FBC – 344 – Are forums a thing of the past?

Are forums a thing of the past?

Today we are going to talk about forums. Are they completely outdated? Are they even useful?

Should you spend some time on forums? It's funny but the younger generation who grew up with Facebook and Instagram, probably have no idea what a forum really is.

So here is my take on the whole thing.

All the details in today's episode.

If you are serious about finding a way to get a glimpse of true freedom and get as close as one can be, then click on the link below.

https://martinebongue.com/profit-machines

Key Takeaways

Forums are not dead. They evolved. While social media gives you breadth, forums give you depth and the kind of targeted audience that actually buys.

The best marketing on forums is not marketing at all. It is showing up, providing real value, and letting your expertise do the selling.

What I Actually Think About Forums in 2026

Here is my honest take after 20+ years online. Forums did not die. The attention moved, and most people chased it into places they do not own. I built four companies from Bali by treating community as an owned asset, not a rented feed. A niche forum or a private group still out-converts a cold ad because the people there already trust the room. I have watched this hold across 578+ conversations on my Freedom by Choice podcast with operators who quietly run six-figure businesses off one small, loyal community, and I unpack the economics of it in my Substack essays. The pattern that made it work for me is boring on purpose. Pick one platform you control, show up every week, and answer real questions in public. The wider point that community and word of mouth still beat paid reach on trust is one HubSpot keeps surfacing, and McKinsey ties it to retention and lifetime value. Forums are not a thing of the past. Ownership is the thing most people are missing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are online forums still useful in 2026?

Yes, but differently than before. Forums like Reddit and niche communities thrive because they offer depth that social media cannot match. For SEO, targeted traffic, and community building, forums remain a powerful tool.

Should I use forums for marketing my business?

Forums work best for building authority, not direct selling. Provide genuine value in niche communities, answer questions thoroughly, and let your expertise speak for itself. This creates trust that converts better than any ad.

What are the best forums for entrepreneurs?

Reddit (subreddits like r/entrepreneur, r/smallbusiness), Indie Hackers, and niche-specific forums in your industry. Focus on communities where your target customers actually hang out and contribute real value before promoting anything.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://anchor.fm/freedom-by-choice/support

Some people say man forums are so outdated and stuff, but I am always, always amazed about some people on the forums. So you have different types of people on forums.

So there are people who are not saying anything. So I sometimes I think I could be one of them. In most cases, I might actually ask a question or something like that. But there are some people who are just there and they don't necessarily start threads or something, but they will go and get information.

Forums are a great resource. I'll tell you afterwards how you can actually use forums, but it's actually a really good resource.

Then you have the trolls or, you know people who are just I mean, there are some people who are so angry. I'm like, dude, you don't have anything else to do during your day. Some people are there just to insult everybody. Oh, you idiot, you moron. And then this is a dumb question. And I mean, I'm like, dude, what? I mean, what's your problem? Like, you know, don't you have anything other to like anything better to do during your day?

So I see some of these people I mean, on this forum right now and there is this guy who's a leader. But I don't know what kind of leader this guy is because the only thing he does is call everybody an idiot pretty much the whole day. This guy must have a bitter and very sad life, I guess. I don't know.

But anyway, I actually spoke to someone who knows the dude, so I imagined the dude very differently. But like now it's quite young actually. I mean, this guy this guy is an idiot anyway.

There are a lot of different people, but there are some people. I mean, some of these guys, they're helping everybody. And I know some people ask me, dude, what what's their motivation? I mean, they're answering all the questions and stuff like that, you know, explaining everything they're doing and just sharing everything.

So for example, some dude shared something and was like, oh, man, this is really cool. You should try it. And I'm like, yep, sounds good. So yesterday I started trying it, but I hit a roadblock because his instructions were not super precise and it was using something that I'm not super familiar with.

So I asked the dude, I am like, well he actually said, well if you if you have a question or something, feel free to private message me and I'll help you. So that dude never answered. And in the comments, there was a guy, who said, oh, yeah, that's cool. I just set it up. I'll see how that goes. So I was like, well, you know what, let me try and ask this guy. Maybe he's nice enough to help me out a little bit.

So I sent him a private message saying, well, dude, seems like you nailed it. Can you help me out here? And the dude's been helping me for the last, I don't know, like hour, hour and a half. You know, he's like, yep, you do this and you do that. And now we're actually sharing information.

Just by talking to the guy I think we came up with a pretty good strategy. But he was nice enough to come and help me. You know, it's pretty cool.

Are forums a thing of the past?

So forums, I think if you make the right relationship and talk to the right people, you can get a lot of information and it can really help your learning curve. But the other thing is you could end up losing a lot of time if you're like going through thread after thread and people are saying nothing. You will lose a lot of time if you do this.

But also forums are a great research tool as well, because on forums, I mean, people are more honest because I mean, you're talking to your peers. So if you want to know what people are happy about and what people are not happy about, you should go and check some stuff and forums and you will find a lot of information.

About the Author

Martin Ebongue is the founder of martinebongue.com, an online business and lifestyle design blog focused on helping aspiring entrepreneurs build location-independent businesses. Since 2014, he has been creating and scaling online ventures across multiple niches, from digital products and affiliate marketing to SaaS and content platforms, while traveling the world. He shares the real-world strategies, tools, and systems that work, with a particular focus on AI-powered automation for solopreneurs. Follow him on YouTube, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

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