Ok so I started a forum and am at a lost of how to bring in new members. I am not sure if I can post a link so I wont but I need some help bringing it to life. Also I am using SMF, which I want to do VB but dont have the funds for it


Any suggestions for me?

Advertise.

Thats it really. Put your link in your signature on forums, if you have the funds then get some paid adverts on some sites, try putting it on stumble upon, almost all sites recieve an almost immediate (but varying) amount of traffic from them when submitted.

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Promotion is not enough for a new forum. Unless you've got a really hot niche, people will see the lack of activity and search for your "competitor" with more content and more activity.

I know some owners that are "success stories" as far as starting forums and growing them go, and this is what they all did:

1. Researched a niche that could use some competition or had none/little

2. Got a good look for it so the forums looked professional

3. Rallied all their friends and family to post. I don't know any that used paid posting services or PostFusion, but these could also help build at least the illusion of activity BUT you should be around to actively moderate these posts, as much of it will not be the kind of quality content/discussion that makes a board great

4. They all created a half dozen accounts and pretended they were normal users to provide their forums with quality content and discussion until their forums took off enough that they could stop.

5. Content is always king. Articles, resources, knowledgeable members = a great forum that people will want to join

6. Promote, promote, promote, until you collapse from exhaustion and then do it again when you come to again.

All the above is what I think is an educated opinion. Results may vary.

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ForumMonkey, great post, thats exactly how it should be done (except #4, in some cases it's not necessary)

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PA Forums
Philly Sports
Delaware Online
boomshockalacka

Drop me a PM with your link. I'll see if I can help add content.

Well, I think #4 is a great idea if you're got a talent for articulation and you don't want the forum home page to show all the Latest Replies are by you. This way you can stay active and help threads along without seemly like your forums are a one man show. Of course, if you aren't articulate or interesting, or your friends/family/PostFusion are doing a great job for you, then you don't want to do this, absolutely.

Ultimately, the goal is such that you don't want any discussion on your forums whatsoever to be contrived, but sometimes it takes a little "faking it" to get there.

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Agreed, like you said, if you have a decent launch team you can avoid that.

number 1 thing, you must be better, cooler, nicer, more inviting, and in general "awesomer" then the competition.

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PA Forums
Philly Sports
Delaware Online
boomshockalacka

I agree with everything that has been said. You just have to get your name out there. Register with the voting sites and get your members to vote daily. This will make your site's name go higher and higher on the list which in turn may bring in new members. Any site you go to that will allow you to post links...do it! Any site that will allow you to have a siggy...do it. It won't make you explode with new members over night, but eventually you will get a nice member base.

Also, like mentioned above, you need content and lots of it. For every forum you have you need at least 3-5 new threads or articles a day to actually give your members something to reply too. You are more than welcome to post your site here. I would love to see it! Maybe then I and others can give you more productive feedback

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Saw Fans

Please dont laugh LOL I cant wait to get VB on this one. I opened it 2008-01-29

Just hope it takes off soon.

I would try and get a customized skin or do something.

Add to PostFusion, set up private exchanges. Link exchanges on related sites. etc.

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