7 Reasons Why You Should Join A Forum Today----
Human beings are social by nature, and online communities or forums are the latest in a long progression of social organizations created by humankind. While many people join forums specifically for the social benefits, there are several good reasons for Internet entrepreneurs to join an online forum. Here are the top seven benefits you and your online business can reap.
The top reason many Internet business men and women join forums is for the search engine benefits. Many forums are tremendously popular with search engines and so not only rank well but also are regularly crawled. Most forums offer an introductions area as well as a signature area where you can promote your web site or sites. In addition, as you participate in a forum that is relevant to your site's topic there will likely be opportunities to work your site into conversation. All these links can be of tremendous benefit in terms of search engine rankings and relevant back links.
However, if you think that search engine benefits are the beginning and end of the ways you and your Internet business can profit from joining a forum then you are missing out on a lot of learning.
If you are going to join a forum then join a forum that help you learn more about your niche. Even if you are an expert in your field there is always more to be learned and where else to go for that knowledge than a place where others knowledgeable in your area also hang out? That is what is so wonderfully flexible about forums. There really is an Internet community for everyone and every interest. Your task is to find the forum where your peers are already hanging out. Learning more about your niche is a tremendous benefit of joining a forum.
You don't need to restrict your forum memberships to those within your field. It is also wise to join forums that can help you learn more about how to run your business. Find forums of other small business owners and entrepreneurs. You will soon be able to find folks who are at your level of expertise as well as those with more experience willing to share their hard-earned lessons. Soon you'll have the opportunity to repay that debt by mentoring other newbies. This sharing and hand-holding is one of the elements that make Internet communities so successful.
You should also seek a forum to help you with your Internet marketing. There are many different approaches to Internet marketing and while some people prefer the scatter-gun approach most choose one or two primary methods. Explore and text methods to determine which you feel most comfortable with and then join a forum focused on that method to help you refine your approach and achieve maximum success.
One of the primary problems with the Internet is that it can be easy to feel isolated. However forums can help bridge the gap of time and distance by serving as a community as well as an information source. Friendships and even love can be found in time and laughter and camaraderie and commiseration can help sustain the person as well as the business.
Forums can also help you find customers for your business. As you participate and share information about your business some folks will naturally express an interest. As you share your expertise and demonstrate your knowledge then you will attract still more. Don't be a pushy salesperson, simply allow your expertise to showcase your business and you will attract a quality customer relationship.
A forum can also be a great place to find partners to help you expand or promote your business in a number of ways. You might discover some like-minded soul whose business perfectly complements yours or you might discover the perfect joint-venture partner. Even if you encounter people you might view as competition try to view the relationship from many angles to see if there is a way to benefit from a partnership rather than a competition.
Joining forums can provide many benefits to you and to your business but remember that Internet communities are social contracts with rules and guidelines. Make sure you know and understand the rules before leaping into discussions. It is even more difficult to undo a bad first impression on the Internet as it cannot always be erased. Start slow and easy until you are sure of your footing. Also, be very wary about pushing your business too aggressively. That type of activity can get you banned from a forum pretty quickly. Many forums have a clearly marked area for advertising and sales posts and also allow some blatant promotion in your signature, but keep your posts on topic and helpful and you'll be better off in the long run.
A simple smiley face… or not?----
The smiley face and other emotional icons, known as emoticons, have given people a concise way in e-mail and other electronic messages of expressing sentiments that otherwise would be difficult to detect. Language experts defined them as symbols composed of punctuation marks, designed to express some form of emotion in the form of a human face (in computing, of course). MSN Emoticons are a serious contribution to the electronic lexicon. Everybody is familiar with MSN Smileys, on the Internet.
And thousands of them are being created just as you’re reading this article.
Today people can hardly imagine using computer chat programs that don't translate keystrokes into colorful graphics. Instant messaging programs often contain an array of faces intended to express emotions ranging from surprise to affection, from anger to embarrassment.
