Hi all,
I am fairly new to this forum business, despite being a member of some...LOL.
I got my forum up, but only have 3 users so far including myself - and they are friends of mine.
I have not marketed it anywhere yet, since I been working on the main site that is linked to it.
I am aware through Google I could optimize my site so it will be ranked higher, etc. which may help in gaining membership.
What has worked for you, that you do not mind sharing?
Thanks
well, my site has no members because i use a free host but, i tell people about it on diffrent forums and stuff like that.
Joining forum topsites have helped me alot, advertising on msn and other chat sites. Other than that, I get members to refer, still not got many members "80" but hoping to get more soon
The most important part is having a good forum to begin with. You need to be offering something compelling. Running a successful forum is easier if your subject matter is not being covered in-depth anywhere else. If you open up a general video game forum or general discussion forum, don't expect to take off. Find a niche and work within it.
So now you've created a centralized hub for your hobby. So go to other sites where the content may be loosely related to yours but not specializing in it, and begin promoting your site there.
In the end though, it will always be content that brings people in. Most successful forums were not simply forums; they also had a website attached to them containing information.
My site focuses on traveling and living in South East Asia. I know a few established sites, where I was going to plug the site. I asked the main honchos for their permission but they did not get back to me yet - which was expected - however, you never know.
I think there is a decent demand for it, check it out:
http://www.norbyson.com
I am trying to figure out where I can market it to get good exposure and gain some members. As I mentioned I know some established sites that are within my realm, however, I am a bit reluctant to advertise on their site since I do not want steal their thunder!
There are a zillion other sites out there I can advertise on.
What do you think?
Your site is too broad, I think. You'd be better off to focus on a single country than so many. Also, there's no content on your site.
can i comment on the name of the site? i would not even dream of associating your site's content to that name...no offense intended...
* Don't spam people with emails
* Make sure your forum is what people want (i.e. if you have a forum about something really random that no one's interested in, or about something which there are hundreds of other forums are, it's not going to work).
* Keep the little community you currently have active and a good community.
I agree the name needs to be changed and I need to add content, however I do not believe it is too broad. When people go to SE Asia, they generally visit multiple countries.
I changed the URL today. It is:
http://www.asianadventures.org, I was holding onto 'norbyson' since it was a nickname given to me by friends and family from my time in Asia (my real name is Norbert, nickname: norby, hence, norbyson ..lol) - I chose this initially since I felt it would be easy to remember. So I should get more traffic with the switch,right? Since I did it today it will take 24 hours to go into effect.