[Dale King]

Anywhere from 80-90% of people who join business forums are lurkers. It's a problem forum owners have been trying to overcome for years - how to get more members to stop lurking and start participating. Lurkers, I have a message for you. If you're looking to grow your business, there is great value to be derived from forum participation. I have personally generated tens of thousands of dollars from forum participation, and I've only been online for 18 months.

Look, you've already taken that first big step by joining. Take that next important step and start participating in the discussions.

If you want to grow your business, participating in forums is a great place to start!

Dale King

[OnTheWayUp]

You probably saw the ridiculous numbers today too. Over 200 people viewing one section of the forum and 20+ people online have accounts.

The bad thing is that many Lurkers also see the negative posts too, which probably makes them not want to join and be made to look like an idiot.

[OnTheWayUp]

Correct that, 32 members online right now, 657 guests.

[JonnyBoy]

Perhaps make it so you must be registered to view the majority (key areas) of the board?

[jmasters1691]

I like the way you think! I would participate more myself but sometimes I have no idea what you guys are talking about!

[stlsmoore]

I need to post more I've been absent the past few weeks working on IT certifications

[paul2145r]

I was once a lurker. Yes, I know, it is a tragedy!!

Many people start out as lurkers for the simple reason that they come across the forums looking for an answer to a specific question. Once they get the answer, they will often leave, not coming back until another query comes to mind, or a dilemma arises.

By participating, however, you are able to get a much wider view of any situation. About 30% of my early business came specifically from participating in forums. People would have questions, I would do my best to help answer them, and they would contact me for further collaboration.

[BizGuy]

Hi guys,

Yes, I agree, we would love to see more of the guests join in on the conversations. We are working on quite a few prizes and giveaways for our members which will help give an incentive to join which should help convince the guests to sign up. Its FREE!

So, for all of you that are just stopping in to view the conversations...jump in and join, it only takes 30 seconds to sign up and we would love to meet you all.

All the best,

Adam T.

[Dale King]

Originally Posted by jmasters1691

I like the way you think! I would participate more myself but sometimes I have no idea what you guys are talking about!

You can still chime in with your opinion. You can say something to the efffect, "I'm certainly no expert expert, but here's what I think."

And in many instances, you don't even have to do that, because many topics that are started are merely opinion topics anyway. So just voice your opinion.

Dale King

[chillspike]

I lurked, I joined, "mjohns" flamed my thread, the mods removed my thread.

Sorry, I won't participate in any forum where someone like "mjohns" is allowed to continue his membership. He MUST be BANNED or I'm not coming back!!! Sorry, that's my policy.