My forum has been out for two weeks now, and I need more traffic. I have tried the usual sig links, telling people about it, a little backlinking, etc, but I need something more. Does anyone have any ideas for generating free traffic? I am ok with methods that involve a time commitment, but not a monetary one.
Search specific hashtags on different social networks relating to your forum and start talking to people that way. That will help pull people into your social network page which in turn will make them see your website link assuming you have it on your profile as well. That could maybe make them check it out and then possibly join your forum.
I guess you will need a good unique selling point. For example, if you have a promotion forum, there is thousands of promotion forums out there. What makes your forum better than others? If you can find this USP and do some sig links, telling people about it, a little backlinking etc would get you people. Put yourself in other people's shoes, what forum would you join? If you can make this forum, people would join.
An example is Paid to post forums get active real quick because lots of people wants to make money from posting and that is their USP but then again, it seems like the owner goes bankrupt quick because the costs exceeds revenue massively. Try to find your USP.
Yes. An idea is more powerful than just the hours and minutes you put in. I often try to think from the perspective of the market, the audience, to speculate on what people want to see. Then secondly, I think of what I myself am missing in services and then find ways to facilitate it for other people. This is the journey to 'finding that hole in the market' that you can fill.
You could try using Postloop, you can earn points there by commenting on other people's forum and then assign them to your forum. There is a banner in my signature if you want to join it.
