how to promote my website through forums

[DCP]

i have a new website which sells new vehicle parts and accessories.
i am specifically interested in spreading my link through vehicle enthusiast/ model specific forums.
there is a specific forum for just about every manufacturer (e.g. vauxhall owners forum) and a forum for nearly every model e.g. (citroen saxo owners forum)

these are very good places for my website to be linked and also a good place to find customers for me.

what i would like to know is how do i get my link into these forums. i don't mind offering discount codes for my site to members of these forums.

the sheer number of these forums means, the first job would be to get a list of all these forums. after i have this, how does one get into them.
i do not have the time to sit and join every forum and post replies so i need someone to do this for me...i assume people do this full time? who are they, where do i find them and how do they charge?

 

[unet]

goto "myukbf" or http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/subscription.php?do=viewsubscription&folderid=all

on the right hand side you will see a link for signature.

BINGO!!!!

 

[dubOnline]

what i would like to know is how do i get my link into these forums. i don't mind offering discount codes for my site to members of these forums.

the sheer number of these forums means, the first job would be to get a list of all these forums. after i have this, how does one get into them.
i do not have the time to sit and join every forum and post replies so i need someone to do this for me...i assume people do this full time? who are they, where do i find them and how do they charge?

This is a spammers mentality and completely the wrong way to look at it.

Find the biggest and best forum, engage and interact with the members, help people and break industry news - be a market leader.

 

[fisicx]

The amount of targeted traffic you are going to get from these forums will be tiny. The forums are full of people asking for help or offering advice. The moment you start promoting your business you will get blocked or possibly even banned.

If you want to use the forums to drum up business, pay for some banners.

 

[terryuk]

The amount of targeted traffic you are going to get from these forums will be tiny. The forums are full of people asking for help or offering advice. The moment you start promoting your business you will get blocked or possibly even banned.

If you want to use the forums to drum up business, pay for some banners.

Well I'm sure peoples top referral on their website on this forum, is this forum. So I would disagree and not entirely sure every forum is the same....

 

[WebMSUk]

I think it really depends on what the products are, one of the retail sites we run gets a lot of referrals from forums because people like to talk about the products, offer advice to each other on how best to use them and modify them etc...

Would I look on a forum for anything to do with cars, possibly if I was looking for a after market part or I have in the past when trying to find out what a problem was with my car. So getting involved with a forum would be a good idea but you can't really outsource it to anyone because it will require your knowledge of the subject.

Of course then comes the question is the amount of time spent on the forums going to be the best way of marketing your business but it certainly wont do any harm...

 

[fisicx]

There's a big difference between having a forum signature combined with lots of useful posts and spamming the forums with self promo posts. One will get you respect and possibly some good leads and the other will get you banned.

 

[terryuk]

There's a big difference between having a forum signature combined with lots of useful posts and spamming the forums with self promo posts. One will get you respect and possibly some good leads and the other will get you banned.

Yeh and there is also a thing called

Will

and

Can

Nothing will do anything but can do something.

 

[fisicx]

If you read the OPs post they aren't interested in engagement. All they want to do spam the forums. That's not going to engender trust or create leads.

 

[Alan]

i assume people do this full time? who are they, where do i find them and how do they charge?

To answer your questions, but not that I agree with your approach, as I have a thing about spammers, is ....

"i assume people do this full time?" yes
"who are they?" Mainly In India or other low cost regions
"where do i find them ?" Mainly on the cheap/offshore job sites Elance.com, Freelancer.com, PeoplePerHour.co.uk
"how do they charge?" Rates vary, but the inexperienced can get a bad deal or poor quality, so expect to 'loose out' some time. Always dip your tow in gently.

 

[Faevilangel]

Lots of the bigger car forums (i know the saxo forums do) has premium memberships (like ukbf) which allow you to promote your business.

Don't just use every forum, find ones that would be beneficial to your business and your products are beneficial to the forum users, and then get involved in the forums, giving advice based on your experience in the sector and if the chance does arise, promote your products which would be beneficial to those asking.

Don't spam, it will give your business a negative reputation, which will only spread because of the web.

 

[mickletonyoung]

Lots of the car forums would welcome some kind of advertising revenue offset by the opportunity to offer members additional benefits such as discounts or other promotional deals.

