Marketing Via Messageboards & E-mail Discussion Lists - An Alternative View

One of the most suggested means of getting traffic to a site in the early stages is to get involved in messageboard and e-mail discussions on your topic of choice. The idea is that you can show your expertise and therefore get traffic to your site via your signature file (most discussion lists allow you to include your signature file with your post - a few lines with your name, site address and maybe a very brief description). Whilst this is a valid tip, I don't believe that the real reason for why you should do this has been investigated far enough previously.

Firstly, if you post an ad for your site on a discussion list, your are spamming and will create a bit of a fiasco. This does not make good business sense. So, the way to do it is to look for people asking questions and answer them. The issue here is your reasons for doing this. If your reason is purely to drive traffic to your site, you probably won't be terribly successful and, sometimes, people will work out what you are up to. Therefore, your goal should be to be seen as an expert in your field, not to get traffic to your site.

Even if you don't include a signature with your posts, you can still make a name for yourself and, in the long term, this will prove to be a far more profitable approach. I have visited many discussion lists in my time and it is easy to see the people that have gained respect. From a business point of view, they are the ones who will benefit from this approach, not the people who post simple answers to try to get an immediate effect.

Your goal must always be to achieve success in your online venture and your personal credibility will play a major role in this. So, when looking at marketing on messageboards and in E-mail discussion lists, establishing your credentials as an expert in your field must be your number one priority, not short term traffic generation methods.

About The Author

Sean Burns is the author of the WebmastersReference.com Newsletter - http://www.webmastersreference.com/newsletter. More than five years of experience in site design, marketing, income generation, search engine optimisation and more is passed on to subscribers - hype free. Sign up today to get real information of real value to webmasters.

seanb@webmastersreference.com

---

Reward Your Forum Moderators

If you are a forum administrator and you have moderators... Read More

Forum Signatures to Build Back Links - Helping Your Search Rankings

Building Backlinks! There are several ways to build backlinks. We... Read More

Forum - A Free Way to Get Traffic

Forum is a gathering of people normally have a common... Read More

Forums: How DO You Get People to Post!?

Running a web forum is no easy task. If you... Read More

Forums: What They Are And WHY Theyre Essential For Anyone Considering Starting An Online Business

Well... first off, let's define exactly what a Forum is... Read More

Intro to Health Forums

Health forums are great for gathering information, resources, advice, tips... Read More

The Demise of EZBoard

For years, EZBoard was a community that offered relatively cheap... Read More

The Value of Forums

There are literally thousands of online forums that cover a... Read More

The Benefits of Hiring Forum Posters

There are many business benefits to be realized by including... Read More

Milton Keynes - A City For The Future?

The two main features of Milton Keynes which distinguish it... Read More

How To Get Free Advertising By Participating In E-mail Discussion Lists

Posting messages to e-mail discussion lists is a great way... Read More

Chat Forums and Blogs: The Unofficial Internet Posting Rules

Have you been hanging around in internet forums and/or making... Read More

11 Ways To Increase Forums Activities

Getting people to post in your forum is probably the... Read More

How to Market on Forums and Message Boards Without Upsetting Anyone

Believe it or not, you can market on forums and... Read More

Using Forums To Network Successfully

According to one of the entries found at dictionary.com the... Read More

Should You Add A Forum To Your Site?

I was recently reading a message board thread on a... Read More

10 Commandments To Maximizing Your Time In Forum Participation

1) Gain an idea/keep in touch of what is happening... Read More

The Importance of Forum Participation in Promoting an Internet Business

Many internet business owners are really lost when doing anything... Read More

5 Reasons Why Participating in Forums can Benefit Your Business

Did you know that by simply participating in various forums... Read More

Promoting in Online Forums

Forums can be a useful tool if you`re doing business... Read More

Whats The Deal With Discussion Lists For Writers? (Part One)

Are they really free? Are they actually helpful? Why do... Read More

Marketing Via Messageboards & E-mail Discussion Lists - An Alternative View

One of the most suggested means of getting traffic to... Read More

Get Traffic & Sales Using Discussion Forums

Message boards, discussion forums and newsgroups can all produce very... Read More

6 Forum Management Essentials

If you are tasked with managing a forum, congratulations to... Read More

Search for Business Partners Effortlessly

With the internet revolution ushering in new modes of communication... Read More

Whats The Deal With Discussion Lists? (Part Three)

Why Do People Start Writing Discussion Lists? Angela Gillaspie, who... Read More

Make Money From Forums

If you have a website about a topic you enjoy,... Read More

Forums - Why You Might Want One And How To Get One...

Several people have asked me about setting up a forum... Read More

3 Reasons Why PHP Message Boards Rock

If you are web designer, chances are you include forums... Read More

Seven Must Follow Rules While Participating In Message Boards

Participating in message boards (forums) discussions is a great way... Read More

8 Tips for Starting and Maintaining a Successful Online Forum

Nothing promotes a business online better than staying in touch... Read More

Forum Software 101 - Why It is Vitally Important to Choose the Best Software to Run your Forum

When you go through all of the work and trouble... Read More

Using Online Marketing Forums to Jumpstart Your Home Business

One of the most wonderful things that I have discovered... Read More