The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

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WhiteElement
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by WhiteElement »

tbh the traffic kind of has to come from google.
But to get up in the google ranking you have to find people who find your board relevant and link to it. So you're getting referral and links.
And that is a never ending process, I guess.
zigglr wrote: Mon Mar 28, 2016 2:29 pm
david63 wrote:
zigglr wrote:But how do you get users to see the things you post in the first place?
If we knew the answer to that we would all be millionaires by now.

It is very difficult to get a board "off the ground" if you do not have a user base to start from. One thing that I have heard being done is for you to create several accounts and post under different user names - whether this is ethical or not is another question all together.
Even if you do make fake accounts, how do the real people actually find the forum to see this content. There must be something successful forums have done that unsuccessful forums didn't do
Holger
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by Holger »

Still it is content content content.
We do not have many incoming links from other sites, but Google Bots are on the site 24/7. It just takes some minute to show up in the Google-results after a post is made.

So, you have to find a way to generate relevant content or other stuff, like files to download, that is interesting for your target usergroup!
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LP-1
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by LP-1 »

SubZeroMan wrote: Sat Jan 28, 2006 6:20 am It seems like 99 out of 100 boards go no where. What does it take to get a good sized user base? Is it all in the name? What did the people that were successful do that the many, many that were not, didnt?
I've had my board 15 years and still can't answer that question. Sometimes they come in herds. Sometimes it's a drip drip. After all this time I still can't answer your question. However, I'm an expert on WHAT NOT TO DO.

Do not think just because you don't agree with an active user, you can do without him. Anyone active is gold and should be treated special. Five active members can carry a site.

Do not depend on active members to stay active. It's an ever evolving cast of characters.

One mad member can leave and take everyone with him. That jack, is a fact.

Controversy equals hits. Simultaneously, controversy runs a few people off. There's a balance. But no controversy, no hits.

Don't change a thing. By this I mean don't change your logo, your software, your ownership, and especially your domain. People hate change and they show it by not showing up. You never get a chance to debate it.

Active users usually visit several boards. Don't be jealous and don't try to make your board more like the bigger boards they visit. Just be you. And your board IS you. You can't get around that.

The quickest way to lose your best members are to make them moderators. I've been in this business a long time. I'll argue that point with anybody.

More people don't necessarily equal more money. I had my board making $6000-$6500 a month for years with less than ten thousand members.

Never let your board go dormant. If you just have to go on a fishing trip make sure someone is minding the store. You lose about ten members for every discount adidas post you get. And if something's broke... fix it. If you can't fix it, find someone who can.

If you have a niche, leave it to heck alone. Don't expand it, reshape it, try to add to it, or in anyway try to rethink it. If it ain't broke, it ain't broke.

Don't jump around servers. It's my opinion that it not only hurts your ranking but if you have a long relationship with your host, they'll do a lot to help you when you have nowhere else to turn.

I could write a book. But you get the point. And one last thing, members don't find you, you find them. If your forum doesn't represent something you are personally active at doing, it will never ever ever work.

Good luck
Bullseye!
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by Bullseye! »

LP-1 wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2017 9:04 pm
SubZeroMan wrote: Sat Jan 28, 2006 6:20 am It seems like 99 out of 100 boards go no where. What does it take to get a good sized user base? Is it all in the name? What did the people that were successful do that the many, many that were not, didnt?
I've had my board 15 years and still can't answer that question. Sometimes they come in herds. Sometimes it's a drip drip. After all this time I still can't answer your question. However, I'm an expert on WHAT NOT TO DO.

Do not think just because you don't agree with an active user, you can do without him. Anyone active is gold and should be treated special. Five active members can carry a site.

Do not depend on active members to stay active. It's an ever evolving cast of characters.

One mad member can leave and take everyone with him. That jack, is a fact.

Controversy equals hits. Simultaneously, controversy runs a few people off. There's a balance. But no controversy, no hits.

Don't change a thing. By this I mean don't change your logo, your software, your ownership, and especially your domain. People hate change and they show it by not showing up. You never get a chance to debate it.

