Hi, When I was first promoting a site, one of the best methods I came across was posting on other forums in my niche and having a link back to my website in the signature. However, I feel my time can be better spent than posting endless replies to threads etc. Although I've seen multiple requests for other people to post on their OWN forums, I rarely see requests for other people to post on OTHER forums within the original niche. Is this sort of behaviour frowned upon? And if it isn't, is it cost effective? The going rate seems to be $0.1 to $0.2 per post. 1000 posts a month would thus be $100/$200. I see this as a pretty good investment because you know you're paying for solid targeted traffic (if it gets there!). Also, if the poster can talk appropriately about the subject area, it will also improve the reputation of the site. What do you people think here? Mike.
i don't see anything wrong with it as long as they aren't posting spam for 1,000 posts. I have a site that sells sports products and i never though of paying someone to post in a sport specific forum with my link in their signature, but it sounds like a great idea
I tried that however didn't find it very effective, its only good if you have a forum with traffic otherwise its a waste as your forum will die again once the posters stop posting
If you make very useful posts, you can do well with it. a lot of people add posts like "yeah" and "i did that too" etc. You notice how guys with 1, 500 posts in a forum usually get a TON of clicks on their signature? theres a reason for that.
You could try it, but $0.10 - $0.20 seems rather high when you could purchase a sig link for about $20 for 1,500 posts. What about if you pay them that and once they have 2,000 posts, they accidently break the rules and either get banned or have their sig rights taken of them. You would have lost all of that investment. Also, if the person becomes inactive in the forums once you stop posting, you never know if they will remove the sig eventually. I never done this so I could be wrong about the removing of the sig from inactivity, but the main thing I would be worried about is the member getting banned after I have paid out around $100. Also, there are alot of new forums set up each day where the the owners will post in here so that they can pay $.05 - $.20 per post for their members. Although the forum is new and will not have much traffic. You could always ask the owner how long will it be online and then say that I will pay $.01 - $.4 towards some or all of your members post if each member included my link in their sig. This way you will get a link and pay a minimal amount and the forum owner can also then pay less per post as you are paying a little to every post aswell. Some of these forum owners on here may like that. But then I am not sure on this. But you could give it ago.
I'd say that just buying a sig link from an existing user is the easiest way to go, but I guess this is about the same, except for one key difference - it if goes well, you're getting your link out there on fresh posts. You never know if someone who sells their sig links might just take some time off, and all you get is the benefit of their previous posts. An interesting way to do this would be to partner with a paid forum posting company. Pay them to get your links in their users' sig files. It just adds to their income so they should be happy.
In my opinion, it's all well and good paying for a signature link on a forum like this, but people here are only really interested in web development/making money from websites and so a niche topic (see my signature for an example!) is unlikely to appeal. I have paid for a signature on this forum because I want to test out the effectiveness of the strategy. It may provide a good amount of traffic, or it may not! I think I'll look into the paid forum company though. That could be a good idea. Thanks for all the suggestions though! Mike.
Yes, you are right. I have had different sites in my signature and one site could get me 200 unique visitors from here a month and then the other site will only get aroudn 15 uniques. It's all about making your sig targetted to the forum itself. If you can't do that then find a forum that is targetted towards your niche. The main reasons I joined these forums is because my niche is similar to the forums, so it helps using these forums to learn and help others.
Yes go with an existing user, you dont want people going over and spamming or you could cause a counter forum raid and even hack attempts.
I don't think it's wrong, but I wouldn't do it. The biggest downside I see is that the people posting are representing me, my site, my company. There is too much room there for them to do something I don't like and have me forever associated with it. Maybe I'm a control freak? I still think good content will always win in the end, even with posts in forums, and I wouldn't want to put that in someone else's hands. I guess I can see where buying sig links on a forum like this could be pretty effective because you are able to review the existing posts of the user and already have a feel for them and their style.
I would go with an existing user, one that has a good reputation, that you can observe from previous posts.
I use this on occasion, the key elements as I see it. 1) Look for good forum posters - someone who understands forum etiquette, makes insightful posts, adheres to forum rules and will post regularly. 2) You may need to pay a little more than the $0.1 - $0.2 per post - but believe me, the extra is well worth it. A good forum poster will also look for continuity - not the "10 posts and I'm done". You need to look at not just 1 month but over a longer time frame. 3) The advantage with a small group of regular quality posters over a longer timeframe is that you can save immense amounts of wasted time (tracking posts, sending payments, etc.) - instead of having to pay for every 5 / 10, you can set it up on a project basis (50 / 100) or even monthly. 4) Use opportunities where new forums related to your niche are looking for posting - you can make back part of your money, and get to a new audience. Don't look at it as money making, and jump for every opportunity - instead, use only the quality opportunities that will fit into your game plan, and partially offset your costs. 5) As others have mentioned - sigs, other promotional activities etc. can add value. Ethical? It can be. Forum webmasters appreciate quality posting that conforms to the forum rules. They HATE spam posts - and can spot the difference. If you're paying for quality posts, you are making THEIR job easier - and you'll get all kinds of joint venture opportunities in return. Make sure you do contact the forum admin, explain your plans and get their ok before you do it to avoid bans for suspected duplicate identities or other infringements. And if they don't approve, don't do it. You can still do the sig rental and other elements, with those forums. Cost effective? For me, yes.