How to use forums (and Facebook groups)

[Andy Black]

I saw this first hand today. A guy I live with just loves to help people in the area he is an expert in. It's easy for him to do (through fb groups) and I can see he genuinely loves that it takes him one minute to stop people from making a mistake that would cost them thousands and months of work.

Some people do ebooks on what he is doing and charge a few bucks for it. He just got a msg offering him between 500 and 1k for a little extra 1 on 1 help. That's a lot of ebook sales they need to make to catch up to him

He's an English teacher overseas, that's a nice little amount of cash for him.

Perfect example.

See thread PM me...

 

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[Aaron T]

I'm going to braindump some of my learnings about using Forums and Facebook groups.

Spammers won't get it, but I'll direct them here and they may slow down long enough to learn something.



For those trying to "validate a need" (I kinda hate that phrase), then forums and Facebook groups are a fantastic resource. Not only do people nicely group themselves for you, but they'll chatter about problems and issues they have. They'll also ask questions and you can respond by answering them.

I've produced a ridiculous amount of evergreen content by chattering away in forums, noticing where I repeat myself, then creating threads to point to in future instead of repeating myself.

In case you didn't spot the parallel to building a business:

1. I find and engage the market - where they are already.
2. I respond to questions and problems people already have.
3. I immediately help people instead of "building stuff".
4. If I find myself answering the same question over and over again - I go create a solution that I can point people to all the time.
5. Before I create the thread (solution) I already know it will help lots of people - because it's a need that many people have already had.
6. The content (solution) was created out of solving real-world problems, rather than solving problems I think people have.

Added benefits:

1. I immediately start getting known as "The XYZ Guy" - because I help people with XYZ.
2. People already start reaching out to me about XYZ problem.
3. People already start referring me to others who have XYZ problem.

Why create a blog and try and find out what content helps people and resonates with people when you can go help people immediately in a busy forum or Facebook group?

Why stare at a blank page struggling to create a new blog post when you can help people immediately in a forum or Facebook group?

Why try and get your blog ranked when a forum already has a much better SEO juice than you'll likely ever get.

Finally... if your goal is to help people and build relationships (hint: do this and get paid then you're in business), then why the feck don't you do that immediately instead of "building stuff"?

Shhh... you are giving away all our secrets!

Ok just kidding. Keep giving them away. It will only mean something to those truly committed anyway. Love it!

 

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[MattR82]

I've produced a ridiculous amount of evergreen content by chattering away in forums, noticing where I repeat myself, then creating threads to point to in future.

If I find myself answering the same question over and over again - I go create a solution that I can point people to all the time

How specifically did you do this with Facebook groups rather than forums? Comment with advice on different posts created by others and if you ended up repeating yourself enough to see a need, creating your own post that you can tag people in within a forum whenever it pops up again? I don't think you can post a link to another post within that group like you can on a forum, can you.

I saw a post the other day in a group (you may have seen it too, I think you are in this particular group) where someone mentioned his success from helping people with questions in groups but also offering a free "strategy session" call as a follow up (I think after they already initiated a private message) where he would give advice for free, make a soft offer (maaaybe) and if it isn't right for them to still leave the call at the end with 3 things they can work on right now to get on the right path and help solve their problems. Even though his post on this was supposed to be informative of what can be achieved by doing this, he received almost 400 likes, tonnes of positive comments and tagging of others in comments, and a solid few days of doing nothing but replying to responses and messages caused by this post in itself asking for free strategy sessions (of which about 1/3 convert).

Interested to hear your thoughts on this, but I think it's a bit pushier than what you talk about in your pm me thread (I should have read that again before posting this, will do so again now). I haven't really done his post justice though with my poor attempt at describing it. It really didn't come across as a guy trying hard to sell people, but more like what helping people on groups with problems without expecting a return can lead to.

 

[MattR82]

Rep+. Thanks for all your thoughts and taking the time to write them.

I may have a play with webinars or live. I did a Periscope once and had a ball, even thought everyone who joined did so completely randomly and I was fielding random questions.

Ahh thanks, my first rep..

 

[eagleye101]

Apart from using Facebook groups for helping people and identifying pain points, I can't believe how much I learn from being in them. I purposely stopped following most friends and my feed is full of comments and questions from groups. Now instead of using Facebook to waste time I'm always learning. It's such an easy and enjoyable way to do it. Pretty much every waking hour of the day I'm learning some serious gold.

