Archives for May 2010

MelvinBlog’s Best Blog Marketing Tip Contest

by Melvin · May 31, 2010

Update: This contest has been extended up to July 25. For more info, read here:

It has finally come. Today I am bringing you probably the largest contest in the history of MelvinBlog Dot Com. This contest commemorates the second year of this blog (funny how I thought its 3 years) and as I’ve planned, we’ll celebrate it with a big bang!

I have been preparing this contest since early last month and I want to make sure that my contest is going to be different. Different in the sense that first, it will add a HUGE value to the blogosphere and second, that every blogger, big or small has an equal chance of winning. I’m very proud to have had this contest finally polished.

Introducing the MelvinBlog’s Best Blog Marketing Tip Contest

This contest says it all. The contest will be about blog marketing which is part of what this blog tackles on an everyday basis. The idea of the contest came after I witnessed (and won) the same type of contest held by Market Leverage w/c is entitled Affiliate Marketing Secrets Contest. I’d like to first and foremost thank and introduce to you guys my media partner slash sponsor for this one. It is Fergal Crawley of the Business Advice Forum who will be handling all the promotions and stuffs for this contest. By the way Business Advice Forum is a good community forum giving out free business advice both to online and offline business forums. Its a nice forum so I highly suggest for you to check it out.

And to the sponsors. I can’t believe we were able to get this much prize for the contest. Compared to last year’s contest, we basically doubled the amount of the prizes and Im really thankful for the sponsors for that. As you know me, I just don’t get every Dick and Harry as sponsors. We got reputable and popular internet marketers as well as established companies that backed us up in this contest and again I’m giving them my biggest appreciation for helping out.

Contest Mechanics

So this contest like I’ve said is a creative writing contest. In order to gain an entry, the blogger/contestant has to write a blog post on his blog about his best blog marketing tip. That certain blog post accounts for 1 entry. Each blogger can submit up to 5 entries all throughout the duration of the contest. There is no rule aside from that the post has to be original, must never have been copied somewhere.

Each entry has to link back to this contest post so I can track all the entries. The link bank can either be in the beginning or at the end of the post. To be uniform with everyone, you can just copy and paste this line:

This post is an entry to MelvinBlog’s Best Blog Marketing Tip contest where there are $2000 worth of prizes at stake.

There will be 3 winners overall and they are gonna get determined by two factors: quality of posts, and popularity. In terms of quality, I have hired 4 judges who are gonna gracefully judge all the entries. I really like to disclose their names but I was told its better not to. Popularity on the other hand, is just about the no.of retweets and comments. So to increase your entries’ popularity, you have to at least give maximum exposure to it (letting it in front for more days means better). Lastly, the criteria is 70 to 30, the higher one goes for quality while the latter is for the popularity.

The popularity factor which is 30% hinges on few metrics which include the no.of retweets of that certain post and amount of comments. I’d like to point out that the popularity criteria is just 30% because I want to give a fair chance of winning especially to those smaller bloggers.

Just for this mechanics alone, I have created a sample entry located of course on my personal blog. (this is just a sample). You can use it as a reference.

Prizes

A little side note: Like in the previous year’s contest, I don’t want to boast just the value of the prizes based on its financial worth. I’m sure there are a lot of eBooks out there thrown for $1000 and by giving 5 copies, it would already be $5000 worth of prizes in a contest, lols. Fortunately, this is not. Like last year, I tried to gather the best prizes from the best people in this space. So just by looking on who they are you will know what I mean. 😉

1st Place – Total at stake = $877

6 months free for the standard package of CrazyEgg valued at $19 a month – $114 value
1 character design courtesy of LogoNerds – $97 value
1 multi-use package of Themewars premium theme – $70 value
WordPress SEO service courtesy of ShoutMeLoud.com – $250 value
1 First Class Package of Ultimate Blogging Theme 3.0 – $147 value
1 license of OIO Publisher – $47 value
$20 cash from FamousBloggers.com – $20
6 months free Web hosting courtesy of MelvinBlog.com – $45 value
1 copy of Killer Domains eBook by Daniel Scocco – $17 value
Premium Interview featured here in MelvinBlog.com – $70 value

