Networking is a very important part of building your business. When you partake in this form of marketing, you are establishing yourself and your reputation, which in turn can be a big boost to your business. You can also make some new friends, which is also a plus.

Networking is when you come in contact with as many people you can to learn, share, promote, and form relationships with prospective customers. You want to talk about your business, but not blatantly advertise. Get to know others, learn from them, let them learn from you and get to know you. This is an excellent way of building a strong foundation for your business.

What you don't want to do is be a walking commercial. This will not get you very far in your networking. Do not spam when you are networking.

There are many effective and free ways of networking online. Message boards and discussion lists are the two ways I have found to be most effective.

*Discussion Groups*

When you subscribe to discussion groups make sure you follow the rules and guidelines for posting. You do not want to be accused of spam because you haven't read the rules. Most lists will allow a sig tag, which is a great way of advertising without spamming!

Introduce yourself and become an active member of the group. As you offer advice and help, people will begin to visit your business because of you and your willingness to help and your knowledge. This will help you build a respectful reputation.

You will also learn from other members. We can never do enough of that! I have found some lists to be invaluable in finding resources, and expanding my knowledge.

Listed below are a few of my favorite lists: mailto:entrepreneurs-network-exchange-subscribe@yahoogroups.com mailto:WahmHits-subscribe@yahoogroups.com mailto:digital-women-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

This is a list of discussion groups ranging from ezine publishing, to web promotion, to home business ideas. I have just joined most of these myself, but they sound like informative, helpful groups.

mailto:Computer_Help_and_Discussion-subscribe@yahoogroups.com mailto:makingtherun-subscribe@yahoogroups.com mailto:advert-subscribe@yahoogroups.com mailto:webclass-subscribe@yahoogroups.com mailto:1webmaster-subscribe@yahoogroups.com mailto:pirsumania-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

*Message Boards*

Message boards are similar to discussion lists, but are done on a website rather than through the email. The same advice applies. Read the guidelines and rules for posting. Do not just try to post an ad and never come back. Get involved with the conversations, meet people, learn from people, help them and offer advice when you can. Doing this type of advertising can add strength and solidity to your business. You will be trusted and people will listen to you when you recommend a product or resource.

Try to visit the boards regularly to keep abreast of the conversations and information. Post a question, answer or experience whenever possible. Never insult, belittle or put down a person because they do not agree with your opinion or ideas. Always treat people with respect!

Check out these message boards for some great networking:

The Effective Marketing Group Discussion Board http://www.marketingeffect.com/cgi-bin/forum/webbbs_config.pl

Kiki's Community Cafe
http://www.start-smartz.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi

Bizy Moms Message Center http://www.bizymoms.com/discus/

CyberMarketing Info Board http://www.bizweb2000.com/wwwboard/

Willie Crawford's Marketing Forum http://www.williecrawford.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi

Networking, although time consuming, can be a definite asset to your business because it allows people to get to know you. By doing that you can begin to form relationships that will be the foundation on which you can build a very successful business.

Terri Seymour owns and operates MyOwnEzine.com MyOwnEzine.com is a website, ezine and service which provides the resources, tools, guidance and more to help you start, publish and promote your own ezine. You can contact Terri at mailto:ter02@newnorth.net Subscribe at mailto:subscribe@myownezine.com or visit http://www.myownezine.com for lots more info.