When it comes to getting traffic to your site and building a list, one particular strategy you can use is forum marketing. If you are in the internet marketing niche or make money online niche, then you probably already know there’s no shortage of internet marketing forums online. But when you’re just starting out is forum marketing worth the time to pursue?

Internet marketing forums are excellent places to do your due diligence when it comes to keeping your finger on the pulse of the market. Inside these forums are marketers from every level and the majority of your ‘buyers’ hang out in here alot. Unfortunately some people hang out in there a bit too much and that’s why they struggle to make money online.

Another positive to consider is that when you regularly post on forums, you can steadily build your credibility as you offer useful suggestions and answers to some of the questions that are asked, but … not all that glitters is gold…

The flipside to getting traffic with internet marketing forums is that many forums are overrun with spammers and snake oil peddlers who are there simply for the traffic and the cash. If you’re not careful, when you first enter into these forums you may be very easily classified as one of these.

In order to avoid any of those issues make sure to spend some time contributing to the forum before you place a link to your site in the signature file. Make at least 10-20 posts before you start advertising your site. It’s also a good idea to avoid any outright or blatant comments that direct someone to your sig file as this may be misconstrued as spamming the forum and get you banned unneccesarily.

Another point to take into consideration is that forum marketing can eat up your time and kill your enthusiasm for internet marketing altogether if you spend too much time soaking in negative information. People are entitled to their opinions, but have a tendency to go overboard, so if you’re following a thread that seems to be spiraling in a negative direction… click to another topic or just get out of there.

So are internet marketing forums worth your time? Yes and no, but time and experience will help you to find a balance that is both uplifting and profitable.

Keep in mind that the internet is changing rapidly and it’s only those that implement ideas quickly that are able to cash in on the trends, so don’t get caught up in the latest gossip or debates that can keep you from putting profitable ideas into action and food on the table.

To your smashing online success,
Nando