Red Herring
Paragon
Forum Advertising For Dummies, Version 0.2.6 BETA
Original Author: Red Herring
Assistant Authors:
Interviewees: Cloverfield , Nathan
Table of Contents
~Section ALPHA - The Website World
-Section ALPHA.1 - Paid Hosting
--Sub-Section ALPHA.1.1 - Dedicated Servers
--Sub-Section ALPHA.1.2 - Sandbox Websites
-Section ALPHA.2 - Free Hosting
-Section ALPHA.3 - Free Forum Hosting
-Section ALPHA.4 - Forum Software
-Section ALPHA.5 - Forum Genre
~Section 0 - Just Starting Out~
-Section 0.2 - Forum Appeal
-Section 0.3 - Generating Discussion Points
~Section 1.0 - Starting to Advertise
-Section 1.1 - Power of the Direct Word
-Section 1.2 - Appealing to Age Groups
~Section 2.0 - Professional Advertising
INTRODUCTION:
This is my own guide to advertising, and I've always found it to work VERY nicely, with some of my pretty old boards reaching up to 8000 members in the past.
I hope you enjoy my guide as much as I enjoyed making it. (Half the reason was an excuse to use the "For Dummies" image) I spent a couple hours making this guide, so please leave a few comments (and if they're completely negative, go away. Constructive Criticism is accepted.)
Let's get started. The first two sections of this guide "Section ALPHA - The Forum World", and "Section 0.1 - Just Starting Out" are for forum beginners, or those who need tips on sprucing up their own forums. If you have already started a forum/site.
Section ALPHA - The Website World
Well hello there gent. Welcome to the forum world! This section is on how to choose a host to start your forum, The differences between forum software, and various pre-stages to starting a website. This section also assumes you have nothing in your hands, and have not even started a website yet. But it also offers quite a few tips on how to ensure everything is all good.Well first, we're going to dive right into proper hosting plans. Discussing the differences between Paid Hosting, Free Hosting, and Free Forum Hosting. And pointing out both the advantages and disadvantages.
HOSTING
The first thing that's REALLY important to do before choosing a host...is researching a host. You don't want to immediately google a host, choose it, and then just start things up. Little knowledge on your host is a huge recipe for complete and utter failure. No matter how eager you are to start up a website, you better research a bit before you do.
Section ALPHA.1 - Paid Hosting
Paid Hosting is the easiest way to say "Professional Hosting". Almost all paid host plans offer your own free domain name (ie, the host name isn't in the URL), and those that don't probably aren't a host that you should choose. This is the type of hosting you should get if you plan on having your forum go somewhere. First though, you should understand the important terms of hosting.Disk Space
Disk Space is pretty much the same thing as a computer hardrive space. It's the space that your host allows on your server for any amount of data. Anything from downloads on your server to images uploaded counts toward your disk space. Making it important to have a pretty nice amount of this.
Bandwidth
What is it? It's the amount of communication data translated to kilabytes, megabytes, etc. This is based on visitors, downloads, and a lot of things based on outside networks accessing your networks. Your bandwidth is the maximum amount of data transfer you are allowed for each month.
An example from Wikipedia on how it works:
Wikipedia Example said:
Transfer
Transfer is often confused with being the same thing as Bandwidth. But this is not so. Transfer is the NUMBER of data transfered per second. It DOES however, work hand in hand with bandwidth, but is not the same.
SQL Database
A SQL is designed for managing all data in RSBMS. Your SQL Database is EVERYTHING. It records everything that happens to a site, and is the very reason a post on a forum stays there forever (until deleted or something of course). Most often the tools that helps manage this is MySQL and phpadmin. NEVER make a single edit to your SQL database unless you have a recent back up of it. One wrong move, and your site is shot. It's of course important to back up most things before editing them...but a SQL Database is essential.
CPU
You should already know about a CPU if you're getting into web hosting. But in case you don't. CPU (Central Processing Unit) is one of the core functions of a computer, and is the computer's ability to process data and functions. Most hosts, even paid hosts, never allow you full 100% CPU usage without purchasing a Dedicated Server
With those terms out of the way. Moving back to paid hosting. There are several paid hosts out there. And one of the things you want to be on the look out for is what control panel that your host gives you.
cPanel 11 is one of the most popular control panels out there...for it's many features, management systems, and complete ease of use. If you're completely new to web design/management, you'll probably want a host that offers the cPanel 11. Especially since it comes with Fantastico, an auto installation script which will install a huge variety of system scripts for you...including forums.