2nd Place – Total at stake = $504

$50 cash and one year PRO membership for MyBlogGuest – $170 value
1 copy of Blogussion Thesis theme package – $46 value
1 character design courtesy of LogoNerds – $97 value
1 license of OIO Publisher – $47 value
1 copy of Crowbar Content courtesy of Buzz Marketing guru Dean Hunt – $97
1 copy of Killer Domains eBook by Daniel Scocco – $17 value
$15 cash from BlogTactic
1 copy of 70 Posting Ideas courtesy of Liane – $15

3rd Place – $302

1 copy of Gab Fire Theme – $59 value
1 year membership for ElegantThemes -$19
$15 cash, one advertising space and one copy of Facebook ad coupon eBook valued at $15 courtesy of Smartbloggerz.com – $54 total value
1 copy of Easy Blog Traffic worth $59, Insider SEO Revealed at $39 and Twitter Marketing Power worth $57 courtesy of WebTrafficROI.com
1 copy of Thirtyday blog eBook by Jimvesting – $15 value
1 copy of 70 Posting Ideas courtesy of Liane – $15

Retweet Contest

Due to some demands and also taking this advice from some of my blogger friends’, I would be running a totally separate contest on Twitter which is all about marketing this contest through Twitter. So in order to enter the retweet contest all you have to do is retweet this post using the tweetmeme button above or copying this text and pasting it directly to your twitter:

“RT @melvinblog, Best Blog Marketing Contest, win over $2000+ in REAL prizes http://bit.ly/bestblogcontest pls RT “

You can modify the text or do it your own way, just make sure you append the @melvinblog reply so I can easily track all the entries. This small contest would run the same as the main contest and would end after one and a half months so do keep on tweeting. At the end of the duration, 10 lucky entries will be drawn and will receive each of the following:

1 copy of Blogussion Thesis theme package – $46 value
1 copy of Gab Fire Theme – $59 value
1 multi-use package of Themewars premium theme – $70 value
3 copy of Killer Domains eBook by Daniel Scocco – $51 value
1 copy of Social Media Marketing Book & Youtube Made Simple Video Series courtesy of WebTrafficROI
3 copy of Thirtyday blog eBook by Jimvesting – $60 value

Some Secret Contests

To add another layer of excitement (or confusion, whichever you prefer), I’d like to include some other contests that may go live along the way. Not really secret, but more of short contests within the main contests, that can make this whole thing more exciting and the best is that it gives more opportunity for the participants to win.

So lets say, you don’t have a tip. Still you can join the retweet contest and some secret contests that I am going to throw as well. So what’s the best way not to miss these other exciting hidden contests? Well make sure you’re subscribed to the blog, so you don’t miss anything out. 😉

Duration & Other Rules

The contest would run for one a half months and it will end on July 15th 12 am ET. After that date, no more entries will get accepted so make sure you start working on your entries right now. Also please give us 5-7 days max to compute all the stats and announce the winners (patience is virtue my friend).

Questions, Clarifications, Suggestions?

No contest is perfect, most are faulty especially at the start. If you have anything to ask, clarify, suggest or criticize, feel free to do so in the comment form. Remember that good contests are good not mainly because of the prizes, but also with the participation from the audience like you. 😉

I will reserve this space for other rules which I dont have at the moment. But Im sure this comment box will get populated as soon as possible. And that would only be probable, if you start asking questions now. 😉

Note: An update and clarification on contest was published here. It also contains the official FAQ

Your Blog Is Terrible At Converting…

by Melvin · May 30, 2010

In this guest post, Welly Mulia talks about conversion using the blog as a powerful medium

Even if you have a blog with an opt-in form to collect visitors’ email, you still need to create a separate squeeze page that resides on its own if you’re really serious about building your list.

