Forum Moderators: rogerd
I am starting a user generated content site for the first time and I am looking for tips on how to get over the hump so to speak in terms of registered users. I've had really good success running sites that focus on strictly information (in the last month I'm averaging about 28.36 pages per visit) but I've tried running forums and though they are very popular in my one niche, I couldn't get anyone to participate in mine.
I've seen many people say to create fake profiles but if I create 100 or 1000, if others start messaging those profiles and don't get a response, I would be afraid that they would leave and never come back.
So what steps should I take to attract people, convince them to sign up early in the life of my new site? I know that there is the saying 'if your features are great, the users will come' but if they come to the site, see they would be among the first users, they would freak and leave.
Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.
One suggestion I would have is that you write some quality content that begs for replies. Then link to that from your sites that are getting traffic. Then moderate the responses to remove the spam. When people see there's no spam and there is a compelling reason to reply they make take the plunge. Even if it fails you have some quality articles ;)
Possibly related:
What do i have to do to get people answering questions? [webmasterworld.com]
I've looked around at some of the advice, both on WW and elsewhere and what I find is mostly geared to running a forum on a site which is not what I'm doing.
I appreciate the help so far, but perhaps I should give a little more info about my intended project.
- it is more of a social network, definitely not a forum, though I could add that later so users can interact with a wider audience.
- the intended purpose is to have the users interact with each other, not so much responding to articles, but I will have a blog to keep my users up to date on website issues.
So my fear is that people will come to the site, see that there aren't any registered users, and take off running.
My thoughts are this:
- to emphasize my 'newness' since the intended audience isn't tech, I wouldn't call it a beta period, though it is.
- to have a video, preferably narrated by a woman, to highlight my features and to have that on YouTube as well
- to encourage new visitors to notify their friends of the site when they sign up
I'm not a newbie when it comes to SEO just to running a user generated content / social network site (I never can get people to write in a forum to save my life) so any input from those who have experience in this area that can help me 'get over the hump' so to speak would be greatly appreciated.
The early days of a community or social network are the toughest, since as you note people see that there are few members and are reluctant to join. First, try to get as many memberships as you can from friends, online buddies, business associates, etc. In the early days, de-emphasize or eliminate any member counts, etc. where you can. Be sure that any queries get a quick response. Be prominent yourself. Once you prime the pump this way, you may be able to sustain a flow of new members.
Notifications have been our best tool for helping recruit return visitors.
