Step 2: Loitering and Lurking – Not Against the Law in Forums

Once you’ve found a worthy forum (one with a good number of posters that allows sig files), go ahead and register for the forum. Normally, you’ll only need to provide your email address and your desired username. It’s recommended that you get an email address just for forum messages. You can get a free email account at Google mail or Yahoo. Google mail has a few more features than Yahoo does for their free account.

You may want to use a pen name or screen name and never list any personal information in your profile. If the forum’s profile asks for your address or location, use just your State or Country. Never list your phone number. Although all of this type of information is usually private, there is no guarantee it is or that the site won’t be hacked. The your personal information is available to the hackers to sell or track down additional information about you.

Before you post anything, however, take some time to observe (loiter and lurk) what’s going on in the forum on a regular basis. Nothing ruffles forum members’ feathers more than someone coming in and posting 100s of product recommendations in their first day. Figure out who’s who in the forum. There are always different roles that you can identify. You might see certain members who see themselves as “experts” in the topic. Others always seem to have problems that they want the forum members to fix. (Could you be the person who positions himself/herself as a go-to authority figure?)

Also, pay close attention to the mood of the forum. Do they use a lot of graphics in their posts? Are the signature files bright and flashy, or more subdued? Do they encourage off topic posts, or are threads kept to the niche topic only?

All of these factors will help you fit in better when you start posting on the forum. Spend at least a week “lurking” (watching the board but not participating) in order to get a feel for how things run. After that you’ll be in prime position to become a valuable member of the forum. If you find the forum isn’t what you originally thought you can just never return or cancel your membership.

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