On that note I would agree 100% but I noticed that again when there's too much of something, even if it's good, it becomes noise. Maybe because I have a more minimalist mindset but being in plenty of fb groups, I find myself "saving" plenty of posts for later and later becomes never. So I started to remove myself from groups that, even if they were good, I decided to be only in the best groups. (btw, would you guys share some of the fb-groups you consider top? I could, but I don't know if that would be against the forum rules.)

About unfollowing friends, I have done that too. Either way, the image people share on facebook is BS so if I want to catch-up with someone I just call or go out.

So my fb-feed is something like this:

• post from page I like
• fb-ads (L.P.T. if you remove the "gender" on your about section, you will avoid ~60% of the ads that are gender targeted)
  
• post from group
• repeat

 

[azsno]

How to use forums (and Facebook groups)

I'm going to braindump some of my learnings about using Forums and Facebook groups.

Spammers won't get it, but I'll direct them here and they may slow down long enough to learn something.



For those trying to "validate a need" (I kinda hate that phrase), then forums and Facebook groups are a fantastic resource. Not only do people nicely group themselves for you, but they'll chatter about problems and issues they have. They'll also ask questions and you can respond by answering them.

I've produced a ridiculous amount of evergreen content by chattering away in forums, noticing where I repeat myself, then creating threads to point to in future.

In case you didn't spot the parallel to building a business:

1. I find and engage the market - where they are already.
2. I respond to questions and problems people already have.
3. I immediately help people instead of "building stuff".
4. If I find myself answering the same question over and over again - I go create a solution that I can point people to all the time.
5. Before I create the thread (solution) I already know it will help lots of people - because it's a need that many people have already had.
6. The content (solution) was created out of solving real-world problems, rather than solving problems I think people have.

Added benefits:

1. I immediately start getting known as "The XYZ Guy" - because I help people with XYZ.
2. People already start reaching out to me about XYZ problem.
3. People already start referring me to others who have XYZ problem.

Why create a blog and try and find out what content helps people and resonates with people when you can go help people immediately in a busy forum or Facebook group?

Why stare at a blank page struggling to create a new blog post when you can help people immediately in a forum or Facebook group?

Why try and get your blog ranked when a forum already has a much better SEO juice than you'll likely ever get.

Finally... if your goal is to help people and build relationships (hint: do this and get paid then you're in business), then why the feck don't you do that immediately instead of "building stuff"?

So obvious I overlooked this approach! I do have a FB page, blog, and a separate forum, but no followers as of yet! I'm going to join a couple of FB groups related to my content and link it from time to time to build that audience!

 

[azsno]

Don't build an audience? Build relationships?

Correction: Relationship! Changing my mindset seems easier than it is, but even referring to customers as an audience rather than relationships, automatically dismisses them as a spectator rather than a consumer involved in the process! Thanks for the reminder!

 

[MattR82]

It's super simple to stand out though.

Never ask people to PM you.

Never plug your course or services.

Add value with no expectation of anything in return.

Exactly.

Was just bombarded by these guys the last few weeks so thought it was worth a mention.

 

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[azsno]

Blimey... and then this post popped up straight after: Stop Building Stuff

A little update, other than joining a couple of groups and posting a one time link to my blog in these groups I haven't done anything to promote my writings as of yet. The more I get into it, the more I wonder if the information I have to share is even valuable to these people, as every person in my field seems to think they already know everything! I have had about 55 visits to my blog, and one who has given good feedback. I'm wondering if switching direction, and creating an automotive parts sales site, that will translate into a brick and mortar is the more feasible option at this point.

 

[MattR82]

Man, things are getting out of control in Facebook groups now. Maybe it's just me, but I've noticed the change in the last 3 months. People are starting to get seriously fed up. The value is dropping and using it for selling, no matter how well they try and hide it, is on the rise. A few good groups are plain garbage now. Poor admin is also to blame.

 

[Andy Black]

Man, things are getting out of control in Facebook groups now. Maybe it's just me, but I've noticed the change in the last 3 months. People are starting to get seriously fed up. The value is dropping and using it for selling, no matter how well they try and hide it, is on the rise. A few good groups are plain garbage now. Poor admin is also to blame.

I'd say that's all down to poor admin? @Fox has a swift ban hammer and that keeps his group a valuable resource.

