Forums are places on the web where people gather to share advice and find solutions to their problems on a topic they are passionate about.
There are a variety of topics and they can be anything from German Shepherds to making money online.
In this article we will look at forum marketing and how forums can help you grow your online business and then discuss a few guidelines on how to approach forums so you can reap all the advantages they have to offer.
If you are looking for an effective way to advertise and promote your business online, then you should join a few forums in the field your business is in.
Here are some of the advantages of using forums to promote your business:

• Forums are free to join and advertising on them will cost nothing in most situations
• When done correctly, you can establish yourself as an expert or authority figure
• You can get a constant source of targeted traffic to your sites as long as you are an active member
• Members of these forums will join your mailing lists and will buy from what you have to offer them

In order to take advantage of forum marketing and what forums can do for your business, here are a few pointers:

• After you join, delay making any posts.
  You should first get to know the forum by reading as much as you can.
  You want to get to know the "culture" or get a "feel" of the community and the participants
• When making posts, don't ask questions that reveal you are new.
  You need to write posts that make you appear to be an expert on the subject.
  Provide the reader with useful content
• If you don't have the answer to a question, find out the answer and post it
• Don't blatantly advertise your website, product or service in your posts.
  To advertise what you have to offer, put your link to your website in the signature of your post
• Remember, never spam, argue or bad mouth other members.
  Always be on your best behavior

If you follow these simple guidelines for participating in forums, eventually members will start looking to you for the solutions to their problems on the subject you are an expert on and visit your website, join your mailing lists and buy your products.
Don't under estimate the effectiveness of forum marketing and forums.
They have helped many people build their online business when they are approached correctly.
And they can help you build your online business too.