FREE TRAFFIC SOURCES SERIES PART SIX – FORUM AUTHORITY

INTRODUCTION

This is the sixth in our ten part series (plus introduction and wrap up posts) on free traffic  tools that you can incorporate into your online marketing program to increase the organic traffic you receive.

Many of these tools will do more that just bring you more traffic, of course, as this one does. In this case, you are focusing on building authority within your market niche, and the ancillary effect is that you will get that additional traffic…

Today we will cover what forums are, why you should use them, how to use them, and at the end of the training I have a free eBook for you to download in exchange for your subscription to this site.

Using everything you find here, you will be wekk equipped to get started using Forum Authority to build your name, your brand, your traffic, your subscriptions, and lastly your sales.

Without further ado,let’s get started!

GETTING STARTED

So you understand, forums are groups of people that join together as a community in a location (a website or a social platform site such as LinkedIn, Facebook, or similar) where members can exchange information, tips, tools, advice, etc.

Such a membership or forum is an excellent way to promote yourself, your brand, your website, and your products to other movers and shakers in the niche you are in. They have been popular before the internet ever was, and now with the convenience of the internet, members can be anywhere globally, and as long as they have an internet connection, can participate and contribute to such membership sites.

They have been popular before the internet ever was, and now with the convenience of the internet, members can be anywhere globally, and as long as they have an internet connection, can participate and contribute to such membership sites.

Forums or such groups have been popular before the internet ever was, and now with the convenience of the internet, members can be anywhere globally, and as long as they have an internet connection, they can participate and contribute to such membership sites.

Joining a forum site is easy and generally requires no monetary deposit to be a member. There ARE some paid forums, but for the purpose of what we are looking at today (forums and free traffic) we will stick with the free forums.

This then provides a central place or point where there will, over time, be a huge storehouse of information that will be accessible to all members. It is also a place where you can market yourself through the contributions you make to the forum.

These also serve as social networking centers for like-minded members, wherein many associated  topics are discussed and there is a lot of valuable information exchanged.

When you look for free forums to join keep these factors in mind. Look for forums that are highly relevant to your own product, field or service. This will increase your chance at becoming an authority, because this is your expertise, your passion, and is where you have knowledge that you can share with others.So that should be the first step towards establishing your identity on the Internet.

So that should be the first step towards establishing your forum identity on the Internet. Find the right one or ones…

Once you have decided which will work best for you, the next step is to decide your plan of attack as a member. Your approach as you start to interact with other members will go a long way towards either moving you to that authority status or being known as a jerk.

The way you start out is to have a bit of finesse. Introduce yourself, if you have a profile capability, add in the pertinent points on who you are and your expertise, but do not overdo it. Be a little humble until you get to know people and they understand who you are and your personality. Be

Be a little humble until you get to know people and they understand who you are and your personality. Be entusiastic but overly so. Act calmly and use reason…

Do not come in throwing your web info or products all over the place, that will not be appreciated by any of the members. Leave frequent posts, comments, or tips around on the site so people start to get familiar with you.

Over time, this is will help you build a base of people that will grow to trust you to be helpful and genuine. Once that process is working for you, at some point you will gain status as an authority, and get the respect and attention that comes with this. Of course, then you can start subtly leading and sending  them to your websites…

Remember the whole point of this series is free traffic. Did anywhere above mention money? Nope. That is the beauty of working to become a forum authority. It WILL get you free traffic over time, lots of it. The only investment is your time and effort.

Caution is in order here though too. Do not start using the forum solely as a springboard to get you traffic. Make sure that the authority status afforded you is warranted, as in you are providing real and continuous value to members and the ancillary effect is the additional traffic.

 

WHAT IS FORUM AUTHORITY

This is something that you must earn over a period of time from other members. if you follow the tips that I spell out below, you will be well on your way to being known as an authority.

You do not have to do all things at once. gaining status as an authority is a process, not something you can buy. You know the direction you want to go and the end point, and build on each step to attain this…

So let’s walk through this in the next section. Use these tips to develop your own plan of action for becoming a forum authority…

 

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HOW CAN YOU ESTABLISH FORUM AUTHORITY

Let’s start at the beginning….

Selecting forums to join.

Make sure the rules for the forum will fit your needs, i.e….

• Can you post your links and website url?
• Are you allowed to make commercial posts?
• Is the membership big enough that you will reach a large number of people?
• Are the privileges sufficient starting out as a new member, and what restrictions are there while you wait to be considered a more seasoned member?
• Is the membership consisting of members that have a similar set of interests to yours and would be interested in what you have to say>

Once you have decided on a forum or forums (maybe keep the total down to 3-5 so you are an active member, not just a strap-hanger, as I like to call such members…The next steps are:

• Create a username that will have an impact on group members. It should be something memorable and have meaning, nit just a bunch of letters, figures, and symbols…
• If there is an area to add in a picture and profile, be sure to add in a picture that is professional in appearance that will provide the right first impression that you are looking for.
• Regarding the profile, make sure that you provide a clear explanation of who you are, what you do, and what you would like to add to the group /forum.