Before I get into the why, let me just very briefly explain what a squeeze page is (for the sake of those who don’t know what that means).

A squeeze page is basically a simple web page that is purposely created and set up to build a list (group of people with similar interests). People who land on your site are called visitors. The ONE and ONLY purpose of a squeeze page is to convert these visitors into leads, and the way to do that is to convince them to enter their email on the opt-in form on your squeeze page.

The Why

Now let’s see why you should create a dedicated squeeze page instead of relying on your blog’s opt-in form. There is only ONE reason, and that is because the conversion on your squeeze page is going to be much higher than your blog. This means for the same number of visitors, you are going to acquire more leads from a squeeze page.

Why is this so?

Because your blog has A LOT of distractions:

– Links (both internal and external) within posts that take the visitor away to other places

– Comments left by commentators also have links that are clickable to their websites

– Ads and links on your sidebar

Bottom line: Your visitors have a lot of options when they are on your blog. They can click an ad; click an outgoing link left by a commentator, etc. The more options (other than just subscribing to your list) you give to people, the less focus they become. The less focus they become, the less likely they are going to join your list.

Having a squeeze page, though, is useless if you don’t monetize your list. You’ve worked hard to build that list, make sure you reward yourself by monetizing it. Of course, I’m not advocating you to simply sell all the time to your list. Doing this will definitely wear out your list in no time and your subscribers will unsubscribe faster than you can find new ones. You want to mix in education and entertainment with your sales pitches.

I’ve come across marketers who are on both extreme ends – one group sells too much, and the other sells too little. You want to maintain a balance between education and selling, as well as add in entertainment (your personal stories and how they relate to what you offer) to your messages.

List Monetization

Let me give you some tips on how to monetize your list:

– The freebie that you give away to get people into your list must be VERY RELATED to the product (your own or affiliate) you want to sell

– Don’t give everything away in your freebie. Yes of course your freebie must be high quality that delivers value. But don’t give everything away. Give away
USEFUL but INCOMPLETE information. If you give away the whole pie, why should they buy your product?

– Your freebie must NATURALLY LEAD to your product. For example, if your freebie is about how to build an email list, a good sales offer would be to sell an autoresponder service (either your own or affiliate service). Or you could also teach them the GENERAL concept of email list building, but never really reveal the step-by-step action they need to take to successfully build a list. If they want the complete, step-by-step guide, they have to buy your product.

Squeeze Page Tips (to help increase conversion)

Before I end this article, I’d like to give you some additional tips when it comes to creating your squeeze page:

– It’s a good idea to have your squeeze page professionally designed (but not too fancy) so that you portray a professional image to your visitors that you are serious in whatever you’re doing. Contrary to what you’ve heard, people DO judge a book by its cover, especially when you are a stranger to them.

– Make sure your opt-in form is above the fold. This means visitors landing on your squeeze page can immediately see it without having to scroll down the screen.

– Use a BIG opt-in form and a BIG subscribe button so that they are eye-catching and easily noticeable.

– Use the word “FREE” and “INSTANT” on your subscribe button, opt-in form, in your headline, as well as a few times throughout the copy on your squeeze page. Do not overdo it though. People like free stuff because of their greedy human nature, and they also love when they can get it instantly without having to wait. After all, this is an instant society.

Would You Like To Know How You Can Create And Set Up Your Own HIGH CONVERTING And PROFESSIONAL Squeeze Page In 2 Minutes FLAT… Even If You Don’t Know Anything About Design? Click Here Now: http://PremiumSqueezePageTemplates.com/melvin.html To See Real-Time Video Proof. You Can Also Take A Look At My Make Money On The Internet Blog If You’re Interested In Learning How To Replace Your Job On The Internet.

If a Contest Has Over $2000 in Real Prizes, Will you Join?

by Melvin · May 27, 2010

How you doin? Well uhm today I just like to get some buzz through my contest. 😉 Also I’d like to ask a couple of questions as well.