In web forums and instant messengers, even e-mails, such as MSN, text emoticons are often automatically replaced with small corresponding images, which came to be called emoticons as well. Originally, these image emoticons were simple and replaced only the most straightforward and common character sequences, but over time they became so complex that the more specialized emoticons are often input using a menu or popup windows, sometimes listing hundreds of items. Some of these graphical emoticons do not actually represent faces or emotions; for example, an "emoticon" showing a guitar might be used to represent music. Emoticons are also commonly used in online computer games.
What emoticons do is essentially provide a mechanism to transmit emotion when you don't have the voice. That is also available for the MSN Names or MSN Quotes we choose to use on the chat rooms, e-mails, forums etc. Using all sorts of funny names or intelligent quotes makes the communication more interesting. Of course, many and different characters are hidden behind them and their own monitors. But that is not the purpose of using these specific electronic tools.
For example, there are certain websites which provide MSN Names for Boys and
MSN Names for Girls. You can pick up from a wide range of categories. For instant, if you are the cute guy or girl next door, then you might be tempted to pick one of the Cute MSN Names, Funny MSN Names or MSN Smileys. You might just be that awesome prince that every teenage girl is expecting, therefore you should get an Inspiring MSN Name.
If you find yourself at great distance from your beloved, I think she/he would be impressed by some of the Love MSN Names, Friendship Names, and Flirty MSN Names available at any time for you on specialized websites. It would be so easy to impress the person you like or love, just by simply using one of those names. Especially if you are not a spontaneous or very original person!
But then again, one day you might want to try something else… maybe you are in a special mood, or that’s just the way you are. And then I’m thinking about special Rude MSN Names or Dirty MSN Names. Who said these aren’t cool? Browse on the Internet and check out some of them.
For 25 years (since its advent), “smiley “ - a simply a cartoon looking face showing a smile, has evolved into a variety of different facial expressions including frowns, angry grimaces, blushing, crying , looks of surprise and thousands more. Emoticons have expanded beyond facial expressions to a variety of still or moving images, including words character actions and images.
Building Web Communities With Free Forums-----
Looking for somewhere online to meet new people, discuss hobbies, plan events, or just have fun chatting? Internet forums have been around for some time on the web and often are free and easy to setup. Forums are basically online discussion web sites where people share information and chat grouped around a set of topics. One example might be a local photography club. You could setup topics around types of cameras, locations for shooting, local events and meetings, printing tips, etc. Often there are administrators and moderators that help to keep the discussion orderly and on topic.
Some items to consider when starting an online forum include…
Cost – Often you can find them for free. There will probably be some advertising on the site, but don’t most sites now a days?
Features – Does the forum support avatars, private messages, user levels, themes, etc.
Security – Is it possible to create forums that only register users can post in? Helps to avoid those spammers.
I cannot stress the last one enough. You should be completely able to control who is in your forums. One bad apple spoils the bunch. On that same note, it is common for a forums to have moderators. These are people that help enforce the rules in the forum. Make sure your choose your help wisely. When it comes to administrators, there should only ever be one. Administrators have the keys to the city and can set your forum ablaze.
Finally to make a forum a success you need to attract people to it to join. Obviously if it is for a church or some other established group, this is relatively easy. Tell your friends, family, club members. If you are starting from scratch, do the same. Tell people, show people, invite people. Check to see if your forum site is listed in search engines like google. Once you get past that initial setup and recruitment your will soon be on your way to having a forum that you and your friends can enjoy.
Creating Online Communities----
Looking for somewhere online to meet new people, discuss hobbies, plan events, or just have fun chatting? Online forums have been around for some time on the internet and often free and easy to setup. Forums are basically online discussion web sites where people share information and chat grouped around a set of topics. One example might be a local photography club. You could setup topics around types of cameras, locations for shooting, local events and meetings, printing tips, etc. Often there are administrators and moderators that help to keep the discussion orderly and on topic.
