One simple way of getting your products and services “out there” is to let people know about them in a very informal way. The best way to do this is to find forums, or bulletin boards, discussing things relevant to your business or expertise area. When you join one of these forums there is an area for you to customize what is called a “signature”. Just like with e-mails, the signature will show up at the bottom of each and every post you create on that board.

Register for the forum and start participating in the discussions. Once you have several threads of discussion under your belt, contact the forum’s administrators and see if you could help moderate the board. Moderating isn’t necessary to help improve your traffic, however.

This technique is especially useful for service providers.  One of the best ways to earn trust from potential clients is to provide solutions to their problems. When someone reads one of your discussion posts where you have helped another individual solve a problem, they may often be curious as to “where you come from” or what your background is. This is where the signature comes in.

A compelling and well-written forum board signature can generate hundreds of clicks, all for free. You don’t know how motivated these individuals may be to purchase your products or services, but this is where careful forum board choice is essential. Find well populated boards that discuss specifically the topics or product areas you sell. Then you have a highly targeted group of people that may be interested in finding out more about how you can help them too.  At the very least, the increased traffic will help you rank higher with search engines.