First is, if I am about run a contest with $2000+ at stake, will you join (competitively)? A little sidenote: by saying $2000+, what I mean here are real prizes. Im not the guy who asks Dick or Harry to sponsor 200 copies of their $10 cheesy eBook and add that up to the total. 🙂

Second question, if you see that these are the people who will be sponsoring my contest, are you convinced enough to join?

Most people’s answer is obviously a big YES (with a grin). But if you do, will you promise you’ll join competitively and not be lazy like most of the contestants who join contests and never win?

</end of buzz>

P.S. Many of my friends think the banner sucks? does it really?

Can You Still Get Traffic By Being Active In Big Blogs?

by Melvin · May 25, 2010

Before, one of the most effective ways to get your new blog noticed is to comment on as many number of big blogs as possible. Back then it’s not just effective, it’s almost considered as a standard. You are basically going to be considered fool if you’re not utilizing this free traffic technique.

But like anything, as time rolls out quickly, things change so drastically. The once so popular blog commenting on big blogs has somehow declined. Not that people aren’t commenting anymore but these days, you’d rather see bloggers do a guest post, run a contest, focus on writing a series post or do more productive stuffs than by being active in their favorite top blogs.

It’s Not as Effective as What It Used To Be

There are really a ton of other things that aren’t as effective as they used to before. One good example is link exchanges. 5-10 years back, it was like the only method that webmasters use both to drive traffic and increase their rankings in the search engines. That’s why people always say that the pace of an online business is much quicker than the real world ones. This day what you’re using may be still effective, the next day you’re not guaranteed it is still gonna work.

As for being active on top blogs, here are some of the reasons that I see why it has somehow declined as not as good as what it used to be.

Poor Quality of Traffic – It doesn’t take a lot to see that most bloggers who comment on those sites do it for the lone sake of commenting. I don’t know but I’m really puzzled why bloggers like Chow allow comments such as “thanks for this interesting post” as it doesn’t really add anything. Most of these bloggers were inferred that they need to comment on 200 blogs a day so they do it as fast as they could.
Happy-go trigger audience – This one relates to the first factor. The good reason why no one will notice your comment is because 98% of bloggers don’t really read comments of other people. They just comment and then leave, comment and then leave. Oftentimes they don’t even recognize who have written the posts. For instance everytime I do a guest post, most commenters would comment and not even think the post was a guest writeup by another blogger and not the author.
Saturation – its plain common sense. Why does one thing work so well before than today? Because before, the method isn’t abused, its used by a reasonable no.of bloggers. But now that everyone uses it, its really hard to see a return.

</end of rant> Anyways as I was writing this post, I just thought it would be interesting to share with you a little case study on what interacting with big blogs bring to the table for me.

For the past month i have been really trying to become active lurker reader on some of the big blogs in our niche. I had observed what ZK has been doing and basically I gave myself a go. And here’s what I found out (in last months period):

From John Chow’s blog

From Shoemoney’s blog

From Carl Ocab’s blog

And from DailyBlogTips

It wasn’t ever massive but it’s a good proof that by being active on other people’s blogs you can still reap some traffic. It would also be interesting to see how different blogs have different visitors and behaviors. For instance Shoemoney’s blog, returned a bounce rate of 39% which is pretty good considering that all audience came from just reading my comment and then clicking my link.

John Chow has sent me the most no.but its hard to determine it since I’ve done a couple of guest post on that site as well. As expected it returned a higher bounce rate since most of the blog’s readers are trigger go-lucky ones.

Carl Ocab’s blog sent me a pretty nice stat to play with. His blog was like in hiatus for three months and to receive that no.of traffic and bounce rate is pretty amazing. DBT on the other hand, had the least new visits % . This means that most of the readers of that site also read my blog as well.

