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If you have a website about a topic
you enjoy, you can make money from discussion forums.
Talk, post links to your site, get traffic. Traffic means
money, right? If not, try different affiliate programs or
Google Adwords. The worst sites should get a couple cents
per visitor. Now here's how to talk and make money.
Search "forum" plus the topic of your site on
Google or Alta Vista. For my first site, I searched
"backpacking + forum" and in the pages of
results I found several good forums. I also searched
related topics like "hiking" too. You can also
check about.com, and other sites that have forums on many
topics.
Registration is usually giving your email address and
choosing a password. Some forums allow guests to post
without registering. Once registered, browse the forum
topics, and post a response to anything, just to
"learn the ropes".
Income From Discussion Forums
The point of posting in forums is to get readers to come
to your web site. Sure it's fun to give advice and discuss
things of interest to you, but that's secondary. With that
in mind, do the following:
 1.
Always link to your site. If they don't allow any links,
find another forum.
2. Don't "spam." Sales pitches will be removed.
Offer honest advice, or express an opinion, then sign off
with your name and the link to your site.
3. Ask for help from others. This is an effective and
acceptable way to "advertise." Enter a topic
like "Can I get some advice?" and post something
like, "I just started a meditation site. If some of
you would visit and tell me what you think, I'd really
appreciate it." Have a link to the site. People love
to help, and to give opinions, and they'll click on those
ads while they're at your site.
4. Look at total "views." Many forums show the
total times each "thread" has been viewed. When
you see some with many more than others, get in on those,
or start a new thread on the same topic. Go where the
traffic is, and get some of it.
I didn't like the idea of forums until I made a few posts,
and saw my traffic and revenue climb for days afterwards.
That convinced me. Just be polite, offer some value to
others, and always have a link to your site. Many other
secrets of using forums are covered in my newsletter, but
this should be get you started. Talk and make money today.
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