It's almost impossible to find a niche that doesn't have some relevant forum dedicated to it. Then, if they have good traffic and allow it, you can implement a universal forum marketing strategy that can transform your business within a year. That may sound like a very long time, and if so then maybe you believe all the sales letters. It takes time and some patience to extract the most value from forums. But that's your mindset and you have to decide what's best for you.
Remember with forum marketing you want to be considered an expert in your niche and enjoy good forum reputation. A failure in either task will net results that are not at all optimal. Of course, no one is going to recognize you if you aren't able to be seen first. But, you don't want to spend every waking moment on any one forum. You have other marketing to get done and this is just one part of it.
It will also annoy regular members if you come on strong and make a ton of posts in a matter of hours. Find out which hours see the greatest amount of activity and make your forum posts when the largest number of people are generally present. Focus on providing quality posts if you're really interested in becoming influential on the forum. Forums that are new to you should always be explored, and there are things to search for upon your arrival. You need to think about why you want to join this forum, which can be determined by looking around. You have to consider some things since you will be using the forums for your online marketing. For instance, some forum owners and members despise online marketers. This is something that will probably not occur if the owner is not very fond of IMers like yourself. Simply read the forum rules. These will tell you what you can and can't do quickly and easily. By simply looking at the absence of signatures in forum posts, you will be able to discern if online marketing is possible. Most if not all forums will not navigate to these guys allow direct advertising in posts. In essence, they are preventing their forum from looking like a giant billboard in the proverbial Internet sky.
Some people tend to be much more prolific when it comes to starting new forum threads. Sometimes, they are viewed in a dim light by other forum members. But, if you have a lot of good topics for threads, then that's great but just spread them out.
Comment on other threads at the same time. People in forums are generally pretty much the same because it all relates to human nature. That being said, you sometimes need to have your own opinion and stand by it too. There are plenty of 'gray' areas to consider when using forum marketing. Having a variety of ways to share your knowledge is a good approach in forums.
It's easy to get attached to forums. Don't get so caught up in building relationships on these forums that you forget why you're doing it. Your time can be much better spent doing other things. That's what you have to do if you want to make the most of your time.