14 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
14 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

How Would You Market A Forum?

by cpwebsite
12 replies
Hello Everyone,
I have just created a new forum in the online currency area (think bitcoin, litecoin ect.)

This is a market that I'm very interested in and knowledgeable about and so I decided to create my own forum about it. There is currently only one major digital currency forum out there, and there is a second one that is growing quickly (not counting specialty ones such as the dedicated litecoin forum), so I decided to create my own.

In the past 24 hours I've had 13 new members join and the forum has gotten ~110 visits and I've spent ~$5 of my own money on this.


However, I find forums hard to promote because most other forums are against you promoting your own forum there - for a good reason. The biggest problem I feel like I'm going to have is that the forum won't grow by itself until I get a decent amount of members posting in their free time.


Do you guys have any advice? Do you think the $5 I spent was well worth it? I spent it on a giveaway thread but I feel like many of those members will just post once in the giveaway and then not post anywhere else.

Thanks,
cpwebsite
#forum #market
  • Profile picture of the author Tom Addams
    This sounds great. I wish you all the best with it!

    A possible plan of attack.

    A forum is essentially a collection of people who share a common interest. Well, certainly this applies to your forum.

    The question is, how can you populate it?

    The answer: by promoting it to the same collections of people on other platforms.

    So . . .

    Social Networks

    Create accounts on Twitter, Linkedin, Google+, Facebook, Myspace, and wherever else you like. Grow your accounts in the usual ways and promote your forum.

    A List

    Set up a newsletter on either a single page of your site or an entirely different site. Use all possible traffic mediums to target the right audience for it. Once again, promote that forum.

    Groups

    Consider Yahoo and Google Groups. They get massively overlooked these days, since the explosion in popularity of social networks like FB, but they can be hugely powerful in sending niche traffic.

    Video Marketing

    Rank videos in YT and search engines for long tail keywords related to your forum. There must be thousands. That will send a steady flow of new members,

    Some ideas to get you started!
    Signature

    I Coach: Learn More | My Latest WF Thread: Dead Domains/ Passive Traffic

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8822901].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author cpwebsite
    Thank you for the advice, I will begin working on that.
    Signature
    Make A Natural Home Aquarium
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8822987].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Sarevok
    One possible avenue of attack would be to popup on other competing forums using PPV.

    I always thought that it could work.

    Of course it would cost you a little bit of money, but it would let you tap into an audience that would love whatever your promoting.. Well potentially.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8822996].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author DotComBum
    You can promote your forum in forums which are for promotion of forums and forum admins
    Signature

    >>>DotComBum's Top Sites List - FREE Random Traffic For All!!

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8823004].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author buysellbrowse
      Originally Posted by DotComBum View Post

      You can promote your forum in forums which are for promotion of forums and forum admins
      You can even promote in forums that are not dedicated to promotion of forums and forum admins, but it's harder. You will have to post meaningful content in topics that fit in the overall discussions on the board.
      Signature
      buysell-browse.com * Free Classifieds Advertising & Promotion *
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8823477].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author DotComBum
        Originally Posted by buysellbrowse View Post

        You can even promote in forums that are not dedicated to promotion of forums and forum admins, but it's harder. You will have to post meaningful content in topics that fit in the overall discussions on the board.
        Post in high traffic classified ad sites is also a way to promote forums too. Another way is to join a top-sites list in your niche.
        Signature

        >>>DotComBum's Top Sites List - FREE Random Traffic For All!!

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8823725].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Ripster
    Reddit is a great place to market digital currency forums. It's a pretty popular topic on Reddit.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8823922].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author hometutor
      I love SMF for forums and so do my clients

      I have social media buttons to the left of my forum so that readers can share any post they wish to sever social media's.

      Setup the forum so that people are automatically subscribed to any thread to which they post

      Use the announcement feature to send announcements to your members via email

      Use the Tinyportal mod to allow members to submit articles etc. I also like the fact that Tinyportal shows most recent posts along the right hand side of the front page. I disabled it from showing once viewers clicked on the forum link itself.

      Use an rss feed mod to help get content into your forum as well. At the bottom of the rs post not how people can register, join and click NOTIFY to be updated on new posts in the thread.

      That's about it off the top of my head

      Rick
      Signature
      Video - How Local Businesses Benefit from Monetized On-Topic Breaking News Releases Linking Back to Their Websites
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8823982].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Adie
    Here is a similar question:
    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...new-forum.html
    Signature



    Moderator's Note: You're only allowed to put your own products or sites in your signature.

    Signature edited.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8823964].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author kirajx
    I would do media buying to drive initial traffic to your forum , once you have a regular members base , it should slowly grow bigger and bigger but you still have to drive traffic to it.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8824103].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Teravel
    "How Would You Market A Forum?"
    "The same way you would any other online business!"

    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ffic-tips.html

    Because unique content and social interaction can draw massive attention, you could always hire people to post on your forums. I don't know how much you have to invest, but I have heard good things about Postloop.

    Personally, I find Social sites to bring more than enough traffic for my sites. But you said it was an uncommon topic. There may be few forums, but are there any Facebook Groups?
    Signature

    "Failure is feedback. Feedback is the breakfast of champions." -Fortune Cookie

    PLR Packages - WSO

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8824214].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author parvezjasani
      Use social media

      Use some free goodies for every member

      Hire some forum posters to post on your forums

      Use video marketing
      Signature
      Ninja Banners
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8824359].message }}

Trending Topics