200+ members and still no one posting

[Radial]

Hi,

I have a forum with 200+ member and only a few post. I have seeded the forum well and also offered a competition recently. The forum it self seems to attract many poeple daily. Is this normal are forums a slow progession to start with or is there another way to light a fire under it.

Thanks

[lovethecoast]

Keep posting and don't give up. Small things like redirecting to a "tell us about yourself" thread after they confirm their email can also get things going. Try posting as an alt to get a little bit of a debate going (don't go overboard, or you'll set that as the tone of your board for years to come).

Seeding only works if it's current -- gotta keep at it.

S

[Spica]

Hi Radial. I think you need to be patient. For most people, there is a very high energy barrier to cross before they will write their first post on a forum. It is hard for us computer geeks to understand exactly what it is that is holding them, but it is very real. Also, look at views versus post counts on active, specialized forums. A 50-100 to 1 ratio is very common. The fact that many people have registered with your site is promissing. Just keep it up and wait. It will eventually happen. Good luck!

[linear]

very high energy barrier

But once that's overcome, the reaction can be quite exothermic!

</lame chemistry humor>