While there are quite a few shopping forums, I find them very chaotic and disorganized; there are many users and no structure, making it very easy for many focused topics to go unnoticed by their target audience because of the amount of other postings and spam.

That’s when I decided to build a shopping forum that would address these issues and make it easier for people like me to seek advice from our fellow shoppers. While not everyone will appreciate the idea, I just want to let the word out, so people like me know where to go for shopping advice next time they need it.

Online US & Canada Shopping Forum is a post from: Internet Business | eastmantiles.com

These communities can be a powerful tool to promote your business only if you know how to use them effectively.

There are 100’s of very popular communities that allow anyone to post as many “Classified Ads” as possible. Unless you to spend hours doing this, I suggest you leave if be for the time being.

What I’d like to focus more on is “WHY” you should create your own msn & yahoo community for yourself!

See, many of the best search engines will pick up your community because of the sheer size and popularity of msn & yahoo.

Also, I see many marketers wasting a lot of time because they are trying to promote too many services or opportunities at one time. A community will allow you to add ALL that you promote into one site and then all you have to worry about is promoting that one site!

This won’t happen over night and learning how to easy it is to build & manage your own community will be posted in the next issue #2.

Before we get into that, you’ll want to join the “Top Rated” communities in the business sections. Doing this will allow you to familiarize yourself with what is “the norm” with these communities. Also, after you’ve made the necessary adjustments and you’ve prepared your own community, you’ll be using all the top communities to promote your own.

I must apologize to those who have never joined and msn or yahoo community. You’ll need to sign up for a user passport which is simply an msn or yahoo e-mail and password.

For an msn passport click below:
http://register.passport.net/default.srf?sl=1

For a yahoo passport click below:
Yahoo Passport Sign Up

When signing up for an msn community, you’ll want to click the option “READ ALL MESSAGES ONLINE”. This way you won’t fill your e-mail account with countless messages that are posted everyday… Also, click on “KEEP MY E-MAIL PRIVATE” so that you don’t get any junk this way either.

And now you have the basics of communities, please look for the sequel to this article titled:

“Building & Managing your own community”

MSN & Yahoo Communities (The Basics) is a post from: Internet Business | eastmantiles.com

There is no better way of improving your skills, getting recognised and building up ideas than to compete in the Graphic Design Forums. With so many different contest forums on the web it is difficult to pick out the ones that are best suited to for you. There are literally hundreds of web sites offering freelance services and forums.

A good way to help you decide is to think about what kind of results you wish to get out of joining. Some people join to compete against other designers in the hopes of winning competitions and receiving financial rewards. Others join up to learn from their professional competitors and slowly build up their skills and reputation. The problem with competing for money is that unless you are a well established and talented designer with loads of previous experience you are unlikely to win many if any competitions. How do I know this? Well, I tried to do that exact thing for over a year and it rarely paid off for me.

It is important to understand that top professional designers with years of experience will be regularly showing of their creative skills by submitting their superior designs. They have a system in place for quickly and professionally come up with brilliant designs to meet the clients specifications. However, don’t let this put you off as competing against the professionals will help you to improve your own works.

When looking at current submission think of how you could improve upon that design. I am not saying rip off their designs, as this will lead to your account being banned from the forums. Simply acknowledge their work and come up with something equally as original based on the guidelines set by the client and submissions already present.

Here are some useful design forums to look at:

http://www.sitepoint.com

http://www.namepros.com

http://www.designcontests.net

Next weeks article will focus on these forums in more detail. We will also discuss how to successful build up a reputation.

How to Become a Successful Freelancer Designer on the Contest Forums! is a post from: Internet Business | eastmantiles.com

Forums are a place for people to exchange ideas. There are two key elements in that simple sentence, people and ideas. You need people in your forum and you need them to be talking about things that matter, things that will get others to join in the fun. This gets you to the first problem, getting people and getting them to talk. People don’t like to join empty forums so you will need to get a few friends together and start posting topic others would be interested in talking about. When your forum is small, you really need to target a niche and get a good core group of regularly posting members. With many huge forums out there you are not likely to succeed with a broad forum. You can always expand later when your users ask you to. Start small with quality content, or if you already have a forum scale it down and find a target group.
If you are good with code or graphically inclined, you should spend some time customizing the forum so people feel like they are part of something special. You need to invest some time into making your forum look professional and inviting to people in your target niche. If you already have a forum maybe it is time for a makeover. Our visual sense is our strongest sense so a redesign will make a big difference.

Traffic, traffic, and more traffic. Every website needs traffic and everybody talks about how to get traffic so we won’t dwell on it too much. We will look at how to make that traffic into cash instead. Now that you have a core group of users and your forum is looking all pretty, let’s see if we can squeeze some ads in there. Affiliate banners such as Adsense probably won’t make you money unless you have massive amounts of traffic so you are better off finding your own sponsors. Since you are targeting a specific niche of people you will have an easier time to find individual sponsors. You can use something like Adbrite where individual sponsors will sign up for your site, commission junction where you can lick niche specific sponsors, or you can implement a custom php solution, what ever you think might work best.