Some items to consider when starting an online forum include…
Cost – Often you can find them for free. There will probably be some advertising on the site, but don’t most sites now a days?
Features – Does the forum support avatars, private messages, user levels, themes, etc.
Security – Is it possible to create forums that only register users can post in? Helps to avoid those spammers.
I cannot stress the last one enough. You should be completely able to control who is in your forums. One bad apple spoils the bunch. On that same note, it is common for a forums to have moderators. These are people that help enforce the rules in the forum. Make sure your choose your help wisely. When it comes to administrators, there should only ever be one. Administrators have the keys to the city and can set your forum ablaze.
Finally to make a forum a success you need to attract people to it to join. Obviously if it is for a church or some other established group, this is relatively easy. Tell your friends, family, club members. If you are starting from scratch, do the same. Tell people, show people, invite people. Check to see if your forum site is listed in search engines like google. Once you get past that initial setup and recruitment your will soon be on your way to having a forum that you and your friends can enjoy.
Forum Essentials: Dress Up Your Site For The Holidays----
If you manage a message board community, a key to your site's success is the lively banter between members. Without conversation, your site will quickly die off. You can't police your forum and respond to every post, but there are a few things you can do as an administrator to get things moving again.
Hold a contest. Yes, who doesn't like to win something, anything? You don't have to spend a lot of money and the prize can be as simple as a magazine subscription, free membership for one year to your site, or an electronic gift card for the lucky winner. Want to go big time? Find a merchant to sponsor a gift; in exchange for their donation give them free advertising on your site for an agreed period of time.
Update your icons. The same old, nondescript icons will certainly bring about the yawns. Spice things up by swapping out one set of icons for another. Holiday themed icons are a favorite.
Change your background or theme. Holiday themed backgrounds that promote a warm glow in the hearts of your members will retain your visitors like nothing else. Put away the stale, antiseptic backgrounds and put some holiday pizzazz into your forums.
Cyber Grab Bag. No, I haven't tried this one...yet! However, I do know of sites where members play "Secret Santa" with other members. This can be in the form of a surprise email, an electronic gift, or a donation to the recipient's favorite charity.
There are many other ways to get your site moving again. Use this festive time of the year to come up with a plan that is certain to spark interest in your site. If in doubt as to what to do next, ask your members...they'll know!
Forum Posters for Hire----
There will be a day when forum posting is not only just fun for people, but also profitable. Profitable for both the forum posters and the forum owners who hire them. Paid forum posting is nothing new, but it just hasn't really caught on in a way that I think it will someday. Many forum posters are loyal to their own forums and simply post there because they enjoy the community and the level of quality that the forum draws. However, if these forum posters knew how much money their hard work was making the forum owners, they might think to themselves that they should be entitled to some of this money. Building constant unique content for a website is no easy task as any webmaster knows. It's tough to be both a technical guru and a prolific writer at the same time.
Forum posting jobs and exchanges are best done out in the open right in a forum itself. There are many forums like this now where exchanges can take place. Finding forum posters who are interested in posting on forums in exchange for links, hosting, or even plain old hard cash is finally becoming common and easier to find. This is a good thing. Forums are one of the best ways to bring authors and readers together in an exchange of knowledge like never before. It's one thing to read someone's opinion in hard copy in a newspaper or magazine and then write to the author via snail mail. It's quite another to engage the author in a discussion forum in near real time.
So, if you have a forum that is just sitting there neglected consider exchange posts with others as way to help build your forum to a state where it becomes attractive with quality content so that others might join and build your community for you. Or, if you have more money than time offer to pay someone to post in your forum. You'll be amazed at how eager some forum posters are to post in your forum for pennies. Of course, the more incentives you can offer forum posters, the higher the quality of content and English Grammar you will attract. Don't expect forum posters to go out of their way for you if you try to low ball them. You want to develop a relationship with your forum poster so that if you need him/her to come back at a later time when activity slows you will have them eagerly awaiting your next forum posting job.