Most of the better web hosts offer the cPanel 11. But if you find a host that looks good, but uses a different type of cPanel, try doing some research into it before you accept that host.
Choosing a Paid Host
Best hosts offer Unlimited Disk Space, Bandwidth and Transfer, alongside a cPanel 11. And these hosts are often the best ones to choose, though they don't always outright tell you the bad stuff, which is why you want to research even the seemingly perfect hosts.
Make SURE to always find out the allowed CPU percentage and RAM before you decide to order their hosting. 10% CPU is "okay", but it's not the best either. Those that offer less than that are not the best hosts to choose...it's likely you'll end up using that restriction pretty quickly.
This list of hosts offer unlimited bandwidth/transfer/disk space. But it's your job to research into them, as I haven't done too much of that. However, perhaps in the next version of this guide. *wink*
Some hosts' links
http://www.justhost.com/
http://www.ipage.com/
http://www.bluehost.com/
http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/webhosting/
http://www.fatcow.com/
http://www.inmotionhosting.com/
http://www.hostmonster.com/
http://www.hostclear.com/
http://www.supergreenhosting.com/
http://www.greengeeks.com/
Other Good Hosts (from my list):
http://www.000webhost.com/
http://www.hostgator.com/
Don't let the big letters of JustHost pull you into using it immediately. It only allows 10% CPU usage (which is absolutely horrible). I however, do use JustHost, and have no complaints against it. It really does offer you one of the best deals you can get. Though there are other hosts that offer you far better plans. This is one of those times that you should spend some time in research.
Also make certain to chat with a host's live chat support when possible, and ask any questions to assure yourself.
Pros and Cons
Now, Paid Hosting is considered the best way to host your website. A HUGE amount of restrictions are lifted from your plan. And there's hardly anything bad that you can say about it.
Probably one of the only downsides to this is the fact that you need to pay actual money. And money can be a tight spot sometimes. And unless you're going to be using Fantastico or another auto script installer all the time, you'll need at least some basic knowledge in web design, and code editing.
But with those two cons out of the way, this is best type of hosting to get...if you have plans of your site going far. So long as you choose the right host, you won't have to upgrade your plan for quite awhile.
If you are completely new in the web world, and hardly understand any of these terms, then it's very recommended that you choose Free Forum Hosting instead.
Sub-Section ALPHA.1.1 - Dedicated Servers
If you are just starting out. It's likely you won't have to worry about this for a LONG while. But I'll still make a point for you to be aware of them anyway.A Dedicated Server....is your very own private server that a host leases to you. This server is not shared by ANYONE, and is for you, and you alone. The very nice prospect of Dedicated Servers are that you have FULL control over it, including operating systems, control panels, hardware, software, etc. Along with that, your host also normally supports you with security concerns and helps to fully protect your server.
The real problem with Dedicated Servers is that they aren't cheap. They are DAMN expensive, costing $100 each month...and depending on the size of your server...they can even range to $1000 per month.
And if you plan on evolving into some sort of company, this is likely the direction that you will be heading. You'd better be making some money from yuor website before you reach this status though. The prices really kill.
Sub-Section ALPHA.1.2 - Sandbox Sites[/size]
Sandbox Sites, are basically "Testing Domains" which domain owners use to test out any type modification or any new type of experimentation before actually updating their site. A Sandbox Site can be on the same domain as your main site if you wish, just as a sub-domain.i.e., http://www.1356sandbox4763.domainname.com
If you want, you can also register a sandbox site on a completely different and free web host to save on disk space and CPU.
The proper method to create one of these is to copy the SQL Database of the site you will be modifying, and copying it to the Sandbox Domain. Alongside that, copying all the files over to the sandbox domain as well (copying...not moving)
From a Sandbox, you are completely free to test any file edits or changes that you want to try without worry of deleting your main site. Though it's still usually necessary to back up the files for your Sandbox as well. But it's a good way to test out any new stuff before actually using it on your site.
Section ALPHA.2 - Free Hosting
This section is pretty small. Mainly because of the fact that Free Hosting is basically the same as Paid Hosting, only without the need to pay, and with a HUGE amount of restrictions.To tell the honest truth, you may actually be better off with a free forum host until you can afford real hosting. But Free Hosting does have it's advantages.
For instance, Free Hosting allows you to have much of the control that you would have with a Paid Host. But you don't actually have to pay money for it.
