Networking Effectively by Scott Bradley

Networking Effectively Using Forums Part 1

Have you ever been on an internet forum? How did you use it? Did you have much fun participating in the many topics and discussions at hand?

Utilizing the various internet forums to network is something I really enjoy doing. Not only is it a place to share ideas and talk about the industry you are in, but also it is a great place to meet targeted people in your particular niche.

I first heard about internet forums my sophomore year in high school, and used it initially to seek other people out to talk to. The forums that I first participated in were the Rich Dad Forums. Sure enough my first post was something around the lines of “Have A Screen Name?”

In the post I mentioned that I was looking to talk with other people who read Rich Dad Poor Dad. At the time I really had no idea I was “Networking” so to speak, but I really just wanted to talk with other people I could relate to.

I ended up finding someone, and met for coffee with him where we played Cashflow (The game created by Robert Kiyosaki) with all of his buddies from work. It was a great time. I still keep in touch with him today!

So fast forwarding these forums a couple years forward to today, I have a really cool story to share with you…

About 5 or so months ago I was in the Rich Dad Network Marketing Forums and saw a post from a person who was promoting some “Secret Program,” going along with “The Secret” movie. We went back and forth in the discussion and ended up connecting on Skype. He lived out of the country so we would intermittently connect with each other every so often due to the 6 hour time change.

After talking and getting to know each other a little more, I learned that my friend was an internet marketer, and had built other network marketing business’s in the past. We really had a great time speaking, and he shared with me some of the things he was doing to help him build his business.

Well…Just recently he started doing internet marketing courses to help other small business people grow their business using the internet. When he mentioned that, I said to him…check out facebook…It is a networking paradise! Initially, he didn’t listen to me, but after he started hearing from other internet marketers how powerful a networking tool it was, he came to me and asked me…

“Scott, you have been networking on facebook building great relationships with others, and also have been using it to help grow your business. I would like to do an internet podcast interview with you about Facebook, to help other small business owners experience the same benefits you are…using facebook.”

When he asked me, I was floored and excited all at the same time. Here was my friend who I met through a forum, got to know him over a 6 month period, and now he was going interview me about something I love using! It was great.

My friend who I met is named Lasse Rouhiainen. On his blog you can get some great FREE information on internet marketing as well as hear the audio interview that he did with me!

Because of meeting him through the forum, and with the relationship we have built, he is also looking to do more nitty gritty things for facebook with me, which will only help more and more people with their business.

Creating these win/win/win situations is awesome and can be achieved through the use of forums.

In tomorrow’s post I will share with you the steps you can take to start building relationships in forums on the internet!