I’m only spending about 10 minutes a day on discussion forums, but from this little effort, I have successfully managed to drive traffic from forums every single day to my blog.
It’s all because I have a plan, and I stick to it. It’s about adding quality content, but it’s also about 10 different things.
I’m active
In order to get traffic from discussion forums you should be present and publish something at least a few times a week. The more active you are, the more traffic you’ll get. I publish something 3 times a day, every single day.
I use the signature
I have a link in my signature. The most traffic to my blog (from discussion forums) comes from people clicking on this link. I always add a link to a blog post related to the discussion forum.
I start new threads
It’s important that you connect with other people and join the discussions, but it’s even more important to start new threads. Every time I start a new thread it receives more than 10 comments, and I get even more traffic, because a new popular thread makes me even more visible.
I use old threads
Old threads can contain 20 comments and more. When you join an old discussion, all of the subscribers to this thread will be notified that there’s a new message to the thread (if they haven’t unsubscribed). And the thread will jump to the top of the list of threads, and even more, people will see it and join the discussion.
However do read the forum rules. Some forum doesn’t like members bumping up the thread to game the system for their benefits.
Must read:Â 5 Reasons Why Blogging Is So Much Better Than A “Traditional” Job
I have added my blog feed
In my profile I have added my blog feed, this way, just below my username and on all the messages I have published on the discussion forum there’s always a link (and the title) to my latest blog post.
I’m always brief
I usually don’t read long messages, and I believe that most people are looking for a short, straight to the point answer (and question). Hence, I’m brief, I try never to write more than a few sentences in every comment I publish. But I always do my best to add quality content.
I’m always positive
No matter what people write, I’m always positive. I do my best to answer any question. Nothing good comes from being arrogant or negative. It’s important to understand that there will always be people who are completely new to the topics, and people who have many years of experience.
It’s all about helping
Every time I publish a comment I always want to help, that’s the reason I’m there in the first place. I usually never publish any link to my own blog posts (I already have two links present, one to my latest blog post, and one in my signature). It’s important not to self promote (people don’t like it, and they won’t read what you have to say).
I do my best to follow up
When I add a comment or start a thread, I stay subscribed to the thread and read most of the new comments. If I can add more value to the thread, I do it.
Add value to my profile
I have added information about myself, like information about who I am, where I’m from, and what my hobbies are. I have also added a picture of myself (an avatar, it’s visible next to all my messages). People want to know who they’re communicating with. Be yourself, make it personal (not a character).
That’s 10 ways I use to drive traffic from forums to my blog. Now, let me ask you this; are you using discussion forums? And if you are, how are you using them?
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Joining Forums and boosting your site is not a cake walk nowadays. You have to work hard and to be active in the forum. Actually, some forums accept your signature after 25-50 effective posts in the forum. So you should slowly build up your forum engagement. The list is great and very useful.
Thanks a lot
I most definitely agree with on thing you said in the article about people only using these types of facts for their own gain. I definitely think it’s important to read the blog or article and share because it’s people time and heart that’s out in them. Thanks for the heads up, I’ll definitely read more blogs and comment my feed back.
Although most of the seasoned online marketer recommend to use forum, both for driving traffic and getting relevant backlinks from related niche forum. But most of the niche site owners are reluctant to use and participate actively in forum. I personally used forum participation and bewildered with the benefits it give. Thanks.
Joining Forums and boosting your site is not a cake walk nowadays. You have to work hard and to be active in the forum. Actually, some forums accept your signature after 25-50 effective posts in the forum. So you should slowly build up your forum engagement. The list is great and very useful.
Thanks a lot
I used to visit forums all the time, but didn’t have much time to do it once I started my blog. I plan to join a couple and try your tips to get traffic to my blog.
Thanks,
Hey JENS,
Those were some really good points, I think its time to spend time on good forums as well, how would I know which forum does follow and which one no follows?
Awesome tips, with this tips I have learned a lot of lessons from here and I am going to follow it step by step. *thumbs* 👆
I am new to blogging and my blog is almost 2 months old. I am struggling to get a traffic. I have read many posts by Harsh and still facing some problems. After reading your article I will apply forums posting on my blog too. Thanks for sharing.
Finally i found something valuable, I searched and found some list of mixed forum list, that was just waste of time. Thanks bro.
I am a newbie to Blogger. Just start the new blog and want generate the traffic to website when i read this article let me had a way to do.
Thanks so much Jens,
Hi, Jens! Thanks for all the great ideas in this post. I do have a question about “I have added my blog feed”. Is there supposed to be a link there for more information about how to do this? Or can you explain how I can add my blog feed under my signature? Thank you!
Hello, Jens
Nice post for forum posting.
I am a just SEO beginner and I have some doubt related to the forum.
1. We have to daily login forum site and update new post?
2. Some forum posting site says I need to post minimum 30 posts then I will be able to put my signature on it, This is necessary to do?
Forum posting is really great to get some targeted traffic on specific niche. Jens thank you for your great post. Forum Links are helpful to getting rank on google?
How much traffic on average I can expect from a forum post ?
It’s important to create a posting plan and stick to it. In blogging, consistency is very important and can do wonders to your blog.
It’s hard initially to attract traffic from discussion forums but it’s worth the time. Anyways, the best practice to learn something is to try that for yourself!
Nice post! (:
Hey Jens, awesome post! I will do well to follow this your guideline strictly and hope I will get results, even quick results. Thanks for sharing this with this great community! 🙂
Thanks Harsh brother,
You helped us a lot via this article. I thought it’s very difficult to drive more traffic from forums. You broke my myth. Thanks again