|
|
| Information |
|
|
8 Tips for Starting and Maintaining a Successful Online Forum
Nothing promotes a business online better than staying in touch with prospects. The more interactive the continued contact, the more of a relationship that is built with a potential client. This business principle of continued contact and business relationship building has given rise to the popularity of online business forums, and of course, "theme-related" online forums. Online forums quickly establish empathy, set forum owners up as "experts" in the eyes of visitors, and serve as a promotional vehicle for other products and services that forum owners seek to sell. While online forums are popular and the perfect method of relationship building, starting a forum and maintaining one can be challenging, especially in the beginning when members can be "few" and "far between". The challenge for most new forum owners is to get beyond the initial start up phase and move onto a phase where the forum members themselves promote the forum simply by posting. Although each forum is individual and personal, a few general guidelines should be followed or at least kept in mind when starting and maintaining an online forum. These are as follows: 1. Take care when choosing the type of forum and forum script or software that will be used. The forum should be easy to access, easy to use, and come with "visitor- friendly" features. All visitors should be made to feel welcomed and find the navigability of the forum, user friendly. Forum scripts and software, especially "free" varieties, may be overburdened with ads from the parent company and lead to a poor experience for visitors. Some recommendations: http://www.htmlbb.com/http://www.vbulletin.com/ 2. The forum should have a good number of interesting and focused topics. The content should reflect the interests of the target audience, and every care should be made to have well-written and informative content that is updated regularly. This not only helps attract new members, it keeps older members from losing interest and defecting to other forums. 3. The forum should be Search Engine friendly. High activity forums, like popular blogs, provide a great reason for Search Engines to visit them frequently as they are brimming with fresh content all the while. Dynamic urls, session ids, etc. used by most forum software can be very detrimental to the forum health from Search Engine point of view. When selecting a forum software, check if they are Search Engine friendly. Open source software like phpbb, have mods (modifications) developed by third party sources, to enhance the forum in many ways. Here's a great mod for phpbb to make it Search Engine friendly: http://www.able2know.com/forums/about15132.html 4. The forum needs to have a clear list of rules, a disclaimer, and most of all, good solid moderation. Visitors will quickly become frustrated with forums that have no clear guidelines, or feature rude, obnoxious, or overbearing members. Good manners are required as much online as offline. 5. Promotion, especially in the early days, will take considerable time and effort. Forums can be difficult to start (members generally are "shy" when there are only a few present), and the more posts that take place, the more individuals will join. This is a "snowball" effect of forums, so marketing must be done consistently, day in and day out, until the forum becomes more self-sustaining. 6. The owner of the forum should take an active interest in the forum and SHOW this interest by contributing regularly. Above all else, people join forums where they feel they will learn from the owner of the forum, and if the owner is never present, they quickly lose interest in the forum. 7. The forum should be targeted, yet diverse, encouraging older members to contribute, without making newer members feel uncomfortable. Cliques can form in forums, and this type of behavior should be discouraged by the owner and moderators. Every effort should be made to answer questions or comments by all members as quickly and thoroughly as possible. 8. As with all other Internet related ventures, care needs to be given as to hosting and maintenance of the forum. A forum that is always experiencing "downtime", will lose members quickly, and a forum that has many coding mistakes will quickly frustrate visitors. As with Web sites, "cheap" providers of hosting and maintenance are not always "better". All in all, online forums can be a great way to generate income, develop a good reputation among clients, and provide entertainment and instruction for many individuals. Like with everything else, however, they take marketing savvy, and a great deal of time and attention to detail. The old saying, "You only reap what you sow" really applies to the world of online forums. Vishal P. Rao is the owner of: http://www.work-at-home-forum.com/ An online community of people who work at home.
