My Tips for Building Active Community!

[ysNoi]

Nice tips you got there alex30...!

Hope to hear you too on this one....!

My Forum

[alex30]

TheListener great theme. You're using default theme now, just upload that theme to your server using theme manager in your admin panel. You're also using chat  box, I would remove it. I understand that many like to chat in chat box, but forum won't become popular if topics will be empty. Let google index your forum pages.

Seren I would change banner, make a bigger one. You know how many forums out there have similar look to yours? I saw a lot already with the same topic. If you're serious about having a forum and bring people on than think about how you can make your forum design different from others. Please follow those advices that I gave in first post.

ysNoi I like your layout, but I don't know what PHF means, but if you would put pH in this way then people will get that it's related to water. I would add a small explanation right under your banner, so people see what your forum is all about. I see you opened many topics and post, that's good. Get 2,3  serious people from related forums, assign them as moderators and work on opening new topics and post regularly. Work as a team, it will be easier then on your own. Post your links on related forums, you need to work on link building.

[Seren]

Wont let me make the banner any bigger. >.>

[alex30]

It's possible.

If you'll do a little research on these forums, you'll know how to do that.

[ysNoi]

ysNoi I like your layout, but I don't know what PHF means, but if you would put pH in this way then people will get that it's related to water. I would add a small explanation right under your banner, so people see what your forum is all about. I see you opened many topics and post, that's good. Get 2,3  serious people from related forums, assign them as moderators and work on opening new topics and post regularly. Work as a team, it will be easier then on your own. Post your links on related forums, you need to work on link building.

Thanks bro...! PHF means Pick-up Head Forum because that is our product in our company...! Wasn't able yet to design an optical pick-up on my banner...!

[alex30]

You see. I didn't get that, I thought that by pH you meant water.

[ysNoi]

You see. I didn't get that, I thought that by pH you meant water.

Thanks for eyeing that bro...I just don´t know now how to make it look so good...! I might edit it in the future as you said..!

[alex30]

It looks fine, fits in your forum colors, leave it as it is just add explanation under it so people know where they're are.

[wilsond]

I appreciate this topic because I had no idea how to get poeple to start posting to my forum it is dead and empty I will get started on using the tips leant here today.

Thanks a bunch.

[TheListener]

I appreciate this topic because I had no idea how to get poeple to start posting to my forum it is dead and empty I will get started on using the tips leant here today.

Thanks a bunch.

You won't get anyone registering if they are unable to view any boards.

The only permissions guests have on my forum are viewing the staff list and entering chat ( password required).

Guests can view the boards but are unable to view the topics.

[alex30]

Guys when you close all boards google, etc. bots cannot access your forums and index you in their search engines. If you want to close your boards then do it when you have a good group of people that come over every day, but I don't see a reason for closing it, just add a floating bar that says "register blah blah" make your forum interesting and you'll get those guests.

[wilsond]

Guys when you close all boards google, etc. bots cannot access your forums and index you in their search engines. If you want to close your boards then do it when you have a good group of people that come over every day, but I don't see a reason for closing it, just add a floating bar that says "register blah blah" make your forum interesting and you'll get those guests.

ohhh I had no idea.. I forgot how I did that, well let me fiddle with it and try to open it up

thanks guys!!

[alex30]

wilsond you also have a lot of ads on your front page. This will pull your guests off. I would reduce amount of ads first. This shows that money is your priority number one but now forum as a community place.

[wilsond]

wilsond you also have a lot of ads on your front page. This will pull your guests off. I would reduce amount of ads first. This shows that money is your priority number one but now forum as a community place.

Thanks for the tips alex30

[Codenomics]

The fake posting can look very bad, I have seen people alter their post count and you can see that it is fake.

Besides it is cheating! 

If you post a quesiton and then an immediate answer it will look fake as can be, also if you dont add some random deviations off of the topic it will look fake also.

Takes a lil bit of work to make a fake look real...
Cheating is harder than people think lol

[alex30]

wilsond you welcome.

Codenomics if that will be done in a way I explained, then there will be no problems. Once you got a few members that post daily then you won't need to do that anymore.

[Uhura!]

I do not agree with creating multiple identities & then posting back and forth to yourself.

A niche & good marketing plan will grow your forum.

One of my marketing tools for building membership is MySpace (we're a mom's forum), another is Craigslist, and the last is Facebook.

Our Marketing Plan:

Each weekend devote at least 1 hour to marketing. (I was very disciplined about that last year when we first started - but now I do it about twice a month because we're now a moderately active forum.)

MySpace
My forum has a MySpace page with a blog (www.MySpace.com/OurMomSpot) If it's a MySpace weeknd I use MySpace & search "women", aged 18-50, "proud parent" in various geographical areas...sending them messages inviting them to the forum. For every 45 messages I send, almost all view the MySpace page & blog. A few extend offers of firendship. (These peopel then have to be coaxed to the forum with follow up messgaes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't - but when it oes work - they become VERY active memebrs.)  Using this method, the forum gets about 3-7 visitors / views, and 1 or 2 who join the forum.

Facebook
On Facebook, I join parenting groups & place something on their walls about the forum. This usually generates a few "guests", nothing more at this point.

Criagslist
Maximum of 2 ads in two cities about the forum (any more and I could be "flagged" and prevented from posting any more ads.)

I answer ads from moms in various geographic area who say they are interested in meeting other moms or making new friends. Each message is c & p ed but tailored slighty to what the person said in their ad. Depending on the geographic area, this appears to attract the most people who view the forum, join it, and subsequantly become active participants.

I am still looking for more efficient (and FREE ) ways to advertise the forum & I also have to watch out for pickpocketers & poachers (people who join & try to direct traffic from the forum to their site.)


Again, this is only about 1 hour of my time on a Saturday or Sunday a few times a month. I get quite a lot done by c & p ing the invitations / messages and just tailoring them slightly depending on how the person describes themselves on MySpace or what they wrote in their Craigslist ad.

[alex30]

Hi Uhura!, it's your right to disagree, what works for me may not work for you. I understand.

Nice plan, thanks for sharing.

[Uhura!]

Hi Uhura!, it's your right to disagree, what works for me may not work for you. I understand.

Um...yeah.

Lots of luck to you.

[nomnomfish]

I am going to try the whole social networking thing on myspace and facebook.
Hopefully, it works!