What is a forum?

There are so many different names for a “forum”. Some think of them as message boards or bulletin boards. Some call them threaded discussions, discussion boards or discussion groups while others call them conferences.

The simplistic definition of a forum is a place where people have the ability to start communication (in the form of threads) and reply to other people's threads. A member of the community in the forum posts a message, which is visible to everyone in that community. Once read, there is the option to post a reply, which can also be visible to the community. Thus, a discussion can build up without all users having to be online at the same time.

A forum can also have restricted areas for special members only.

The Sales Creator Network has three membership areas:

• Silver Members Forum
• Gold Members Forum
• Platinum Members Forum

All visitors to the forum can view it. But only members of the Forums can post comments.  In time these member forums will become restricted and only viewable by paid members. You will know if you have access to a membership forum because this message will display if you do not have permission to post a comment "You are not authorized to create a new topic."

First things First

What you will want to do is register for the forum. When you register for a forum you are creating a place for your information to be stored in the database. Most forums require 4 things at a minimum, these are:

1. Your Name

2. Your Email

3. A Username

4. A Password

You should always use an email that you check often when signing up for forums. The first reason for this is most forums require you to verify your email address before you can access the forum. This is to make sure you entered the right email address when you signed up. Also, as you will learn later on in the guide using an email you check often can make your forum experience as productive as possible.

We recomend you use your email address. Most marketers use the same username whenever they sign up for something. If you do not have a username that you use, we recomend that you use your email address as it is unique to you and easy to rememberit will be associated with you on the forum for as long as you are a member.

Your password should be one you can remember easily but it is hard to figure out. It is recommended not to use personal details as your password such as your spouses name, your child's name etc. these can be figured out and then someone can enter your account. If you want a great tool that will create passwords for you and save them so you don't have to worry about it I suggest you check out http://www.roboform.com/php/land.ph...frm=frame1

You will now be on the registration page. 

• Enter your Sign-in Name (email Address) that you want to use. Click in the box and type in your Sign-in Name. You can now hit tab to go to the next box, or just click in the next down. The only people who will be able to see your email/sign-in name are you and the owner of the forum.
• This is the box where you will enter your First Name.
• In this box enter your last name
• Next this is the box where you will enter your email address. Be sure it is one you check often. The only people who will be able to see your email are you and the owner of the forum.
• In the next box enter your password. Remember to write it down so you don't forget it.
• In the next box, reenter your password to make sure you got it right.
• The balance of the information that is required is so the we can send you your free gift once your membership has been confirmed.
• Next you will need to confirm that you have read the http://www.thesalescreator.net/Regi...fault.aspx">Privacy Statement and http://www.thesalescreator.net/Regi...fault.aspx">Terms of the forum by checking the box "I have read and accept the Privacy Statement and Terms of Use."
• and then click on the Register button.

Congratulations you have taken the first step to registering for The Sales Creator Network Forum.

Click on the Next Post to continue your Guide.

Verify your email address

In the previous post you have just completed signing up for a new Forum Membership at The Sales Creator Network.

You will now need to verify your email address. The email should look something like this.

You will see the subject line of the email you will get. It will be from:

TheSalesCreator.net New User Registration

and the email Body will look like this:

Dear New Member,

We are pleased to advise that you have been added as a Registered User to TheSalesCreator.net. Please read the following information carefully and be sure to save this message in a safe location for future reference.

Portal Website Address: www.thesalescreator.net
Username: New Member
Password: newmember
Verification Code: mJs00G/EEL

You may use the following link to complete your verified registration:

http://www.thesalescreator.net/Registration/tabid/2643/UserName/New%20Member/Default.aspx?VerificationCode=mJs00G/EEL

Please take the opportunity to visit the website to review its content and take advantage of its many features.

Thank you, we appreciate your support...

TheSalesCreator.net

After you have opened the email. You will see something similar to the example above. Again click on the link that looks like this: http://www.thesalescreator.net/Registration/tabid/2643/UserName/New%20Member/Default.aspx?VerificationCode=mJs00G/EEL this will activate your email. This email also contains

your username and password to the forum, so you may want to save the email for future reference.

After you click the link you will be taken to a login screen at The Sales Creator.net . Your username and verification code will already be entered. You will want to enter the password you chose.

In future you can Sign-in in the area at the top of the forum just click Sign-in. Enter your Username and your password in the box.

When you have entered the information in either of these click the login button below.

You should now be logged into the The Sales Creator.net website now just click on the Network Forum botton in the menu and you are ready to participate.

In the next post I will show you how to set up your forum profile.

Setting up your Profile

You are now logged into the forum. We are now going to set up your profile. This is an important step as it will allow you to add the websites you are promoting. This way whenever you add something to the forum, everyone will see your websites. OK, let's get started! The first thing you need to do is click the profile link at the top of the fourum. Please click the link now and scroll down for the next step.

The "About Me" should be open If you click the Edit button at the bottom of the page this will allow you to edit your personal or business profile.

• Website: This is where you will be sharing your websites to the world add your website, blog or other site details here.
• Location: your City, Town or even your suburb.
• Occupation: what you do in your business or job.
• Interests: activites you enjoy like sport or hobbies
• Avatar: You can add your own picture so when you start to use the forum, people can put a face with your username. This will help people associate you with your posts etc. someone might remember your face from the forum. If you have a picture on your computer somewhere, and want to upload it to our server, click on the Browse button next to the "upload Avatar" field you can search for your picture on your computer. When you find your picture click open and it will be ready for upload.
• Signature: Also in this section you can put your Signature. This will be shown underneath your posts. So if you have a motto or a favorite quote you can put this here.The signature is an area to put your website and title of your website which will be shown to others.
• Now click on the "Preferences " tab and set up how you would like the forum to display when you visit it.
• The "Forum Tracking" tab this is how you set up how you will be notified if someone replies to a post you make on the forum. As you can see there are several things listed. The first box should be checked, as this will allow you to receive announcements from the owner of the forum. Please also bear in mind that if you post a comment on a forum you will automatically start following it.

Click the Save button and your forum profile information will be saved.

You have successfully set up your profile, and now other members of the forum will be able to learn more about you every time you post. You have done a great job, and soon you will be a forum pro.