Forums are odd things, really, limited by the way the Internet works. Some are called bulletin boars, and this is really what they are. If you have something to say you post it on a bulletin board. Them someone else can add a comment or ask and question and so on.

The better forums are moderated, which means that someone looks at all the comments posted and make sure they are on-topic and not blatantly selling something, or being offensive.

Affiliate forums different from other forums

These moderated affiliate forums are quite different from the forums that some of the gurus put on their sites related to one or two products. These are basically a waste of time because you get people moaning about the product, you get people going way off-topic, and also blatant attempts to sell some other stuff. Don't bother with them. If you want help go straight to the help desk. In fact, if you find you have bought something, and all they offer is a forum for support, I would get a refund and go somewhere else - there really is no 'must-have' product for internet marketing and affiliate marketing.

Forums for Affiliates

So back to affiliate forums. One of the best ones is at www.associateprograms.com. This is run by Allan Gardyne, who has been helping people find good affiliate products since the last century! Yes, he has been around a long time, and you get a lot of interesting information there. I recommend you sign up, and have a look around.

As with all forums of this type, make sure you read the rules first, and abide by them, and also just read posts and look around until you have got the feel for the way they do things.

You will find that there are actually several main categories, and within each category a lot of different topics you can read about and post to. Once you see how things work, you can start commenting, and getting involved in any discussions that interest you.

You can't advertise, but use a signature

Another good forum is at forums.digitalpoint.com. Here, too you will find plenty of topics of interest to affiliates although this one has a broad range of topics, including a lot of stuff about internet marketing, not related to affiliates. You will get a lot of good advice here too.

You can't advertise in these forums, but you are allowed to have a signature attached to each of your posts. This needs to be a link to your website, not straight to an affiliate link.