That being said, Free Hosting comes with major limitations. (not to be confused with lack of control, though sometimes is also the case) Few hosts rarely offer more than 1500 MB of Disk Space, 1.5 Gigs. Heck, my own computer is currently using 220 gigs of space already. And most free hosts rarely offer you more that 1? That's a pretty severe limitation...AND one that you're likely to use up really quickly.
So why use a free host? Well, there are a lot of website owners out there who can't always pay for everything, but despise lack of control. Free Forum Hosts give you a HUGE lack of control, while Free Hosts offer you quite a bit of control...but with a lot of limitations. But they can be used to gather up some resources like website users, and mods until you're ready to pay.
Also, don't under-estimate a REALLY useful idea to use under a free host. As mentioned above, this can be used as your secret sandbox sites for paid domains that you have, which will save your other domain CPU and Disk Space. Another good use for a Free Host is their ability to serve as a "sub domain" to your paid hosting domains. Maybe you wish to store some data, but don't want to use your main domain. Or you can also use a free host as a downloads database where you can upload stuff for users to download and save your main site disk space.
If you intend to use a Free Host as your main site/forum, however. It can be quite the opposite. You'll have to be a bit paranoid if it's supposed to last you awhile...i.e., disabling attachments in forums, only allowing off-site link avatars, etc. Basically preventing users from using much disk space. But if you make sure to close off all of those routes, you can actually get these to last a bit.
As for websites that offer free hosting, most paid hosts offer their own free plan which you can endeavor to try. It's unlikely you'll find a good free host that offers the cPanel 11.
Section ALPHA.3 - Free Forum Hosting
Free Forum Hosting is the best alternative if you can't afford real hosting, don't want to pay for professional hosting, or if you're a complete stranger to website creation. They can be created in mere seconds, you can remain anonymous, you don't have to worry about limitations, are VERY easy to manage...and rarely have anything to do with coding beyond HTML.The problem that most people complain about, dealing with Free Forum Hosts, is the complete lack of control over your site. You are able to create and manage your forums, design how most stuff looks, but you are limited to an Administration Control Panel only. You don't have access to your SQL Database (97% of the time), so if you ever wanted to move sites...you wouldn't be able to retain any of the posts/topics/users that you've gotten over time without having to repeat everything. And sites like these aren't taken as serious as official domains. Another downside is that you don't often have much choice in the forum software that you get to pick.
However, a Free Forum Host is very good if you just want a nice community to kick it with. Or if you simply wish to gather the resources/staff members/some users before you move on to a new site. Also, creating a free forum to design how the layout of a forum on a paid host is going to look, is a really good way to plan ahead. I have my own layout design free forum, where I will always design how my forums are gonna look before I actually get hosted. That way, I waste a lot less time trying to figure out what forums I'm going to have.
Choosing a Free Forum Host
What most forum owners want in a free forum host, is as much control as possible. The ability to modify a free forum as much as you can is quite often the most desirable type of free forum. Here is a good list of free forums for you to choose from.
Forumotion
http://www.forumotion.com/
People either love Forumotion, or they hate it. I see a lot of people critisize it completely, or speak of it very highly. Honestly, I actually loathe it myself. But that doesn't change the fact it's one of the most customizable free forum hosts out there. And if you're looking for a forum to customize quite a bit, Forumotion is a good choice.
Forumer
http://www.forumer.com/
Not the most customizable free forum service out there, but it does give you a...pretty nice amount of control. Offering a choice between the forum softwares phpbb3, phpbb2, and IPB. It's also a pretty reliable host, and has very good uptime. I usually use it for layout plans of my own forums.
Forums Free
http://www.forums-free.com/en/
Not too shabby of a forum service, though they can be awfully slow at times. They do, however, come loaded with very a nice package. Creating a forum here will net you a modifiable version of Board3 portal, a phpbb3 forum, and an AJAX Chat (AJAX Chats are completely loaded with huge amounts of features, but can be quite laggy at times) There is no other ability, however, beyond the phpbb3 ACP to modify your domain. They give you a very good package, but you get what they give you. Hardly any customizable features. And some restrictions apply on uploads.
IPB Free
http://www.ipbfree.com/
Free Invision Board. They got a very nice selection of customizable options, have pretty good support forums, and very nice up time as well. If you're looking for Invision, you got a good host here.
MakeForum
http://www.makeforum.org/
Highly customizable free forum hosting. I recommend it over a lot of the above. Nuff said.
