Too many fisherman, not enough fish.

You ever get the feeling that the only thing in the lake is more fisherman?

The referral program I am currently working with recommends that I include my link in the signature block on 'work from home' forums. I couldn't help but smirk at the irony, considering the vast majority of the members on this forum, as well as many other forums, are here to learn about attracting traffic to their own links, and have their own links in their signature blocks. In other words, if everybody is here to get clicked, who is doing the clicking?

I know these forums will be a good opportunity to learn, but as far as attracting traffic is concerned, I feel like posting a link would be somewhat of a futile enterprise.

Any thoughts?

You're so right in the FEELING but not in the reality.
First, many come here to learn, or share what they know.
Second, the signature link can add weight to your own URL.
Third, visitors that are not members do sometimes click links.
And believe it or not, members do visit other members websites.
So yes, there are lots of fishermen, but new fish are born every day.

I like the title of your post and the question it poses.
A good debate to have here.
Welcome to the forum.

Good to know. Thanks for the reply!

I seem to be getting that feeling more often than not. I get the impression that many of the venues recommended to me for acquiring traffic are already over-saturated with others doing the same. Sites like Craigslist and Yahoo Answers even have clauses in their terms, prohibiting the posting of referral programs, mlm programs, etc.

And of course in the venues which allow it, I will be posting my link among an ocean of links.

Is there hope?

The Internet is a very big Sea and there are a lot of fish in the sea who are not making money online yet. There is competition, but there are still fish.

I think there is enough to go around and as far as too many fishermen, in my world that is scarcity mentality and it doesn't serve me.

Each and every post on here has the chance to rank in Google. That means that it's not just members here, but those that surf the web have the chance to view the post, most likely for years to come. If they like what you say, you will get traffic.

I get a bit of traffic from here, but mainly I get great ideas for blog posts! That is what keeps my site growing and attracting traffic.

Chasing traffic isn't the only way to get clicks and conversions.

lol, Well played sir! That's good advice. Now the trick is to create some bait that doesn't look like bait : )

You make a great point, that this forum will be around for years. Here's to 10 years of free advertising!
Where do you blog, and how's that workin out for ya?

You do have a point there and some forums are worse than others. But I think this is one of the better ones. People actually seem interested in giving advice instead of going straight for the pitch like some other forums I could name. And while most of the members may have their own thing to promote, that's not to say they're not open to new opportunities.

Also my guess is that people that come here looking for answers through google, won't bother becoming a member. They'll find want they're looking for and move on, so it's hard to say how may fish there actually are. Maybe your signature can be what they're looking for

My websites were built by a gentleman on a forum! I paid him for his services so it was win/win. I also bought a rebuilt computer from a forum member. I am not just a fisherman, I am also a fish.

Relationships are built in places like this. I also have a forum for women that is pretty popular. Yes I make money there, but the rewards there are far more than monetary! It's a tight knit community and the women there are just amazing! Priceless the sharing and support that goes on there.

I think if you want to be a fisherman, you also have to be willing to be a fish at times.

Whatashipls, blogging is doing well for me. Two sites on wordpress and I also use Squidoo!

There are a lot more sides to this story, or how and where to fish.
We can cast a wide net and catch any kind of fish that comes along.
Or we can use a hook & bait (keywords) to attract a specific kind of fish.

We also have to consider where to fish for the type of fish we want.
Do we look for the fish we want in an Ocean, River, Lake, or Stream?
We can even pay to fish in private ponds stocked with fish ready to bite.

It also helps to have a guide who knows where the fish are.
There are many "gurus" who claim to know the way, some do.
Forums like this are a great place to learn from others' experiences.

I remember my old primary school motto from 55 years back that went something like this:
"There are as many fish in the sea as ever came out of it".
Sounds kind of stupid these days, but it made a lot of sense to a young audience in school assembly back in the 1950's. Maybe Internet Marketing will go the same way as the fish will not necessarily keep coming.

Product differentiation is a problem as old as history itself. If you cannot successfully explain why your product/opportunity is better than others, it doesn't matter how many fish there are - they will find other places to go.

If you hang out at the lake with other fishermen, you're sure to hear lots of "fish stories"

But you can also expect to pick up bits of wisdom and useful guidance about fishing in general, and fishing for specific species of fish in particular.

It is a really BIG lake and it's seeded with every species of fish known to man. Not every fisherman is tossing his net or line for the same catch. So you'll be exposed to a variety of strategies, lures and baiting techniques that you could adapt and apply to catching the type of fish you are looking for in your section of the lake.

Plus, wherever there are fishermen hanging out, you can be sure that people who want to learn how to fish, and those looking to buy fish are going to be close by.

Hermas

Wow, A8ch, you really took that fishing analogy and ran with it!

Fishermen are known to exaggerate the size of their catch.

I joined this forum 5 years ago and seldom visited, maybe once or twice a year at the most.

This time I stayed around a while and followed some of the threads. I like the discussions and as was said above it's not all pitch your program. This was interesting reading, looking forward to getting to know some of you.

Glad you popped in again and spent some time looking around. You've got some catching up to do!



Hermas

Thanks Hermas,

Could take a while to get up to speed and find my way around, but glad I spent the time.

I'm delighted with all the fishermen in this forum! I can't wait for the day that I have enough knowledge to really give back and help someone as much as I've been helped. It's amazing how much education you can get just by going through some of these threads...

As far as not enough fish...when I Google something, a lot of times the sites that come up seem to be repetitive info. I believe this is why it's so important to write of your own experiences, hence a way to have original content.

This will help to set the hook when the fish bite!