It is essential to research before joining a forum with the purpose of marketing to the forum population. To do this, you need to work out which are the relevant forums to join.

You should only join forums where the target audience will gain value from your posts and from the products or services you are marketing.

Another issue to consider is the popularity of the forum. There is little point in joining a dead forum so make sure you check out the recent posts to insure the forum is active.

Signature links are where you will do most of your advertising. Many forums these days do not allow signature links so it is important to find this out before you spend time posting at the forum. Some forums may require you to build up a post count or reputation before adding a signature link.

After joining a forum, make sure that your signature link is kept up to date and relevant. There is nothing worse than having a dead link in your signature. Also keep in mind that forum admins do not like blatant advertising in signatures, so offering something like a free ebook is a good way around that.

When posting on forums you should not directly advertise your website. You can make mention of it, but your posts should always be helpful and exist to contribute to the forum. Forum admins will quickly pick up on fake posts.

Becoming an active forum member within your niche garners respect and is avery powerful viral marketing strategy.

Forum marketing takes time and dedication but the rewards can be huge. You may even find that you will learn new tips and ideas in your genre that will not only benefit you but can be used within your site itself.

Try to help people as much as you can and build a relationship with others within the community. Other forum members are more likely to visit your site if you offer good, honest and helpful information as well as being a trusted and well known member of the forum.

It is very easy to get yourself banned from a forum if you try to over advertise your site. Take care not to mention your site at every opportunity, be subtle and non forceful as this will ensure continued placement within the forums you have joined.