Importance of this

Why am I telling you all of this? You may probably have been scratching your head on whats the importance of this. Two things, first is I love playing with stats. I spend a lot of my free time with Analytics and analyzing my logs and second is that stats can help you a lot in terms of improving the usability of your blog and eventually driving more traffic. As an old adage says,”the number will always speak for itself”. I’m a huge advocate of that.

So to conclude, yes we can still get good traffic from being an active commentator on those big blogs. But it just does not gonna happen right away, you have to be creative and make sure you’re adding good value to the community and not just being spammy. After all, we’re not just concerned about the quantity, we’re all after the quality as well.

Entrepreneurial Tip: Take Everything With a Grain of Salt

by Melvin · May 22, 2010

In this information-overload era its just so easy to find answers to our questions. I mean when was the last time you searched for something and didn’t find anything? That pretty much sums it. Add the fact that search engines are constantly tweaked to cater to the majority of users so all in all we are in this ‘so useful’ internet era.

But we might as well be cautious a bit though as the information could basically own us. How many times have you heard someone saying they’re suffering from information overload? The information we’re talking here are good and brilliant informations and its so easy to just consume things as much as you could.

Let alone in blogging and making money online that so many people can’t get pass the first stage because they keep on consuming new information after new information. Everyone suffers from this and unfortunately most people mishandle it. I used to think that info overload is just a person’s inability to filter but I was wrong.

Take everything with a grain of salt

According to phrases.org.uk, the statement means we should accept infos but maintain it in a degree of skepticism about its truth. In a more normal description, it’s all about taking each and every information but not completely believe it.

I know most of us, if not all, rely on information to do all the things we need to get done. However, we should always remember that there are certain factors that can affect whether that information can be useful or not. Here are some reasons:

Most information are not timeless – The first thing I do whenever I read a good piece of article related to my business is to check out the date. I think not a lot of people understand that informations or advice that they usually read aren’t gonna last forever. For instance, I could search on something about “wordpress tweaks and stuffs” and could find great lengthy articles on that subject. But the problem is if it the info is too old or outdated, it’s not going to benefit me.
The effect is usually NOT the same for others – Recently I wrote a post about how my blog makes money and I’m sure thousands of people who have read it would exactly copy the ways I mentioned. But does that mean they can reap the same results? probably, probably not! A good friend always likes to tell me that not all MBA students who graduate get a good life even though it is highly perceived that if you take that course, you’re gold.
Things can go wrong with unusual outside factors – Another question, when was the last time that what you planned goes off exactly as its planned? Just the same with informations we consume. One good observation is that when one writes a good walkthrough on how he makes money for example with affiliate marketing, almost no readers get to duplicate that effort. Why is that? Because in every thing we do there are always outside factors that greatly affect things. Demographics, time, and etc., they all play a good role in all of this.
False claims/infos – It’s funny but a lot of people aren’t too keen on spotting wrong and fake informations. A lot just completely gloss into it and completely treat it as it is. That’s why its important to understand that almost all websites have disclaimers and it’s there for a reason.

Do it and see for yourself

The only way to find out is to do it and see for yourself. You can never really conclude something as working unless you get to experience it yourself. It’s also good to test since doing so can make you avoid being a crybaby, taking info and then calling it out a bum if it didn’t work. 😉

A good example is what I do with affiliate marketing. In forums, you oftentimes see bums people who post “hey this offer from this, I tested it in this, and its killing it for me!”. But the truth is doing exactly the same thing wouldn’t certify a success! There might be some factors that hinge on demographics, the PPC slaps, landing page issues and so many things. And in that particular example, the best thing to do is do the offer yourself, test and see if it’s really worth converting (or is just all hype).

I know you guys trust a lot of brands related within your businesses. There’s nothing wrong with that. Besides, these people are experts and credible for a reason. But in the end don’t forget to do your own testing and take all those infos with a grain of salt. After all, they say marketers are liars. 🙂

LogoBee Review – Another Logo Design Company

by Melvin · May 20, 2010

This is a paid review sponsored by LogoBee

Probably right now, it would be overkill for us to open this blog post emphasizing how important a logo is for branding of websites and blogs. Heck, I covered that here and here already. If you’re not contented you can do a Google Search and find so many articles covering why a logo is a must for every business.