Pro Boards
http://www.proboards.com/
Pro Boards offer a very nice variety of services. And I probably can't explain better than Acorn, the owner of a very successful RP Board, "Warrior Cats" which is hosted via Pro Boards.
Acorn said:
These are just a few of the forum hosts out there. There are MANY more if you're willing to search. But those are some of the more popular ones.
That about wraps this section up.
Section ALPHA.4 - Forum Software
Alright, now that you've chosen a host. It's time to choose a forum software. A Forum Software is basically the formatting of your forum bulletin board. Most of them offer very unique and very different features, and it's up to you which software to choose. It is commonly debated what forum software is better than others, but your choice should be based entirely on personal preference. Some forum software may appeal to you more than others. And you should choose a software that fits your style.With that, we're going to examine some of the softwares.
vBulletin
Price: $195 - $235
Official Website: http://www.vbulletin.com/
Initial Release: 2000
vBulletin is regarded as one of the most advanced forum softwares out there. It was originally started by James E. Limm and John Percival in 1999. One of it's most notable features is the plugin system, which allows modifications to be installed with ease, and without the need to edit scripts. It also features a very easy moderation system where staff members can moderate multiple posts/threads without going through a repetitive process of doing the same moderation action for each thread. It offers ease of use, and is used often by professional companies. The price...of course, is very expensive...and you must still pay for updates depending on your contract. However, to those that can spare the money, it is well worth the price.
If professionalism is what you're looking for. vBulletin is a VERY good choice.
Invision Power Board (IPB)
Price: Starting at $149.99, or $9.99 a month
Official Website: http://www.invisionpower.com/
Initial Release: 2002
IPB offers an incredible amount of community based features. IPB was created by was created by Matt Mecham and Charles Warner shortly after founding IPS (Invision Power Service). Unfortunately, the old motto that it would remain free forever changed. But that doesn't change the fact that the newer versions of IPB offer very powerful community features. Including an in-built rep system, personal conversations, and more in-depth features to private messaging.
If you want something that offers great community features, IPB is a very good choice.
phpBB
Price: FREE!
Official Website: http://www.phpbb.com/
Initial Release Date: December 9, 2000
phpBB (PHP Bulletin Board) is a software that began in 2000, started by James Atkinson, and has since evolved into a highly developed forum software. The package doesn't come as great as most forum softwares when you first install it, but it offers a very high ability for customization. Properly customized, and it can easily surpass any forum software for any genre of forum. The Administration Control Panel is based on a modular design, (along with the Moderator Control Panel and User Control Panel) and features a highly advanced permissions system. Along with the fact that there is a very wide selection of phpBB mods out there (perhaps more than any forum software ever developed) One of the most useful features in phpbb is the BBCode customization ability, as well as being able to use them in forum descriptions.
If full customization is what you want, then you will be very pleased with phpBB
My BulletinBoard (MyBB)
Price: FREE!
Official Website: http://www.mybboard.net/
Initial Release Date: 2002
MyBB is another powerful, and free forum software. History of MyBB is more scarce than other forum softwares, but it was developed by Chris Boulton, web34rk and b0ndman, the latter two leaving the team later on. It offers a few of the features that vBulletin has, including the easy moderation features. Also featuring an in-built multi rep system, customizable F.A.Q., and also a useful plug in system.
If you want features that can compare to vBulletin, but do not wish to pay the high cost...MyBB is an excellent choice.
Simple Machines Forum (SMF)
Price: FREE!
Official Website: http://www.simplemachines.org/
Initial Release Date: September 30, 2003
SMF is a very easy to use forum software. For both users, and webmasters. It was originally released in 2003, but to charter members only. SMF features a WYSIWYG editor when posting, for those that are unfamiliar with BBCodes. For moderators, a decent warning system. The ACP, UCP, and MCP are all very easy to use.
With all of that being said, if ease of use is what you're looking for, SMF is an excellent candidate.
Those aren't all the forum softwares in the world of course. There are MANY MANY types of forum software out there. And if you wish to experiment to find a match made in heaven, nothing's stopping you.
For a larger list of software comparison, Wikipedia offers great comparison articles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison ... tware_(PHP)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison ... tware_(ASP)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison ... are_(other)
Remember. You should choose a forum software that fits YOUR style. And with that, we've cleared the section on Forum Software.
Section 0 - Just Starting Out
Welcome to the Forum World!
