30 Forum Marketing Tips to Help You Drive More Traffic to Your Affiliate Offers

1. Change your forum signature periodically to attract fresh visitors.


2. Make sure the links you post work so that visitors are taken to the correct page


3. Create landing pages or blog posts to specifically answer a thread and post a link to the answer in the forum. This will drive traffic and increase back links to your blog or site.


4. Avoid wasting time and resources from “hanging out” and “lounging” on forums.


5. Set clear objectives and plan your activities accordingly. Running an effective forum marketing campaign requires focus and diligence.


6. Proofread, spell check, and preview your forum posts to avoid errors that might confuse and mislead forum users.


7. Start challenging and thought provoking threads that generates constructive controversy and polarizes the audience. This should increase participation in your thread and drive more traffic.


8. For popular threads, post multiple times to the same thread to increase the number of back links and traffic. Be careful not to go overboard and spam the thread with too many posts.


9. Don’t use the forum notification options to subscribe to a thread because your inbox will explode!


10. Read the forum posting rules to comply with the forum’s terms and avoid getting banned from a forum.


11. Use forum tracking tools and software to monitor relevant threads.


12. Use RSS feeds, feed readers, and Yahoo Pipes to gather and filter forum feeds.


13. Use your full name or company name as your forum ID to increase brand awareness.


14. Spend time creating an enticing subject for all of your forum posts and replies.


15. Use the quote feature to help users understand the context of your post. Make sure your post can be understood in isolation.


16. Don’t answer forum posts in detail. Give a part of the answer and provide a link to your web site or blog for more detailed information.


17. Track the visitors to your site that come from forums. Dedicate more time and resources to forums where most of the traffic is coming from.


18. You can alternatively use short URL creators to track how many times a link is clicked.


19. Set a time limit for forum marketing and stick to it. Forum marketing can be an addictive and time consuming activity.


20. Do not spam forums with blatant advertising or irrelevant posts. Your reputation will be damaged and you will be banned from the forum.


21. Avoid software that automatically spam and submits posts to multiple forums. This is also spamming.


22. Don’t post unless you can provide a real and relevant answer that provides value to the forum user. Avoid posting just to inflate your post count.


23. Use an avatar that is memorable and reflects your brand.


24. Fully complete and optimize your forum profiles so that forums users can learn more about you. This will also help your profile to rank higher for your targeted keywords.


25. Post as much as you can to forums. The more forum posts you have, the more traffic you can drive to your affiliate offers.


26. Utilize private messaging to build relationships with individuals and direct market to them.


27. Post on different forums to expand the size of your audience. But don’t participate in too many forums because they can consume a lot of your time.


28. Don’t be rude or inconsiderate when referring to sensitive topics such as religion, race, sex, and income.


29. Avoid slandering competitors and refrain from activities that are unproductive.


30. Use creative animations and images in your forum signature and posts. Make sure your images and animations aren’t “childish” or gaudy.