Stopping the recycling of the same members

[Geoffrey]

In case you haven't noticed, a lot of forums (most of them) around here are really just the same group of members talking about different (or the same) things. Take the example of a new promotion forum promoted here on FP: people join it, and then another new-ish promotion forum is promoted on that new forum and people join it. We end up with a handful of promotion forums and forums of other niches but the same members on all of them - or eventually, no members on most of them because people are tired of just talking to the same people (there's no point).

We need to start promoting our forums to people who don't already know about forums if we really want to break this (re)cycle. Sure, there are people on other forums far across the Interwebz but there are also lots of people who have no idea a forum/message board is a thing. And we happen to have a great way to reach them: social media.

Let's stop looking at forums as anything more than they are: organized areas for discussions. Let's focus on finding people interested in our niches and not just people who are interested in forums.

I'm not really sure where I'm going with this. Share your thoughts, I suppose.

 

[Scarface]

I agree with this! I have been promoting outside of FP recently and have seen new members who are not familiar with whole promotion concept and its working good so far. But problem is we still need the same circle also as a start or continuous posts, other users will only stay if they see forum content worthy for them to stay as regular,

 

[Geoffrey]

I agree with this! I have been promoting outside of FP recently and have seen new members who are not familiar with whole promotion concept and its working good so far. But problem is we still need the same circle also as a start or continuous posts, other users will only stay if they see forum content worthy for them to stay as regular,

Yeah, our little circle here is good for generating that initial content for sure. We just need to stop relying on the circle to make the forum last.

I think that's the real reason so many forums fail. It's not a lack of admin dedication or anything like that (which usually gets blamed), it's the false idea that the same group of people want to continue posting on multiple forums day in and day out. #branchout

 

[CM30]

To be fair, this is going to be an unavoidable issue with a few niches. I mean, look at most admin forums in general. Almost all of those share the same few members. The amount of people wanting to promote a forum isn't a particularly high one, at least not in the bigger scheme of things.

But I guess the best way to avoid this is simple; don't just post on the same forums. Don't just advertise your site where everyone is advertising their site. The more different places you mention or link to your forum, the more varied your users will be.

 

[Geoffrey]

To be fair, this is going to be an unavoidable issue with a few niches. I mean, look at most admin forums in general. Almost all of those share the same few members. The amount of people wanting to promote a forum isn't a particularly high one, at least not in the bigger scheme of things.

It's actually completely avoidable. Do you think the forums promoted here and connected admin/promotion forums are the only forums on the web? No. There are tons more out there that have never heard of Forum Promotion, despite our prominent status as a promotion forum.

But this isn't just about promotion forums, that's just one example. This can apply to general or niche-based forums: a member of Forum A creates a new forum, links to that forum in their Forum A signature, and their forum (Forum B) soon has the same members. It happens all the time around here.

 

[CM30]

To be fair, this is going to be an unavoidable issue with a few niches. I mean, look at most admin forums in general. Almost all of those share the same few members. The amount of people wanting to promote a forum isn't a particularly high one, at least not in the bigger scheme of things.

It's actually completely avoidable. Do you think the forums promoted here and connected admin/promotion forums are the only forums on the web? No. There are tons more out there that have never heard of Forum Promotion, despite our prominent status as a promotion forum.

But this isn't just about promotion forums, that's just one example. This can apply to general or niche-based forums: a member of Forum A creates a new forum, links to that forum in their Forum A signature, and their forum (Forum B) soon has the same members. It happens all the time around here.

My answer was mostly about the webmaster/promotional forums advertised here.

It's definitely avoidable for the others. If you don't want all the same Forum Promotion members, post on sites and communities about the actual niche instead. Post links to your site in your signature (or in posts if allowed) on forums dedicated to your topic. Exchange links with topically related websites outside of Forum Promotion or any other admin sites. Mention your site on Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, Google +, Reddit communities, etc.

A lot of sites posted here only get the same members because they only advertise on webmaster forums rather than the sites actually used by their target audience. It's kind of like why link directories don't work; your audience doesn't use them, only fellow webmasters.

 

[Sharon]

You are absolutely right. I think activity boosts are great which promotion forums like FP are great for, but as far as long term activity...a lot of that type of correspondence depends on diversity of a forum. This is a bit of an eye opener for me honestly because I haven't advertised outside of the promotion forum community in a good long while.

 

[MasterA]

I think this is just mainly with the Promotion niche. If you go and look at other type of forums such as admin and gaming forums, then you say many new faces.

 

[CM30]

I think this is just mainly with the Promotion niche. If you go and look at other type of forums such as admin and gaming forums, then you say many new faces.

That's a good point. Although I'd say it's more with the webmaster niche in general than the gaming one. Seems like pretty much all forums in this area attract the same people over and over again.

Just see any admin forum and count how many people you recognise from elsewhere. Or who you recognise from promotion forums.

 

[MrDawn]

I've noticed this on just about forum I've joined that was advertised or I was introduced to on Forum Promotion. Each forum I join gets a tremendous boost of activity on its first day or first week, but when the newest forum comes out, people drop that forum and it pretty much goes inactive and dies. Its very discouraging.

 

[Cosmic]

You do have a pretty good point here. I guess it's a lot easier to sell the concept of a forum to someone who already understands forums, but unless forums find new people, then the larger community of people who use forums will drop in size over time. I don't think I have the solution to this, though. It's pretty hard to promote to people on social networks, etc. since those people just want to use social networks. 😛

 

[Forces of Steel]

That's why I never join them. I'd prefer reaching out to someone who isn't already on dozens of other similar forums.

