Promotion Forums: Do They Really Help?
This article was first posted on our blog on 31/01/2011. For this reason, the information may be outdated and no longer reliable/correct.
I've been a member of Forum Promotion for a little over a year now. I've used several of the services offered as well as the services that many other promotion sites offer. To help you decide which services may be useful to you, I decided to break down the pros and cons of each of the services I have used.
Almost all promotion sites use their own virtual currency that you can earn by posting/replying to topics. This currency can then be used to purchase different posting packages, reviews, and other promotion tools.
The "Basic Promotion" service is probably the most common service provided by promotion sites. On most promotion sites, this service doesn't cost anything. You can simply create a thread that markets your website or forum and wait for results. Pros of Advertising Services:
Posting packages are also commonly provided by promotion sites. Users who have accumulated a certain amount of a site's virtual currency can apply for a package of their choice from a list provided by the "Package Team." Pros of Posting Packages:
Reviews are a great way to get feedback on your website/forum. Most promotion sites have a review team that will log into your website, look through it, and let you know what they like or dislike about it. Pros of Review Services:
These are the services that I have used so far. I just recently launched my own website and forum, so I will be looking into the other services that FP and other promotion sites provide. I will give my pros and cons for these in a later blog entry. My general opinion of promotion sites is that they aren't as effective as we might think they are. However, it is possible that different users with different sites may have different results.
The "Basic Promotion" service is probably the most common service provided by promotion sites. On most promotion sites, this service doesn't cost anything. You can simply create a thread that markets your website or forum and wait for results. Pros of Advertising Services:
- People will see your link
- They're usually free
- The links can increase your page rank
- Usually the only other people who look at these "Basic Promotion" boards are the ones who are there for the same reason as you are. It's not very common for someone to look through these boards to find a forum to join.
- Due to this service being free, there are many users taking advantage of it. This causes a long list of threads that can very quickly push yours to a second page which decreases the chances of your thread being noticed. Most promotion forums that offer this service will allow you to bump your thread, but you often have to wait twenty-four hours or more.
Posting packages are also commonly provided by promotion sites. Users who have accumulated a certain amount of a site's virtual currency can apply for a package of their choice from a list provided by the "Package Team." Pros of Posting Packages:
- They offer an easy way to increase your forum's post count
- They add one to three members to your member count
- They make your forum appear more active
- After the posting package is completed, the user that completed the package usually becomes inactive.
- In some cases, users completing packages may make lower quality posts than you would like due to the large demand for the package service.
- You may request a package to make certain boards on your forum active, but the members of the package team may not be knowledgeable about those specific areas. Thus, the package cannot be completed to your liking.
Reviews are a great way to get feedback on your website/forum. Most promotion sites have a review team that will log into your website, look through it, and let you know what they like or dislike about it. Pros of Review Services:
- They offer you quick feedback on your site layout, theme, and features
- They give you an idea of what other people would like to see on your site/forum
- They offer you a perspective from a person who is generally knowledgeable about forums
- You're given a pretty biased review. The feedback you're getting is from one or two people and they grade you based on their own personal opinions
- To get an accurate review, I would recommend asking your own users what they want to see in the site/forum
These are the services that I have used so far. I just recently launched my own website and forum, so I will be looking into the other services that FP and other promotion sites provide. I will give my pros and cons for these in a later blog entry. My general opinion of promotion sites is that they aren't as effective as we might think they are. However, it is possible that different users with different sites may have different results.
