"If you become interested in others, they will become interested in you."

Are you making the most of marketing through online social interaction?

One of the most appealing aspects of the internet is marketing. There are literally hundreds of thousands of different ways you can sell your services/website/self over the internet. Many techniques are free - or very fairly prices - and every single technique offers countless rewards.

Online forums are one marketing method used by many. It's a method that you should be doing for your website or company - if you aren't already. Here are a few tips for how to reap the most benefits from online forums.

The first step to marketing yourself on a forum is becoming a valuable part of the community. Thanks to Google, becoming a valuable part of any community is extremely easy. A valuable person in any community has a lot to offer; they provide helpful advice, friendly opinions, and try to boost the overall feel of the community.

In order to provide helpful advice, use search engines and time. If somebody asks a question you can't immediately answer, do a few searches on Google and Yahoo for an answer. But don't be quick to respond. Do your research. Make sure the advice or information you are providing is accurate, and helpful to the question at hand.

Providing helpful advice won't make you king of the community alone, you also have to have your own opinions on issues; but remember to be friendly whenever you state any personal opinions. Praise others for their opinions at every opportunity you get. Never criticize another forum-goers. Even if you disagree.

By being friendly to everyone in the forum, and by helping others with their problems, you can boost the over-all image of the entire community. Others will quickly see this, and you will be rewarded by becoming a respected member.

Once you have become a valuable part of the forum, you begin step two of marketing yourself. Post your website - with a short, accurate, description - in your forum signature. Send out PMs to forum-friends about your services and let them know that you have a website they may be interested in looking into.

If you spent time trying to become a valuable member of the community, the community will respect you and you will get a lot of great, valuable attention for your website. It does take time, and it does take work. However, the benefits available to those who take the time to become a valuable member of any forum are endless.

The lesson to remember here is: if you become interested in others, they will become interested in you.