[IM Skeleton]

My name is Danielle and I have been doing Affiliate Marketing for about 3 years off and on, mostly on.

I started an information site and one of the posts I will be publishing shortly is about free and cheap web traffic. One of the free traffic strategies is posting valuable information on forums so that eventually as one becomes a trusted member of the forum, a signature and web site address is displayed.

So here I am checking out the various Affiliate Marketing forums to determine which ones I wish to recommend to newbies and which ones I wish to participate in.

So far, this forum looks good, one that I will probably visit often and recommend to newbies.

[bibby]

Originally Posted by IM Skeleton

My name is Danielle and I have been doing Affiliate Marketing for about 3 years off and on, mostly on.

I started an information site and one of the posts I will be publishing shortly is about free and cheap web traffic. One of the free traffic strategies is posting valuable information on forums so that eventually as one becomes a trusted member of the forum, a signature and web site address is displayed.

So here I am checking out the various Affiliate Marketing forums to determine which ones I wish to recommend to newbies and which ones I wish to participate in.

So far, this forum looks good, one that I will probably recommend to newbies.

Welcome to ABW,
There's a ton of great info for both for the newbie and the veteran Affiliate Marketer.

[Adam Ward]

Welcome to ABW > IM Skeleton

[loxly]

Originally Posted by IM Skeleton

One of the free traffic strategies is posting valuable information on forums so that eventually as one becomes a trusted member of the forum, a signature and web site address is displayed.

So here I am checking out the various Affiliate Marketing forums to determine which ones I wish to recommend to newbies and which ones I wish to participate in.

Welcome to ABestWeb Danielle. Please recommend this one as a place to learn and not a place to link drop. Participating in a forum should be about becoming a part of a community, not about getting enough posts to earn a sig and get backlinks.

[PatrickAllmond]

IM Skeleton - What other forums do you participate in?

[IM Skeleton]

Please recommend this one as a place to learn and not a place to link drop

That goes without saying. I am all about doing things the right way.

What other forums do you participate in

Not a lot because I am someone who like to spend most of my time doing things instead of roaming forums.

The first forum I ever joined was the Rick Jerk forum when I bought my first affiliate marketing ebook. This is not something that I am proud of because although there are many good people in that forum, there are also plenty of scumbags so I don't hang out there anymore.

I was a member of Wealthy Affiliate for about a year and they have a forum.

Now that I am more knowledgeable, it is looking like it will be more fun to participate in forums.

I also participate in all forums where I bought products such as BANS (build a niche store), and others - these forums are related to stores that I own so I would say that I spend most of my time in these types of forums.

I have also participated in Web Development type forums but not a whole lot.

Why do you ask?

[Julian]

"One of the free traffic strategies is posting valuable information on forums so that eventually as one becomes a trusted member of the forum, a signature and web site address is displayed"

Hardly the way to build a good quality forum though, a bunch of affiliate marketers all using the forum for getting traffic to their affiliate sites.

Abestweb isn't one of those forums that you should be promoting for traffic building strategies. It is a forum that should be promoted for the quality of the forum information, and for the members who participate.

[IM Skeleton]

Hardly the way to build a good quality forum though

The blog that I am in the process of creating is all about introducing newbies to internet marketing.

I will be posting about how to get cheap web traffic (my main keyword) which will contain a combination of free and inexpensive ways of getting traffic.

This will include web page optimization, writing articles and all sorts of other ways to get traffic.

Posting in forums is just one of the strategies of getting free backlinks. If the posts are interesting then what is the difference whether someone is doing it so that they end up getting a link in their signatureas long as they follow the rules and don't spam.

I only joined this forum an hour ago and I have already tried to help 2 people. Sure, new marketers won't be able to help others at first, but they will in the future and one thing they will find in this forum and other good forums is a wealth of information.

It's not just about telling them to post in forums, it is also about introducing them to good forums - ones they can learn from. After all this is an Affiliate Marketing forum, I think they should be welcomed here.

[Julian]

If you are an expert in telling people how to get traffic, then why not just use those tactics for yourself and make tons of money doing what you are telling others to do?

Do you really think that you are offering anything new?

[loxly]

It's not just about telling them to post in forums, it is also about introducing them to good forums - ones they can learn from. After all this is an Affiliate Marketing forum, I think they should be welcomed here.

Newbies that want to learn *are* welcomed here. People that want to just post to build backlinks.... not so much. But that is why it takes 250 posts to get a signature and the opportunity to have backlinks. You will also notice that not many *affiliates* have links in their signatures. Not many affiliates want to share their sites with *other affiliates* for a large variety of reasons.

We appreciate your sharing your knowledge here, we all started somewhere. Just be careful because motives *are* important on any forum, and people just trying to "use the system" are quickly "seen through".

[IM Skeleton]

Julian,

I cannot believe that I just joined this forum an hour ago, and that you are being antagonistic towards me.

This thread is my hello post - my introductory post - where is my welcome huh!

When did I ever proclaim to be an expert?

I am more of an expert today than I was 2 years ago, that's the only truth I know.

I've always wanted to put together an information site. Affiliate Marketing is my hobby and I love doing it and learning from it whether I make a lot of money or not.

Why are you trying to rain on my parade. It sounds to me like you may need to take an anger management class and I must say I truly resent your attitude towards me.