OK, now you are a member…What’s next in your quest to become a forum authority? Well this is not a hard thing to figure out, here are my suggestions:

• Assuming you have read the rules prior to joining, it would be a good idea to look through them once more, to make sure that you are absolutely sure that you do not break them right away.
• Next, I would look through the different posts and threads in the forum to see who is who, what the subjects are, and the comments and ideas that are being published.
• At that point, you can start making some comments on the threads that you have an interest in and knowledge of. Do not make this into a flashing billboard for your website ot products at this point, even it is not banned…

This brings us to netiquette…How you behave on the forum, There are likely a set of norms that are not mentioned specifically in the rules, but that members generally follow. As you participate more you will get the sense of what there are, but here are some general guidelines for you…

• The reason I mentioned that you should wait is that you want to get to know members and the site, feel how it all fits together, and see what the general tone of the comments are first…A little controversy is OK, but choose your battles as to which and when…Starting out as a new member is NOT that time (if ever there is a time?)!
• Over time, consistent posting will get your name and reputation started within the group. Make sure that you are posting quality stuff…

The next step is to start making your own threads and posts that add value to the forum members.

• Make sure these are of high quality and written to generate discussion and sharing of experience of others.
• Use your own experience when you write these, but also add in facts, figures, videos, infographics, pictures, and whatever else to back up your case.
• Post consistently and often so members get to know you and understand where you are coming from.
• Do not waste people’s time by posting comments or articles that do not add to the conversation or subject that is being discussed.

There you have it. There are more detailed guidelines I could add, but these will get you started properly and on your way to becoming that forum authority person that will start pulling in the extra traffic…

 

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HOW FORUM AUTHORITY WILL HELP YOU GET FREE TRAFFIC

As you become known as a subject matter expert, people are going to want to hear what you have to say, and they will take action on your receommendations.

You will have the opportunity to work with other smart people in your niche and likely will be invited to do some guest blogging, JVs for product development, etc. All these are good things, they reinforce

All these are good things, they reinforce to everyone in the niche that you want to contribute, be a part of the movers and shakers, and that you intend on making a difference (positive difference) in the field.

Of course, one of the purposes beyond the helping people and becoming a forum authority is to sell things to people that trust you. By gaining that trust, you will be able to do this.

The next “of course” needing to be mentioned is that the trust can be easily destroyed if you misuse or abuse it. Therefore make sure that you are offering real value to prospects, and that you overdeliver always.

That way all that additional free traffic you get will always pay attention to what you are saying and more often will take action based on your recommendations… They trust you not to sell them something useless or a product that does not deliver as promised…

 

CONCLUSION

Today we covered how to get started with your involvement with forums, what forum authority entails, why you should pursue this avenue in your online marketing program, and provided some tips to help you along the way.

Of the many free traffic tools we have talked about to now in this series, I personally think this is one of the easiest, yet tricky ones you have available to you.

You can easily contribute posts, comments, discussion, and feedback on forum sites. It is HOW you handle these tasks that will make the difference in the reception you get, and the effectiveness your effort will have.

Please bookmark this page so you can come back to it when you need to, and also I would suggest subscribing to the site to get the below eBook on forums….It has a LOT of great info that will help you…

 

FREE PUBLICATION (EBOOK)

To provide you with more in-depth coverage of the free traffic method Forum Authority, I am offering the following free eBook called   Forum Marketing Secrets…

This short eBook will help you drill down more on forums and how best to use them for in your arsenal of free traffic tools you are building. It serves as a good base source for all that is forums, in case you have any questions.

To get access to this program, subscribe below or if you are already a subscriber, send an email  davesweney1956@gmail.com,  and I will reply with the download url site for you.

Here is some quick details on the book:

This book will give you a lot of advice and step by step actions you can take to determine which forums to join, what to look for, how to best use them, and many other useful bits and pieces of information.

Here is a shot of my bonus page which provides the main points:

OTHER POSTS IN THIS 10 PART SERIES

FREE TRAFFIC SOURCES – INTRODUCTION

===> INTRODUCTION <===

 

FREE TRAFFIC SOURCES PART ONE – SOCIAL MEDIA

===> SOCIAL MEDIA GROUPS <===

 

FREE TRAFFIC SERIES PART TWO – PODCASTING

===> PODCASTING <===

 

FREE TRAFFIC SERIES PART THREE – GUEST POSTING

===> GUEST POSTING <-===

 

FREE TRAFFIC SERIES PART FOUR –VIRAL REPORTS

===> VIRAL REPORTS <===

FREE TRAFFIC SERIES PART FIVE –WEBINARS, STREAMING AND VIDEO CONTENT

==> WEBINARS, STREAMING, AND VIDEO CONTENT <==

 

FREE TRAFFIC SERIES PART SIX –FORUM AUTHORITY

(YOU ARE HERE NOW)

 

To finish out today’s Forum Authority tutorial, please read my short blurb below…

FINAL POINT

As I do with most of my posts, I am once again making a final point of asking each of the readers stopping by and reading this article to take a moment and add in any salient points they may have about the article subject, forum authority… If we all share, we grow together…That is what this site is all about…Thanks in advance!

Cheers!