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news JCDecaux in talks for News Outdoor Group in Russia (AP via Yahoo! News) French outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux SA said Thursday it is negotiating to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media company News Corp. JCDecaux and News Corp. in talks to combine outdoor ad groups (International Herald Tribune) The News Corp. chief executive, Rupert Murdoch, has recently expressed nervousness about investments in Russia, where News Outdoor generated the bulk of its revenue last year. News Corp tightens grip on Premiere with new CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Rupert Murdoch tightened his grip on German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere by appointing News Corp executive Mark Williams as CEO in a move to get the company back on track. News Corp says Mark Williams interim Premiere CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp. executive Mark Williams has taken over as chief executive of German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere in an interim capacity, News Corp. said after the move led to renewed takeover speculation. News Corp. says Mark Williams interim Premiere CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Mark Williams, a News Corp. executive named late on Wednesday as chief executive of German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere, has taken over in an interim capacity, a News Corp. spokeswoman said on Thursday. UPI NewsTrack Entertainment News (UPI) Kanye arrested in paparazzi scuffle ... Report: Critic smacked Ebert with binder ... Cafe Tacvba nominated for 6 Latin Grammys ... Groban to perform TV songs at Emmys ... News from United Press International. United shares climb after news debacle (UPI) CHICAGO, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- A computer program assigning dates to news stories was partly to blame for a sell-off of United Airlines stock Monday, a Google spokesman said. JCDecaux in talks for News Outdoor Group in Russia (San Francisco Chronicle) French outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux SA said Thursday it is negotiating to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media company News Corp. In a statement, the global seller of outdoor advertising said it was in exclusive talks with Rupert... Column: Palin's Nomination Good News Even For Democrats In Alaska (CBS News) So, John McCain picked Sarah Palin to be his running mate. Let me just say, wow. That's not exactly what I repeatedly shouted out when I first heard the news, but it's close enough for publication. Like everyone else, my astonished reaction wasn't due to the event itself being inconceivable - I've heard pundits debating the likelihood of a McCain / Palin ticket for months. Get the latest news in racing (Daily Racing Form) In order to read Daily Racing Form's free daily news stories it is required that you have a DRF.com free membership. If you do not have a DRF.com free membership, please register here . You will NOT need to be logged in to read each day's free news stories. Site: news - Google News New Voices in Congress Will Change the Tone of the Democratic Majority - New York Times
MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for forums Three candidate forums slated in Oct. (Cape Cod Times) The Cape Cod League of Women Voters, the Martha?s Vineyard League of Women Voters and the Cape Cod Times are sponsoring candidate forums this fall. Watch Mo. Candidate Forums Live Online (KCTV 5 Kansas City) Candidate forums are scheduled Thursday in the races for Missouri attorney general and Missouri governor. Click here for a link to watch them online live. Forums Set To Discuss Next West Hartford Schools Chief (Hartford Courant) The last time the school board sought input on the town's next superintendent, a handful of residents showed up at two public forums. Forums on for N.H. candidates (Portsmouth Herald) CONCORD and#8212; The Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire announced recently that business forums featuring candidates for governor and U.S. Senate are confirmed for early October. Attend TGI political forums (The Garden Island) The Garden Island will host political forums for Kaua?i?s mayoral candidates on Sept. 25 and for County Council candidates on Oct. 16 at the Kaua?i Veterans Center on Kapule Highway. Doors open at 6 p.m. The forums start at 6:30 p.m. Expect a question and answer format with an opportunity for those attending to ask questions as well. Candidates to participate in lunch forums (New Hampshire Union Leader) Early October dates have been set for two midday business forums featuring candidates for governor and U.S. Senate. Gubernatorial and U.S. Senate business forums planned (Foster's Daily Democrat) CONCORD ? The Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire announced that business forums featuring candidates for governor and U.S. Senate are confirmed for early October. Forums Offer New Hope For Homeowners (Eyewitness News 3 Hartford) The state is offering a series of free forums to help homeowners with sub-prime mortgages convert them to 30-year fixed-rate loans. Public forums planned for candidates (MPC Newspapers) Public forums, organized by the Benton County Task Force Government Relations Committee have been scheduled in the coming weeks. The first will be held Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 12:30 p.m. at the Belle Plaine Community Center. Crime forums give ethnic groups a say (The New Zealand Herald) Auckland's ethnic groups are invited to have their say on crime and listen to a police "action plan" for keeping them safe at meetings on the North Shore and at Greenlane tomorrow. Site: forums - Google News Louisville residents provide input for Obama at healthcare forum - WAVE
