Starting a forum

milvos · Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 6

We have been working on a forum for 5 to 6 months and it is starting to grow, we have also been using forum booster to help with this. What experiences have people had time wise in really getting a forum working with 10 to 20 posts a day and daily sign ups.

Dean

melanie_g · Joined: 17 Nov 2006 Posts: 7 Location: Tennessee

I think there are a lot of factors to determine how long it takes for a forum to really kick off. My experience is that as long as there are a couple of people commited to keeping things going, and posting new topics regularly then it will happen. My forum started about 4 years ago with just a few people and a good idea. Now we average about 500 posts per week and have over 300 members!
I would say it took about 8 - 12 months, though, for things to really start growing at a steady pace.

Good luck:)
_________________
Melanie:)

nmruzgal · Joined: 11 Jul 2007 Posts: 9

Guess it takes perserverance here. This will not only enhance your wriiting skills and sharing your wits, it is also about earning something out of these.

PneumaticMuffin · Joined: 31 Jul 2007 Posts: 8

SEO is key to make your forum rooted on the internet. Think of each thread as a root, each post as a building block of those roots. Every thread is a "solution" to members and for each long thread there is a solution somewhere. You want each thread to be rooted big on the internet thru search engine optimization that makes sures all the posts in every thread is utilized at maximum. All of the posts should be listed on all major search engines. directory submission services should be used as well as using signature links in forums to improve your SE Rankings.

missy · Joined: 13 Aug 2007 Posts: 14

Please help me,

I just want to know guys what are the basics in starting a forum. Im not well versed about web designing, advertising etc. In other words, sometimes im confused how a forum works and how to maximize a forum and etc.

A reply will be much appreciated.Thanks in advanced.

mom2manyboyz · Joined: 31 Mar 2008 Posts: 6

I have never started a forum, however, I belong to a few that I read and post to regularly (for pleasure, not pay). I learned about these forums by word of mouth, not by searching. The best way to kick off a forum IMO, is having dedicated posters that will spread the word and keep returning.

tmostuff · Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 19

My wife just started her forum and is asking the same questions about whether paid posting is the way to go and how to get the interest of regular viewers.

Primus · Joined: 21 Apr 2008 Posts: 6

swansont · Joined: 31 May 2008 Posts: 5

From personal experience it usually takes a couple years to get a forum really active and thriving with quality members and content.

I think one of the main things that you have to look into to get a forum growing is search engine optimization. Having quality title tags, and possibly even vbseo is a essential part to getting a forum active.

I think having a service like ForumBooster can give you some quality content that will really help you on the search engines and make your forum appear active.

Hope this helps!

dectroo · Joined: 18 Jul 2008 Posts: 8

Really, use the SEO is a useful way to make your forum active or in other word, to get more traffic, but the main useful way, it have great content, good look and very good organization of your menus.

Do some contest games, have more moderators, post on a free zone descussion ,... can be a strong factor to have a good forum, therefore to have a famous Forum.

Dectroo

trose7 · Joined: 27 Jul 2008 Posts: 5

The bets thing to do is to tell friends. Word of mouth is huge.

I started a forum and within a couple weeks I had 100+ posts per day and 50 members. After a month I had 100 members and 100+ posts a day. After two months it crashed. With still about 100 members we were averaging 50 posts a day, which fell tyo 10 or so after a while.

It's tough, but keep at it and never give up.

taylorjay22 · Joined: 29 Aug 2008 Posts: 5

In my experience I would say that the best way to advertise is actually not using the internet. You have to make a reputation for your forum that suits what the person is looking for. They are usually seeking an answer or need advice about something, and the best thing you can do to meet their needs is to make sure that their inquiry on your forum is fulfilled ASAP. Doing so will result in total satisfaction for this person, which will likely lead to word of mouth such as talking to friends and family about your site. This in turn generates a lot of leads, and generally a ton of business for you.

JewelH · Joined: 11 Sep 2008 Posts: 17 Location: Oregon

I know that it takes time to get a forum off the ground.

I started my fist forum a couple of years ago, when I started my first web site. The forum was a plug in that you can add to the web site. I thought this was a great idea as I didn't have to learn any script.

This forum took a lot of my time, and it did get attention by others, however it also got full of spam. No matter how much spam I deleted and how many members I booted due to posting spam, more spam followed. Consequently, I made the decision that I was not ready or prepared to run a forum.

Now two years latter I have started yet another web site and this site was in need of a forum, so I again added the add on to my web site. I must say that I am enjoying this forum much more than the first. Even though sometimes I feel like the only one in the conversation because I have viewers but no posters.

This forum I am mentioning is seven months old, and it is a place where I list winners of contests that I have, it's a place where people can ask questions about my web site, and so much more.

I do think that it is important that the forum sticks to a main topic. This keeps people focused and the forum looking clean, you will definitely have to devote time to your forum daily.

Therefore, if your thinking of starting a forum, first make a plan. Below I have put some questions that will help you get started.

1) What will your forum focus topic be?
2) How much time will you devote to your forum daily?
3) Where will you advertise your forum?
4) Who can I get to help me with my forum?

What ever you do remember you are not alone in the world of forums, and if you build it people will come.

WaffleStomp · Joined: 21 Sep 2008 Posts: 20

Hi Milvos

Definitely Forum Booster is great to use to get your forum going, I would recommend putting your forum in at The Admin Zone ( I can't post the site for you the system wouldn't let me ) and posting in " Community Cooperative " asking for promoters for your site and moderators, and maybe offering them 5 bucks or something, that's how I got my forum up

Zyta · Joined: 23 Sep 2008 Posts: 6

I could never really get my forums off the ground, per se. Most of the members that I invite are already on other forums with larger communities and it is a lot easier to meet up on those ones since that is where we all met. However, I find that without at least some members in the beginning who are willing to post, at least once, daily than those who may come frmo a serach engine won't see that it is growing and leave.