Are Free Advertising Forums Effective?

[WorkAtHomeSpace]

Are Free Advertising Forums Effective?
By: S McIntyre

A question was asked recently whether free advertising forums will work for her site. There are many forums that are for the sole purpose of advertising. Are these effective and do they really work is the question.

I have read some people swear by free advertising forums and their results are good and they recommend it. My experience with it amounted to nothing, but a huge waste of my time. Why does it work for some people and not for others? Like many things what works for you may not work for me and vice versa couldn't be any truer.

Truthfully it depends on what you're promoting and who you are promoting to. A dog site selling gourmet dog biscuits is not going to do well; on the other hand, promoting something from Clickbank may result in some click-through and possible sales. What these advertisers have in common with one another is their niche. Very rarely if ever do I see advertisement for gourmet dog biscuits or diaper cakes on free advertising forums, but I'm certain there are discussion forums for these products.

The main focus of free advertising forums is the free advertising part and with that being said...

I'm a strong believer in using community forums to network. It's getting to know people, getting people to know me by being actively involved in the community either through sharing experiences, information, opinions or asking questions. People buy from people they know and trust, period.

This article is about free advertising forums and not community forums so it's up to you to decide whether a particular free advertising forum will work for you. Remember though, these advertisers will be doing what you're doing -- posting an ad and leaving. Ask yourself this:


Is this your target market?
Will you be looking at what other advertisers are promoting?
Is there enough trust between you and the advertiser to purchase their product?

If you answered yes, then free advertising forums may just be what you're looking for. In order for free advertising forums to work effectively, you need to write strong headlines and compelling ads that call to action or your ad will be buried under the heaps of other ads. Avoid hype, provide facts and be genuine.

Basically it's trial and error with common sense. As mentioned above dog biscuits won't work on general free advertising forums. Recognize your niche and target market and you should do fine.

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S McIntyre owns http://www.WorkAtHomeSpace.com, a free work at home resource focusing on telecommuting companies, daily telecommute job leads, articles, business resources, a community forum and other work at home related topics.

[Ravish40]

Love this Article Miss S, so bumping it up.

FREE advertising forums do NOTHING for me or my business. I look at them as SPAM AD factories. I get the best results by networking on forum board communities and participating in topic discussions.

[WorkAtHomeSpace]

I wrote the article some time ago and my thoughts now are advertising forums that are purely just for ads are pretty much like FFA sites. They roll off the page so quickly that a person would literally have to park themselves on there to keep their ad on top. In my opinion, that's completely insane and a huge waste of time being that someone is dependent on one forum.

There are so many different options that are far more effective and proven to work. There are also many, many niche forums where you can get exposure for your business.

[Ravish40]

I agree with your thoughts EXACTLY Sophia :)

[WeDream!]

I really appreciate the remarks on free advertising. I have to agree that I believe different things do work for different people- depending on what you are advertising and how catchy your ad is ect. Sometimes it's a matter of trial and error to see what actually works for you. It may take some time up front to see what works, but understanding of what works for you will come the more you're at it!

[sharondavis]

The other thing to consider is your credibility. Where and how you post links to your site matters as far as how your are viewed professionally.

I agree that FFA's and link farms are a waste of time and effort. Your time would be much better spent establishing your credibility in your niche by participating in meaningful discussions.

[Ravish40]

FFA and LINK FARM sites never pay. They only hurt you and your business. No one reads those sites but other spammers. Your time is better spent doing some quality networking, advertising or article marketing.

[ellen]

I have noticed that the free forums do not get much traffic. I posted a few ads several weeks ago on a few sites and it appears that they only get a one or two views a day. Not enough traffic to really do any good.

[WorkAtHomeSpace]

That's because everyone is doing what everyone else is doing...lol. Posting ads that no one looks at. Waste of time and money. People who use free advertising forums should ask themselves where's the target market? The answer: not there!

If they are getting a lot of views is probably because they are jacking up their own view count which I have proof and I have seen on my forum. It just doesn't fly. People aren't stupid.

[ellen]

Good points Sophia! I have stopped using those free ad sites. I get so much SPAM email from the ads that it is not worth the effort.

[Ravish40]

It is a shame that recruiters tell their newbie recruits to go do FFA or to spam forums with ads and they don't train or teach them about the proper way to advertise, market and network their businesses online.