Many are trying to promote their site - however their methods are so ineffective it is no wonder they complain that promotion via forums does not work for them.
But in truth you can get dozens if not hundreds of replies from a single posting - if you do it right.
Let's take a look at the various ways that people make postings, starting from the most unacceptable and ending with an entry which even the strictest forum moderator will enthusiastically approve.
Example 1:
Your post says
I've just found a really cheap web hosting company,
Fred
http://www.trickurl.com/?r=dz4
This is a blatant ad (spam) and will be removed.
Example 2:
You make a rather uninformative and vague announcement
Did you find that sales were down yesterday ?
Fred
Cheap web hosting
http://www.trickurl.com/?r=dz4
An obvious ploy to get your Url noticed.
Example 3:
You announce a useful piece of information
Important news from Google about a change to their ranking system. Read about it here _____
Fred
Cheap web hosting
http://www.trickurl.com/?r=dz4
Well now we are moving into the realms of acceptable postings, you have supplied good information BUT why would anyone want to click on that Url ?
They may just look at your signature to see who you are and what your site is about. But your post attracted them because it was about Google, why would they then be interested in cheap hosting ?
Example 4:
The question has been raised at a forum:
'What is your advice about cheap hosting and who would you recommend ?'.
Here is your response
I use this company, they are cheap and I've had no problems with them,
Fred
http://www.trickurl.com/?r=dz4
That's better in that you are (partly) answering the question. The main weakness is that your reply may seem to be biased in favour of a particular company which you happen to be clearly affiliated with.
But how do you think your reply compares with this next one ?
Example 5:
The winning post
There are 3 factors to take into account with cheap hosting: a, b,c etc
These are described in further detail at my site below along with reviews of companies offering cheap hosting,
George Goodposter
The Complete Guide to Cheap Hosting Companies
www.cheap-hosting-guide.com
Bingo !
The perfect reply.
An informative posting with no hype, no ads and no affiliate links.
George knows his stuff. He has a site all about cheap hosting - just look at the domain name - and he's offering sensible advice about what to look for.
And now George can go on to dominate this niche in the forums. Apart from waiting for the opportunity for the topic to arise and make a response he can proactively announce his site to the world.
How ?
Well, if you wanted to post news of a product of your own, or a product you are affiliated with, it would rightly be deemed an ad - and unacceptable.
However his posting reads like this
Subject:
A Guide To Low Cost Web Hosting Companies
Content:
I've been searching for some time for a list of cheap web hosts and the pros and cons of using such companies. I've also noticed that many members of this forum have been asking the same question.
So I've put my findings in a guide which is free for you to visit at ....
See - no blatant promotion just an informative and welcome posting.
"OK", you say, "that's fine if your specialist area is a popular topic but my specialist niche is about 'Widget number 493' and I never see any one ask about it".
Then, I am afraid to say, making useful informative postings about general topics but adding a signature file for 'Widget number 493' is an absolute waste of time. You cannot promote it using forums.
So how could you emulate the success of George above ?
Well let's do some reverse engineering
* First, you find out what are the popular topics that people ask about at the forums.
* You then produce a resource of information: it doesn't even have to be a site with a domain name, it can be a single web page - quickly constructed but highly professional using certain techniques.
* You then make no-hype announcements at forums or search for appropriate postings where you can respond.
Submit Your Site When Your Sleeping
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