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
5 Reasons Why Participating in Forums can Benefit Your Business Did you know that by simply participating in various forums and posting your various views and ideas, can potentially bring new growth and life to your online business?Let's look at some of the positive aspects that forum participation can bring to your business.1. Five Tips to Launching a Successful Message Forum Forums a.k. 8 Tips for Starting and Maintaining a Successful Online Forum Nothing promotes a business online better than staying in touch with prospects. The more interactive the continued contact, the more of a relationship that is built with a potential client. The Benefits of Hiring Forum Posters There are many business benefits to be realized by including a forum on your website. A forum is an area where individuals can converse on a regular basis about different topics and ideas as well as discuss your services and products. Whats The Deal With Discussion Lists? (Part Three) Why Do People Start Writing Discussion Lists? Angela Gillaspie, who owns Southern Angel, says she created her list for a very simple reason. "I started the list because there were so many folks that wanted to read my writing, and I had a hard time remembering everyone's addresses. Milton Keynes - A City For The Future? The two main features of Milton Keynes which distinguish it from older towns are:1)The town was built with motor vehicles in mind and so has a structured road network.2)A significant amount of land was set aside for green space, from the extensive network of park land to the sizeable margins planted with trees and shrubs by the side of the road system. How To Get Free Advertising By Participating In E-mail Discussion Lists Posting messages to e-mail discussion lists is a great way to get free advertising. An e-mail discussion list is a group of people connected together via e-mail that can communicate with one another. Reward Your Forum Moderators If you are a forum administrator and you have moderators on your site who are doing a stellar job, consider rewarding them for their assistance. No, I am not necessarily talking about financial compensation, but other recognizable forms of showing your gratefulness. The Demise of EZBoard For years, EZBoard was a community that offered relatively cheap and easy to maintain forums for managers. Virtually anyone could register, design, and layout a site and invite their friends to participate. 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 to set up your own forum, you don't want anything to get in the way of its success.. 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). Using Forums To Network Successfully According to one of the entries found at dictionary.com the definition of the word network is as follows: Something resembling an openwork fabric or structure in form or concept, especially: An extended group of people with similar interests or concerns who interact and remain in informal contact for mutual assistance or support. Forums - Why You Might Want One And How To Get One... Several people have asked me about setting up a forum on their website recently, so I thought it might be helpful to cover this topic for the benefit of all my readers.But before I explain how to set up a forum, let me cover some of the reasons as to why you might want a forum in the first place. Join A Songwriting Forum - Its A Good Idea! If you are a songwriter looking to get "plugged-in" to where the action is, consider joining a songwriting forum. This is a great way to meet other songwriters, share your ideas, promote your songs and/or lyrics, find resources and much more! As the Good Book says:"iron sharpens iron," which simply means that we grow and learn from the exchange of new ideas with others. 5 Proven Techniques to Build a Profitable Web Forum You may have heard that having a web community is a great way to increase sales, customer loyalty and word of mouth for your web business. In fact a web community itself, if large enough and targeting an affluent demographic (or one that advertisers like to target), has the potential to bring in revenue. How to Sell Your Product on the Forums? 1. Your signature file:Most of the forums allow you to carry a 4 - 6 lines of signature files with your name. Whats The Deal With Discussion Lists For Writers? (Part One) Are they really free? Are they actually helpful? Why do writers subscribe to these lists? Why do people start lists for writers? While there's no definite answers to any of those questions, I can share some opinions of other writers, who have participated in discussion lists, and links to websites with more information so you can make your own decision! First let's start with the basics. An email discussion list is not the same as an ezine, an email newsletter or an announcement list. 6 Forum Management Essentials If you are tasked with managing a forum, congratulations to you. If you find yourself weighed down by mundane management tasks, you are not alone. Forums - Should You Have Them On Your Website? Forums have become a common feature in many websites. With good free scripts available, and paid scripts being relatively cheap, it seems that every new website has its own forum(s). Get Traffic & Sales Using Discussion Forums Message boards, discussion forums and newsgroups can all produce very profitable results for you and your business. Most of us already participate in one or more of these and the more you participate the bigger the benefits to you and your website will be.
|
| Home | Site Map | Resource Links |