That being said, not having a logo is just a mortal mistake for everyone not just doing online business but any type of real offline business as well.

LogoBee Introduction

Here comes another logo design company LogoBee. According to their site, LogoBee is an award winning logo design company that has been in this business for 10 years. Their core focus is creating custom logo designs although they also do some other stuffs like stationary designs, business cards and etc.

They have several packages to choose from. They have Spring Sale Package which does have 3 classifications. The special package worths the cheapest starting at $199 while the Golden Package is priced at $349. After the spring sale, they have 2 more ‘premium’ packages, one is the Express package priced at $499 where you will get a logo design, stationery design, Word template. Their most expensive package is the BundleBee which costs well over a thousand dollar each. It is actually just the same with the express package except for the fact that it is bundled with a free web design into it.

If you’re main concern is just the logo, then I suggest you pick up the Spring Sale Package You can choose from 6 logos, which contains 6 revisions. The only problem here is that they don’t offer a money-back guarantee which actually most logo design companies offer.

The Process

Like any other designing work, LogoBee follows this step by step process which is located in their site as well but for the sake of the readers here I might as well put it here. Here are the step by step process according to them

You can start by visiting the prices section of our web site to find a list of our Logo Design packages.
Select one which best suits your needs and click on it. You will be directed to a secured online logo design order form. The first part is a personal information questionnaire. Please fill in your name, the company’s name, as well as your email and mailing address.
You will then get a chance to process your payment in real time by using Visa , Master Card AMEX, Discover or PayPal. You can also send a check, money order or wait until a representative calls to get all the needed information.
After your payment has been received, we will begin working on your logo design project.
You will be notified by phone or email, and will be given a web address for your own private web page. A team of 2 to 4 designers will collaborate on each logo design project. In 2 -5 business days we will present 6 or 8 initial logo designs (depending on the package).
Your input will be processed accordingly. We will begin working on your revisions immediately. Simple changes will be completed in one business day.You can take your time on viewing the designs – there is no time limit on any of the packages and unlimited changes apply to Silver, Gold and Express packages.
When all the changes have been completed to your satisfaction and you finalized your logo design, a logo kit will be prepared. You may be asked for stationery information, depending on the package you chose. Your stationary design consists of 1 set of business cards, envelope and letterhead designs. Up to 6 names on the cards are included. The layouts will be viewed and approved on the same private web page and unlimited changes can be applied to your stationary design.

Clients

LogoBee boasts wide variety of clients. In their testimonial page, they have about 6 pages of positive feedback from their clients. Aside from that they’ve also done logos for big companies like Heritage Education Funds, Greenpeace and even some prominent people like Kendra Todd, winner of NBC`s hit show “The Apprentice” and Clinton Hart of the San Diego Chargers.

As with any business model, having clients who are prominent figures always help in terms of boosting credibility in a certain field.

Crowdsourcing vs the Traditional Design Process

I am fortunate enough to have my own sets of designers who do this work for me so I really haven’t done any logo contests projects before. But if you’re starting out from scratch, meaning you don’t have any connection, it would be a little bit tough to find a designer willing to do work for you. In fact, most of the designers that you can find through forums are the crappy ones as most of the premium ones aren’t usually available for work.

LogoBee falls into the traditional design process type of company and Im sure they are in an uphill battle against crowdsourcing sites in which a lot of people are more enticed with.

Final Thoughts On LogoBee

Overall LogoBee is a decent custom logo design company. If not, they probably wouldn’t land a review on this blog. They’ve been in this business for long and they have already that good reputation considering they’ve handled more than a thousand clients.

The downside of course is that it is expensive. A lot of small businesses could easily just head out on forums and find equally talented designers for almost half the price. But that would be another thing since in my opinion LogoBee is targeted to a more established and bigger companies which have bigger funding for these types of work.

