Networking Your Way to Success

(This is a reprint from my now retired print magazine.  It was originally published in early 2006.)

While searching for information on how to promote my first business website, I found some great information at Internet Based Moms. While on the website I visited their discussion forum, otherwise known as a bulletin board. My eyes were wide and my jaw was dropped as I realized that hundreds – no, thousands – of other moms were out there trying to do the same thing I was: create a home business.

I joined the forum and read everything voraciously. Through the other women I met there I found that there were dozens of these forums peppered around the web on different websites that catered to the needs of home based business moms. I felt like my mother in a shoe store – I couldn’t wait to try them all on for size.

Why so many forums? Some of these message boards target a specific niche within this online work at home mom community, such as direct sales crafters, writers, web service providers, ebay moms or even affiliate marketers.

I learned everything about doing business online by hanging out on all of these different forums and asking questions. This online community is a warm and supportive environment. New moms just starting out are encouraged and advice flows freely. I not only credit the online networking forums for teaching me a great deal – I found almost all of my first clients there.

Forums have rules and expectations of appropriate etiquette.

Users are usually permitted to have a ‘Signature Line’ that follows every post or reply that they contribute. This is your virtual business card. My basic signature line says ‘Kelly McCausey, Work at Home Moms Talk Radio, http://www.wahmtalkradio.com’. It simply let’s me let others know who I am and what I do.

Similar to offline networking, overt pushing of what you have to offer is considered bad form. However, forum owners usually have a day set aside each week where advertising is welcome. It is what I affectionately call ‘Spam Day’. It’s the one time when you can ’spam’ others with your marketing messages. Even then, the community demands fair play. If you regularly contribute to other discussions, everyone is glad to receive your once weekly advertisement. If you only show up on ad day, you’ll find that it receives very little attention.

Some forums do not permit any form of advertising and prefer to keep the discussion at a ‘masterminding level’. They want to rub elbows with others who share their interests and not have someone showing up only to market themselves.

Moms on these forums are offering everything from gifts and toys to coaching and virtual assistant services. We don’t all buy from one another, but we do often make valuable connections. Pleasant business relationships are born every day in these communities as you meet someone who offers a complimentary product or service that you would be glad to recommend to your own clients and customers.

I first learned about internet radio on a networking forum. I found my show sponsor there as well. Every lucrative joint venture and business partnership I have participated in, were all formed after meeting the other individual online.

Online networking also takes place via business networks found on social networking websites like Ryze.com and Ecademy.  These sites have been a great source of learning and encouragement for it’s members.

A third source for online networking is found on email discussions lists. Google, Yahoo & MSN all host a multitude of topic driven discussion lists and there are many devoted to connecting work at home Moms. You can choose to follow threads of discussion through your email box or visit the discussion list home page to read messages online. Some of these groups generate hundreds of threads of conversation every day. I found these groups to be a goldmine of client leads when I was first starting out but in the last year or so, I had to admit that I was too busy to keep track of the discussions and dropped off of most that I had membership with.

There are also opportunities to network in live chats, using both text and voice conference rooms. Online expo events provide business owners with a chance to highlight their products or services to the group. They can even take questions and accept orders following their presentation. The interaction in these chats give everyone a chance to get to know each other better.

Online networking for the stay at home Mom with a home based business is not just a business tool, it is a connection with the outside world and fulfills an emotional need for fellowship.

For a full time internet marketer like me, its usually my only opportunity to discuss what I do with someone who will understand what I’m talking about.