Is Visiting Online Forums a Productive Use of Your Time?

If you run, or want to run, an online business, then you know that there is a plethora of things that compete for your time and attention. Every day, more and more opportunities to learn and to network crop up online.

A sentiment I often hear or see expressed is that entrepreneurs need to avoid spending time in online forums. The logic, most-often used, is that, when we're in a forum, we aren't creating or selling a product. Ironically, I often see this sentiment expressed in forums. If it's such a waste of time, what are those people doing there?

OK, I'll admit that there is some truth in their logic. Like watching television, too much lurking about in online forums can definitely leave you with nothing accomplished for your effort; anything not done well or in moderation, typically, is not productive.

There are, however, strategies you can use to maximize your gains from participating in online forums. Used well, they may even be the catalyst for generating income; not wasting time. Here are the strategies I advise for the most-productive forum use.

1. Be Choosey. As I already mentioned, there are a bunch of online membership forums, and more spring up every day. It’s difficult to be productive if you spend time in all of them. You have to pick and choose the ones in which you can make the most productive use of your time.

2. Have a Purpose. I suggest that you start by visiting them with a purpose in mind. Ask yourself, "How can spending time in this forum help me increase my profits?” Or "...start my business?" if that's where you are. Also, have a purpose for revisiting. It's easy to get sucked into visiting a forum where you stand little to gain just because you are familiar with it and the people who are there. Unless you are going in to socialize, don’t go in unless you have a business purpose in mind.

3. Take Note. When you visit a forum for the first time, open up a page in your favorite journaling tool. My favorite is Microsoft OneNote, closely followed by a notepad and pen. During your visit, take notes about what, within the site, has potential for helping you be more profitable. Use these notes when you return and take additional notes to be sure that you fully benefit from those areas. For example, depending on the site, this could be a training video on how to do market research, a series of articles on targeting your niche, or detailed forum discussions in an online area teeming with search-engine optimization experts.

4. Be Helpful. Participate in discussion areas that cater to topics in which you have expertise. Focus on helping those who are asking the questions; not on feeding your ego. Helping people in this manner demonstrates your knowledge, while simultaneously allowing you to build your reputation as an expert on the subject. Don’t overdo it, however. Hanging around answering questions all day and night can prevent you from successfully completing other items on your list and, possibly, make your fellow forum visitors suspicious about your motives.

5. Schedule Your Time. Your time, like mine, is limited. To use it productively, you’ll need a game plan. Most people who visit online forums don't do this, but just about everyone should. An unplanned forum visit can easily turn into hours of aimless web surfing. Instead, schedule a time to visit one or more online resources and leave when the time is up -- whether or not you’ve been able to read and post all that you wanted.

6. Network. I have met many extremely valuable contacts and subsequent business partners in online forums. Don't push or try to sell yourself into these relationships. Be yourself, post when you are knowledgeable about a topic; refrain from posting when you aren't. You'll naturally attract attention from those with whom you “connect” and those who may be able to use your services. Don't force it; let it happen.

So, since I'm a believer in productive use of online forums and membership sites, I must have a few that I like, right? Absolutely. They are listed below (along with a description of why they are valuable to me).

The Warrior Forum
http://www.warriorforum.com/forum

This is the first Internet Marketing forum I ever joined. Registration is free, yet it certainly has proven to be a priceless community to me. In fact, I may not have ever built an Internet Marketing business if it weren't for the encouragement I’ve received and a few of the contacts I've made through this site.

Wealthy Affiliate
http://www.wealthy-affiliate-membership.com

This membership site charges a monthly fee that's less than dinner for two at any place nicer than a fast food joint. The owners of the site, as well as several members, go out of their way to practically ensure that you will make much more than the fee each month. The wealth of resources in this site, which you can use to help yourself get started and then go well beyond, makes the monthly fee a joke. Honestly, just go check it out.

WebsiteMonthly
http://www.buildmywebempire.com

This membership site actually is a conglomeration of 10 paid-membership sites, each of which is geared toward helping you learn about and use specific strategies and tactics in your online business. You may not need or want to visit all 10 of these sites regularly, but you’ll almost certainly find at least a few that offer techniques, tips, and advice that you can use productively and profitably.

WebsiteMonthly charges a fee, but there's a twist. They have, at least as I write this, waived the monthly fee and are charging a one-time fee for lifetime membership to all sites. The fee seems to be subject to change, so I won't quote it here. I highly recommend that you check it out though -- it's a ridiculously low price considering both the number of individual sites to which you gain access and the fact that you pay only once for a perpetual membership to all of them.

The Other 98 Percent
http://www.other-98-percent.com

This is a relatively new membership site that holds a lot of promise. The site publishers' goal is to provide a place to learn about (and discuss) the process of selling to buyers of products unrelated to Internet Marketing. That is, "the other 98%" of people who buy “real things” online. That description probably doesn't do the site justice, so you should go check it out -- registration is free.

As noted above, some of these are free resources and some charge a fee. As is the case with many products and services, you don't always get what you pay for. In other words, don't judge a site by its membership fee. However, I also would advise against ruling out a site because a fee is charged for membership. Like everything else in business, you should look at the return on investment (ROI). If a membership site charges $50 per month, but you are able to earn more than $50 a month in profit by being there, including the “opportunity cost” of your time (what could you be doing instead?), then you'd actually lose money by not joining.

Obviously, the choice to visit or join these or any other membership sites is yours. My best advice, however, is to base your decision to join on what these sites can or cannot do to help you in your business rather than what they may or may not be doing for someone else - including me.

Kelly Conway, like many entrepreneurs, wears lots of hats. His specialties include Direct/Online Marketing Consultation, Business Process Automation, and Business Coaching for start-up and growth-oriented entrepreneurs and consultants. You can contact him through his website: http://www.kellyconway.com and you can also find him in those forums listed above.