An even better way to make money is if you can directly sell services or products to your members. For example a forum talking about web hosts can offer web hosting directly, a forum talking about travel can offer downloadable wall papers and so on. Also a great idea is to have something like a gift shop where people can order T-shirts, coffee mugs and so on with the forum logo on it. You could also look into maybe a good drop-shipping retailer deal for arts and crafts related forums. The possibilities are so broad that we will discuss it in the next article.
For now the you have lots of work to do, target your forum at a specific niche, get a core group together and start producing some valuable content. If start seeing increase in your traffic you can start looking for advertisers or establish services for sale or get a product line together.

How can I monetize my forum and start making money with it? is a post from: Internet Business | eastmantiles.com

But since you have your summer vacation, you’d like to spend it doing something meaningful and fun. Now what are the most popular fun things that people all over the world do during their summer vacations?

In summer, people like to get in or near the water. They look for recreational activities involving water. For example, there is whitewater rafting. What can match the thrill of paddling furiously as your inflatable rubber raft pitches and bobs dangerously, moving swiftly with the turbulent rush of water in the rapids? You have trained and expert guides to take care of you in case you put yourself in any danger. There are canoes and kayaks waiting on the sidelines to pick you up in case you manage to capsize. But still you feel the delicious threat of living life on the edge of safety. Your adrenaline pump works overtime. You feel alive like never before.

But this sort of high-octane, unrelenting extreme sport is not everyone’s idea of good fun. What do you do if you are the quiet sort of person, not particularly athletic, and dislike too much physical exertion? Well, there’s a popular water-based sport for you too – there’s fly fishing. What’s more relaxing than watching the float minute after minute as you sit coolly by, perhaps reading a favorite book or perhaps chatting away to your heart’s content with like-minded friends or family members? And when a sizable specimen does indeed swallow your bait, the kick that you get out of it is hardly matched in any other sport.
There are many more aquatic activities for your summer delight. If you’d like to get in closer contact with the waves, why not try out scuba diving? There’s a whole new world waiting for you down there. If you choose your scuba spot wisely, you’ll get rich glimpses of a wholly different level of existence – the world of fish, corals, mollusks and other forms of marine life.

For some who want to really cool it off, water isn’t quite enough. They opt for snow and ice. Skiing, skating and snowboarding are some of the most popular activities of the western world. But how do you get snow in summer? The answer is, not cheaply. There are places in Canada and also in Europe where it is possible to indulge in these activities all the year round. But whether in the Rockies or in the Alps, this will be much costlier than any of your other options. Of course, if your budget permits it, then what the heck?

My personal favorite activity during the summer is one that suits my budget best. I simply take a collection of my favorite books and movies, and hole up in an air conditioned room for a few weeks. They push the food in through small hatches, and clear up the dishes at night. Try it sometime, you might even like it!

Hawaii Forum: Popular Summer Vacation Activities is a post from: Internet Business | eastmantiles.com

The answer really is quite simple, YES! If you are looking for effectiveness, looking for ways to enhance your web presence in a significant way, without spending a fortune–then forums are the ticket! One of the best ways which is often overlooked is to find forums relating to your line of business and join as many as reasonabily possible. Being a frequent participant on forums can increase links back to your website, increase your chances of being seen as an expert, increase your mailing list, sell more of your product, get new affiliates to sign up, make you new friends – and the benefits get extensive.

However, there are some things to think about before you get started in a forum. Your purpose is primarily to establish yourself as a knowledgable person (even a guru of sorts). You do this through a careful etiquette and approach. Here are a few helpful hints of good forum etiquette:

Things to Help Your Business (These are the GOOD Ones!):

1. Research each forum before you join. Make sure it’s relevant to your business and see if the participants are in your target market. Look at how much traffic the forum gets. How busy is it? There’s no point in joining a dead forum with very few posts.

2. Check the forum rules before you post. Some forums will allow you to post adverts for your business while others will object. Check if you are allowed to add a signature at the end of your posts – adding

a small biography with a web link to your business is a great way to increase incoming links to your site and to get more traffic.

3. Be polite and treat everyone the way you would like to be treated. Even though you don’t meet people face to face you will build up some great relationships if you take the time to give good answers to questions, to be helpful and to respect other people’s opinions. And every post you answer adds to your reputation. Use your posts to give genuine, useful advice, not just to plug your business and you’ll soon be looked on as an expert.

4. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice – no-one knows everything and sometimes you will need help.

5. To make the most of your time on the forums, allow yourself only a certain amount of time each day.

6. Read only the posts that are relevant and that interest you and post answers quickly before moving on. It’s very easy to spend the whole day on forums and not get anything else done.

Things that will Hurt Your Business (These are the BAD Ones!):

1. Never, ever use a post to blatantly advertise your business, particularly if the forum rules don’t allow it. Nothing will damage your reputation faster than spamming a forum.

2. Don’t go through the list of forum members, collect email addresses and send them unsolicited mail. At best you’ll be banned from the forum and at worst the owners might report you to your ISP.

3. Don’t ever get involved in a flame war (this is when a heated conversation on a forum boils over and degenerates into nothing but an exchange of personal insults). It might be really satisfying to say what you think about someone, especially if they’ve been getting on your nerves, but just imagine what other people will think of you if you do.

