Is fauna blogging smart for your business? How has your experience been at Fuana?

I am new to this forum so far I have met some really nice people. So far everything is going well for me here I really would like to here from some other peoples honest opinion, here some of there good or bad experiences as far as business and using Fauna Classifieds as a marketing tool.

Thank you,

Alek Hairapetian

I'm not one to bounce from forum to forum - there are two on which I participate regularly - I just don't have the time or desire to try to keep up with 5-6 different forums. I try not to do a lot of advertising, but I do most of it on this site. I generally only turn to KS when I have a lot of babies on hand, and decide it's time to sell them (for me, that can mean the babies will be anywhere from 2 weeks to 8 months old, depending on the species).

My participation here gains me a good deal of business, and probably costs me darn near as much, lol. It takes time to become part of an online community, and there really is no way around that. Participation is what creates the comfort level, builds confidence, and develops reputation - without those things, we're just one name out of thousands. Like in the real world, if you are putting yourself out there, people will form opinions. They may or may not like you; and that can certainly impact your sales. Just be true to who you are - people can only fake it for so long, and when others find out you aren't what they thought...(LOOKOUT!!)

Seriously, though - if you have to ask whether participation on a forum is smart for your business, you probably need to take a closer look at how you are presenting yourself.

probably costs me darn near as much

1) in my role as moderator, I tick a lot of people off
2) in my role as moderator, a lot of people tick me off
3) as a member, I periodically express how I deal with my business transactions
4) as a member, I see how others deal with their business transactions
Anything people don't like about me, or how I do things, can cost me business...and, by the same token, anything I don't like about somebody can ultimately cost me business; because I have no qualms about turning down sales.

I agree with Harald for the most part. I guess using Fauna as a marketing tool depends upon how "big" you want your business to be. As a small time hobbiest, Fauna has been great for me. I first joined, geez, nearly six years ago now when I first started breeding leopard geckos. It's been a great community, both for me to keep up to speed with issues in the reptile community (in terms of legislation, new morphs, changes in breeder status, knowing the good/bad guys, etc.) and as a way to get in touch with others who share similar interests.

Now, there are benefits and disadvantages to this. As a "little guy," I need to build up my reputation somehow. A typical business would do this merely by providing excellent service. But considering I may only make 2-3 sales a year, this method doesn't really work for me. Instead, getting active on the forums, letting people know who I am, that I'm accountable, and perhaps most importantly easy to get a hold of is my way of letting people know that I take what I do very seriously and I will stand by my word in any transaction.

This is great feed back and I appreciate it 100%. I am new to the Blog advertising or politics, it is different, because you really cant see the persons true emotion when they discuss or write something about a person. I think that is the down fall, to online marketing, or blogging. I play around a lot, meaning I like to have fun, because life is to short to be so serious all the time.

I really miss mom and pop businesses, you know when you walk in the store, you know the name of the owner, they ask about your kids or family. people need to go back to that.

That is just me, I guess. I like to see a kid smile when he or she has their 1st new baby bearded dragon.

I am glad I am getting back into it.

I consider sites like Fauna to be more like the "mom and pop" stores. Sites that are mainly classifieds tend to be more like a corporation where no one knows who you are from that site, only if they know you from outside that classified ad.

Granted, I don't participate on the Kingsnake forums, but I look at their classifieds. Not sure how many post in forums vs just looking at ads.

Fauna on the other hand tends to be more like a group of folks who know each other a bit, hang out and chat about reptiles and all sorts of things, and oh yeah, here's some ads for stuff for sale. So when you're a member, posting on threads, chatting in the chatroom etc... then when you post ads, people have more of a tendancy to see your ad and think "Hey, I want to see what they've got" and more of a tendancy to think of one of the people here when someone outside the site says "I'm looking to buy a X, know anyone trustworthy with one for sale?" It's more familiar than just posting ads somewhere. It's part of the reptile community, instead of a site for reptile classifieds.

I'm really only active on two reptile sites, although I'm a member on several others. I tend to return to sites that I enjoy being around.

I have sold snakes through the two sites I frequent the most(and through a couple other nice sites I am a member of, in the past). In addition, when I started making snake hides for fun, I immediately had a lot of interest shown in possibly buying extras, should I start producing them. This tells me that people pay attention to what's going on with other members here. I'm certain that if I had made extra hides and posted them for sale on a sales site, I would have had little interest in the ads. Mentioning them 'in passing' here got a lot of interest.

So, after you've slogged through all this rambling typing, the end result is, Fauna has been helpful in myself making sales and contacts.

*look, no mention of cake!*

Originally Posted by Wolfy-hound

I consider sites like Fauna to be more like the "mom and pop" stores. Sites that are mainly classifieds tend to be more like a corporation where no one knows who you are from that site, only if they know you from outside that classified ad.

I think that explains it. I do like cake, and Edgar Allen Poe

@ Wolfy-hound, you made some great points!

Thank you for that.

I believe that this forum has the largest pool of hands-on reptile experience that you can find anywhere online. You get to know who knows what, and where to go with a question, no matter how complex. Sure, once in a while, someone will make a hobby of elaborating upon subjects about which they know nothing, but they are quickly flushed out.
Don't underestimate the value of the BOI either. Nothing will save you more money and heartache.
So, hang around, ask, learn, teach, be honest, be respectful, try not to impulse buy too often, and I think you'll really like it here! It's a pretty great group, in my opinion.

Noelle

Originally Posted by rcarichter

I believe that this forum has the largest pool of hands-on reptile experience that you can find anywhere online. You get to know who knows what, and where to go with a question, no matter how complex. Sure, once in a while, someone will make a hobby of elaborating upon subjects about which they know nothing, but they are quickly flushed out.
Don't underestimate the value of the BOI either. Nothing will save you more money and heartache.
So, hang around, ask, learn, teach, be honest, be respectful, try not to impulse buy too often, and I think you'll really like it here! It's a pretty great group, in my opinion.

Noelle

And to everyone who doesn't like Fauna/the BOI.

One thing I have learned about in life is respect. So, far I see the owner of Fauna really cares about this forum and their members. I like that and have all the respect for people who speak strait and look at things in a full spectrum/both sides. I also respect the fact he understands what a down economy means and needs to help people out in a time in need. Not a lot of companies do that. I am a person who lost everything due to the economy crash. I am thankful when other people want to help others get back up even if they do not realize they are doing it. I am really starting to like the people here. This input will not be taken lightly.


Thank you