My Discussion Forum

Some interesting things came up regarding my Discussion Forum this past week. Some good feedback, actually. I love it when people speak up like that, because it’s really hard for me to know how people perceive it from their end otherwise.

The forum appeals to a wide range of people, but is specifically geared towards helping those who are new to online business and those that are looking to learn more about internet marketing.

There are members there with all types of business models and varying degrees of experience. There are plenty of newbies, plenty of successful entrepreneurs and even a few experts that frequent the forum. It makes for a good mix, and a lot of great discussions.

The first bit of feedback that I got came via email. We were actually discussing several things related to her site, and she explained why she emailed me directly vs posting her questions on the forum:

I know your forum has a lot of useful information, but every time I go there, I feel like everyone has some background, has already started making websites and is looking for help in making them better, etc.  I can see how it would be very helpful once I begin doing something, but I am such a newbie at the whole thing that I feel like it isn’t helping me with where to start. 

I did put in a new category last year titled Getting Started – Learning the Basics, which is just below the first category of Introductions. This is where some of the best threads originate, actually, because they ask questions just like hers. And I’m sure there are A LOT of lurkers on the forum with the same questions, that feel the same way – so it’s always great when someone actually steps out and posts.

That said, I may need to do something there to make it more appealing to “newbies”. I’m considering ways to simplify the forum as a whole, but any suggestions on making that particular category more inviting are certainly welcomed.

The next bit of feedback I received was interesting as well. It came via Private Message at the forum, and from a member who had posted a few times – but very conservatively.

She was asking specifically about Aaron Wall’s SEO Ebook, but also added:

Since my websites are not the same types of website as most people have in this forum, by that I mean most people sell information, I don’t. So every time I get to the forum I wonder if I should be here? I really want to make both sides profitable and popular, but are the tools that that are being offered really for me, or they are only for people who have many websites and concentrate on selling info?

It was a good question, and it made me consider adding a category for Niche Marketing or something similar. What do you think? I wouldnt mind to brainstorm this one a bit…

I explained to her most of the members at the SSWT Forum actually have several websites in a variety of niches, outside of the internet marketing related links they have in their signatures. People dont generally mention those sites because they dont like to reveal their niches – and/or because they dont feel the visitors here are targeted enough to mention it.

I have websites in a variety of niches myself

But the information at the forum, and in any of the guides, is great for any type of website for the most part. I have read Aaron Wall’s guide myself and optimize ALL of my sites. Search Engine Optimization is just a matter of optimizing your web pages correctly. Similarly, I use the “Rosalind Gardner Method” on many of my affiliate sites (which are in various niches).

Anyway, it was great feedback I thought. I would sincerely like to make the Forum more appealing to ‘newbies’, or more inviting I guess I should say. I have had it up and running for a little over 3 years now, and it’s something I truly enjoy – alongside the newsletter that I write for that same site.

I have actually moderated and managed it solo this entire time. Up until my recent trip to Boston, anyway. While I was away for the week I put a few moderators in place to combat the spam and make sure the questions were answered.

That spoiled me, no doubt

I am in the process of putting moderators in place permanently. I already have a few takers for specific categories, but am looking for several more. Obviously I am talking to current members first… but I would consider trying anyone that was especially interested.

I’m in the process of making other changes to the forum as well. I am going to organize it a bit better, add a few new categories (such as Domain Names & Web Hosting), and generate a new (uncluttered) feed for it as well. I also just announced that I would be editing Post Titles to keep things ‘search engine friendly’ and easy for people who were scanning topics of interest…

If you have any other thoughts or suggestions, I’m all ears!

Here are just some of the more recent posts at the SSWT Forum. You’re welcome to pop in wherever you like:

• The best course and tools to invest in?
• Is a private domain name an advantage or disadvantage?
• Article Generators along with original content
• Where are my visitors?
• Autoresponders-HTML or Text?
• Internet Marketing Center’s Protege Program
• Buying Expired Domain with Page rank?
• Does Anyone Use AssocTrac affiliate software?
• RSS Feeds for ebay items
• Why are my AdSense ads wildly UN-targeted?
• Remove No-Follow tag in WordPress

See you over at the forum!

Tags: discussion forum, forums, sswt

Category: Internet Marketing