As I sit here thinking about how much time I just spent posting on forums, I must also ask myself if I really thought it helped my business.
It's nice to feel as though we belong and fit into a group. It's also easy to get comfortable interracting with the same people.
When I started selling online, I had so many questions. I needed to know where to sell and which sites had what I was interested in. I joined some selling forums to interract with other sellers and get the information I needed.
Once I decided on a site, I began to post in the site forum to gain knowledge about my store and new features that came out. However, once I figured out where to sell, I should've started minimizing my time spent at the selling forums. I should've transitioned to forums where I'd attract buyers instead of other sellers.
Of course, it does depend on who my buyers are. If I create templates and do custom work for other sellers, I should continue to participate in selling forums. However, my customers typically won't be other sellers. Many of them make their own candles, bath products and jewelry. They are looking to make money online versus spending it at my store.
So, where should I spend time? I'd still spend some of it where I have my store checking in for new options and codes. However, most of my time should be spent at forums that allow me to reach my customers.
I've found forums that are female oriented. The only problem is that they don't allow banners in signatures. Mostly all of them want you to participate in their forum, promoting their advertising without being able to advertise anything for yourself. Is that fair? I don't think so.
So the next time you want to spend time promoting your store, think about where your buyers are. Reach out to them whereever they are. Break out of your comfort zone and try new forums.
Thank you for visiting!
