Forums, groups, boards, and loops; they’re all synonymous
for online locations facilitating online networking. Some
are entirely public, where everyone and anyone can click
to the URL, read the messages and if they have no interest
in contributing, they can just lurk. Some require active
participation and others require registration before members
can participate. These online forums, groups, boards or
loops are different from paid membership sites in that there
is no cost to network at these websites.
Some are active, some are sleepy. Some are strictly for
business related topics; some allow more OT (Off Topics)
and social interaction. There are forums for every imaginable
topic: Entrepreneurs, International business, Health related
fields, Technology, Copywriters, Web Designers, Work at
Home Moms, Programmers, Finance, Ebay, Job Seekers, Internet
Marketing, Writers, Inventors and Virtual Assistants, just
to barely scratch the surface of what’s out there
on the World Wide Web.
Time management skills need to be paramount when participating
in online forums. You can very easily get swallowed up and
spend hours and hours online networking with others who
have online businesses, yet you miss real opportunities
to get some productive work done!
From a business standpoint, there are two areas you should
consider before participating in a loop. It’s always
good to have a network of like-minded business people. If
you’re a web designer, hang out with other designers.
You can help and support each other. If you’re just
starting out, you can learn from the pros.
Don’t get stuck though, just hanging out with your
own kind. You’re not going to be very successful trying
to promote your design services to other designers. This
is where balance comes in. Pop into the boards, check new
posts of interest, ask or answer questions, then get out.
Then move onto groups who need your services or products.
Who is your target market and where do they hang out? Go
there. Word of caution: Do not go to these forums with the
sole purpose of SPAMMING the group. You’ll be tossed
out on your ear quicker than you can blink if that is your
sole purpose. People like to do business with people they
know and trust – or at the very minimum have at least
heard of.
If you’re trying to sell your curriculum to a group
of home school parents and you just pop in, spew your sales
rap all over the boards then expect any sort of return,
you’re missing the point of online networking. It’s
networking – not advertising. You need to build a
rapport with your other “loopies”. Then if a
need arises and they know one of their own fellow networkers
has that special skill or product, guess who they’ll
call first? You hope it’s YOU.
For starters check MSN, Google, Yahoo, AOL, and Ryze. Inside
there are literally hundreds and thousands of groups just
waiting for you. Start networking your way to success today!
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