how can I get people to join my forum?
- Thread starter chase195
- Start date
Well i have a few things that may help you.
When i click on your site i see a home page that is lacking a bit of info, i had y=to find my way to the discussion board to see what was what. I would suggest that you put a little more effort into your forum index page so people have a little more choice, to be honest, when i saw your link i immediately thought spam site like then ones we see about relationships.
I think a little more work in letting people see your board rather then the portal will help as some may feel a little put off.
Once you have done that you need to get yourself known to other Admins and look at affiliating and being an active member on theirs also. I say this cause getting a good sittings with others will help you to gain members. Just a few pointers i go by, i hope others will encourage you with more positive ideas.
Cheers
When i click on your site i see a home page that is lacking a bit of info, i had y=to find my way to the discussion board to see what was what. I would suggest that you put a little more effort into your forum index page so people have a little more choice, to be honest, when i saw your link i immediately thought spam site like then ones we see about relationships.
I think a little more work in letting people see your board rather then the portal will help as some may feel a little put off.
Once you have done that you need to get yourself known to other Admins and look at affiliating and being an active member on theirs also. I say this cause getting a good sittings with others will help you to gain members. Just a few pointers i go by, i hope others will encourage you with more positive ideas.
Cheers
Thank you I appreciate your information that will help alot, what do you suggest for a new website as I haven't had much luck\expierance latey just trying to get back into it 🙂 thanks again!
Yes, these things will help you a lot.
indeed
Bluezone777
Dinner Team Leader
If you are referring to the forum linked in your sig then I highly suggest adding more content as that will be your selling point and right now you have hardly anything so no one is going to be interested in a site that has nothing to offer. It's also not really apparent what your board's genre even is based on the number of forums and no clear indication of what your board is about and I think that will have to be fixed as well.
Another point I would make is thinking up an username for yourself as using admin as an username makes you look so impersonal and detached from the actual community.
Once you have something to advertise that is compelling then you just need to get the word out via sig, posts(where allowed) and by using the services of this forum and others like it would be a good start.
Another point I would make is thinking up an username for yourself as using admin as an username makes you look so impersonal and detached from the actual community.
Once you have something to advertise that is compelling then you just need to get the word out via sig, posts(where allowed) and by using the services of this forum and others like it would be a good start.
Japanese Metal Forum
Acquaintance
1. Networking with friends who are interested in your niche. No one will join a forum where the administrator talks to himself, and dummy accounts are usually very easy to spot.
2. Neatly organized, well-written, exclusive content about your niche. If possible, try not to add too many child forums, unless they are necessary and filled with exclusive content.
3. Easygoing community vibe to make new members feel at home. No one likes being chased out for having an opinion or not knowing a lot about the niche.
4. Post exchanges with people who are interested in your niche. There are many promotion forums for that kind of request.
5. Actively promote where possible, but don't overdo it. Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, and HubPages are good for organic reaches.
6. Tweak Google SEO settings. How are people going to conveniently find you among search results for "X niche forum"?
7. Fast, reliable server loading times. No one likes being on a forum that takes almost a minute to load up.
8. Mobile device compatibility. People don't use computers all that much anymore, but would still be interested in lurking.
9. Do your best to avoid discussing politics, religion, and so on, unless that's what your forum is about. Most people join forums to get away from that stuff, because it's so personal.
10. Customize your own theme(s), even if it's just recoloring the default theme and slapping a different logo on it. The point is to not easily resemble ANY other forum in your niche, but similar aesthetics will not drive people away.
2. Neatly organized, well-written, exclusive content about your niche. If possible, try not to add too many child forums, unless they are necessary and filled with exclusive content.
3. Easygoing community vibe to make new members feel at home. No one likes being chased out for having an opinion or not knowing a lot about the niche.
4. Post exchanges with people who are interested in your niche. There are many promotion forums for that kind of request.
5. Actively promote where possible, but don't overdo it. Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, and HubPages are good for organic reaches.
6. Tweak Google SEO settings. How are people going to conveniently find you among search results for "X niche forum"?
7. Fast, reliable server loading times. No one likes being on a forum that takes almost a minute to load up.
8. Mobile device compatibility. People don't use computers all that much anymore, but would still be interested in lurking.
9. Do your best to avoid discussing politics, religion, and so on, unless that's what your forum is about. Most people join forums to get away from that stuff, because it's so personal.
10. Customize your own theme(s), even if it's just recoloring the default theme and slapping a different logo on it. The point is to not easily resemble ANY other forum in your niche, but similar aesthetics will not drive people away.
Disagreed. There is absolutely no harm in providing sections for that. If people don't want that but like your forum they will stil join and just avoid that section.
Japanese Metal Forum
Acquaintance
I completely disagree with there being "no harm". I've personally seen core members being driven away by loudmouthed morons who spoke in absolutes. They can try to avoid controversial sections, but it's still a great potential for abuse. The problem with that kind of stuff, at least nowadays, is that people have become very, very divided. The point of a community is to bring everyone together on a common interest. You start to see a member differently when you realize that their politics are completely the opposite from yours, and you can either try to go about it civilly or outright get into it.
Like I said, I'm not against political discussions, but less of that is always a positive. Chances are that if you do provide an outlet for political threads, you'll be risking losing a few core members who added a lot to your forum. It's very annoying having to hear about politics, especially American politics. There are better places for those discussions. Not on forums about anime or music.
It's just best that forums don't dwell on that stuff. It's a mostly toxic environment.
Like I said, I'm not against political discussions, but less of that is always a positive. Chances are that if you do provide an outlet for political threads, you'll be risking losing a few core members who added a lot to your forum. It's very annoying having to hear about politics, especially American politics. There are better places for those discussions. Not on forums about anime or music.
It's just best that forums don't dwell on that stuff. It's a mostly toxic environment.
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Japanese Metal Forum has a point about networking with friends. Going it alone will only force you into a situation where you have to buy traffic. However, your networking friends must be such close friends that they would be willing to post and/or recommend others who can post. Note, though, you can have situations where people like your content, you get visitors (but only 40 or so at a time), but you're just not buddy-buddy enough with a group - like some are - where you have a gang working for you.
I still disagree.
If it's not operating in a mature and civil manner the moderators aren't doing their job.
Take it from me, I ran a busy forum centered around Politics and Religion from 2007-2010 and we rarely had any issues.
Japanese Metal Forum
Acquaintance
Political discussions were less divisive back then. I'm talking about how things are usually handled these days that I'd like to minimize as much as possible on my forums. If people want to discuss politics, then that's all well and fine, as long they don't get overzealous. When one member is being singled out, then moderators should step in and break it up. It's not the moderators at fault for allowing the facilitation of these discussions, but the kinds of members that join up. Nowadays, most political "discussions" are witch hunts over a particular party or two, depending on the people involved.
For every positive experience with running a forum on politics and religion, there are several others that weren't at all. I've seen it all with heated discussions on these subject matters, and I'd like to provide a different environment for my members. There are far better places to discuss these subjects, as they tend to get personal.
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