Forums... What They Are And WHY They're Essential For Anyone 'Considering' An Online Business.-----
Well... first off, let's define exactly what a Forum is so that you'll be able to relate to what I'm about to explain within this article.
The simple definition of a Forum is... it's a online community with a open discussion that allows you to 'Post' questions or queries related to a specific topic.
You can find Forums online related to any topic under the sun, so it doesn't matter what the question is that you might have because there's a Forum out there with hundreds, if not, thousands of members ready and willing to give you helpful Tips and Advice to the questions you have making your life and decision making that much easier.
I can't stress this enough, especially if you're New to Internet and the Internet marketing scene.
Now, for the last segment of this article on want to focus on WHY forums are essential for Anyone who is considering starting an online business.
Well, the main reason is this... Forums are a great way to research your market you are considering developing a Product or Service for.
Why, you ask?
Simply because this is where people go to post there questions about a certain problem they're dealing with and the 'Rule Of Thumb' is... when creating a Product or Service (no matter what kind of product or service it is) make sure it solves a -- Problem.
This is the KEY ingredient to the success of your Product or Service.
Seriously, take a look at all the Posts from the members and note which ones share the most common threads.
If you see alot of common treads, that means there's potential for a Product or Service to be developed.
By doing this simple task it will save you Time and more importantly... MONEY, because who would spend the Time and Money researching and developing a Product or Service if there was NO demand for it. Right?
You see how this works.
It Pays to do a little research.
And Research is the KEY ingredient for a successful Product or Service and Forums are simply a great place to get started, especially for anyone considering starting an online business.
Now, with that said, what you need to do now is figure out what you would ENJOY doing as a online business and draft up a business plan from there.
This is a VERY important step.
Then, go to your favorite search engine and search out a few forums within the area of business your interests lie and become a member.
Take notice to the main topics and write them down on a notepad so you can look over them later to see if there's any potential.(Remember, the most common threads)
It's that simple.
I truly hope this article helped you and opened up your mind up to the endless possibilities that await you online, no matter what business your considering.
We all need Answers and Forums are simply the BEST place to get them answered.
Forums - Talk And Make Money-----
If you have a website about a topic you enjoy, you can make money from discussion forums. Talk, post links to your site, get traffic. Traffic means money, right? If not, try different affiliate programs or Google Adwords. The worst sites should get a couple cents per visitor. Now here's how to talk and make money.
Search "forum" plus the topic of your site on Google or Alta Vista. For my first site, I searched "backpacking + forum" and in the pages of results I found several good forums. I also searched related topics like "hiking" too. You can also check about.com, and other sites that have forums on many topics.
Registration is usually giving your email address and choosing a password. Some forums allow guests to post without registering. Once registered, browse the forum topics, and post a response to anything, just to "learn the ropes".
Income From Discussion Forums
The point of posting in forums is to get readers to come to your web site. Sure it's fun to give advice and discuss things of interest to you, but that's secondary. With that in mind, do the following:
1. Always link to your site. If they don't allow any links, find another forum.
2. Don't "spam." Sales pitches will be removed. Offer honest advice, or express an opinion, then sign off with your name and the link to your site.
3. Ask for help from others. This is an effective and acceptable way to "advertise." Enter a topic like "Can I get some advice?" and post something like, "I just started a meditation site. If some of you would visit and tell me what you think, I'd really appreciate it." Have a link to the site. People love to help, and to give opinions, and they'll click on those ads while they're at your site.
4. Look at total "views." Many forums show the total times each "thread" has been viewed. When you see some with many more than others, get in on those, or start a new thread on the same topic. Go where the traffic is, and get some of it.
I didn't like the idea of forums until I made a few posts, and saw my traffic and revenue climb for days afterwards. That convinced me. Just be polite, offer some value to others, and always have a link to your site. Many other secrets of using forums are covered in my newsletter, but this should be get you started. Talk and make money today.
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