Getting traffic and people to sign up to a new forum

Forums are a catch 22. People want to join and learn from it, but if they arrive at your forum and nobody's posting - then they will think it's non-informative and will choose another forum to join. Some people suggest that you create your own fake profile and do some posting to make it look like your forum is active. This may work, but remember you have to find a way to keep people coming back to it over and over again. The first place i would market it to is my email list.

One of my good friends actually runs a automotive forum for a specific type of car and I will tell you that given you yourself are already knowledgeable about the topic, make sure that you have the forum sections/topics structured nicely and start some relevant "stickies" that relevant to each section and fill it with some good content as that's the main reason people are going to the forum to begin with so when they come to a forum that doesn't even have any quality starting information/resources it will be a turn off to them.

In the beginning allow the "sticky" sections to be either open and moderate them yourself to make sure they are relevant and clean so others are inclined to engage that come to the forum that are also knowledgeable about the topic and you will eventually get some good contributors who not only help add to the content but also you can start to acquire passionate moderators who will not only help you maintain the site and feel apart of the team as a whole but can also share it with their inner and outer circle of friends and acquaintances. These things may seem small but its a solid foundation and as content continues to be added i.e free trainings and tips videos etc.. it will grow as long as you continue to add QUALITY and no fluff to the site. hope that helps.


Damien

Hi,

Just a thought.

Forums are very hard to grow these days.

Grow a Facebook Group first.

Then use those members to join in your forum.

Because you can get fake profiles from fiverr etc... but engagement will be dead.

Forums are a great way to move forward but it will take massive amounts of time and energy.

My advice gorw Facebook group first, much easier and real people, then get them to join on your forums, then hopefully it will pick up itself

Hi. There are some tips for attracting more and more organic traffic. Check them and see which ones are working in your case: www [.] digitalauthority [.] me/insights/9-content-marketing-strategies-to-increase-organic-traffic-by-300-16-12-2016.

Forums are the best way because everyone who is belonging to the internet is going to join forums therefor you should try with forums.

I think that your best bet is to grow a Facebook Group or perhaps join an existing FB groups and look to point members to your forum.

Start writing with better titles then promote it to social media. You can include some photos, then you can invite guest contributors, conduct some give-away events

I would think that the best source of traffic would be social media, particularly FB groups as previously mentioned.

As regards fresh content for posts, you could outsource some informed posts from knowledgeable writers at Fiverr, Upwork etc. if the workload gets too much.

I agreed that forum needs massive energy and time to grow. It requires patience and hard work to make it active.

Facebook is the right platform to gain traffic to your forum, create a group then ask your member to join the forum soon after.

Automatically, will generate referral and your forum will get busy.

One of the best ways to get the forum going is to invite those who are already in that niche.

Search for blogs and websites in that niche and try and locate their contact details. If you can call them up nothing like it or else send them a mail briefing them about your forum and inviting them to join - for free of course. In fact you may need to tell them that it will create good publicity for their websites with their signature links and that they can even sell their products (similar to the WSO section here).

You can also publish press releases to attract people who may be interested in hedgehogs. In the initial days your friends may also need to lend a helping hand.

Why not put an ad in the Classifieds or Warriors Hiring section?

Hold contest? and blog commenting. and put up surveys/polls

You can join groups on facebook lots of traffic could be generated from this but you need to be an active member.

Use social media...a lot of people on facebook advertise their page and add their forums for people who want to learn a bit more. I've seen a lot of bloggers who use monetizing as an enticement to join their group or forum. You can also offer to give them a free tutorial but advise them to join your forum first by registering their email adds. In that way you can start having an email list and get more people to join.

Create several hundred fake profiles, spend the first months filling content by yourself. During that period promote heavily. Focus on keeping everybody in the same place in the beginning by having only one category.

Guys this is unreal. I've been messaging a well known European Champion on Facebook and he's agreed to do a Q and A on the forum. This could be big. I've only been advertising this online for the last hour (I know I'm probably jumping the gun) but no-ones asking questions lol done reddit, fb, twitter, tumblr. Anything I've missed??

Social media marketing is best method for your new forum promotion online for new users.

Hi, maybe start a fan page in Facebook.. Why don you try to connect those subscribers in your websites to your fan page

Hi,
I help you to join (100 people) your forum and the at least one post.

I'm surprised no one has really talked about this . . .

Promote your forum on sites where your targeted audience is already gathered: niche blogs, niche authority sites, niche product sites, niche news and events sites . . . these are the places where your audience can be found and where your promotions will be seen by those you want in your forum.

Sometimes you will have to convince the site owner that it is in his best interest to tell people about your site (banner ad, guest post, direct linking, email ad, etc) where they can engage with one another, learn about the niche, and discuss various topics of concern to all folks in the niche.

Doesn't it make sense to go where your best prospects will see you and give them a taste of what you have to offer? (Of course, you should already be building an email list).

Good luck to you,

Steve