Active users usually visit several boards. Don't be jealous and don't try to make your board more like the bigger boards they visit. Just be you. And your board IS you. You can't get around that.

The quickest way to lose your best members are to make them moderators. I've been in this business a long time. I'll argue that point with anybody.

More people don't necessarily equal more money. I had my board making $6000-$6500 a month for years with less than ten thousand members.

Never let your board go dormant. If you just have to go on a fishing trip make sure someone is minding the store. You lose about ten members for every discount adidas post you get. And if something's broke... fix it. If you can't fix it, find someone who can.

If you have a niche, leave it to heck alone. Don't expand it, reshape it, try to add to it, or in anyway try to rethink it. If it ain't broke, it ain't broke.

Don't jump around servers. It's my opinion that it not only hurts your ranking but if you have a long relationship with your host, they'll do a lot to help you when you have nowhere else to turn.

I could write a book. But you get the point. And one last thing, members don't find you, you find them. If your forum doesn't represent something you are personally active at doing, it will never ever ever work.

Good luck
Wise words there, I only have a handfull of active members on my forum & I'm the only staff on there, however the good thing about mobile phones having internet on them is I can keep in conact with my board wherever I am, I generally use a PC when I'm at home, but I always carry my phone with me to ensure that I never miss a beat, I even have my phone on loud so email notifications go off if someone should try to contact me via my forum, I have also included my mobile number so if people really needed help with something on the forum they can just call me, the slogan for my forum is "Not a group, Not a page... Just the same old BBF est 2010" & That's how it shall stay, I've had a few people who were good posters suggest to me that I close my forum & start a FB page/group, to which I said no & I've had to let them go, but others have come & took their place who totally support the forum, they even encourage others to come & look, I do free training & competition days for canine weight pull & the forum is the soul form of information & annoucements, so yes, have something interesting & stick to it! :)


~John~
sakm
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by sakm »

LP-1 wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2017 9:04 pm
Do not think just because you don't agree with an active user, you can do without him. Anyone active is gold and should be treated special. Five active members can carry a site.

Some very wise words there

although I don't agree with this bit

Not everyone will get along and I have found that if you get an active member that is a bit of a pain they can stop others posting and being active!

So you could easily lose one member and keep more members or keep the pain and lose a handful of posters!

Its all about finding the right balance :)
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LP-1
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by LP-1 »

That's why I said "a poster YOU don't agree with." If the community has a problem with an active poster you roast him in a fire pit and bury his ashes under a public port-o-toilet. So I was referring to the webmaster and not the community. I would never side with an individual over the entire community. Unless the individual was me. An example:

I had/have a member who drives me crazy posting links to libertarian videos and also posting volumes of copy and pasted libertarian manifesto. And that's when he's not posting zillions of memes that are against everything I'm opposed to in life. I'm a card carrying liberal, bleeding heart, tree hugging, vegan. Plus I think anyone who is constantly bumping his own threads that have no replies from other members.. is akin to being a bot. Plus he buries the threads where people are having real conversations with his voluminous bullshit. He often starts posting that crap in the middle of conversations and inevitably ends the conversation.
I put the chains on him and shockingly, everyone thought he had that right to free speech I was allowing him and came to his defense. I backed off and to this day, he disrespects every freedom I give him. Community wins. However, I would crush him like a bug if it was just up to me.
sakm
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by sakm »

LP-1 wrote: Mon Apr 10, 2017 8:35 pm That's why I said "a poster YOU don't agree with." If the community has a problem with an active poster you roast him in a fire pit and bury his ashes under a public port-o-toilet. So I was referring to the webmaster and not the community. I would never side with an individual over the entire community. Unless the individual was me. An example:

I had/have a member who drives me crazy posting links to libertarian videos and also posting volumes of copy and pasted libertarian manifesto. And that's when he's not posting zillions of memes that are against everything I'm opposed to in life. I'm a card carrying liberal, bleeding heart, tree hugging, vegan. Plus I think anyone who is constantly bumping his own threads that have no replies from other members.. is akin to being a bot. Plus he buries the threads where people are having real conversations with his voluminous bullshit. He often starts posting that crap in the middle of conversations and inevitably ends the conversation.
I put the chains on him and shockingly, everyone thought he had that right to free speech I was allowing him and came to his defense. I backed off and to this day, he disrespects every freedom I give him. Community wins. However, I would crush him like a bug if it was just up to me.

