One of the best ways to learn how to build a successful online business is to participate in online discussion forums.

There are two key elements that make forums much more effective learning tools than, say, books (or ebooks), audios, videos, websites or blogs:

(1) they are extremely interactive; and

(2) that interactivity comes from people with passions similar to yours, but with vastly different levels of knowledge and experience.

Forums provide virtual communities in which the members are encouraged to share knowledge, ideas, insights, frustrations, and successes.

They were doing this long before the phrase “social networking” caused so much buzz!

Here’s an interesting point. I’ve found that some of the most helpful forum posts are made by “newbies”—inexperienced online marketers. It’s not that they are able to give guidance or advice; that’s what they’re seeking themselves. But in their often insatiable search for answers, they ask a lot of questions… questions that even the most grizzled and experienced online marketers should pay attention to. For every dozen or so basic (and oft repeated) “beginner” questions such as “How do I upload a file to my blog?” there’s a gem that triggers a lively and enlightening discussion!

How to Get the Most Benefit from Forums

Simply by joining, reading, and actively participating in online discussion forums, you will learn a lot, regardless of whether you’re a newbie or veteran.

That interactive learning process, in my opinion, is the number-one benefit offered by forums. But there are several other benefits.

If you contribute comments to a popular thread on a major discussion forum, thousands of people will read your words. If your comments are interesting and/or contribute value to the discussion (this is critical!) most of those readers will be impressed enough to learn more about you. If your forum post signature includes a link to your blog or website, a significant portion of those interested readers will click on that link. A number of them will even opt in to your email subscription or RSS feed. And last but not least, some of those new subscribers will end up buying your product or service!

Those benefits result from other people reading your comments. But what about the benefits you gain from reading other people’s comments?

I already touched on learning from forums. But here’s another reason to be a frequent reader of forum discussions: content generation.

Forums are a goldmine of content!

You can find, consolidate, summarize and highlight the major points from popular threads. Put all that raw material in your own words, and create articles, free reports or even an ebook.

Forums are Full of Helpful People You Need to Know!

One more benefit from reading other people’s forum comments—you’ll become aware of many knowledgeable and helpful people interested in your niche topic. You can build mutually beneficial relationships and collaborate on projects and joint ventures!

Shared knowledge, enhanced reputation, increased traffic, added revenue, new content ideas, additional networking opportunities—these benefits and more are all possible from your participation in online discussion forums.

So what are you wait for? Get thee to a forum and start reaping the rewards!

Here are two terrific resources to get you started:

1. Fred Peters of Newest on the Net has compiled a great list 10 forums to make you a better blogger.

2. Maki of DoshDosh has compiled a list of 26 affiliate marketing and webmaster forums.

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