Im struggling for forum topics! Has anyone else had this problem?
I find that im the only one posting new topics on my forums but when i do its like wildfire... I dont want to be the only one posting new topics tbh so how the heck can i encourage new users/visitors to stop by and post or is it just dependant on the person?
At the start of a forum or new forum section it is generally the responsibility of the staff to create new topics. I find myself in the same situation a lot of times.
I believe people join forums to reply to posts, not to create new threads. Only when they become a part of the community do they start to create topics. Sure you will have your occasional question come in, but for the most part established members post topics, new guests join to reply.
So long as your forum relies on your word of mouth to get members, it will rely on your topics to get posts. As you build up your community and get members enthusiastic about talking to each other, you will see them start to post a few topics since they will very much like to share their thoughts with those people at your forum in particular, and to get the feedback from them in particular too.
In the mean time, you needn't necessarily be consistent with how many topics you post each day or every other day, but you should make sure you do not give up on that. Try to set a schedule for a given number of posts on a given number of days, and even if you do not live up to that schedule do not give up, and keep trying to live up to it. When you post topics, too, try to put your thoughts and insights down, and do not be afraid to cite and quote sources to help you out in building your own unique content.
If you are having trouble, you may try retrieving relevant topics using feeds, and even a service such as Google Alert. You may also try browsing the topics lists of relevant websites, including blogs and forums, for ideas. Again, though, providing credit to whatever web places you got your ideas from is the decent thing to do.
At the start of a forum or new forum section it is generally the responsibility of the staff to create new topics. I find myself in the same situation a lot of times.
If they are posting on your forum, then you really can't ask for more. If you want to encourage people to create topics, you can always make a contest.. or you can do exchanges here on FP too.
I guess it gets a little tiresome sometimes being the only one starting new topics. I working on my own so i have no staff to rely on as such to start topics so things seems a little repetative!
I actually have a notepad with just a few words on each line as topic ideas. I write them down and save them for later, then try to add a few new topics every day to keep it running strong. But from what I've seen, the longer you keep doing it the more topics you will see from the rest of the members.
Scove are you asking the question in relation to the forum in your sig?
What about running a contest based around new topics? You don't even need to give a prize that would cost you any money, the recognition alone might encourage your members to post new topics.
Occasionally visit forums in the same niche as yours, to get an idea as to what types of topics are popular with their members.
I have been thinking of some kind of competition/prize and im liking the ideas. Thanks!
Also i do go on other forums and write a couple down and use those. I guess i will keep that up. It still pretty new so im trying to grow it and have current users enjoy there stay!
I've found myself in the same situation on more than one occasion. If this happens to you, maybe it's time you started requesting post exchanges and things like that, and then in this way peopel can help you start up topics on your forum so it at least even "looks" active. This is assuming it's a brand-new forum of course.
It actually doesn't matter what the topic is about - all you need to do is get the members into the act of replying and becoming more comfortable with the forum.
Remember, it just doesn't end there. Make sure to interact with them! Nothing is worse than a million topics, and people just answering the question like it's a survey. I've seen this so many times and it just seems so robotic. Talk to them! This is a community, not a sociological experiment 😛 When they say their favorite movie, ask them which part of the movie was their favorite, or recite lines from that movie, etc. To get posts, you must make posts!
Running a forum is a challenge, and your work never seems to end, no matter what kind of forum you run. But at the end of the day, you'll feel good knowing you accomplished something.
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