Here are some great tips that I got from a 2006 post. I've come across many "how to tips" and I can honestly say that the following tips really cover most of the important factor on site promotions. Hope it helps.
1. Your forum should be interesting.
While this may sound obvious, it often goes overlooked. Your forum must provide something for the user to want to join and post. The best way to attract new users is to have fresh content updated often, even if that requires you to do a lot of posting initially.
2. Your forum should be targeted while leaving room for some diversity in topics.
Starting a general discussion forum is not going to get you a lot of members in a hurry, that is unless you know a lot of people. Find a topic that appeals to you, and make your board the focus of it. It is perfectly acceptable to have a couple general discussion forums, but make sure that the topic of your boards focus remains clear.
3. Maintain an active presence in the day to day operations.
Successful forums are not only started by the forum owner, but they are maintained on a daily basis by them too. This suggestion really cannot be emphasized enough; maintain an active presence! As a forum owner, not only are you responsible for the content of your forum, but you also have a vested interest in seeing it succeed. Visit your forum at least once a day, and reply to posts when needed and post new topics when your forum appears to be slowing down. Remember, a neglected board is doomed to fail.
4. Start with just a few forums.
Creating dozens of forums at the start will only serve to confuse and overwhelm your users. Not only that, but having dozens of forums with little if any posts will give visitors the impression that your forum is dead. Start with no more two or three categories, and no more than 6-8 forums total.
5. Clearly state your forum rules and regulations in a friendly, welcoming manner.
Since you want your visitors to feel welcome, a good rule of thumb is to require civil conduct; i.e. no profanity, flaming, personal attacks, etc. Keep your rules short and to the point without sounding overly restrictive or controlling.
6. Communicate in style.
While it is tempting to keep the default style for your forum, choosing one that better matches your target audience will add to your forums appeal. Don't be tempted to go overboard, using an X-Box style would be appropriate for a pet owners forum. On the other hand, using a style with lots of dark colors would ideal for forums whose core topic is sci-fi related.
7. Promotion... Promotion... Promotion...
Once you have points 1-5 down, then the time is right to begin promoting your new forum. While promoting your forum could easily be the topic for a whole article in and of itself, here are some basic ideas to get you started. First, your forum is automatically listed in our search engine friendly forums directory, and will eventually be picked up by most of the major search engines. There is still much more that can be done... Invite your friends and family. Put a link to your board in your e-mail and forum signatures, but be sure that you are not breaking the rules of other forum operators. Search for online directories relevant to your forum topic and submit your link to them.
8. Patience is a virtue.
Even with all of the right ingredients, building a successful forum takes time. Just as seeds do not grow over night, neither will your forum. Taking care, being involved, and by following these suggestions your forum will gain momentum and begin to grow on it's own.
1. Your forum should be interesting.
While this may sound obvious, it often goes overlooked. Your forum must provide something for the user to want to join and post. The best way to attract new users is to have fresh content updated often, even if that requires you to do a lot of posting initially.
2. Your forum should be targeted while leaving room for some diversity in topics.
Starting a general discussion forum is not going to get you a lot of members in a hurry, that is unless you know a lot of people. Find a topic that appeals to you, and make your board the focus of it. It is perfectly acceptable to have a couple general discussion forums, but make sure that the topic of your boards focus remains clear.
3. Maintain an active presence in the day to day operations.
Successful forums are not only started by the forum owner, but they are maintained on a daily basis by them too. This suggestion really cannot be emphasized enough; maintain an active presence! As a forum owner, not only are you responsible for the content of your forum, but you also have a vested interest in seeing it succeed. Visit your forum at least once a day, and reply to posts when needed and post new topics when your forum appears to be slowing down. Remember, a neglected board is doomed to fail.
4. Start with just a few forums.
Creating dozens of forums at the start will only serve to confuse and overwhelm your users. Not only that, but having dozens of forums with little if any posts will give visitors the impression that your forum is dead. Start with no more two or three categories, and no more than 6-8 forums total.
5. Clearly state your forum rules and regulations in a friendly, welcoming manner.
Since you want your visitors to feel welcome, a good rule of thumb is to require civil conduct; i.e. no profanity, flaming, personal attacks, etc. Keep your rules short and to the point without sounding overly restrictive or controlling.
6. Communicate in style.
While it is tempting to keep the default style for your forum, choosing one that better matches your target audience will add to your forums appeal. Don't be tempted to go overboard, using an X-Box style would be appropriate for a pet owners forum. On the other hand, using a style with lots of dark colors would ideal for forums whose core topic is sci-fi related.
7. Promotion... Promotion... Promotion...
Once you have points 1-5 down, then the time is right to begin promoting your new forum. While promoting your forum could easily be the topic for a whole article in and of itself, here are some basic ideas to get you started. First, your forum is automatically listed in our search engine friendly forums directory, and will eventually be picked up by most of the major search engines. There is still much more that can be done... Invite your friends and family. Put a link to your board in your e-mail and forum signatures, but be sure that you are not breaking the rules of other forum operators. Search for online directories relevant to your forum topic and submit your link to them.
8. Patience is a virtue.
Even with all of the right ingredients, building a successful forum takes time. Just as seeds do not grow over night, neither will your forum. Taking care, being involved, and by following these suggestions your forum will gain momentum and begin to grow on it's own.
