Forums helped me get on track to make money online but I almost missed the boat entirely. I will be the first to admit that in the past I had been drawn in by the get rich quick schemes. In my eagerness to succeed in online business I let my greedy side take over. The results left me disillusioned and even a little skeptical about trusting people. The worst part about ‘get rich quick schemes’ was that I knew better than to listen, but the ads and the web sites were so compelling. These scam artists really know how to make it hard to resist.

The next phase in my ebusiness became really hard because I would not allow myself to trust anyone. I figured that it was better to do it all myself rather than leave myself open to another scam artist. That was my second big mistake. Trying to do it all alone is not the right answer either.

Eventually I actually stumbled across the answer to my ebusiness problems and I would be more than happy to share that answer with you. The answer:

FORUMS

I am now a member and participate in a number of really great online forums that are there to share experiences about online marketing and ebusiness.

For those of you that are not sure what forums are I would like to give you my definition:

First, what a forum is: A forum is a gathering place for like minded people. People that have questions and others that have answers. You ask a question and usually many people will give you an answer based on their level of experience.

Forums are a great place to share ebusiness experiences so you and others can benefit. You will find that you will soon be sharing your knowledge as well.

I feel I should also tell you what forums are not. Just to help you when you get there.

A forum is not a place to try to advertise your product, web site or services. You do have a place to put a signature where you can gently promote your business through a link.

Forums are a great place to learn from the experience of others.

I have personally made many new friends on forums because we are so like minded.

Each day when I get up I turn my computer on, then I put on the coffee. Once I have my coffee in hand I sit down and check my email to see who has responded to my posts. After I respond back I check to see if there are any new postings that I should read.

If I have a question or feel that I have learned something new, I will leave a new post in the appropriate area and then continue on to the next forum.

After being online for two and half years, trying to make my ebusiness a success without much success, I found a forum that literally changed my life and my business.

In the two months that followed, my business went from producing very little, and I mean very little, (I would be embarrassed to say how little), to a business that started growing and producing.

It did not start growing fast but it started growing steadily and that I had never seen in two and half years.

If you think of your online business as a seed you will understand that it takes time to grow healthy, but that is another article.

People like me, or how I was when I started marketing and ebusiness, is the reason I wrote this article.

All too often I see new people arrive that have been through the same things I went through. These people that are either depressed, desperate, venting, or ready to give up on their eBusiness because they keep getting scammed or nothing they do seems to work.

Even though it hurts me to see people in that state I know they have come to the right place and if they give the forum members a chance they can help change the way they look at ebusiness.

What I like most about helping these somewhat desperate people is the shock they experience when some one helps them without asking for anything in return. It blows them away.

1. Why do forums work?

Moderators! Online forums have moderators that help to control the scammers and advertisers.

You can take your time to read the content, ‘questions and answers’ without feeling rushed to take action. This gives you time to let the information sink in without any pressure or people sending you emails.

2. What do you need most when you open yourself up by asking a question.

Of course you need an answer, but more than that you need to feel confident and you need to feel those answering are credible.

Spending time reading before jumping in will show you if people there are competent and credible.

It is also important to find forums that don’t judge you, unless of course you try to promote yourself through blatant advertising.

3. What makes a great forum?

Participation!! Not only by members but most important to me is having the owner and moderators participate regularly. These are the forums I take the most interest in.

4. Where are some good forums?

There are a number of good forums that I have learned from, and there are also some forums that I would not advise new ebusiness owners to attend.

You want forums that are friendly and helpful without a lot of bickering. Those later forums are for more seasoned marketers that are confident and competent in their success.

New ebusiness owners will only get confused and discouraged on those forums. So for this reason I will only mention a few of the forums that have helped me and are easy to understand.

I am going to list them in the order I found them so that I don’t hurt anyones feelings. :-)

First, Mike Merz forum was not the first forum I found but it was the first forum that did not intimidate me.

Mike is a great guy and has become a good friend. He has never asked me for anything, well anything other than my opinion. He is a “How can I help you” kind of guy, and I give you his forum link without hesitation.

http://im4newbies.com/forum/

From Mike’s site I was introduced to Lynn Terry. Lynn, like Mike has never asked anything of me that would not help me.

http://www.selfstartersweeklytips.com/forum/

The last forum I am going to lead you to is one that I have just recently found and I am so happy that I have.

Heidi and Dave have a forum that again is friendly and also informative.

http://www.homebusinessonline.com/community/forum/

You can now feel a little safer and please go to these great forums and find out for yourself. Hang around for awhile and see who is there and how they present themselves. Then jump in and head for your success without any scams.

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