In conclusion, treat people online like you treat people in real life. Think of it as a networking event that’s taking place on your computer and don’t forget that other posts on the forums are made by real people with real feelings. You already know how to make friends and new contacts face to face. Apply what you already know to online networking and you could be enjoying great success with a global audience. Before you know it, you will have gain a tremendous amount of information, knowledge, networking contacts, friendships, and potential business venture partners for the future. You will be amazed at how extensive the list of benefits for forum exchange can be.

Give Me a One,Two,Three, and a Forum – Online Forum Etiquette is a post from: Internet Business | eastmantiles.com

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.

Forums – Talk And Make Money is a post from: Internet Business | eastmantiles.com

The simple definition of a Forum is… it’s a online community with a open discussion that allows you to ‘Post’ questions or queries related to a specific topic.

You can find Forums online related to any topic under the sun, so it doesn’t matter what the question is that you might have because there’s a Forum out there with hundreds, if not, thousands of members ready and willing to give you helpful Tips and Advice to the questions you have making your life and decision making that much easier.

I can’t stress this enough, especially if you’re New to Internet and the Internet marketing scene.

Now, for the last segment of this article on want to focus on WHY forums are essential for Anyone who is considering starting an online business.

Well, the main reason is this… Forums are a great way to research your market you are considering developing a Product or Service for.

Why, you ask?

Simply because this is where people go to post there questions about a certain problem they’re dealing with and the ‘Rule Of Thumb’ is… when creating a Product or Service (no matter what kind of product or service it is) make sure it solves a — Problem.

This is the KEY ingredient to the success of your Product or Service.

Seriously, take a look at all the Posts from the members and note which ones share the most common threads.

If you see alot of common treads, that means there’s potential for a Product or Service to be developed.

By doing this simple task it will save you Time and more importantly… MONEY, because who would spend the Time and Money researching and developing a Product or Service if there was NO demand for it. Right?

You see how this works.

It Pays to do a little research.

And Research is the KEY ingredient for a successful Product or Service and Forums are simply a great place to get started, especially for anyone considering starting an online business.

Now, with that said, what you need to do now is figure out what you would ENJOY doing as a online business and draft up a business plan from there.

This is a VERY important step.

Then, go to your favorite search engine and search out a few forums within the area of business your interests lie and become a member.

Take notice to the main topics and write them down on a notepad so you can look over them later to see if there’s any potential.(Remember, the most common threads)

It’s that simple.

I truly hope this article helped you and opened up your mind up to the endless possibilities that await you online, no matter what business your considering.

We all need Answers and Forums are simply the BEST place to get them answered.

Forums… What They Are And WHY They’re Essential For Anyone ‘Considering’ An Online Business. is a post from: Internet Business | eastmantiles.com

Forum posting jobs and exchanges are best done out in the open right in a forum itself. There are many forums like this now where exchanges can take place. Finding forum posters who are interested in posting on forums in exchange for links, hosting, or even plain old hard cash is finally becoming common and easier to find. This is a good thing. Forums are one of the best ways to bring authors and readers together in an exchange of knowledge like never before. It’s one thing to read someone’s opinion in hard copy in a newspaper or magazine and then write to the author via snail mail. It’s quite another to engage the author in a discussion forum in near real time.

So, if you have a forum that is just sitting there neglected consider exchange posts with others as way to help build your forum to a state where it becomes attractive with quality content so that others might join and build your community for you. Or, if you have more money than time offer to pay someone to post in your forum. You’ll be amazed at how eager some forum posters are to post in your forum for pennies. Of course, the more incentives you can offer forum posters, the higher the quality of content and English Grammar you will attract. Don’t expect forum posters to go out of their way for you if you try to low ball them. You want to develop a relationship with your forum poster so that if you need him/her to come back at a later time when activity slows you will have them eagerly awaiting your next forum posting job.

Forum Posters for Hire is a post from: Internet Business | eastmantiles.com

Hold a contest. Yes, who doesn’t like to win something, anything? You don’t have to spend a lot of money and the prize can be as simple as a magazine subscription, free membership for one year to your site, or an electronic gift card for the lucky winner. Want to go big time? Find a merchant to sponsor a gift; in exchange for their donation give them free advertising on your site for an agreed period of time.

Update your icons. The same old, nondescript icons will certainly bring about the yawns. Spice things up by swapping out one set of icons for another. Holiday themed icons are a favorite.

Change your background or theme. Holiday themed backgrounds that promote a warm glow in the hearts of your members will retain your visitors like nothing else. Put away the stale, antiseptic backgrounds and put some holiday pizzazz into your forums.

Cyber Grab Bag. No, I haven’t tried this one…yet! However, I do know of sites where members play “Secret Santa” with other members. This can be in the form of a surprise email, an electronic gift, or a donation to the recipient’s favorite charity.

There are many other ways to get your site moving again. Use this festive time of the year to come up with a plan that is certain to spark interest in your site. If in doubt as to what to do next, ask your members…they’ll know!

Forum Essentials: Dress Up Your Site For The Holidays is a post from: Internet Business | eastmantiles.com