MyBB Community Forums

ok. i need some tips. what in your mind get members to your forums. any tips or anything that can help me would be good.

Create a good content page, like say with videos,audio or a gallery and have the forums able to look at by guests but sign up to view the high content page, works for me!

hey

well 1st of all you should have somehow a unqiue content, subject, or materials. for example if u are making a forum about msn, dont think of it millions are already there, and you can't beat them ....
as an illustration always write unique free articles or tips etc..

2- also a very important element to help people finding your site, is the meta tags, use meta tags.
to add to you board go to Admin CP > Templates > Modify / Delete > Expand > Header

i have choosed header because it's included in all the pages.

add this code at the top

<META NAME="Title" CONTENT="TECHEX - The Forum">
<META NAME="Description" CONTENT="TECHEX - The Forum, where technology, PC matters, Mybb Support - Translations - Mods - plugins, Health, Msn/Windows messenger, wlm invites, Gaming, On Request Graphics, Tec Talk etc.. disccussions are found.

Take you chance and visit!!!! don't miss it.">
<META NAME="Keywords" CONTENT="Technology,msn,techex,health,acne,mybb, mods,on request graphics,flash,gaming,consols">

customize it the way you want , with your own relative info.

3- Make as much link exchange with as many as you can, include some banners in your site, for free as a start.

4- submit your site in many directories such as http://www.dmoz.com/ and http://www.linkmarket.net.

5- The style is also crutial, an attractive style will let the guest relax and enjoy his visit.


many regards

Thank guys. my forum is about hockey. i have added it to some search engine already. keep it coming. some good ideas so far.

Here are a few ways of getting members and more importantly Keeping them.

Most people focus on getting members but that is the easy part. The hard part is keeping them interested. Your site/forum should offer something that will not just attract members but keep them there too. Something different. If your forum is the same as the hundreds of other forums out there on a particular chosen subject then why would people want to join?

A good way to do this is examine sites of the same subject matter and think what could be done to make these better. Then incorporate these ideas into your own forum.

Other important elements are :-

Style

A good forum style is crutial for making that first impression. Alot of people will join a forum purely based on the style. However if the style is hard on the eyes and uninviting people are going to quickly exit from your forum and look elsewhere.

Moderation

An unwelcoming moderation team who focus way too much on the rules and less on discussion will often scare new members away. New members are going to double post and maybe post what is considered spam to some. If you close all there threads and edit all there posts without explaining why in a nice manner, they will more than likely go elsewhere.

Structure
Make your forum structure easy to navigate. Members dont want to spend endless amounts of time looking around for discussion topics. Also a new forum should not start off with too many forums and subforums. Start small and maybe add more forums as you get more members. 4 forums with 100 posts each in looks better than 40 forums with 10 posts in each.

Not really about getting members but more about keeping them. Hope it helps you anyway.

My site is dedicated to my family history. In fact, it is listed in the top 5 sites for all major search engines. Problem is, I can't get anyone to actually register.

I offer MyBB forums plus an online GEDCOM viewer (allows registered members to add and correct information). The current GEDCOM has tens of thousands of individuals.

What else do I add to convert high page rank to members?

I tried the idea of putting background music on my forum and got complaints about it (it only played on the index page). I've submitted to a countless number of directories, have submitted to both LinkMarket and DMOZ with no way of knowing if my site is even listed, and have also advertised my forum where I go to school. My forum is here and is about video games. I set it up after my "boss" asked me to do so. I'm out of ideas.