Hmm... maybe I should correct that. Is it down to Facebook groups becoming a "channel" for lead generation, and admins now have to fight hard to keep the spammers and trolls out of their groups?

And trying to find the why behind the why... Why are Facebook groups (becoming?) such a big channel for spammers now?


Immediately after my last post I wondered if other producers (of content) might be losing the will to live in Facebook groups too? Are they also dropping out as they find themselves consuming too much?

Anyway... my business is helping DFY folks, who are typically busy business owners who are less likely to be found on Facebook in the first place.

I don't feel like I'm on a slippery slope now.

 

[giovanni93]

Thank you for this post! I've been told that I should make a survey or some ability to gauge whether the service I plan on offering is in need, so this provides me with the information I need to get closer to the demographics I am trying to reach.

 

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[Andy Black]

Thank you, you're correct! I just read the section in Unscripted about the Wonder Twins and about being in business to provide value and helping others, reinforcing the purpose. So, yes, reaching out to those I aim to help.

I came upon this thread when you posted the link in the thread about surveys and forums/Facebook groups. Do you believe a "feasibility study" is required when determining if your business is offering value? The business I am trying to create is a directory service, so I met with my new mentor recently to get his thoughts and he suggested I create a survey to truly determine if there is a need by customers and see if on the other hand business owners would be willing to cooperate and provide their information.

I just replied to something similar on the inside. I'll drop it in a post on the outside and link to it from here.

For some reason I doubt @MJ DeMarco surveyed loads of limo company owners to find out if they wanted to be in a directory.

Hint: No-one wants to be in a directory. They just want more leads and sales.

 

[giovanni93]

I just replied to something similar on the inside. I'll drop it in a post on the outside and link to it from here.

For some reason I doubt @MJ DeMarco surveyed loads of limo company owners to find out if they wanted to be in a directory.

Hint: No-one wants to be in a directory. They just want more leads and sales.

That was my thought process too, thank you

 

[Andy Black]

An example of a post dropped into a Facebook group where a cleaning biz owner asked how to grow his business without advertising.

It’s probably taken me 30 minutes to write this (or more?).

Now I’ll reuse the heck out it and post to other Facebook groups of cleaning biz owners. Why? Because I don’t see this as self promotion but as doing them a disservice by not posting.

Growing your business without spending money on advertising

 

[Andy Black]

THANK YOU for posting. I believe that this aproach is also a blueprint for business in general. Businesess are built for people not for profit, at least they should be constructed this way. Profit is just an indicator of how much value you offered. Profit is a symptom.

It's paradoxical how in order to care for our needs we have to take care of the needs of others

Your post helped me directly as I recently started a personal blog and my main traffic source is FB (also considering blogs now). You helped at least one person here. Once again, thank you!

Thank *you* for reading and your thoughtful reply.

As @MJ DeMarco has said “Money is proof you helped your fellow man.”

One of my favourite quotes, along with Mother Theresa’s in my signature.



EDIT: “Profit is a symptom.” Powerful quote.


EDIT2: Mindset shift: don’t call it traffic.

 

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[Pat D. Rick]

This Thread is amazing. Thanks for the gold nuggets.

Of course I already am in some Facebook groups and already tried to help some of the people there. But here's where I struggle:

Maybe it's just that the german market is simply smaller, thus fewer people who post their problems, but somehow I can't find more than 3 relevant facebook groups about google ads, for example.
Finding Forums is even worse. I was looking for an online business forum in Austria. Eventually I found one, but it has only 5 (!) members.
I joined anyways because 5 is still bigger than 0. So I'm now their 6th member xD

How do you guys go about this? How do you find "enough" people that you can help with your expertise?

 

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[Andy Black]

This Thread is amazing. Thanks for the gold nuggets.

Of course I already am in some Facebook groups and already tried to help some of the people there. But here's where I struggle:

Maybe it's just that the german market is simply smaller, thus fewer people who post their problems, but somehow I can't find more than 3 relevant facebook groups about google ads, for example.
Finding Forums is even worse. I was looking for an online business forum in Austria. Eventually I found one, but it has only 5 (!) members.
I joined anyways because 5 is still bigger than 0. So I'm now their 6th member xD

How do you guys go about this? How do you find "enough" people that you can help with your expertise?

As a Google Ads Guy, I cant stand being in Google Ads groups. The conversation is boring, argumentative, and too many people are pitching.