So you've just started a forum. Good for you!!! Maybe you have a desire of leadership. Maybe you just want to have a cool community to kick it with. Or maybe you're looking to become the next IGN. The reasons aren't truly important. What is important, is that you're at the absolute bottom at this moment. And you need to work really hard right now, if you wish to climb up the ladder.Welcome to the Forum World!
SECTION 0.2 - FORUM APPEAL
(Note: This section provides a few tips on forum layout/design, if you wish to skip, feel free)First. You want to make sure your community has a nice appeal to outside users. So I'm going to suggest that you have at least these basic forums along with any forums you have normally. These forum suggestions are very common, however, they are usually highly recommended.
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Rules & Regulations Forum - Many people don't read the rules, as they believe most rules are simply the same among a large amount of forums. Nonetheless, for people that do like to read them, it's important to have a forum that can direct them to the rules. Along with the fact, it's good to state any certain customs or regulations your board has in a Rules & Regulations Forum. And the mere presence of one of these forums adds an air of professionalism to your forum.
Announcements Forum - From the many users of many forums I've surveyed, people tend to take a disliking to every announcement being a Global Announcement. While Global Announcements may be useful at times, users do dislike them often. So instead of making trivial announcements global, it's good to have an Announcements Forum to place all of them.
Introductions Forum (ALMOST A NECESSITY!!) - Face it, if you want active users. You want them to feel welcome enough to stick around. Many new users aren't really encouraged enough to jump directly into a discussion, and want to get to know the community a little before joining in with them. An Introduction Forum is a key to that point. It will allow registered users to make the newer users feel more comfortable with their settings, and likely comfortable enough to join in with discussions. Which is what you want. Don't bother with an Introduction Topic. If anything, these make new users feel even more uncomfortable. Welcomes in that topic are minimal, and to the user, it feels sorta like a "Noob Chain" (as I had someone so bluntly call it once 😛 )
General Discussion Forum (ALMOST A NECESSITY!!) - Most forums always follow a certain purpose. Some follow RPG Gaming. Some are RP Forums. Whichever type of genre your forum has, you're going to want one of these. You see, the human race is far too A.D.D. to stay on one topic for the next few days/months/years (dependent on willpower). They're going to want some place to filter all of their off topic thoughts, ideas, and news they hear from other places. Believe me, if you don't get one of these, you're going to wish you had. In fact, most forum owners in their wisdom, have a category of at least 5 of these off topic forums, including a General Off Topic Forum. (when I say at least 5, i.e. Entertainment, Forum Games, Debates. The works) If you're keen to have only one off topic forum, then place a good number of sub forums in this one, as it's going to be where a huge amount of discussion on your forum takes place.
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Now, if you don't have at least one of the forums that are marked "(ALMOST A NECESSITY!!)", it's going to take a toll on your forum. I guarantee you that. So make sure you have those two.
Now, go through this check list, and try to make sure your forum has these. It's okay if you bend this list a little, but we don't wanna break it.
Forum Checklist:
Checklist said:
SECTION 0.3 - GENERATING DISCUSSION POINTS
Sorry. You're Not Ready To Advertise Quite Yet.
You're NOT ready to start REAL advertising at this point. No sir. We're assuming your forum is basically empty of posts, aside from some of your own (that are mostly attuned to Rules, and some regulations.) Before you even THINK of getting active members. You're going to want to fix this. Registered users don't want to jump right in at creating topics, because they're new.Sorry. You're Not Ready To Advertise Quite Yet.
So how do we create some discussion? Well, you can make a bunch of topics yourself, you lazy bones. In fact, I recommend creating at least 15 - 50 topics on your board, depending on how many forums you have. However, the best solution is through Promotion Forums at this point. Time to make use of those Post Package Services and User Exchanges.
What you want to do is order quite a few packages, and make a good number of exchanges. This is HIGHLY unlikely to get your forum active members. However, Package Services and User Exchanges will get your forums filled up with more posts, and will look a lot better to a potential user of the internet who you will actually advertise to. Also the advantages to this is that you're bringing topics you might not have thought of to your forum, and at the same time, increasing your members database. So the the goal at this point is to get all or most of your forums filled with as many posts and topics as possible. After that, you can start real advertising. Now, to continue on with this explanation, please view below the Promotion Forum list (make sure to briefly skim the list at least though.)
Here's a good list of Promotion Sites. Please also take note of the following notes.
(NOTE: Don't be commenting here only to ask me to add you to this list. PM me, and I'll see about adding you to the list.)
