if it's painfully obvious that this is the case), you can simply create a new landing page promoting that product and then add a link in your signature file
  to your new landing page.Similarly, if you want to target a new keyword in your market, for example "High Intensity Bodybuilding Workout", you can add the term High Intensity Bodybuilding Workout to your signature file and link to a review of an ebook about secret bodybuilding workouts from mother Russia that build inhuman muscle mass in 1 month with only 20 minutes 3 times a week. Or whatever.
  
  Boom just like that you can have hundreds of links pointing to your page. And those will grow naturally over time as you continue posting on forums.
  If you have a product in the "make money"/ "work from home" industry, another thing you can do in your sig file is promote your affiliate program. Link to a page talking about your product, why it's good and why people should promote it. You will get some good affiliates that way.
  If you want to track how effective your signature files are, you can use a tracking link instead of pointing directly to your landing page. Yes, forum marketing is "free", but you will still put time into it. You need to know if it pays you enough for your time (and, if you do exactly what I tell you, you should get paid more than "fairly").
  If you want to take advantage of the links in your signature file with a specific anchor text, in order to build link popularity for your site, then don't use a 3rd party tracking service. Use a tracking link that will be on the same domain as your page and just add a variable at the end of the link. For example, if your landing page is:
  yoursite.com/WeightLossPage.html
  ... then you could use a tracking link like: yoursite.com/WeightLoss.php?source=ForumName
  And that page would then redirect to yoursite.com/WeightLossPage.html
  Then, just by checking your server logs, you would be able to see how many visitors came from that specific tracking link. You can use the same landing page no matter what forum you link to it from. Just use different tracking links
  in each forum. For example:yoursite.com/WeightLoss.php?source=AtkinsDietBoard yoursite.com/WeightLoss.php?source=SuperFatLossForum etc...
  If you want to draw attention to your signature file you can have it be bold, italicised, coloured or even with a bigger font. Not all forums allow it but many do. I personally use just a normal font size and colour - but that's just me.
  Now, I need to say something important.
  You need to be clear about your goals. You are visiting the forums to offer value and make money - not to spend all your day there. Plan the day before. Know how long you will spend on the forums.
  Let's say that you want to spend 2 hours reading and replying to posts. Use a stopwatch. Have it countdown from 2 hours to zero.
  1:59:59
  1:59:58
  1:59:57
  ... 0:23
  etc...
  It's easy to spend all your day on the forums without purpose - thinking that you are "working on your business". Don't fall into this trap. You need to manage your time.
  Also, stop visiting each thread you posted in just to see if someone else posted in it and if you need to reply.
  Stop trying to see if "people love you" and they said you made a great post. Most people couldn't care less if you had a kidney transplant. Get used to it. Just finish posting on the 1st forum and then move on to the second. And
  then the third one. The next day you can start all over again.If you want to be more active and post again and again (if needed) during the same day, just click the link that says "subscribe to this thread" or "subscribe to this topic". That way, you will receive an email notification every time someone posted in the thread. Just clicking the link in your email will take you directly to that thread and, if needed, post again.
  Tips on how to post:
  First of all, avoid posting when you don't know what you are talking about. That will make you look stupid (I hate when that happens). Nobody knows the answer to everything. If you are unsure what the proper answer to a question is, take a pass.
  Spend your time answering posts where you can really offer value. Don't post just for the sake of inflating your post count or showing your signature files. Pick your battles wisely.
  Some questions are just too difficult to understand. Or just plain weird. If that's the case but you still suspect you can offer value, ask for clarifications. Ask for more details or ask questions of your own so you understand exactly what the question being asked is. When the question is clarified, post with your answer.
  If you don't know the answer, simply don't post. You don't really have to follow up on your initial post. The advantage that forums have over, say, speaking on the phone, is that you can really think of your answer. Or, you can just avoid answering altogether.
