Forums are an overlooked way to build an audience and get word out about your product. Every niche has it’s own unique forum, so you have to learn the culture of each. It’s worth the effort. I’ll tell you how I’ve used forums to help establish myself in the LSAT niche.
My product is LSAT books. I make good books, but don’t have much of an audience. In the LSAT niche, there are few independent blogs that will cover books like mine. Forums are the way to go. Top Law Schools is the major forum, there are a few lesser examples.
Top law schools has a reputation for being pretty aggressive. My first foray there did not go well at all. I asked how to make posts to signatures, and had several strangers swear at me within about 5 minutes.
Time to step back and learn. I watched the forum for a while, and got a sense of how things worked. I eventually stepped in, and made helpful contributions. In particular, I made an AMA post that established me as somewhat of a resident expert.
The forum has a strict policy on not linking to outside materials. So I got them to change my name to include my brand. Now every post I make helps people find out about my books, while letting me not have to worry about being spammy in what I post. It’s win-win.
For a while, I lamented that there was no Reddit LSAT forum where I could market. Then it occurred to me that I could make a reddit LSAT forum. So I did, and it now gets a few thousand visitors per month. It’s been very, very useful to control the subreddit in my niche.
You probably won’t find your niche is devoid of subreddits. But they’re a great place to participate and market yourself. As with any other forum, spend time figuring out the local culture, and what sort of contributions will be appreciated.
Be Helpful, not Spammy
Spend time watching how other people market themselves on a forum. Patio11 on Hacker News is a great example. His posts don’t seem like marketing, because his aim is not marketing.
He’s just an awesome community member, and that has the indirect effect of being great marketing for his services. Establish yourself as a useful expert, and people will naturally want to learn more about products or services you happen to be selling.
This strategy also has the benefit of being fun. I like sharing knowledge and helping people out. I enjoy spending time on forums. That I indirectly make money off of it is just a nice bonus.
Pick 1-2 Forums
There will often be multiple forums in your niche. Take a look at all of them, and pick 1-2 that seem the most useful/fun. That will let you establish yourself as an expert more readily. There is less benefit to being somewhat active on multiple forums than very active and useful on a small number.
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