I get a lot of questions from subscribers and visitors to
our web site. Some I can answer outright, others I need to
do a little research to find out for myself. We have been
online now for about three years and started with little
knowledge of some of the technical aspects of the online
business process. When someone starts off their question
of comments with "Joe, I don't have the slightest inkling
of where to start", I know how they feel. I've been there!
One of the places (besides the use of search engines, where
you can find a multitude of information on almost any topic)
I have been going for years to increase my knowledge are
forums and discussions boards. For the new person, or
"newbie" as Internet slang designates them, these are great
places to learn without getting involved in any discussions.
A lot of newbies and those not so new may be afraid to ask
questions because they feel they may be asking dumb
questions. Well, to me there are no dumb questions. But if
you feel that way anyway, then forums and discussion boards
will help you out. You can go there, browse around, observe the
questions and responses and LEARN! If you get daring you can
even post a question and see what type of responses you get.
I have visited a number of boards regularly over the last
couple of years. Sometimes I actively post responses to
questions already posted, in some I post a question I might
have and sometimes I just browse to see what type of info
I can get during that visit.
There are many occasions when I need to find something
specific out and I go right to a particular board and
post a question. I usually get an answer within a reasonable
time. On occasion I get an answer in minutes.
As you get more experienced you will find that posting at
forums and discussion boards is also a great way to create
more traffic to your site and maybe more subscribers for your
ezine. In most cases it just comes down to leaving your
website URL or subscribe email address with your posting.
Just make sure that you check the posting and/or advertising
restrictions that a site might have before you do it.
If you have a particular topic you are interested in,
visit http://www.forumone.com It has a directory of over
310,000 web forums. Just type in the topic you are interested
in and click the search button.
As you surf the Net and get more comfortable with your
business efforts you will probably develop a couple of
favorites. Here are a couple of boards that I go to on a
regular basis either to browse, post or respond to items.
These are all free and you don't have to log in or subscribe.
They are not listed in any specific order.
1) BizWeb2000 CyberMarketing Board
http://www.bizweb2000.com/wwwboard
This board is very active and has a lot of great info about
online marketing and other areas. This is one of my favorites.
2) Internet Marketing Discussion Forum
http://www.exchangingideas.com
Another board that can give you some insight and ideas in the
marketing area.
3) Friends In Business - Scams 101 Message Board
http://friendsinbusiness.com/board/index.cgi
This one is an active board too and usually has some great
discussions about possible scams online.
4) Dog Byte Marketing Forum
http://homebusiness-websites.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi
This one deals with operating and managing your own online
or offline enterprise and is a good source for answering
some of those technical questions you might have.
These are just a couple of the boards that you might want
to bookmark and check out once and awhile or specifically
if you have a question. Remember there are thousands of
sources of information online now and you can have access
to them for free. All it takes is a little research. And
also, when you visit some of these boards, you will without
fail, find leads to other resources you might be able to
use.
About the Author
Joe Reinbold, Owner & creator of The Entrepreneur's Home
Business Link publishes a free weekly email newsletter
"Home Income Quarterly E-dition" which is dedicated to
assisting online marketers and entrepreneur. For a free
subscription just mailto:subscribe@homebizlink.com or
visit his site at http://www.homebizlink.com