I thought you guys might be interested in an excerpt from an article I recently wrote on my blog. Here are 10 rules for driving traffic using forums. Not for SEO, but real-life humans 1. Build Your Profile When you register for a forum, you should fill in as much information as possible. Most forums have a page for your user details. People visit this page when they want to know more about you or send you a private message. Describe what you do and what your website is about. Avatars are an important part of your profile. Because of the volume of text on a forum page, avatars are the way people identify the poster. Make sure your avatar is unique and recognizable at a glance. You want to make sure people associate you with your ideas. If you use an avatar on multiple forums and social networks, use the same one. Most importantly, write a strong signature. This is the text that will appear at the bottom of every post you write, so put some thought into it. Like the signature of an email, your forum signature says who you are. Use your signature to link to your website. 2. Follow The Rules Read the rules of the forum carefully, then follow them exactly. But that’s not good enough. Take the time to read some discussions to get an idea of how people converse. There are implicit social norms that you must be mindful of. If you follow my 10 rules, you probably won’t violate the specific rules for any forum, but don’t take any chances. 3. Start by Responding Forums are about conversations and community. One person starts a thread, either with a question or a comment, then others respond with answers or their own comments. People give advice free of charge, but at the cost of their time and energy. They rightfully expect that the favor will be returned, so they shun people who take without anything to give. It may not be your intention to be a leach on the community, but participants are wary of newcomers automatically. Take the time to respond to others before asking anything yourself. Post in other people’s threads before you start your own. Most forums show the number of posts of the author next to every comment. Make 50 posts before you start your own thread. You might have an important question for the community, but you better have some social capital first. Otherwise, your question will probably be ignored. 4. Contribute Your Expertise Don’t hold back. If you have an expert opinion, demonstrate it. Don’t give a half-response to somebody and tell them they can learn more if they follow the link to your page. Contribute highly relevant information immediately, and in abundance. You don’t have to qualify your expertise unless someone asks for it. That’s what your profile is for. 5. Don’t Be A “Me Too†Poster If someone already said it, don’t bother repeating it. All you’re doing is wasting your breath and other people’s time. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t state your agreement with someone else, but make sure you provide additional support to their argument. When another poster has disagreed with the person you support, re-frame the argument with your own expertise to contribute a new angle. 6. Don’t Be Selfish Even if it’s allowed within the rules of the forum, you shouldn’t post about your own website and products, unless it’s in direct response to someone who asked for information. Your signature is the place to promote yourself. On the flip side, tell people about the great stuff you find that you aren’t affiliated with. Sharing information is what forums are for. 7. Explain Yourself, But Be Brief Don’t assume people have the same level of knowledge on a subject as you, but don’t assume people have the time or inclination to be either. Make your point right away, then follow with support. People who are interested in your initial thought will be curious to read more. Those who aren’t will skip your comment and move to the next one. Make sure you’re writing for the web. Sentences and paragraphs should be short, with plenty of white space. Less is more. 8. If You’re Wrong, Say So Nothing is more shocking and attention grabbing than someone on an internet forum admitting they were wrong! If you’re in the heat of a discussion, and someone passionately persuades you to change your mind, say so. It’s a pretty big deal, and you should thank that person profusely. Remember that forums aren’t soap boxes, they’re platforms for conversations and an opportunity to network. 9. Write Intelligently and Correctly You don’t have to carefully revise and sculpt every forum post, but you should proof everything once. Consider spell check if you’re not an impeccable speller. The rules are flexible on grammar, punctuation, and capitalization; it depends on the norms of your forum. But consider this: everything you say, every single post, every nugget of wisdom, is a representation of your personal brand. Writing like an intelligent adult is the equivalent of maintaining proper hygiene and a presentable appearance in the work place; if you don’t pay any attention to it, it can undermine everything else you do. However, be aware that the internet is a global phenomenon, and some of the people you interact with will be non-native English speakers. You don’t need to point out any mistakes your fellow posters make. 10. Never Go Negative Just because you’re communicating relatively anonymously, from the safety of your computer chair, doesn’t mean you can harass other posters. This is especially the case when you’re trying to build online reputation and drive traffic to your site. Forums posts may go stale and fall off the main page, but they never go away. If someone disagrees with you, respond with a thoughtful rebuttal or thank them for their opinion (â€It’s always interesting to hear a different takeâ€). If someone attacks you, either thank them the same way as if they simply disagreed, or ignore them entirely. All forums have “trolls†– people who aggressively harass you just for the fun of it. The worst thing you can do is engage with them.
Nice list! You can also add this too;"Take part in discussion's related to your website's niche so that you'll get more conversions!"
As for number ten, arguing with trolls is actually a great idea as long as you don't come off as an asshole. It lets you bump your threads, get more backlinks, raise post count, and gets others to join in on the debate. Why not? The rest of the stuff is basically self-explanatory.
I would agree with all of them. It you follow those guideline it will create healthy environment in doing business and making new relationship. Business doesn't excel in turbulence state just take a look at the offline world and that same goes to online world. You are networking with others but make it healthy and easy for everyone.