Getting members

[subodh]

Hi,
I know this is the most importnat step of any forum. I want to know how to get first few members that start posting in your forum.

 

[Shahrier]

What is the niche of your forum? Members will only join and start posting if you provide them a reason too. Meaning what does your forum offer that other forums don't? If nothing, then there is no point of your forum.

 

[Ganymede]

First off, you have to start your forum off with a bang. The way I got people to join my forum at first was by hosting a contest with a cash prize, in my case point cards for the console of their choice. I'm not sure if you can afford cash prizes, but if you can they are very good for getting members. My forum isn't even a month old yet and it just reached 50 members and 7,000 posts. Just something to think about.

Secondly, you always have to have something to post on. From personal experience, new members are pretty hasty to create new topics and they'd rather post in ones already established. If you want to get members posting, make topics that you can make a discussion out of, rather than a "What is your name" thread, or something along the lines of that.

I hope my tips worked out for you, if you want anything don't hesitate to ask.

 

[Postwhore]

zachuum, how did you promote your contest? Did members who signed up to get in on the contest stick around when it was over?

 

[Ganymede]

zachuum, how did you promote your contest? Did members who signed up to get in on the contest stick around when it was over?

I promoted my contest by going on popular forums such as here and just posted advertisement topics. If you're willing to work towards it, people will come.

And yes, most of the people who participated stayed. Over half of the members who've registered on my forum visit everyday. :great:

 

[calanau]

I guess its all depend on the content of your forum. As most of the forums are about games or just free discussion forum its not that hard to get an active members. If your forum is specialized on just one topic or for only small group such us for instant gardning lover its way more complicated to get a member but its more likely if you will get him that he will stay and be active asking questions or answering and sharing his exp with others. For the start try to creat a content on your website yourself then try to exchange some posts with other webmasters who are looking for more trafic. Then from day to day you will notice ur website is getting more and more members and they are more active.

Good luck with your website and remembere "Giving up is never an option"! 🙂

 

[Harvey M.]

Don't even bother thinking unless your site's ready yet. An attractive and eye catching theme, with perfectly configured boards and settings will be the most crucial place to start.

 

[Postwhore]

(Sorry to bump an old-ish thread - I forgot to check back until now.)

zachuum, how did you promote your contest? Did members who signed up to get in on the contest stick around when it was over?

I promoted my contest by going on popular forums such as here and just posted advertisement topics. If you're willing to work towards it, people will come.

And yes, most of the people who participated stayed. Over half of the members who've registered on my forum visit everyday. :great:

Thanks for the info! A couple more questions (for you or anyone else who cares to chime in):

1. Are frequent contests with small prizes are more effective than infrequent contests with more bigger prizes? What sorts of prizes have you offered?

2. I'd probably run the contest as "post #____ in this thread wins the prize; anyone who posts senseless jibberish is disqualified." Alternately, maybe "the first poster who reaches _____ posts wins a prize; anyone who posts senseless jibberish is disqualified." Any thoughts on which method is best? Are there other possibilities I'm overlooking?

I guess its all depend on the content of your forum. As most of the forums are about games or just free discussion forum its not that hard to get an active members. If your forum is specialized on just one topic or for only small group such us for instant gardning lover its way more complicated to get a member but its more likely if you will get him that he will stay and be active asking questions or answering and sharing his exp with others. For the start try to creat a content on your website yourself then try to exchange some posts with other webmasters who are looking for more trafic. Then from day to day you will notice ur website is getting more and more members and they are more active.

Good luck with your website and remembere "Giving up is never an option"! 🙂

Thanks. My forum is a general discussion one. Most of the regular posters already know each other from another web site we've all been members of for years. That said, I don't want it to be too cliquey - we'd love to have some new users to liven things up.

I guess the big downfall is that the privacy settings on the forum are high. I've recently allowed guests to view thread topics (they couldn't before), but registration is required to read posts. Maybe I ought to consider opening up a subforum or two...it's just that I know several posters (myself included) appreciate being on a board that isn't too public.

 

[adm-atp]

Most of the regular posters already know each other from another web site

That's one of the best ways to get members for your site - if they know
you from another forum, and liked your posts there, it is very likely that
they will be willing to join your board.