:lol: :lol:

Yeah I get where you are coming from

I must have a weird set of members as they all seem to agree with me! either that or tell me to get shot of them :lol:
Bullseye!
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by Bullseye! »

LP-1 wrote: Mon Apr 10, 2017 8:35 pm That's why I said "a poster YOU don't agree with." If the community has a problem with an active poster you roast him in a fire pit and bury his ashes under a public port-o-toilet. So I was referring to the webmaster and not the community. I would never side with an individual over the entire community. Unless the individual was me. An example:

I had/have a member who drives me crazy posting links to libertarian videos and also posting volumes of copy and pasted libertarian manifesto. And that's when he's not posting zillions of memes that are against everything I'm opposed to in life. I'm a card carrying liberal, bleeding heart, tree hugging, vegan. Plus I think anyone who is constantly bumping his own threads that have no replies from other members.. is akin to being a bot. Plus he buries the threads where people are having real conversations with his voluminous bullshit. He often starts posting that crap in the middle of conversations and inevitably ends the conversation.
I put the chains on him and shockingly, everyone thought he had that right to free speech I was allowing him and came to his defense. I backed off and to this day, he disrespects every freedom I give him. Community wins. However, I would crush him like a bug if it was just up to me.
Hear Hear
hypersaw
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by hypersaw »

I recently started a business. Have a main website with e-shop (on prestashop). Have a blog (on wordpress) and now considering to launch a forum with phpbb.
But....
Sometimes I feel that the forum era has gone for good. Nova days there are new age sh?t like facebook groups, G+ and so on... :?
In my niche there are some big forums from 2009 with thousands of members. Some of these forums are death (because last posts where on 2013) some of these are still active. I definitely like to have my own forum because forum users are potential buyers.
So, my question: do I need a new forum or forget it and use fb or/and G+?
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AmigoJack
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by AmigoJack »

hypersaw wrote: Sun May 14, 2017 8:14 pmfb or/and G+
I as a customer wouldn't use these. On top: BBSes (like phpBB) can be used without registration (if allowed).
Bullseye!
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by Bullseye! »

hypersaw wrote: Sun May 14, 2017 8:14 pm I recently started a business. Have a main website with e-shop (on prestashop). Have a blog (on wordpress) and now considering to launch a forum with phpbb.
But....
Sometimes I feel that the forum era has gone for good. Nova days there are new age sh?t like facebook groups, G+ and so on... :?
In my niche there are some big forums from 2009 with thousands of members. Some of these forums are death (because last posts where on 2013) some of these are still active. I definitely like to have my own forum because forum users are potential buyers.
So, my question: do I need a new forum or forget it and use fb or/and G+?
There is always a need for a forum, I thought my one was dead, but as long as you post announcements & have people set up their notifications, there will always be a need for one, apart from anything else questions asked on FB ect... can get bumped down easily & people end up getting ignored, this is less likely with a forum however...
w106mng
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by w106mng »

It is the same principle as trying to attract a following on Facebook or Twitter.

You need to offer something that keeps them coming back time and time again. For instance, one thing we do to keep interest on our company facebook page is we run a weekly comic that strikes the humor of our audience. It not only keeps them coming back, but also keeps them engaged and allows us to promote new products to them. We also facilitate asking questions not only specific to our product, but also about the industry in general.
BFishY
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Re:

Post by BFishY »

Anon wrote: Sat Jan 28, 2006 7:34 am By not posting support questions in the wrong fourms 8)
lol
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Kuznec
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by Kuznec »

Forums in spite of their semi-living existence, still remain the most convenient way to gather like-minded people.
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open-your-eyes
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by open-your-eyes »

I think the best way is to spam other boards. You search for forums similar to yours, you register and then start sending PMs like crazy. Is the best way.
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