If you don't mind, I would rather not hear from you anymore because I truly feel that you are harassing me.

Thanks for the welcome - just what I needed to put a smile on my face.

[IM Skeleton]

And just to keep things clear, I personally don't post in forums to get backlinks.

[Adam Ward]

I've been moderating forums for 11 years.

You get a feel for peoples 1st posts.

I like this person!

[loxly]

Originally Posted by IM Skeleton

And just to keep things clear, I personally don't post in forums to get backlinks.

So you are recommending newbies do something your wouldn't do? Julian is calling you out for what it sounds like you are trying to do, which is give out potentially bad information. Seriously, you are on a forum of marketing professionals, you come in and proclaim to have knowledge and now you are backing off...

Stick around and listen, and keep participating, but don't go all high and mighty on established members.

We are used to spammers and folks coming to promote themselves instead of truly being helpful. Be helpful, and stick to talking about what you already know, and don't pretend to be an expert and in the long run you probably will become an expert.

Forum spamming is a subject that lots of people here have to deal with, you hit a nerve when you say you are telling people that is a way to get backlinks and traffic.

[loxly]

Originally Posted by Adam Ward

I've been moderating forums for 11 years.

You get a feel for peoples 1st posts.

I like this person!

lol, I think she has potential too, but she needs a little guidance to stay out of *too* much trouble.

[Stephanie Lichtenstein]

Welcome to ABW!

[IM Skeleton]

Adam and Loxly,

Well thank you for making me feel welcomed.

I guess it doesn't take much for you to realize that I am more than a newbie but certainly not an expert.

I think I will stick around and learn, and perhaps not include joining forums as a cheap way of getting traffic.

I would like to mention though "Let's not blame the victim". Julian is the one that went all high and mighty on me. I just defended myself.

He may be an established member of this forum, but let's face it he is a human being therefore my equal, no more no less. I expect respect and civilized behavior from everyone whether they have 6 red dots or none at all.

[loxly]

Julian asked a question, didn't go all "high and mighty". Tone is missing from forum posts, be aware that some things can be misinterpreted.

[rematt]

Welcome aboard Danielle. You'll have to forgive our suspicion of noobs, but we're so used to SPAMMERS and SCAMMERS coming through to drop a link that we tend to view all new posters with a touch of skepticism. When a new member mentions a tactic that we've seen waaay too many times, the lights and sirens start. Hang around for a couple of weeks and you'll see what I mean.

While you're here start reading everything in sight. Use the search feature to find specific information that you need and if you can't find it, don't be afraid to ask. And certainly don't be afraid to join the conversation when you have something to add.

This is the best place on the net for serious marketers.

-rematt

[andyfal]

I think this is 50/50 here, Loxly is correct Tone is missing, however that should be kept in mind when questions are asked. There is more than one way to ask a question, as there are many ways of interpreting what is being asked.
AF

[IM Skeleton]

OK, I'm not going to drag this in to the ground but since you are defending Julian, here is how he made me feel.

If you are an expert in telling people how to get traffic, then why not just use those tactics for yourself and make tons of money doing what you are telling others to do?

This is more of a confrontation hidden as a question. I know how to read between the lines.

Do you really think that you are offering anything new?

Does this sound like he's telling me that I'm wasting my time or that my information site has very little or no value?

Like I said there is no need to defend him, I know how to read between the lines.

What would make sense to me would be an apology from Julian. Besides I can see how the tone may come across in the wrong way for people who are new to the internet, but not from a veteran marketer.

If you want to say that I am overly sensitive, then I'll accept that but I'm not blind.

[PatrickAllmond]

Boy... talk about getting out of hand fast. Everybody take a deep breath.

Both sides could have started their introductions a little different so as to not put the other side on the defensive. Your opening post raised some hairs, and obviously some of the responses got to you.

Someone (I'd suggest you IM) back down and realize that nobody was attacking you. These people here are pros. They are here defending a forum that is kept clean and professional 24/7. They do that be weeding out bad people early and often. And I am sure their tactics can seem aggressive. However their intentions are mostly good.

Remember the rule about arguing on the internet people ! What happens if you "win" ?

[andyfal]

Originally Posted by IM Skeleton

Like I said there is no need to defend him, I know how to read between the lines.

Danielle I am not defending Julian, quite the contrary, my point is that people should put as much thought into how they phrase their questions, as how they read them. I agree that there is some amount of confrontation with the way the questions were phrased and am not surprised they were interpreted the way they were.
AF

[IM Skeleton]

andyfal,

I know you're not defending Julian, my post was really in response to Loxly's last post that said

Julian asked a question, didn't go all "high and mighty". Tone is missing from forum posts, be aware that some things can be misinterpreted.

I want you to know how much I appreciate the fact that you are truly the only one who acknowledges that there was a certain degree of confrontation, at least 50/50 (you are a true diplomat.)

ok, I'm putting an end to this but here is just one last thought which I would like to share even though I know it is immature but here it is:
In my view, 6 specific red dots have become invisible to me.

[Julian]

This thread is a prime example why people should keep their emotions in check.

I don't feel I have anything to aplogise for, so I will not apologise to you Danielle. I will however welcome you to Abestweb and hope that you stick around. Welcome to Abestweb Danielle.