Why?

Because no matter what your business is, if it involves dealing with other people in any way, then they have to know you exist or you make no money. Are we in agreement there? Great! So let's get right down to the matter of effective advertising.

The problem with advertising on the Internet is that there is a lot of crap out there, such as posting FFA ads, submitting to safelists and things of that nature. You can waste a lot of time advertising in ways that are not effective. So in the advertising portion of this newsletter series, I am going to focus on the most effective ways to advertise online.

In this first issue, I want to talk about forums. Yes, forums, the places where you are NOT allowed to advertise. If this sounds like double talk, it's not. Forums are my key source of promotion.

Why?

Because I learned how to use them effectively. I am now going to teach you to do the same.

Whatever your niche is, whether it be copywriting or programming or health care or whatever, you need to find the top forums on the Internet for that niche. After you find them, you need to go there, sign up and do NOTHING.

That's right. Do NOTHING. Just familiarize yourself with the forum.

See what's talked about.

See who the main forum participants are.

Get a feel for the atmosphere of the forum.

Are new people greeted friendly or are the looked at with scorn and suspicion?

You need to really understand how that forum ticks before you dive in and start making posts. The only way to do this is to read, read, and read some more.

After you have a good idea of how the forum behaves, or doesn't behave, introduce yourself. Do NOT post any kind of ad or even allude to your site in any way. Just say hello and tell them that you're looking forward to participating in the discussion and contributing to the forum. Don't say you're looking forward to learning. That makes you sound like a new person. You're going to establish yourself as an expert, so don't say you're looking forward to learn.

Then, look at the questions being asked. If you can answer them, do it. If not, find the answers. Remember, you're establishing yourself as an authority. You will keep on doing this while you are there. Try to spend a couple hours a day at the forum doing this.

Over time, this is what's going to happen.

People ARE going to start to look at you as an authority on the subject that the forum is about. They will begin to ask for your advice. They will start to look at your signature, where you will have a link to your product or service. You will NOT have to advertise a thing. You will begin to make sales just from being a participant at the forum.

This will not happen over night. But when it happens, this forum, and all the forums you join, will be one of your main sources of income.

Don't spam! Don't argue! Don't be anything but 100% professional.