7 Tips For Posting In Forums

On a kick about car seats this past month, Ive frequented forums discussing car seats, safety factors, and children. Ive learned a lot of valuable information, was able to voice my opinion on our newly acquired car seat, and discovered a disturbing truthnot all marketing is good marketing.

Upon reading several threads this past week, I ran across a few posts that sounded like blatant advertisements, but chucked my thoughts on the subject because when I am gung-ho about a product, I, too, can sound like a blatant advertisement. Yet, regulars on the boards were not impressed and some even lowered their views of a product when they felt they were being pitched by the companywhich had me questioning what we, as small business owners sound like when we hit the Internet to promote our products, services, speaking engagements, and conferences.

When you set out to announce your business to the world, do youin your enthusiasmsound like a spammer? Do you only post to promote your product or services? Do you only post when you can directly influence the readers view on your product or service? Do you only post so you can sell your product or service? Or do you post to offer valuable insight, resources, and views?

When posting to forums, follow these simple tips to achieve true word-of-mouth advertisingall of which I am learning by trial and error, myself:

1. Only post when you have something of value to shareeven if it has nothing to do with your services or your products.

2. Dont be afraid to be realeven if it means you dont look as successful or professional as youd like. If you dont know something and want more information, askeven if its your field of study.

3. Always stay professional. In other words, be real, be truthful, and be sincere, but dont air your dirty laundry. While people like to see the human side of successful people, they dont want to read about your day-to-day struggles, marital problems, friendship problems, co-worker problems, family problems or financial problemsunless youve already reached the other side and are teaching instead of venting.

4. Always remain tactful. In other words, dont start fights on boards just because you have a different point-of-view, dont call someone else names because theyve insulted you or rubbed you the wrong way, dont prejudge, dont harass, and definitely dont talk poorly about someone because it could come back to bite you in the rear.

5. If someone misunderstands your question or comment, dont hesitate to offer clarity. Theres no need to go back and delete your original post. People like to see the human side of highly successful peopleit makes life more real and interesting. And besides, the only way we learn is by being teachable.

6. Dont be afraid to mention your product or service in relevant posts. Just remember to do it gracefully. In other words, if your book has a section that could answer the posters question better, summarize the chapter in a few short paragraphs, then mention that a more detailed take on the subject can be found in your book, TITLE. If your product is the answer to the posters dilemma, tell him/her why with real facts and scenarios, then mention the name of the product and where it can be found.

7. Dont mention your product or service if there is no reason to do so. In other words, if the post doesnt warrant you mentioning your product or service, dont try to stretch the posters view to fit your need to market. Leave a blurb in your tagline, instead. (Provided the forum allows such taglines.)

Alyice Edrich is the editor of The Dabbling Mum, a free parenting publication, and the author of several work from home e-books designed to help parents earn extra cash while spending more time with their children. To learn more, visit her at http://thedabblingmum.com/ebookstore Allison Blog19579
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