Joseph Ratliff
<b>5 Star Success Guru</b>
I've been thinking (yes, and that is dangerous)...
Inspired by some of the recent posts I've seen here at the forum (and on other forums) I've come up with 5 distinct levels of forum participation.
Where do you fit?
Level 1 - Spammer
An obvious one, and a person who is working for themselves or someone else to try and spam a forum with links or totally worthless discussion.
Folks in this category are trying way too hard to get attention or make money. With the tools (and people) that work on this issue every day, if you're a spammer, you cannot be having the success you're hoping to achieve.
Level 2 - The One - Liner
In this category are the folks who build up post count under the false illusion somehow they will be seen as an authority in the forum, or to spread links blatently.
The majority of their posts are of little value to anyone, mostly one-liner "thanks for the excellent post" and "illusion" is a key word here, almost no one will follow your links from the forum if you haven't earned the trust and respect that gets those links followed.
Again, you're working too hard for your money. We have a Thank You and now a "Like" or "Share" option to replace having to commit the valueless one-liner.
Now I will say that if you do this only once in a great while, it's probably ok, but think about how to add value to the conversation.
Level 3 - The Linky Loo
A Linky Loo is someone who posts a more "thought-out" post, but you can obviously tell the purpose of said post is to get high-quality backlinks to a site.
You can tell a Linky Loo by the key words in their post that link to a website, or sometimes someone with a really low post count and targeted backlinks in their signature (we shouldn't even allow a sig file until someone has contributed 25 posts of some value first IMO).
This person is a victim of "Ooh, ooh, if I get my links in 50 posts on 7 forums, my site will start ranking and getting traffic from people clicking on my links" Syndrome. Not good.
Now, this Level is a little tricky, because there are really honest people who are smart Affiliates and really do intend on creating value and discussion here at the forum. These are not Linky Loo's...and you can usually tell because they are asking questions and participating in the forum discussions...as well as adding value through well-written and well thought-out articles.
If you are a Linky Loo, you are again working way too hard for your money. People don't click on your links because you place them there, they click on your links because you earned the click. Think about that.
Level 4 - The Participator
This is the majority of the Forum membership IMO.
They participate (what a novel concept huh?) in the forum discussions, ask questions, and post some valuable content themselves. They don't really expect anything in return for their contributions, and feel good about helping others and being helped by the community.
The links in their sig files get clicked because they demonstrate leadership or add value to discussions...but it's a natural process to get these clicks...not a forced one.
Some of my best friends online have come from this group.
Level 5 - The Thought Leader
Specialized expertise, and sharing that expertise are the name of the game here.
The people in this category share valuable articles and content on a regular basis, or have specific track records of past success and share when they can (not every Thought Leader has much time to share).
They typically get a lot of "Thanks" and now "Likes" from their posts...and some of their posts generate a lot of discussion and participation.
They lead discussions about the industry we love, and don't post with any expectation of getting their links clicked (nor SEO benefits) at all. The funny thing is, they get both of those benefits way more often than level's 1-3, and as much as or more than level 4.
Being social in a forum and getting the results that come with it...who'd a thought?
Listen, I didn't write this post to alienate anyone, mainly as a general guide so you can identify which category you might fit in...and to help identify others in specific categories. If you feel alienated, some self-analysis might be in order, but please accept my apologies as that wasn't the intention here.
Enjoy and participate in this wonderful creation and opportunity called 5-Star Affiliate Forums.
Inspired by some of the recent posts I've seen here at the forum (and on other forums) I've come up with 5 distinct levels of forum participation.
Where do you fit?
Level 1 - Spammer
An obvious one, and a person who is working for themselves or someone else to try and spam a forum with links or totally worthless discussion.
Folks in this category are trying way too hard to get attention or make money. With the tools (and people) that work on this issue every day, if you're a spammer, you cannot be having the success you're hoping to achieve.
Level 2 - The One - Liner
In this category are the folks who build up post count under the false illusion somehow they will be seen as an authority in the forum, or to spread links blatently.
The majority of their posts are of little value to anyone, mostly one-liner "thanks for the excellent post" and "illusion" is a key word here, almost no one will follow your links from the forum if you haven't earned the trust and respect that gets those links followed.
Again, you're working too hard for your money. We have a Thank You and now a "Like" or "Share" option to replace having to commit the valueless one-liner.
Now I will say that if you do this only once in a great while, it's probably ok, but think about how to add value to the conversation.
Level 3 - The Linky Loo
A Linky Loo is someone who posts a more "thought-out" post, but you can obviously tell the purpose of said post is to get high-quality backlinks to a site.
You can tell a Linky Loo by the key words in their post that link to a website, or sometimes someone with a really low post count and targeted backlinks in their signature (we shouldn't even allow a sig file until someone has contributed 25 posts of some value first IMO).
This person is a victim of "Ooh, ooh, if I get my links in 50 posts on 7 forums, my site will start ranking and getting traffic from people clicking on my links" Syndrome. Not good.
Now, this Level is a little tricky, because there are really honest people who are smart Affiliates and really do intend on creating value and discussion here at the forum. These are not Linky Loo's...and you can usually tell because they are asking questions and participating in the forum discussions...as well as adding value through well-written and well thought-out articles.
If you are a Linky Loo, you are again working way too hard for your money. People don't click on your links because you place them there, they click on your links because you earned the click. Think about that.
Level 4 - The Participator
This is the majority of the Forum membership IMO.
They participate (what a novel concept huh?) in the forum discussions, ask questions, and post some valuable content themselves. They don't really expect anything in return for their contributions, and feel good about helping others and being helped by the community.
The links in their sig files get clicked because they demonstrate leadership or add value to discussions...but it's a natural process to get these clicks...not a forced one.
Some of my best friends online have come from this group.
Level 5 - The Thought Leader
Specialized expertise, and sharing that expertise are the name of the game here.
The people in this category share valuable articles and content on a regular basis, or have specific track records of past success and share when they can (not every Thought Leader has much time to share).
They typically get a lot of "Thanks" and now "Likes" from their posts...and some of their posts generate a lot of discussion and participation.
They lead discussions about the industry we love, and don't post with any expectation of getting their links clicked (nor SEO benefits) at all. The funny thing is, they get both of those benefits way more often than level's 1-3, and as much as or more than level 4.
Being social in a forum and getting the results that come with it...who'd a thought?
Listen, I didn't write this post to alienate anyone, mainly as a general guide so you can identify which category you might fit in...and to help identify others in specific categories. If you feel alienated, some self-analysis might be in order, but please accept my apologies as that wasn't the intention here.
Enjoy and participate in this wonderful creation and opportunity called 5-Star Affiliate Forums.
