When you first begin a home based business online you’re always looking for new ways to advertise your website and to get established as a recognizable entity on the World Wide Web. Forums or chat rooms or discussion boards or bulletin boards as they are also known are a great way to help you accomplish these goals. First of all, what is an online forum?
According to wikipedia: “An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are not shown in real-time, to see new messages the forum page must be reloaded. Also, depending on the access level of a user and/or the forum set-up, a posted message might need to be approved by a moderator before it becomes visible.”
Forums have established themselves as a vital component of the new social media 2.0 and many Internet marketers and home business owners online participate in these social gathering websites and here are 5 reasons why:
1. If you’re new to Internet marketing and home business ownership online these platforms provide a great opportunity to get free advice from more experienced and more successful marketers on the web. If you’re having difficulty understanding some aspect of Internet marketing or you’re looking for more effective ways to drive traffic to your home business website then join a forum dedicated to Internet marketing.
Once you get established participate in the various discussions and post your question. If you’re wondering how your website looks ask one of the more experienced members to review your home page and offer opinions on how you could improve your presentation. If you’re considering purchasing an Internet marketing tool or program create a post asking for opinions as to its effectiveness for other marketers who may have used it.
2. These discussion boards also provide a chance to promote your home business to the other members by adding a link to your website in the signature file of your posts. If these people like what you have to offer in terms of your participation then they may click on your link to check out your opportunity. This is a great way to increase traffic to your home page, build your email list and drive sales.
3. Forum participation is an excellent way to establish your home business online by building your reputation as a helpful and knowledgeable participant who is trustworthy and honest. By trying to offer thoughtful solutions to people’s problems on a regular basis people soon begin to view you as an expert in this area and they respect you for being an authority online. This opinion soon starts to spread on the web via word of mouth and your raised status will soon impact your home business by way of increased traffic and sales.
4. These chat rooms give you the chance to discover ideas for new products to create for your enterprise which will introduce another income stream for your business. As most Internet marketers on the web will tell you the largest profits and biggest opportunities result from owning your own merchandise.
5. After a period of time you will begin to create relationships with other members of the forum and this can lead to business opportunities for your Internet venture. For example, you can approach more experienced Internet marketers and ask them to join you in a joint venture idea you may have. By associating with highly recognizable and successful Internet marketers both you and your home business’s reputation will be enhanced and you will be viewed as a business entity to be dealt with online.
These five benefits of forum participation should convince you that this is an avenue you shouldn’t leave unexplored for the sake of your online home based business and for your long term success on the Internet.