It’s Pretty Simple, But Forums Can Build Your Opt-In Email List Like Crazy

If you’re like most people onlie, you spend time in forums, either posting or just flipping from page to page to learn everything you can about whatever it is the forum is about. I know you’ve heard a million times by now that forums can be one of the best media for building your list and driving traffic to your sites or blogs. Well, it’s true.

There’s only one "problem" with using forums- it takes time. But you know, it’s totally worth it, and theres a way to make the most of the forums you frequent (which is imperative, you know, the frequency). First of all, if you’re going to post in forums, there are a couple of things to consider: where and how.

First of all, there’s the where part. This is actually pretty simple. Yahoo Answers. First. After you read and answer 20 questions or so, then you move on. This really doesn’t take as long as it sounds like it would. In fact, you can answer 20 questions in the time it takes for you to write an article or press release (another great but underutilized medium, which I’ll address perhaps tomorrow). I’m sure you can guess what to do next, but I’ll mention it, anyway. Google it! Check out all the forums on the first page after you do a search for [niche keyword] forums. Then rinse and repeat.

Then there’s the how part. Of course, there’s the signature part. Whenever you sign up for a forum, you create your signature- not too spammy, but promotional nonetheless. DO NOT advertise in your posts. Be informative and helpful, and that’s IT!! Your promo is in your signature. Forums are for building trust, not for spamming.

But you don’t just stop at answering questions. You want to use keywords within your answers so that the search engines can accidentally stumble upon your responses. It’s not just about the forum, it’s also about being found. If your posts are optimized, they can be found for months or even years down the road. And in the case of Yahoo Answers, answer enough questions, and you’re bound to have your answer labeled as "Best Answer", which can virtually guarantee signups for your list for the next couple or few years just because of Google and Yahoo.

Are you starting to get the idea? Okay, so this can consume a great deal of time, right? Sure, but it doesn’t take long before you start building your list and making money. The great thing about money is what it can do for you. If it takes two hours to post 50 answers or so, and you do it everyday, you’re looking at about 10 to 14 hours a week, right? But you’re also looking at hundreds of opportunities per week for people to see and trust you for years to come. If you do this for a couple of months, you’ll easily be able to jump over to GetAFreelancer.com and hire the job out.

That’s all. Nothing more. Nada mas. Someone else will be doing the work for you, and you’ll reap the rewards. I’ll post on outsourcing later, but forums are definitely something you want to be using to get trusting, valuable traffic for the long term. Combine this with article and press release marketing, which only needs to be done maybe a couple of times a week, and you’ll be swimming in it.

Trust me, I know this sounds like a lot, and it kind of is, but only temporarily. Remember, this is a business, and if you want long term results (not flash-in-the-pan "profits" that get eaten up by advertising expenses), you have to provide value. And as soon as you start making money, you need to reinvest it in having someone else provide that value for you. In your first year, this should happen quite easily as long as you keep focused and moving forward. Either way, along with your other methods, you should be using forums, as well.

I’ve got loads of ways to get your list built quickly and effectively, and you can learn all about them in my Lightning List Building Guide, which you can get for free by filling out the form up top to the right.

Another great way to get your business gong strong quickly and effectively is by blogging- You HAVE to have a blog!!! Theres a right and a wrong way to do this. You can get my Business Blogging Secrets FREE, as well. While you’re there, check out my more comprehensive Business Bloggers’ Manual. It’s only 27 bucks and worth at least twice that.

Next time, I’ll talk about press releases and the best way to use not only PR’s but also a very special secret to get them out all over the net for thousands of views, which means traffic and more traffic to your sites. And what does that mean? Sales. Money. Resources to hire people to do all this for you to make you even more money. Ha ha! Sweet.