Think outside the box, if you can't sponsor a whole site maybe consider a forum area to sponsor for instance. Check if they have other social media networks such as Twitter or Facebook Accounts you could join and promote yourself from.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Clarkjackson]

Forums are a good place to advertise your business and getting some traffic from there.

to increase a good traffic and ranking through forums, you should follow these steps


1) find high traffic niche forums
2) register on theme and complete your profile
3) try be a part of that forum do not spam there
4) impress the other member's of the forum
5) once you are qualified to add signature, add a attractive offer to other members
6) always try to share new things so that other member would like you to check your services


best of luck mate

 

[RevaxMedia]

i have a new website which sells new vehicle parts and accessories.
i am specifically interested in spreading my link through vehicle enthusiast/ model specific forums.
there is a specific forum for just about every manufacturer (e.g. vauxhall owners forum) and a forum for nearly every model e.g. (citroen saxo owners forum)

these are very good places for my website to be linked and also a good place to find customers for me.

what i would like to know is how do i get my link into these forums. i don't mind offering discount codes for my site to members of these forums.

the sheer number of these forums means, the first job would be to get a list of all these forums. after i have this, how does one get into them.
i do not have the time to sit and join every forum and post replies so i need someone to do this for me...i assume people do this full time? who are they, where do i find them and how do they charge?

Hi DCP, I am presuming that you are on about car clubs perhaps? like 206 owners or something similar? My friend was a member of one of these clubs and he was looking for someone to respray his alloys, there was a local guarage that did them relatively cheap however he decided to choose the guy within the Car Club purely because he was well respected in the community. The main key with any forums is to be a member of the comunity first and business orientated second.

I would personally pick out perhaps 2-3 car forums to be members of and then put the hours in proactively replying to threads with as little self promo as possible. I would however use the signature as this will help both SEO and traffic generation depending on how good your replies are.

 

[DCP]

thanks for all your posts guys.
i know that it sounds like i want to spam but, honestly, I don't.
I'm a member of a few forums and I don't like spam.

i really want to engage in all these forums and I think can offer some really good advice on car parts. the problem is finding or, should I say, justifying the time. the 'opportunity cost' of me spending time on forums is high for my business.

i like the idea of sponsoring forums and would be happy to do this. i know one of my competitors has done this.

when i spoke of hiring someone, i was more thinking of where i could find someone who specialises in auto forums. someone who's very active in all car forums. i could then try and get my link in his signature. does'nt this happen here? i see lots of posters with all sorts of weird and unrelated links.

plenty of food for thought.

 

[RevaxMedia]

I would approach the members then, Just make sure it's not against the T&C's.

 

[DCP]

Hi DCP, I am presuming that you are on about car clubs perhaps? like 206 owners or something similar? My friend was a member of one of these clubs and he was looking for someone to respray his alloys, there was a local guarage that did them relatively cheap however he decided to choose the guy within the Car Club purely because he was well respected in the community. The main key with any forums is to be a member of the comunity first and business orientated second.

I would personally pick out perhaps 2-3 car forums to be members of and then put the hours in proactively replying to threads with as little self promo as possible. I would however use the signature as this will help both SEO and traffic generation depending on how good your replies are.

i think the problem here is the sheer number of such forums which apply to my business.
e.g. i have over 1500 categories which cover every model and make. within each of these categories i sell parts.
i would say most of these makes & models have an associated forum. some are more 'search engine friendly' than others, but there's still a big list of forums to be active in. if i was just selling saxo parts, it would be easy to engage and spend time on the saxo forum, but this is not the case.

 

[Alan]

Sorry for denoucing you as a spammer, and thanks for taking the time to respond.

Here is an idea, many motoring enthusiasts are into motor sport in one form or another (at club level, I'm not talking formulea 1) and are often looking for sponsorship even in a minor way. Many years ago I used to be, but that was long before forums were invented. What about seeking out a few individuals to sponsor, and as part of that sponsorship deal they have to carry your link on their forum signature and make xxx posts per month. (as well as of course the customary stickers on their cars, carts, bikes)

How do you find them.... try the forums, as they would have to be active participants for this idea to work

 

[sunder0786]

Have you tried all the free website search engine submissions? If not google free website search engine submissions!

 

[TheAlbear]

Join a forum and post each post you do with loads of links back to your company people will just view your actions as SPAM and that's a one-way ticket to the ban list.

Much better to add you company to your signature and be clear in explaining what you do,

Once you have joined the forums, just look out for posts where you can genuinely help the person asking the question.

e.g what happened to me recently. posted on a motor forum about the loss of power in my car at higher revs, the resonse was from a user who said something on the lines "looks like your ignition system in on the way out some more information on the known issue with your car look here {link: to info about the problem}, buy the way we sell some plugs and leads for your car type which could fix this issue. {link: to shop and item. }"

 

[movehut]

Have you got a blog?

Post your recent blogs that relate to certain threads, so that people can get more information on the subject, if they want, is a good start.

