Doing business online can be very tricky, and succeeding has often been possible for those that use forum marketing. If you like succeeding, then this will certainly be for you. The people that actually succeed with this method are willing to spend the time to make it work, plus it's not that hard to do. As with anything in IM, you are not guaranteed to make money, yet it is still a popular marketing method. You will have to follow certain rules in order to participate, although most of them are easy to follow when participating in the forums. As long as you're posting something useful, then you can have a great deal of success for your efforts.
Make your first step one that involves establishing a good reputation so that you'll be viewed as an authority or expert in your niche. 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. Unfortunately, you don't have an infinite number of hours to devote to a forum. This is only a small part of your overall marketing strategy.
It will also annoy regular members if you come on strong and make a ton of posts in a matter of hours. So time your visits when there are the most members present. Make sure the posts you do provide are quality posts rather than simply confirming what others are saying or going repeating points already made.
Remember that it's always wise to contribute by starting your own threads and conversations. A lot of people who are new feel shy about starting threads. Consider how great it is to share helpful information. Consider the information you have that could benefit the forum. Share. It's that simple. You can encourage people to reply with posts by asking questions.
If you're looking to fill the pages, consider saying something that's going to bring controversy. Just be wary of crossing lines or coming across as uninformed and/or judgmental. Just make sure, above all else, that you start threads that fit with the theme of the forum.
In line with other comments about how you conduct yourself, or the attitude you create, you have to just be relaxed and cool in forums. Going to forums will give you the chance to form relationships with others. There are those that will always try to belittle you. You will always run into someone who wants to click be confrontational. Many others will just overlook their comments, which will click to investigate make them leave eventually. These are the things that really go on in forums. So, you have to be concerned about how these rules will affect you and their importance. If you want to successfully market in forums, then you have to adjust if that is necessary.
So, see forum marketing as another type of marketing like social marketing. When you look at it, forum marketing is another way to do social marketing. They are both tied into relationship marketing, which you should learn about.