Effective Forum Post Exchanges

Shadab · # 1 (**permalink**)

Post Exchange is an agreement between two or more Forum owners. It's a partnership in which they post a certain number of threads / posts on each others' Forums. Usually forums are difficult to start and get going. When you create a new Forum you need to post some quality content in it, to attract users and build the member base.

If you don't want to spend too much on contests and paid posting or if you are on a low budget, then post exchange is best suited for you. You post in another Forum and in exchange it's owner posts in your forum.

Here are some tips on how to do / make effective forum posting exchanges :

Remember this : You get what you give. If you want quality content to be posted on your Forum, then you must post quality content on the other Forum too. Make high quality on-topic posts / threads, and get the same in return.

Be a Member

Don't just register on the Forum, post X number of posts and leave. Act natural. Fill up your profile as you would do on any other Forum. Post an introduction thread (if a section for it exists) too, telling something about yourself (name, location, interests, job, etc...). Your conduct should be such that you are seen as a normal member, and not as some spam bot.

Show Trust

Many forum posting exchange deals begin with one owner saying "Once you start posting on my forum, I will start on yours". This is a bad partnership attitude to have. To avoid it, simply be the first one (without complaint) to start posting on the Forum. Be friendly to the exchange partner whether or not they are friendly or give good content.

If they don't post good threads / posts, simply finish your exchange with them and then never partner up with them again. This will show others you are mature, trustworthy and not the one to complain about what others give you. If you must confront the partner about the Post Exchange conditions or issues, do so in private with use of Private Messages or email or any Instant Messaging network. Do not create a drama in front of other users.

Tip : Start with a deal of small number of posts (10 to 20). And then strike a bigger exchange partnership
if you are satisfied with the quality of the post content which your partner posted on your forums.

Quality Posts

This is one of the most important guidelines to follow when doing a post exchange.The best posts to create are ones that keep the thread going. Tell a little story and ask questions relevant to it so the thread gets replies. Start a thread which has some scope of interaction; don't just post an article stub which nobody would be interested in.

Avoid making too many "one liner" replies or topics. One liner posts are simply posts with ~ 1-5 words that really doesn't ask a question or motivate the thread or add something to it (thread). Too much of one-liners can create a bad impression about you; and the other admin may not want to do a post exchange with you again in future.

Post more in unpopulated boards and threads to get them active. Be friendly to the fellow forum members and be on-topic. It is always a good idea to read the Forum's rules and regulations as well as individual sub-forums' posting guidelines (if any) to make sure you don't post any objectionable content.

pojr · # 2 (**permalink**)

This sounds like a nice idea. I think I will try this post exchanging thing.

HealthPerson · # 3 (**permalink**)

I think you bring up a lot of great points.

A lot of people end up paying people for posts too and there are more than a few sites that offer this service. It would be interesting to see some statistics on it, but I would bet that forums have one of the highest failure rates of any type of site.