One of the biggest turning points since I began Internet marketing has been my discovery of the online forums (or discussion groups or bulletin boards as they are also called).

There are 4 major reasons why people use forums

1) You can get free advice. For example

ask about any aspect of marketing ask for opinions about a product before purchasing or about a business opportunity or affiliate program you plan to join ask for a site review

2) You can discover new products, ideas, tips, tools3) You can make contact with others, and possibly set up joint ventures. You will find many helpful people and many of the top names posting at forums.

4) Site promotion.

When you make postings you can include your signature or a link to your site. If you have provided helpful answers or useful information readers 'may' decide to visit your site.

There are techniques to turn 'may' into 'will very likely', which you will see in the next tip.

tip: 2 You should never openly use the URL that an affiliate program provides for you.

You should link instead to a page on your own site which then leads to the affiliate program.

The reasons ?

1. On this page you can provide your own introduction to the product or service you are promoting. This can include, for example:

- additional detail not available in your posting or advert
- your own personal experience
- a review of the benefits

2. You can provide links to the rest of your site in case your visitor is not interested in that affiliate product.

3. Your own site traffic statistics will indicate the response to your advert in addition to any stats provided for you by the affiliate company.

4. You can submit the page to search engines.

5. With the real URL visible there is a risk that the reader removes the suffix (agent code) so that you do not get registered as the affiliate agent

6. If the affiliate operation becomes discontinued you can inform and divert visitors at your own website, rather than have them visit a non-existent page.