(NOTE 2: If your Promotion Site is on the list, and you don't want it to be, gimme the word, I'll take it off.)
(NOTE 3: Please make sure to read the legend to make sure what the colored asterisks are)
(NOTE 4: Please report to me if these Promotion Sites are either no longer active, or have a broken link.)
(NOTE 5 - Did You Know?: Making this List Actually Took Me An Hour. The More You Know.)
(NOTE FREAKING 6: Naah, just kiddin.)
List of Promotion Sites said:
Now. I've seen it on Forum Promotion's board, and the disliking that goes toward other Promotion Forums. To those of you that have it in your mind, "FP is all you need". I really can't state how much crap that is. If you are really dedicated to making your forum grow successful, then it's best to use ALL Promotion Forums. Copies or not, they still offer good services. And using all together in combination will help you get your forum going faster.
For Best Results...
If you TRULY want to get this part out of the way. Then click the links to ALL Promotion Forums in that list that offer Package Services. Do what you need to get the requirements, and order packages from ALL of those promotion forums. Doing this will no doubt get you 100 - 500 posts dependent on the services, and will be a quick way to fill up your empty forums. You don't want to just use one forum (i.e. Forum Promotion), as the waiting period before ordering another package, may have you wait months before your forum becomes acceptable to real advertising.
So, Order a Package from every promotion forum you can find that offers packaging services. While you wait on them all to complete your services, do some exchanging with other users (both Topic Exchanges, and Post Exchanges). Once you're done, take a little while to take a look at your forum's status. If you still have forums that are empty, fill them up as best as you can through either post exchanges, or by your own hands.
Once you're done with this section, we can finally get down to advertising. 😎
SECTION 1.0 - Starting To Advertise
FINALLY! Let's Get Cracking.
Introduction: First of all. If you have a problem with manipulation, you should leave. This is NOT to be confused with the evil type of manipulation where you simply use someone to your own ends (even though you might be doing that to an extent). If anything, call it Influence. I'm going to be teaching you how to understand a person's psyche to advertise much better. And understanding one's psyche, and using it to influence, is basically what manipulation is. And despite what anyone thinks, it's the common duty of a Forum Owner to influence others, or to put it bluntly, manipulate. Though we aren't using it to betray anyone's trust, or use it for bad/evil methods. If you have no problem with influencing others, read on.FINALLY! Let's Get Cracking.
Now with that outta the way. There are many ways to advertise uniquely. Promotion Forums offer many methods of advertisement, however, these aren't the greatest methods of advertising (at least...not yet, but they do still help). At this moment, we're going to assume your forum has less than 500 members. If this is the case, then I'll show you the best method of advertisement.
SECTION 1.1 - POWER OF THE DIRECT WORD
This is where you're going to have to learn how to be influential/manipulating.Now. I want you to understand the feeling of a user's psyche/state of mind. In the ways of advertising methods at least. Listen closely, most users are on the internet for their own pleasure...obviously. And in order to bring them to your side, you have to understand a common user's psyche.
First off. This method requires DIRECT communication with a user. E-Mailing, Private Messaging. (where it's allowed, aka, NOT Forum Promotion or other Promotion Forums) Private Messages are much more effective than e-mails, as most just mark that stuff off as junk. And of course, the more the user is aware of you, the more effective it will be.
Now, don't even try creating a message like this and sending it to a user.
Message of Failure said:
Sending a message like that is a good way to make an arse of yourself. You sounded pretty much like a total narcissist, and only focused on your forum, and didn't think one bit about the user or the user's psyche. 95% of the time, an advertisement like that completely fails.
So how do you make them like the sound of it? Well, the key to success is sounding like a human being and not some random person just trying to sell you something. Make the user feel greatly appreciated, and focus on him/her more than you do on your forum. Even better is to do a little research on what they're interested in before contacting. Example.
Message of Success!! said:
Now, I didn't know anything about who I was writing to, so the example above is definitely not full potential. But it's a good example on how to be "human". Focus on the user's interests, and appeal to their own desires, and not your own. It's even better to communicate the user a little bit before you stealthily advertise.
I've always found this method to work astoundingly. 75% of the time, I had someone join my forums, and 60% of those users became active community members. It gets pretty tiresome after doing this a few hundred times, but it's a good method.
