how to build a popular forum
So you have your forum in existence, now is the time to start to build your posts and gain momentum. As we described in our introduction module, start off with just a few forums and get those going. No one wants to post into a seemingly empty forum. Everyone wants to follow the herd. If you have a busy forum people will find you and post away. No one wants to be the first person on board.
Once a forum is up and running it can be very hard to get people to sign up and actually post something of interest.
However, once you have it going it will generally run itself.
forum early days
When you first set up your forum it will just be yourself!. Here are some tips in the first few months of your forum days:
- Limit the number of categories - if you have 40 categories to post most will be empty. Start with just 5 or 6 because you can expand on these at a later date
- Add you forum in your signature - when you are posting on other forums add a link to your own forum in your signature - this is a good way to promote to other like minded people that you have something special
- Make up names! - to get the posts going, make up about 10 members (that are all basically yourself) and post from these members. This makes it look as though your forum is active - even if it isn’t. Remember - people don’t posts on forums with nothing in them
- Use a posting service - there are people who just post on forums for a living - pay them $100 and they will provide you with two or three hundred posts over a month. This is an excellent way to start things off and means you can spend time promoting the forum yourself.
- Promote your forum to your lists or have a link on your existing website(s).
- Announce your forum on other forums that you are a member of. Be careful not to spam though.
Once your forum is up and running
In vbulletin you can send emails to your members. Email them at least once a month with a newsletter. Most people are very busy so do not come and visit you all the time. You need to remind them that you are there and still in existence.
Keep posting in other forums with your new forum as a link. You’d be surprised at the amount of people who click on your forum link to go through to your site.
Perhaps undertake a google adwords campaign to get new members.
Promote it on other related sites. For a small fee, most webmasters will run advertising or links to other sites. Just ensure the site you are advertising on has many visitors to it.
