Why Free Discussion Boards Suck ;)

I've seen a lot of destructive things come down the pike since I started marketing online in '96... ...But, hands down, the biggest potential time-waster, the biggest source of discontent, envy, hatred and malice, all wrapped into one place is... Free Discussion Boards!

Let me clarify, and don't "tune me out" before I explain. :) In the *right* setting, I'm a big fan of discussion boards.

...Usually that means that the board is operated inside a password protected directory, like in paid membership site, or where posters are carefully screened and moderated by the board owner to keep out riff-raff and losers.

But, that's it. In most cases, the free discussion boards that abound online are at best a massive time-suck, and at worst, an obsession that keeps you from getting anything done and drive you out of business.

The reasons are simple, but before we get to that, let me tell you a personal story: Never, Ever Take Business Advice from Someone Driving a Gremlin!

A few years ago, during my college days at BYU, there was a financial "network marketing" company going around that had a lot of "followers".

One of my friends from my freshman dorm joined, and went at it whole-hog. He rented an office, he paid his money to go to all the conventions in Hawaii, he paid to get licensed, he paid for the brochures... And He never made a single dime!

Not one. ...And he kept at it, trying his best for over 2 years. He also drove a beat-up AMC Gremlin and was pretty much flat broke!

Can you imagine the difficulty of his task?

Trying to sell financial products to middle-class families, but when you show up to their home for your appointment -- you get out of a Gremlin??

 In a face-to-face situation, it's common sense that you would weigh somebody's input and opinion on financial matters by their own financial success, right? It's just obvious.

So why is it that when that this guideline just goes out the window when we talk about "free discussion boards"?

Let me give a few appropriate examples, with all the names changed to protect the guilty ;) On one *very* popular Internet Marketing discussion board, the number of posts made by each member is tracked... Along with the date they joined, a little bio about them, and a link to their website. Doing a little research I found something shocking... Two of the top five most prolific posters have yet to make any real money online...

How do I know? Simple:

A) Neither one has an operational website

B) Between the two of them, they have made over 5,000 posts

C) Both of them have even asked for financial donations -- right on the board!

Now, something doesn't add up here. The board is supposed to be about making money online, and you would *assume* that if someone took the time to make over 2,500 forum posts (which both of them did) they'd have to be making *something* online, right?

Wrong! When it comes to free discussion forums: The More Someone Posts, the Less Chance There is That They Have a "REAL" Business Online That Makes ANY Money!

Now, there are exceptions to this, but I can name them on one hand.

(The board owner and a *few* truly benevolent successful marketers that try to lend a hand when it's needed..) It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

Most of the people posting are "wannabes". They spend all of their disposable income buying the latest ebook, the newest SE software, and then they go on the forums to dispute and argue the relative merits of each...

...And they never even bother to DO anything, or get any of their grandiose ideas off the ground, or to test out the ideas that they read.

Don't fall into the trap of wasting all of your productive hours monitoring, reading and posting in that type of environment. Forums are addictive, so be careful.

Here are the only free discussion boards that I'd recommend visiting and occasionally interacting on:

1) Anthony Blake's Entrepreneurial Success Forum http://www.ablake.net/forum

2) The Warrior Forum (This one isn't actually even a free board. You're supposed to be a member to be able to access it, but it has a gazillion links to it in any search engine.)

Warmly, Kirt Christensen & Terry Dean http://www.netbreakthroughs.com

P.S. Feedback on this article? Drop us a line! P.P. S. "You've got to be before you can do, and you've got to do before you can have." (Zig Ziglar)