How do I market my new forum?

Forum Marketing

[Mick Silvester]

Hi Everyone,

I have just started an email marketing forum and I need
traffic and members. The problem is that I'm at a loss on
how to market this website.

I know no-one wants to join a quiet forum, but how do I
get it buzzing in the first place?

At the moment I'm offering every member that joins a free gift
as a thank-you, but I cant think of any other ways to get this
site going?

Regards,

Michael Silvester
<snip>

[edited by: trillianjedi at 9:20 am (utc) on June 9, 2006]
[edit reason] TOS [/edit]

[trillianjedi]

Hi Mick and welcome to WebmasterWorld!

There are a ton of threads in here about kick-starting new forums - new forums always suffer from that chicken and egg problem.

I would start in the library here:-

[webmasterworld.com...]

TJ

[Mick Silvester]

Hi,

Thanks mate!

There are some great links here.

Regards,

Michael Silvester

P.S Sorry about the "Snip"

[rogerd]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld, Mick.

I think you hit the key point in your post - nobody wants to join a quiet forum. So, you need to make it look busy. Enlist some friends if you have to, but keep the topics fresh looking, and be sure that posts by new members get a quick reply.

[Mick Silvester]

Hi,

Yes I though about that, but I don't have any
friends that would be interested in this type
of forum.

I guess I better make better friends ;)

Regards,

Michael Silvester

[rogerd]

>>I guess I better make better friends

If all else fails, assume a few identities yourself in the early weeks. Let these fade out as volume picks up - you don't want to be revealed at some later date and make your members feel they were duped.

[Mick Silvester]

Hi,

I thought about that, but I didnt want to.
(High Morals I Guess?)

Regards,

Michael Silvester

[youfoundjake]

Mick, i too, am have a forum. Who wants to look at a forum with zero posts.
I am slowly adding people in and posting to make it look like the site is getting more traffic then it is. I know people are going to it, I'm just trying to build a " base" for others to build on top of...I had the same concerns, but after 4 months of no posts.. i kickstarted it today with 2 post by 2 new users in different topics.
tomorrow i will log in as admin and reply to one of them and even start a new post.
i'm including the sloppy typing that we often see in forum as authenticity. ( now how many people would spell authneticty correct?) :)

[trillianjedi]

i'm including the sloppy typing that we often see in forum as authenticity.

It's interesting (and I'm not saying that you're wrong to do that) but personally I think your thinking is wrong here. You're actually trying to make your forum look like everyone elses. How about thinking of ways to make it different? Better?

Good forum posting with a good level of spelling accuracy, to me, spells quality and that factor would set apart one forum from another, all else being equal.

TJ

[youfoundjake]

It's interesting (and I'm not saying that you're wrong to do that) but personally I think your thinking is wrong here. You're actually trying to make your forum look like everyone elses. How about thinking of ways to make it different? Better?

Good forum posting with a good level of spelling accuracy, to me, spells quality and that factor would set apart one forum from another, all else being equal.

TJ,
I completely agrees with you on what you have pointed out. It is a struggle with having a website dedicated to helping people out in my niche but not having the visitors post in the forum. Unfortunately it has to do with their willingess to be the first to post on it.
You and I, (along with others in this forum) both think that our intelligence shows in how we post a message in any forum in general. If we type ignorantly, no one will take us serious. i.e plz hlp me 2 do this k?
You are correct, I've dumbed done the forum in order to get some people to post messages on what is happening to them, and this is something that I can correct.
However, it still comes back to people not wanting to participate in a forum where no others have commented. And it truely is the chicken or the egg syndrome. Unfortunately, because of the nature of my site, and what has brought it into existance, people are already hesitant about posting stuff online, (even though I have a welcome page explaining not to post personal details such as birthday or SSN or bank particulars)
So I am surfing an edge here between providing a service that is beneficial to the users, while at the same time, trying to not alienate them from the knowledge that is available to them.
I've stickied the address to you.
If anyone else has any ideas, I am certainly open to them.

[youfoundjake]

Well, I have edited the forum so that it is not so overwhelming to the visitors. Its more focused now. I cut way back on the topics.
Also added some adsense into it.
A link unit under the phpbb logo and a banner at the end. They blend pretty nicely.
If anything comes from this, its the experience of modifying .tpl files and getting a better grasp of css files.
Thanks to all on the WebmasterWorld for helping out.