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Starting a millionth forum on "web technology". How do I get more members?

by theultimate1
11 replies
Hello Warriors,

I'm in the process (along with a friend) of putting up a forum (website). The market we're going after is "web technology". It'll cover discussion topics ranging from 'web design & development' to 'web hosting'. Well actually, pretty much only these two; but with many clearly-defined sub-forums.

I'm not looking to make a quick buck here. I understand that for a forum to monetise well (if at all), it needs to be extremely active.

Now, in all exaggerated honesty, this is going to be the millionth forum out there on 'web technology'. Yes, I know that means I need to find my USP, the differentiating factor of my website. And that isn't an easy task. My friend and I are working on that. But we also want to get started. And to pick up steam, we'll need a few members signing up with us and interacting actively. We have compiled ideas to put up at least a hundred good threads/discussion-points, and we're yet to go live (end of this week).

What are some really effective ways to get members to sign up with us?

I'd appreciate any thoughts, ideas and discussions here on this one. Thanks (in anticipation)
#forum #members #millionth #starting #web technology
  • Profile picture of the author radhika
    Initially convert one of your sub-forum to blog/article section and post informative articles there (I see you write articles in your signature).

    You can also hire few friends or freelancers to post the threads. Again they should be problem solving type.

    You are not in a hurry, so take it from here to further promote by SMM, Forum signatures etc.

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    • Profile picture of the author theultimate1
      Originally Posted by radhika View Post

      Initially convert one of your sub-forum to blog/article section and post informative articles there (I see you write articles in your signature).
      I had thought of having a separate blog section for the website, not as part of the forum or sub-forums. Are you suggesting a different approach where I need to use some "mods" or add-ons (since I'm using the phpBB forum script) using which I can switch between a blog section and a sub-forum over time?
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      • Profile picture of the author radhika
        Originally Posted by theultimate1 View Post

        I had thought of having a separate blog section for the website, not as part of the forum or sub-forums. Are you suggesting a different approach where I need to use some "mods" or add-ons (since I'm using the phpBB forum script) using which I can switch between a blog section and a sub-forum over time?
        My intention is to put content in your *forum folder* which will be indexed. If you create another folder 'blog', there will be less chances of your forum being indexed. So I suggested to post articles in your forum.

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        • Profile picture of the author theultimate1
          Originally Posted by radhika View Post

          My intention is to put content in your *forum folder* which will be indexed. If you create another folder 'blog', there will be less chances of your forum being indexed. So I suggested to post articles in your forum.

          .
          Oh ok. I'll do that. Better than the blog idea I have. Or maybe I'll do both just to see if having a separate blog section helps. However, I'm wondering how that will help me get more people to sign-up with my forum.
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  • Profile picture of the author kencalhn
    If i were doing it the focus needs to be "what's the latest updates/news" in that arena, so it's cutting edge new tips that are immediately useful to people, especially targeted, eg "Attention Windows 8 users -- 7 Tips for Using Amazon's New __ App?" type approach
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    • Profile picture of the author theultimate1
      Originally Posted by kencalhn View Post

      If i were doing it the focus needs to be "what's the latest updates/news" in that arena, so it's cutting edge new tips that are immediately useful to people, especially targeted, eg "Attention Windows 8 users -- 7 Tips for Using Amazon's New __ App?" type approach
      That's something we've definitely got in mind, and are also writing/compiling/curating such content at the moment. My understanding is that we will be able to put up such information on the blog section. How do I use the "latest updates/news" content to get more forum members?
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  • Profile picture of the author Weblover50
    Sorry for not being able to help, this is something I thought about in the past and gave up. Just a warning, don't see forum as something that would generate money immediately. It takes a lot of time, efforts to get your first 100 registered memebers. You will need to be patient and expect nothing in return, untill it reaches a point where you have a reasonable amount of traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author createyouwealth
    What you should to is make sure you post threads that are common problems, they need to be in a step by step problem solving format. Also, since you are in the niche that you are in you need to make sure you are up to date with the current softwares and graphics. See what is a common problem when they first come out and search for answers, and post that as a thread as well.
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    • Profile picture of the author Centarra
      You need to offer something that other forums do not. There needs to be a reason to switch to your forum. Whether it's a blog, partnering with some hosts to provide special offers, or something else. It needs to be unique.
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      • Profile picture of the author theultimate1
        Originally Posted by Centarra View Post

        You need to offer something that other forums do not. There needs to be a reason to switch to your forum. Whether it's a blog, partnering with some hosts to provide special offers, or something else. It needs to be unique.
        I've figured as much too. I'm looking for ideas on what I can offer to people to become members of my forum. Partnering up with some hosts is a good idea. I'll give it a shot.

        Another thing I'm considering is making it easy to signup to my forum using social login options via Facebook, Gmail/Google+, Twitter, etc. Would that be a good thing in the long run?
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  • Profile picture of the author angel43110
    Be unique!
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