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

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

Post by Jammy Johnny »

I get new members to my board through word of mouth. The hobby that my board was created for has lots of enthusiasts worldwide and lots of them turn up at events called rallies. My forum members mention our url to their friends and so on. Its amazing how quickly a board can grow.
The hardest thing is getting them to post because lots of new members tend to read posts rather than posting.
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Volksdevil
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by Volksdevil »

Holger wrote: Volksdevil, congrats (is it the Corrado-forum?)!
Yeah, as I wrote somewhere, it is very frustrating if the website is down or slow. This is the main reason for people to only visit once!
If a website is FAST and always available but the content is not so much, people will still look at it now and then.
And if a website is FAST and available AND has rich content ... well then you have won - and you will also win over Fakebook and Twatter.
Yep, the forum in my sig, and I completely agree about the speed thing...Especially as I've definitely seen an improvement since the site became much more speedy.
cally6008
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by cally6008 »

Volksdevil - Can I just ask ... does the facebook / twitter meta descriptions etc, work on 3.1 ?
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Austin Scott
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by Austin Scott »

Hi all,
The trick I used to get new users on my website is as follows:
1. I post on my friends wall about my forum.
2. Use a link referral site to make my website famous.
3. Use Google trends to check about the burning topics of the time.
Try this also for your website, blog, forum or anything you want to make famous.
Last edited by darcie on Thu May 07, 2015 6:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Link removed, not necessary for support, 5b
messikecil
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by messikecil »

Austin Scott wrote:Hi all,
The trick I used to get new users on my website is as follows:
1. I post on my friends wall about my forum.
2. Use a link referral site to make my website famous.
3. Use Google trends to check about the burning topics of the time.
Try this also for your website, blog, forum or anything you want to make famous.
what is your forum?
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Mihailo
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by Mihailo »

How do you get a new members?

Just ask yourself: "Why did I register on a forum?" "Why do I like this it?" (Any forum)
If you have the answers, do "it" on your forum.

Of course advertise your forum, invite your friends.
If you have enough members, make a giveaway and probably they will call their friends.
Bullseye!
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by Bullseye! »

A lot of good points raised in this thread

I started my board in February 2010, the activity has had it's ups and downs, but I have persevered over the last 5 years, I now have people come on there to post, mainly because I do dog training days and we talk about the training days, I am also a photographer, so I end up with a lot of photos for people to look at, the people who come to the training days like to go on there and see the photos & 9 times out of 10 they will leave comments, I also have a section for people to talk about training & diet advice & every now & then I have a photo competition with real prizes, the photo competitions have their pros and cons, the pros being an influx of new members joining the forum and taking part in the comps to win "free stuff" but the cons being some of the same people tend be to what I call "hit & run" meaning, they join for the sole purpose of entering a photo competition & then never come back, I also have a system where by people can't post until they have made an introduction, if they fail to do this after six months they will be deleted, they agree to this when signing up............ ok I'm running on a bit now, but I guess the point I am making is like many others have stated in this thread, keep your board special, keep the content exclusive ie; don't post it on social media, but more encourage your FB friends (if you use FB, I don't) to look at your forum, some will "like" the post and bugger off, others will probably stay & above all keep the gimmicks to a minimum, install extensions that will make the board easier to use rather than just making it look pretty & try to refrain from making too many sections as this will result in posts being split up, keep the sections in proportion to the amount of people using your board. Image

Anyway that's my view on it, it's not always going to work but you have to adjust it, as times change.

Take care.

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

Post by zigglr »

David K wrote:I agree the best way to get users is to post about topics that are heavily talked and asked about such as gaming, business, coding, etc. People don't just discuss for the sake of doing so - they want answers, esp when it relates to making money from or traffic to their site, usually running hand in hand.
But how do you get users to see the things you post in the first place? I have a forum where I post very useful methods and tips that i've used to make a lot of money, yet I can't get 1 sign up on my forum.
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david63
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by david63 »

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

Post by zigglr »

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.
Again though, how do the real people actually find your forum. There must be something successful forums have done that unsuccessful forums didn't do
zigglr
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by zigglr »

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

Post by Lumpy Burgertushie »

this topic discusses the ways to do that.

the best way is to get traffic from google etc.

the best way to do that is to fill up your board with content relevant to your subject matter.

trying to have a board for general topics is rather a waste of your time.
pick a topic of interest to you, fill the board with all the very best content you can come up with about your subject.
make your board the best site for information about that subject.
get others to post. friends, family etc.
join other boards that reach your market. post helpful info on those boards and leave a link to your board in your sig file or whatever those boards allow you to do.
become the world's leading expert on whatever.

google, etc. will index your board. the more relevant content you have about your subject, the higher your board will show up when someone does a search for info about your subject.

decide what your goal is for your board. do you want to sell something? if not, then just treat it like a hobby and you will be fine. If you are trying to make a business out of it, then treat it like a business. advertise , promote, etc.
get your product out there in front of your market.

remember, nobody is looking for your board, they are looking for information. provide that information and your board will show up when they run a search.


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

Post by Sofaires »

does anybody has a affiliate system? or know one? between boards of different categories, that used to work real good back in the days if its used properly
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SalazarAG
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by SalazarAG »

It's complicated because there is no magic formula for success. I participate in various forums (of the most varied software, ranging from phpBB to XenForo) and all of them TODAY are very successful. But the vast majority began with a very large user base.

The first one had more than 1000 records in a single day, after the previous forum was closed and everyone migrated there. So the administrators of this forum did not have to make any effort to fill the members' forum. In 12 months of activity, the forum has 2 million messages and more than 20 sub-forums.

So to achieve success quickly, just beginning with a very large loyal user base. The issue of getting the user's attention is important yes. Many here do not agree on ways to entice users by claiming that this will cause users to post spam just to get something fixed. But rules need to be laid down and if they are broken, they should punish the member. Some Ways to Attract Users:

1 - Groups with advantages (such as coloring username, more space in the PMs box, possibility to view hidden users, and etc)
2 - Medals for users who really contribute with the forum: there is an extension to this.
3 - Points System (it's a great way to make your community more fun and competitive. With the Lottery and Bank modules the user has a much cooler experience).
4 - Contests to elect new moderator.
5 - Partnerships with sites of the same niche.
6 - Disclosure on twitter, facebook and etc.

These are some of the many ways to draw attention to your forum, although it is difficult and tiring to put this into practice, it works. It does not work overnight, but gradually it goes away.
Affltr
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Re: The hardest question of all... how do you get new users?

Post by Affltr »

I have a wordpress site with PhpBB forum. My goal is the have traffic from google first page results. I can also use facebook ads and bing ads.
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