Many will just read the blog and go, but some will stay and have a look around your site.

 

[pharb987]

with the help of forum posting u can do the same

 

[KevinWatch]

There are 2 ways.

1) You sign up to relevant forums like this one and put your links in your signature, then simply join the conversations Post a link in the message as well if you can.

2) Use software like Senuke X . This automated forum posting, article marketing, blog commenting etc.

Training available

 

[headshotlondon]

Add a signature to your profile and also I think more important is to write good and important content that others or you can point to.

 

[jemsrav]

forums are nice way to promote your websites.
- Find a forum that relates to your website
- Join it and set your user profile. Create a signature with your Name, website URL and a short sentence about your site.
- Contribute. Answer peoples posts, give them advice, solve their problems. Make sure you are posting only about things you know a lot about.

Promoting your website on a forum can only be done if you really care about your target. People will notice the sparkle in your posts and will award you with their trust.

 

[adventurelife]

You actually know what you have to do

Sorry for the phase talk it is the way my brain works.

Phase 1

Join the forums. I recommend being totally open about who you are and what your business is.

Phase 2

Slowly contribute adding value where you think you can. Ask questions about stuff you would like to know about and do not know.

Phase 3 drop links when you have built up the reputation or when the site allows etc.

Phase 4 keep adding value

It never ends so when you are doing the above you then have to measure your return to see if it is worth it. For example I get next to nothing from this forum in business but I gain in knowledge. I am on several other niche forums where I get no knowledge but good business.

You have to do the leg work to find out what works for you, and there are no short cuts. People are getting web savy and can spot spammers or paid content providers. Best to do it yourself on forums our you will get caught out.

 

[mattlongfitness]

Post a job ad, someone will do it full-time. If you want traffic, it may work...

 

[Jet Virtual]

What's incredible here is that you will see people posting on this question in 2007 and 2012. What that tells me is that anyone looking at this post today will see all the signatures. Each signature is like a mini advert. How much did the people posting pay for their 'mini advert'? NOTHING (besides maybe 5 minutes of their time). What this shows me is something VERY POWERFUL ... you spend 5 minutes of your time and it costs £0 and you get to advertise to potentially hundreds/thousands of people and the advert is up for years.

This should answer the original question asked.

 

[Auberjet]

To answer your questions, but not that I agree with your approach, as I have a thing about spammers, is ....

"i assume people do this full time?" yes
"who are they?" Mainly In India or other low cost regions
"where do i find them ?" Mainly on the cheap/offshore job sites Elance.com, Freelancer.com, PeoplePerHour.co.uk
"how do they charge?" Rates vary, but the inexperienced can get a bad deal or poor quality, so expect to 'loose out' some time. Always dip your tow in gently.

Echo what you are saying about spamming.

One forum posting company that doesn't spam (I know I used to work as one of their forum posters a while back and they put you through a screening process before accepting you as a poster) is a company called Paid Forum Posting. Check them out.

 

[loraedword1]

That is simple first you should make account on forums and then read the forum rules and after that participate in any forum category. Give the replies of question and make sure it provide accurate replies. And after 50 replies make your signature.

 

[Excellent Foods]

Forget the forums, this is probably the worse free advertising you can get. You have a lose-lose situation, i.e. either you do not spend time on the forums and ppl will quickly realize you just spam their forums (no sale, bad publicity), or you spend a lot of time, get the respect of many in the forums but then realize that only a very few are interested in your company, and even fewer will buy from your business.
I would just go on forums to see what is going on in your business segment; then spend the extra time only if you are really interested in the discussions, and have the time to do so.

 

[ITsoldUK]

Forget the forums, this is probably the worse free advertising you can get. You have a lose-lose situation, i.e. either you do not spend time on the forums and ppl will quickly realize you just spam their forums (no sale, bad publicity), or you spend a lot of time, get the respect of many in the forums but then realize that only a very few are interested in your company, and even fewer will buy from your business.
I would just go on forums to see what is going on in your business segment; then spend the extra time only if you are really interested in the discussions, and have the time to do so.

Am I the only one to be laughing my socks off at the irony of this post?

Bravo dude, you have made my day

 

[JessicaAutumn]

Do not reply in using forums mainly for advertising only. You should also consider offline marketing live giving promotional products for people to know your business.

 

[directmedparts]

Increase the topic of your forum, create backlinks and join other forums to make it more familiar in search engine.

 

[softwaredevelopersuk]

Having blog on your site would be more useful to drive traffic from forum sites, When someone post any of their queries, simply you can give link to them, which explained on your blog. also they may read your other posts. So keep updating your blog about all things of SEO.