 

[ForumsGroup]

The more places you promote your forum, the more opportunities that someone who found that site is going to see your site. Not all promotion forums promote in the same places or get the same traffic. Just because you see a few of the same people doesn't mean every user is signed up on this or that forum.

 

[Twisted Fairytale]

This, to me, is the biggest challenge that people face when promoting on Forum Promotion. They focus on posting all over places like FP to get their site known, but do nothing in terms of SEO and actual advertising on sites with the same or similar niches.

You're going to get the same users if you keep advertising on the same places. You really need to have good SEO and a decent advertising campaign.

 

[Watch Me Sink]

In case you haven't noticed, a lot of forums (most of them) around here are really just the same group of members talking about different (or the same) things. Take the example of a new promotion forum promoted here on FP: people join it, and then another new-ish promotion forum is promoted on that new forum and people join it. We end up with a handful of promotion forums and forums of other niches but the same members on all of them - or eventually, no members on most of them because people are tired of just talking to the same people (there's no point).

This has happened since this forum began. :lol:

 

[Sharon]

I love this topic. Does anyone else have any suggestions on how to gain "non-recycled" members? Exchanges are great however, all of these threads and posts are starting to sound the same when the same individuals are saying the same things over and over. As far as gaining new and good quality members I know a lot of it depends on our niche too.

 

[Ashley z]

Reddit is one of the most popular message boards in the world. It hosts millions of posts and is not centered around one subject. The site is huge. If you haven't visited it, check it out sometime.

The reason I'm mentioning Reddit is because of how it started. The Administrators started the site, hoping it would be a nice page for everyone to collaborate about ideas and share newsworthy stories. It took a while for it to grow into what it is today, but it started much like a new forum does. The Administrators posted from various accounts to give the false sense of the site being popular. As they gained members, they didn't have to do it anymore.

You're exactly right, there's no issue with FP members bandwagoning on to each other's forums to help them get their first couple hundred posts, but you can't rely on that forever. The largest site in the world began with Admins creating multiple accounts and convincing their online buddies/IRL friends to post stuff to help them. That was just the beginning though, so be like Reddit - Adapt your marketing and advertising to springboard off of the existing posts (that you bought with FP, convinced friends to write...) so that it can grow even larger.

I love this topic. Does anyone else have any suggestions on how to gain "non-recycled" members? Exchanges are great however, all of these threads and posts are starting to sound the same when the same individuals are saying the same things over and over. As far as gaining new and good quality members I know a lot of it depends on our niche too.

If you want to advance your post exchanges to spice up the content a bit, check out Postloop. It provides an automated exchange service that constantly puts you in contact with forum posters and owners that you may never have come across on FP or other promotion forums. I'm surprised it's still a live website, I used it a bunch many years ago, but never expected it to last this long. It must still work well.

 

[Sharon]

Reddit is one of the most popular message boards in the world. It hosts millions of posts and is not centered around one subject. The site is huge. If you haven't visited it, check it out sometime.

The reason I'm mentioning Reddit is because of how it started. The Administrators started the site, hoping it would be a nice page for everyone to collaborate about ideas and share newsworthy stories. It took a while for it to grow into what it is today, but it started much like a new forum does. The Administrators posted from various accounts to give the false sense of the site being popular. As they gained members, they didn't have to do it anymore.

You're exactly right, there's no issue with FP members bandwagoning on to each other's forums to help them get their first couple hundred posts, but you can't rely on that forever. The largest site in the world began with Admins creating multiple accounts and convincing their online buddies/IRL friends to post stuff to help them. That was just the beginning though, so be like Reddit - Adapt your marketing and advertising to springboard off of the existing posts (that you bought with FP, convinced friends to write...) so that it can grow even larger.

I love this topic. Does anyone else have any suggestions on how to gain "non-recycled" members? Exchanges are great however, all of these threads and posts are starting to sound the same when the same individuals are saying the same things over and over. As far as gaining new and good quality members I know a lot of it depends on our niche too.

If you want to advance your post exchanges to spice up the content a bit, check out Postloop. It provides an automated exchange service that constantly puts you in contact with forum posters and owners that you may never have come across on FP or other promotion forums. I'm surprised it's still a live website, I used it a bunch many years ago, but never expected it to last this long. It must still work well.

I think I should check it out for sure. I've had a few people referred to us from PL - I'm not entirely sure how it works to be honest but yes I shall check it out. Thanks! :great:

 

[Ashley z]

I think I should check it out for sure. I've had a few people referred to us from PL - I'm not entirely sure how it works to be honest but yes I shall check it out. Thanks! :great:

Basically you sign up, activate your account and forum (you have to verify that you are the owner) and then start looking for forum owners who are paying for posts. You then go onto their forum, connect your account that you made on their forum to your Postloop account, and start posting. You earn points when you post and then use those points to buy posts for your own forum.

Last time I checked, you can set the rates that you are willing to pay and also restrictions on how many posts any one user can make on your forum each day. Most of the time anyone you pay (with points) to make posts will end up coming back each day for more points which means you end up with a few active members on your forum instead of dozens of people who only post 2-3 times.

I believe you can purchase points with real cash.

 

[drucrazy]

Well sadly postloop declined me, they are very picky.

To get approved every review post you make must be perfect with no mistakes, yet I see people on there with short and crappy posts but never get their account suspended.

I've tried to get myself unsuspended and requested a re-review but they just removed my post that took me 20 or so minutes to write.

You just need to try advertising your website out of the forum area, buy some banners anywhere and try to attract new people who are going to be potentially new to the forum community.