I much prefer being in business groups where the conversation is good and where I can take off my coat and stay a while.

 

[Pat D. Rick]

As a Google Ads Guy, I cant stand being in Google Ads groups. The conversation is boring, argumentative, and too many people are pitching.

I much prefer being in business groups where the conversation is good and where I can take off my coat and stay a while.

Got it and I see that you can help people in various situations. But then again, how do they identify you as the Google Ads guy and come back to you with their problems?

 

[ideasunlimited1]

I’m not in any groups trying to be any type of guy. It’s just that over a period of time of helping folks they get to know what I’m good at. Find groups you want to be in, and join in the conversation. Become a valuable member, someone people want to engage with.

I absolutely agree. Facebook and LinkedIn ads can be good, I'm not knocking them, but I've had a lot of great networking and responses on forums just because my strengths do lie in people skills. A lot of people crave that customer service aspect that tends to go missing in digital marketing. A key reason for the success of forums is that authenticity: people have to invest in one another and glean lessons from each other. If you put in the value, you will get it back. I love knowing there are actual people on the other side of the screen with lives, and they can tell me what matters to them or the real world practice of certain things.

 

[Andy Black]

u know what im gonna go to the Unity2D reddit once a day to see if i can help people,
thanks andy.

Sounds good. Let us know how you get on.

You may find this call interesting:

• Who have you helped?

 

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[luniac]

well i've helped a few people on reddit with Unity questions, got some thank you's, i guess that feels decent.
got 1000+ views on my answers on quora, but i often give really quick off the cuff answers, usually 1 sentence long and witty or sarcastic. Sometimes i give a better answer with a link to a resource.
sometimes i see a quora question asking whats a good app to download or play, and i plug my quick math game lol.
I did get a spike in downloads over the past few days, is it related? maybe lol

 

[100ToOne]

Thank you amazing thread.

 

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[Rawseed]

Question to ponder: "How can I 10x the number of people I help in one day?"

Great thread!

Love the above question.

Something I'm going to reflect on continuously from now on.

 

[Akshay Kumar]

One of the best threads I have seen so far on this forum. Thanks for your valuable inputs, @Andy Black sir.

 

[Andy Black]

Should we focus on just one social network?

I've had a few conversations recently about whether it's better to stick to one platform/ watering hole, or spread yourself across many.

I don't consider myself a social media dude, and am literally making this up as I go along, but here's what I replied about my experience to date:

...

I've been in TFLF for 3.5 years and posted over 4,500 times. It was my "one place" online for all that time.

Now I've started posting in other places I've been surprised how many forum members have recognised me in those other places and commented. (Having my name as my avatar certainly helps with that!)

I've also had a lot of people PM me from those new places who've never come across me before but like my content.

To date I've not intentionally used the content to sell, but to just help people, and be a part of the community in TFLF.

Unintentionally, I stumbled across what many already know - that helping people with XYZ gets you known as "The XYZ Guy/Gal" and people then start referring you to other people.

And that posting un-related but helpful stuff just helps people to know you and your values better.

I also found I was repeating myself so created posts that I could link to repeatedly.

When I was in a few Facebook groups I linked out to threads in TFLF because I didn't want to repeat myself. I've since realised content should be native and added into each platform and tailored to the platform and new community (thanks @Fox).

I've recently started posting on LinkedIn, and have already started getting likes, comments, PMs, and enquiries.

If we stay on one platform then I think people on that platform would end up getting to know us better. And it would create more of a community if we owned that platform (forum, Facebook group, etc).

If I was to 10x my efforts then I could post 10x as much (or 10x the quality of the posts) in one place.

Or I could take the amount of content I create naturally and post it (selectively and more delicately than I have to date) in 10x locations.

Reddit? Quora? Twitter? Instagram? Why not? They're just more channels to the people that may or may not be helped by what I have to say. Each with their unique ways of working and etiquettes.

This reminds me of a podcast episode by Russell Brunson where he tells what he's learned from Gary V - that each social network and channel online is akin to the early TV channels. There's not that many (at the moment) and it's worth being on all of them.

Something else he learned is that LinkedIn people stay on LinkedIn. Email people like emails. Facebook people like Facebook. Russell was trying to get everyone from each platform onto his email list, but realised many people won't do that, and if they do, then they will not open the emails later on.