SECTION 1.2 - APPEALING TO AGE GROUPS
Many forums nowadays only allow users 13 and older to sign up, which is usually pretty good. This small section is to understand how to advertise to an age group. You usually want to have a good mixture of younger and older users in a community. Younger members usually spice things up pretty good, while older users add some class to the forums and create some pretty good discussions. Now, if you're a part of the age group I mention in this section, REMEMBER!!, I am NOT speaking of you, just the age group in general if for some strange reason you may take offense.Ages 11 and Under: Well, these tikes are very easy to advertise to (though you'll still want to appear as human as possible.) However, the problem is that they are just stepping out of childhood. They haven't quite developed the...wisdom associated with teenagers and adults. I apologize for saying so if this is your age group, however, I'm speaking from my own experience. I've had around 1/4 of this age group ask me how to use a forum. But a pro is that they have a good chance of becoming interested in forums if you can keep them active for a couple weeks.
Ages 12 - 15: The step above the children. They don't always have the greatest wisdom, but they can usually come up with some pretty good questions to some things, and are pretty good with discussions. I consider this age group very easy to advertise to, since half of them have pretty big ambitions. You can usually win them over by appealing to those ambitions, their interests, etc. Even if they don't know you. A good plus about them is that they actually remain dedicated to a forum most of the time once recruited. (assuming you recruited with direct communication.) The only downside I can think of to recruiting this age group is that they don't as easily control their tempers if someone is to set them off. Same goes for Ages 11 and Under, but this age group can hold a grudge.
Ages 16 - 17: They're somewhat similar to the last Age Group (Ages 12 - 15), however, they may not carry the ambition that quite a few of the other age group carried. So appealing to their interests is usually better. I recommend that you communicate with this group (a bit, at least) before trying to recruit them, as they've developed wisdom around this point, and can at times see through your ads. But these are good assets to your community. Once they get accepted, they aren't usually afraid to create their own topics, and can be pretty good at keeping community members active, provided that they are active of course. I actually recommend members of this group over most others. Not because I'm in it, but because they like a combination of young and old groups. Meaning they have more time for your forums, but don't usually post random crap.
Ages 18 - 23: I'm just going to nickname this group "Young Adults". It's unlikely that they carry the ambitions that the former ages do. And even by appealing to their interests, it's very difficult to recruit this group without them knowing you and at least trusting you a bit. So if you want members of this group, then you're probably going to wanna get to know them first. Members of this group aren't mass posters, but more than often, they're pretty skilled with not posting random crap. And those that can actually become dedicated are valuable assets to any community most of the time.
Ages 24 - 45: The Adults. If anything, they're good to add really good class to forums, and are pretty good with sticking to professionalism. They aren't mass posters either, but they are very good community members if you want more "exquisite" topics. They can often see through friendly ads though, and it can take quite a bit of talking to them before they'll actually agree to join your forum.
Ages 46 - 65 : The forum "Old Farts" But truly, this age group are very welcome additions community to your community. They are often quite wise and good with posting lots of information at a time. But the info they post will usually blow someone's mind, generating very good discussion. Making this age group a very nice addition to your forums as well. However, I have NEVER succeeded in recruiting someone from this age group without knowing them quite a bit. They're very difficult to get to your forums. So be warned if you try.
Now. If you decide you want to mix age groups, you'll want to do so pretty early on. Younger and Older can be hard to mix depending on how far away they are from the other. They just come from different times is all, and want to discuss different things. So if your forum is filled with nothing except Teen topics, it will be harder to appeal to older generations. And at the same time, if your forum is filled with nothing but class, it'll be difficult for quite a few teens to take interest. So remember that.
SECTION 1.0C - THE USES OF PROMOTION FORUMS
Promotion Forums are considered very useful places to advertise your forums. However, I don't truly see many using the services as they should be used. From what I see, a lot of people actually believe Promotion Forums will get them active members. This simply isn't true as many people think it is.First, some believe they can get active members from the registered users in the members database. If you remember from my guide, you have to understand the user's psyche. Do keep in mind that quite a few of them believe they can also do the same, and are trying to accomplish the same things you are. Don't expect that you will get active members out of any of them.
Second, others believe that creating back links at Promotion Forums will help greatly. This is also pretty attuned to myth.
If you expect back links to help you get a lot more people directed to your forums, you'd best be willing to create a ton of back links. And not just on one single site either. Quite a few.
However, there is no question that Promotion Forums provide quite a limitless supply of useful stuff. First, let's examine the services, and see how useful they are. (Note: These are the common services that promotion forums offer)
Standard/Basic Forum and Website Promotion - These can advertise your website somewhat, but relying ONLY on these will rarely get you anything. Especially if you aren't willing to bump your advert topics. In short, they provide very limited exposure, but why not spend just a couple minutes making an ad topic. Very limited exposure is still exposure.
