by Marige OBrien, 2/27/2006

Also, there are different types of forums, beyond the obvious topical types, of "marketing" or "special interest", etc. These are examples of one type of forum, referred to as "open forums." But there are also business and professional forums, which do not operate under the same rules and, more often than not, disallow any and all types of advertising or self-promotion. Forums created to support the membership of a particular program are especially adamant on this topic and often request that all members check their adverts at the door. They ask this because advertising other programs -- especially to newer marketers -- can often compromise the very program the the forum was created to support.

With all that said, it is still possible to successfully market on forums. But in all cases, a pre-requisite for success is developing a good reputation and a good relationship and maintaining both. So, while this is a free form of advertising, it does require a certain amount of investment as far as time and energy are concerned, not to mention subtly and finesse. Below are seven practical suggestions to successfully market on forums.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK Prior to joining any forums a certain amount of research is required.

1. Join relevant forums or forums that are in some way related to the promotion's primary sales market. For someone involved with a health related product, for instance, many types of forums -- from holistic medicine to mom's at home -- could apply. But to join a forum about punk music, for instance, would not be very productive.

2. Choose popular forums. Page ranking and the amount of active members are two good ways to check for this. This ensures that the forum will have enough members to remain active. Because forum marketing requires a certain amount of time invested, this also ensures that it will be there beyond tomorrow.