For me, I've produced content every single day for nearly 4 years. In TFLF, I've PMd over 1,500 people who've followed or rep' me. That just started with manners, and has lead to a lot of referrals and "good karma".

Writing for me gives me clarity. It's one of those things I can't NOT do it seems. Putting it on steroids for me could simply mean just posting it where it can help more people.

I see it as a bit of a disservice that I don't do that extra twist of posting wherever people happen to be - if what I post can untangle people and save them from losing money or time.

Maybe there's an 80/20 for content as well? 20% writing it, 80% publishing/distributing it?

Interesting re-reading this.

I heard something interesting last year:

"Instead of posting different things to the same people, post the same thing to different people."

 

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[Kal-El1998]

(Originally posted here.)


Here's a strategy I accidentally discovered: trawl the forum and help people there and then.

"Show don't tell" your expertise at XYZ.

Do it well enough so that other people start tagging you when someone gets stuck with XYZ problem.

Do it so you become known as "The XYZ Guy".


Rules of the game:

1) You can't say you're an expert in it. You can only show it.

2) You can't PM people offering help, or ask them to PM you. They have to PM *you* because they liked what you've done and want to know more.

What would you do differently, and how differently would it play out?

This one! This is the real deal!!

 

[David Fitz]

Had to bump this. This way too valuable.

 

[Andy Black]

Become the XYZ guy in the group. I joined a carpet cleaning group and I see one guy be constantly tagged as the Facebook ads guy. He must be getting a ton of business from that group.

Reuse content. People will ask the same questions so make a thread and then tag people in it and then post that thread on your other social platforms.

Just help people. Don't be spammy. I see it in the groups where guys come in and straight up ask "who needs help with their website" no one replies to them because it's spammy.

Yes. Great takeaways.

Get bonus points if the group owner tags you when someone struggles with XYZ.

 

[Swantzify]

How to use forums (and Facebook groups)

I'm going to braindump some of my learnings about using Forums and Facebook groups.

Spammers won't get it, but I'll direct them here and they may slow down long enough to learn something.



For those trying to "validate a need" (I kinda hate that phrase), then forums and Facebook groups are a fantastic resource. Not only do people nicely group themselves for you, but they'll chatter about problems and issues they have. They'll also ask questions and you can respond by answering them.

I've produced a ridiculous amount of evergreen content by chattering away in forums, noticing where I repeat myself, then creating threads to point to in future.

In case you didn't spot the parallel to building a business:

1. I find and engage the market - where they are already.
2. I respond to questions and problems people already have.
3. I immediately help people instead of "building stuff".
4. If I find myself answering the same question over and over again - I go create a solution that I can point people to all the time.
5. Before I create the thread (solution) I already know it will help lots of people - because it's a need that many people have already had.
6. The content (solution) was created out of solving real-world problems, rather than solving problems I think people have.

Added benefits:

1. I immediately start getting known as "The XYZ Guy" - because I help people with XYZ.
2. People already start reaching out to me about XYZ problem.
3. People already start referring me to others who have XYZ problem.

Why create a blog and try and find out what content helps people and resonates with people when you can go help people immediately in a busy forum or Facebook group?

Why stare at a blank page struggling to create a new blog post when you can help people immediately in a forum or Facebook group?

Why try and get your blog ranked when a forum already has a much better SEO juice than you'll likely ever get.

Finally... if your goal is to help people and build relationships (hint: do this and get paid then you're in business), then why the feck don't you do that immediately instead of "building stuff"?

Hi Andy,

Just want to thank you for this very insightful information! I am currently reading Unscripted : The Great Rat Race Escape and it has been motivating me to just move the needle with my business each day and really think about things differently.

For this past month, I have challenged myself to brainstorm and research products ideas outside of my originally intended business model before the book. I also created a website and one of my challenges this month was to "start blogging on my website". So far, I have come up with numerous "ideas" for blog posts, published 1 blog post, and created a draft for another.

The idea with the blog post for me was to begin to "build an audience" without really knowing what that meant for me and exactly which audience I want to start talking to quite yet. To put it frankly, I haven't been super focused in one direction this month as most of my focus has just been learning and research (trying to figure out what to do).

After reading your initial post, and continuing to read through this thread, I now have a better idea of how to focus my time more efficiently based on the products "ideas" I currently have. So, once again, thanks for that!

Interestingly enough, my questions have been answered, and the main point of this response was just to say thanks and tell a bit of a story.

 

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