Posting Packages - I've found these to be one of the most useful services out there. If you read parts of my guide in Section 0.1B, then you'll remember I HIGHLY recommended this service to filling up your empty forums. And indeed, this service is incredibly useful for that. It can also be used to give your community a jump start should people start becoming lax and in danger of becoming in-active.
Review Services - He he. ^.^ Admit, some of you order this service to feel better about yourself (should it get a good review) However, that isn't the key usefulness of this service. As stated by the guidelines themselves, you can get help from experts on what your forum needs to improve in. And depending on the professionalism, experience, and quality of the Review Team, this service can be pretty useful in that field. There's almost no possibilities of this service getting you any traffic, regardless of your scores.
Banner Rotators - These basically rely on the quality of your banner. And quite a few people simply ignore banner rotators. I consider this service pretty in-effective. However, it's still worth paying Forum Credit if there is a chance for traffic.
Signature Advertising - I really find this method highly ineffective. Probably the most ineffective of all the services there are. I've surveyed users before on "How often do you pay attention to signatures?", and 7/10 say that they really only take notice when there is a dramatic notice in a sig (such as, very well done banners), otherwise just ignoring it. The other 3/10 say they'll look at a new signature once, and then won't look at it again. And everyone of them say they ignore text almost all the time. However, once again, if there is a chance that someone will click your ad, then might as well fork out some forum cash to get some signature advertising. (And indeed, when I asked one of my users, they said they clicked my signature ad, got to my forum, and found it pretty cool. {wasn't at FP by the way} But overall. Pretty ineffective. I would rarely pay real money for signature advertising. Even if it was on a forum with over 250,000 members, and the user had over 15,000 posts, I would still offer no more than $1 for a month.
Link Jumbles / Text Advertising / etc - These could actually be pretty effective if they were more noticeable. The index is the most viewed page on a forum, as such, there are plenty of chances a curious guest may click your ad. However, being jumbled at the bottom with a bunch of other links decreases that chance quite a bit, however, there's still a sorta decent chance.
User Based Exchange Center - You know. The non staff exchange forum between users and not a service from staff. This is about effective as packages. It's good to get a boost from inactivity, or to help fill up forums. But the likelihood of any of those members that you exchange with becoming active is very slim. And those "Active for Active" deals can be pretty difficult to maintain. However, the chances of a user remaining active increase as they continue to do exchanges with your forum. A very slim increase with each exchange, but an increase nonetheless. Service is best used when your forum is just out of an egg.
In summary. Promotion Forums' Services are usually very good to use until your forum reaches at least 500 members. (assuming at least 10% of that 500 is active) However, once you get to that point, they won't be as useful as they were in the past.
SECTION 2.0 - PROFESSIONAL ADVERTISING
Well, we're going to assume you've become quite the successful forum owner at this point. We're also going to assume you have at least 750 members with at least 15% of them being active. Your community should now be strong enough without you having to hold it up all the time. This is a short section. Many believe it gets harder after this point. That's only true to half extent. Truthfully, the real problem is that it can get costly after this point.So, from here on out, if you still wish to make your community grow, you'll probably want to step up in your advertising methods.
Website Directories
So, first off. Website Directories should probably become a friend of yours.
Forum Promotion offers a nice list of Website Directories (list made by Sam.)
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=5771&start=0
There are rumors that some website directories have become malicious. I cannot confirm this, nor do I have evidence to prove it as false. Use them at your own risk.
Paid Advertising
Depending on the site, and the amount of exposure. Paid Advertising can be a very effective means to drive traffic to your site, should you advertise on a very large site. (large user database, heavy traffic, etc) It can be worth forking out the cash to pay for it. Just make sure to research into how much traffic, page views, etc that the site actually gets.
That's all for this section. It doesn't end the possibilities, however. I'm pretty....what's the word. "Cheap". And so my experience in Paid and Professional Advertising is somewhat limited.
Thank You for Reading my guide!! I hope you found it useful! And I hope you didn't fall asleep while reading it all....if you did read it all.
Unfortunately I had to remove the codes which allow you to post an exact copy of this guide on your forum. Mostly because I need the character space for expansions to the guide. If you desire the codes to post this on your own forum, please PM for those details.
~CREDITS~
Individuals Who Helped Bring You This Wonderful Guide
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