6 Simple Tips On Replying To Advice Threads

It seemed only right that if I was going to write 6 Simple Tips On Asking For Advice that I would do another for replying. The following is a list of six helpful tips aimed at replying to advice threads or questions, and builds on my post about asking for advice

1. Read it first.
It’s impossible to offer useful advice if you don’t actually read it first, but also you should read the replies to see if any new information has come up or see what else others have suggested so that you can build on the conversation rather than simply repeating what’s been said. This is not to say that if you agree with someone don’t post, but if you do say that you do and build on that.

2. Ask questions.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions before making an actual reply to the thread. Sometimes you don’t have all the information you need, sometimes you need a little clarification on what someone meant, so on and so forth.

3. Say you’ll reply latter.
If you see a thread but don’t have the time to reply and intend to do so latter when you do, tell them. It can be very comforting to know that someone intends to offer advice, especially if there’s been few or no replies so far. It also offers a bump to a post, and posts with replies tend to encourage more replies.

4. Provide links.
There’s not always a need to write out a long post, where possible try to provide links to YouTube clips, blog posts, or other threads that may help. This is a great opportunity for this with blogs or channels to post links to your own stuff, it’s perfectly fine to do this, as long as it’s actually applicable to the discussion. You can also provide links to shops or products, however, you should always mention if it’s an affiliate link (at the time of writing this there was no rules against sharing affiliate links on this forum).

5. Mention experience.
If you can relate to the issue they have then mention this, people really do appreciate when a person speaks from personal experience. It is, after all, one of the major benefits to asking advice on a forum like this, you get to hear advice from people who’ve experienced something similar or can relate in some way.

6. Don’t assume.
Don’t assume they live where you do or have access to the products you do in the same price range you do, that they know about the online resources you do, or that they know about the online stores you do. If they knew everything you do they wouldn’t be asking, and it can make a person feel as if you’re talking down to them or that there’s some kind of special clique they’re not a part of even though you’re trying your best to help.

I hope this has been helpful. If you have any advice to add please do so as a reply.