With all the talk about video and social media marketing these days, it’s easy to forget about the simpler old school strategies that still work.

One of them is forum marketing. This is still a very effective way to generate free leads online for your business. There are some strategies that you should use to do forum marketing effectively.

Here are 4 simple tips to boost your results.

Tip 1- Only Reply To Post That Genuinely Interest You

How can you truly contribute to a conversation if you are not truly interested in it. Don’t be “that guy or girl” who replies to every post with lame input just to give your signature box some exposure. If you really care about the topic that is being discussed you should have something of value to add to it, which takes me to tip 2.

Tip 2- Add Value To The Conversation

This is your chance to really bring some help or insight into the discussion. Remember, whoever started the post started it for a reason. They either want to know something or they want another opinion or anything else of that nature. Give your best answer and leave helpful advice if you can. If you have another point of view, share it respectfully and be cordial at all times. The impressions that will be formed about you will start in your response.

Tip 3 - Have A Strong Call To Action In Your Signature Box

In most forums, the only place where you can do any type of advertising or direct someone to a link is in your signature box. It’s kind of like the signature box you would use in article marketing. You want to place a strong call to action for your readers to take. You can put a link to your blog or lead capture page it’s really up to you. Just make the call to action effective enough to entice your reader to click it.

Tip 4- Be Consistent

Forum marketing is not a one time marketing effort. It is something you must do on a consistent basis. Find 3-5 good forums and post 3-5 posts per day. Once you get really good at this, it will not take you very long. It takes me less than an hour. Not only will the people in the forum get used to seeing you participate, but you will begin to build relationships with other forum members and you will be come an authority figure in their eyes if you truly provide valuable content daily.

Forum marketing is definitely a great free lead generation system if you apply these 4 steps on a consistent basis. If you are not using forum marketing in your marketing efforts, I would encourage you to get started today. Not only does it allow you to help others, but you end up learning a lot as well. As always, I wish you continued success in your business. Come back soon.