  If you are not quite sure of what the answer to the question is (but you kinda know), you can make a "short and mysterious" post letting it be implied that you do know what you are talking about. For example, if a post says something like:
  "All weight loss pills suck. They are just ploys to get your money. I have never seen results from a weight loss pill"... and you happen to promote a weight loss pill in your signature (that you haven't used yourself), you can say something like:
  "95% of weight loss pills are indeed worthless. But you can find some very effective ones - if you know how".
  [SIG FILE] Melt off The Fat With Weight Loss Pills XYZ
  If you know that you spell poorly in general, make sure you spell check your posts before you actually click the "Post" button. I used to paste my post in Microsoft Word, have it spell checked and then post on the forum. But now I use Mozilla Firefox and there's a built-in spell checker that underlines with a red line every word that appears to be spelt incorrectly. If you right click on that word, you will get some recommendations of what the proper spelling is.
  Also, you can preview your post before making it. If you are not sure if your post will come out looking ok, click the button that says "preview" instead of "post". Then, you can safely make any modifications you want before you actually post.
  Or, even if you do make an error somewhere, you can go back and edit your post. All forums that respect themselves will have an "edit" icon on your post so you can click it and edit your post. Note that you can only do that when you are logged in with your username - so the forum can recognise you. Of course, you can only edit your own posts - and not those of other forum members.
  And of course, nothing stops you from creating your own threads. That way, your post will get more eyeballs since it will be the top post and will not be buried within other replies. I admit that I don't usually do this because I prefer giving answers to posts and branding myself as an expert. If you are trying to do this, you can't start making post after post asking "silly" questions.
  But you can definitely start challenging threads. Especially if you know that a subject polarizes an audience, by all means go for it. For example, many people hate popups while others hate pop up blockers. In this case, you could
  post something along the lines of:Hi guys,
  I know that some people hate popups. But I also know that they still work and they can add to your bottom line. Which camp do you belong in? Do you love popups or hate them?
  You can get quite the heated debate going there. If you have a popup blocker or a popup generator in your signature file, even better :-)
  Or:
  Hi guys,
  Do you prefer paying for your advertising and getting fast results? Or do you prefer free promotion methods that may take longer to see results from?
  Post your thoughts!
  Again, the two camps of free and paid advertising can have a very interesting discussion. If you promote a Google Adwords Guide or an SEO Software in your sig (or both), you can do very well.
  Make sure you post again after other people post. You want your posts and sig file to be seen throughout that entire thread.
  In general, try to start threads that are very related to the product(s) you promote in your signature files.
  I can tell you that forum threads can rank at the very top of Google, especially when the term is a product name that is about to be released.
  Product names have very little competition (plus, people who search for them are great buyers). Let's say that a new ebook called "The Super Ebook" is about to be released.
  If someone starts a thread around it, make whatever possible to post as many times in there as possible. Even if you haven't seen the product yet and youaren't promoting it yet. As the name of the product will be repeated throughout the thread, that thread can rank very high on the search engines.
  When the product does go live, many people will start searching for it online. Next thing you know, they see the forum thread, they visit it and they start reading the posts.
  At that point, it would be wise for you to read the product, set up a landing page for it offering a review and a bonus for people to buy through your link and, of course, add a link in your signature file saying something like:
  "The Super Ebook Review". All your posts will now have a link to your review of the new product. And of course, nothing stops you from posting again in that thread. People usually read the very last post on a thread.
  You can even be direct and say something like: "I just bought The Super Ebook. Check out my review in my sig file".
  If you see a forum thread on one forum that has generated a lot of interest in a forum, you can just start an almost identical thread on another forum in your market. You should get some solid action going.
  If you have posted an answer and, several days later, you see the same question being asked again, you can just say something like: See my reply in this thread as well. Or, you can just copy and paste that answer in the new thread.
  If you want to find forums in your market, just type "market forum" in Google, Yahoo and MSN. For example: "weight loss forum." It s simple.
  Here are some resources to help you find more foums, more easily: http://www.big-boards.com
  http://www.forumzilla.com
  http://www.board123.com/forum_directory.php http://www.foruma-z.com/directory.php