Now over to you guys? have you ever had any experience with this team from LogoBee? If you do then I would very much like to hear experience from you. If not, then please check them out at LogoBee.com

Definitive Guide to Driving Traffic With Forums

by Melvin · May 17, 2010

This topic has been covered several times but I do feel most articles are just junk ones. Either not really adding anything significant, or not covering the topic properly. With that in mind I decided to write this in-depth article on how to drive traffic to your blog using forums.

First and foremost, forums are always a good source of traffic to your blog because its highly-populated by nature. A lot of people lurk in forums, people want to engage in talks and debate and more importantly they know how to appreciate something good that’s done to them.

Due to the intrinsic nature of forums, a lot of bloggers abuse them badly. I’d like to be honest and would like to share I was one of those. During my early years, I was one of those morons who annoy the members by posting as much as I could without really adding anything of good value. If you feel guilty of doing this, then I highly suggest you read this post more and quit what you’re doing right now.

1. Pick Forums Carefully

It all starts by doing a small research and picking the forums that you would want to join in. Obviously it has to have some relation to your niche. In this niche, I am fortunate to have so many forums related to what I’m talking about.

This is the first step and this is a crucial step. Targeting the wrong demographics is a serious mistake so make sure you pay attention to that a lot.

2. Start By Building Your Identity

This may seem to be a basic one but I bet you a lot of people are doing this completely wrong. When you are just signing up, make sure to pick the appropriate name, a name that people could easily remember. In most forums, my screen name is Melvin and because of that they easily recognize me as a blogger who blogs at this site.

Do make sure to complete as much details as possible. You will be easily surprised on how a lot of forum members actually look at the profile of other members (voyeurism at work eh?). Make sure you add an avatar or a real pic. Lastly carve out a good signature. Do take note that the main goal of the signatures is to make other members engage, not and never for search rankings.

3. Help People Out

The main reason why forums exist is to help people out on certain topics. Yes we want to get traffic but our main goal always, should be helping people out. A lot of people in forums give good quality advice for free and do take note that it is costing them energy, time and other stuffs.

What I like to do is go to the “new posts” section of forums and then respond on those things. Since most of those are basic questions, there’s a good chance that you can help them out and start gaining good karma.

4. Explicit Promotion

I am guilty of this before. Never ever post anything that doesn’t add value and then explicitly put your link there. People don’t need half-baked information, what they need are quick-fix ones. A lot of bloggers make this mistake and not only it annoys the members, but it also does tune you and your blog out.

5. Its Ok to Argue, But not that much!

As I’ve said forums are a good place to debate and share insights. There’s a good chance that you would be encountering instances where someone would disagree with you and criticize you. It’s important to argue and stay competitive yet not have so much negativities. Too much hating will do no good and may even harm your reputation in the end.

We cannot please everyone but it’s good to side with the majority.

6. Write Precisely, Be Cool to them

Whenever you present your answers, make sure you tell it to them in an organized manner. Although forums really aren’t too strict with grammars, spelling and punctuation, do take note that any sentence your write, any help you provide reflects directly to you and the brand of your blog. We don’t want to sound like the most intelligent person but at least we want to look good.

Being cool is just all about helping so you could easily see if you’re being helpful by observing your reputation icon. People on forums aren’t too shabby on hitting the icon especially if they know you’re genuine interest is helping them out.

Final Words

Like in your own blog, you build yourself first before you benefit. If you’re a newbie this may sound a bit overwhelming especially if we are about to combine it with other marketing tactics like commenting, guest posting and etc. What I’d like to do with this is set at least one day in one week where all I would do is build my expertise and credibility on those online forums. I highly suggest you to do the same so that you are highly focused on what you are doing.

By following all the rules I outlined above, you don’t only get to gain additional traffic, you are also presented to a large number of people as an expert. By being cool to them, following rules and just being like a genuine person, its a win-win situation for everyone.

How cool is that?