Add a forum to my site or not?

There are already a few covering the topic

[cgchris99]

I am getting around 1000 visitors/day and I do not have a forum.

About a year ago I thought about adding a forum but didn't because there was a competing site that had one and was getting quite a bit of traffic. Well, now there is a new one that has quickly jumped to 10000+ members in that amount of time.

I know I missed the a chance but is it still to late?

Even though there is competition should I put one up anyway. Most of the topics will be the same as the other sites. There isn't a way around it.

My plan is a two step approach. First would be the forum. Second would be an articles/how to section.

Since I already get 1000 visits/day, do you think adding the forum would boost the traffic.

Any ideas on how to make mine a little different than the competiton?

Thanks for any advice

[Rosalind]

It depends on what those 1000 visitors have come to your site to do. If you're getting a lot of feedback through email or feedback forms, you may have piqued your visitor's curiosity enough to make a forum worthwhile. But if you're just selling widgets, they might not want to stop and chat.

If you put up your articles first, then people would have something to talk and ask questions about. Consider that a forum thread usually consists of one question and several responses, so more people are likely to add to a discussion than start their own.

[Musicarl]

A forum is a great way to build a community and increase loyalty to your site. They are all over the web, so many people know how to use them by now and are comfortable posting.

If you want to do it right, it's a lot of work. Integrating message boards into your site can be tough on both the development and maintenance side. Consider your users - are they mature enough to make meaningful posts? Will they help you moderate forums? Will they get offended easily?

Forums have worked well for us, but we've been fortunate to have a high level of discussion. That's what can set you apart from your competitor. You might need to personalize it a little - open up about the inner workings of your company and make your users feel like they are a part of what you're doing. If you're willing to care for them and feed them, give your forums a try.