how to get a user base?

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kd0frg
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how to get a user base?

Post by kd0frg »

i have finally finished my forum, it is using prosilver.. however i might modify the logo and move it a little further to the left, it is feature rich with extentions, it is using prosilver.. the thing is.. no one knows it exists lol.. how do you guys that run your forums get the word out or advertise it? facebook isnt really an option for me as i have 69 friends (just family and cousins mostly)

did you guys do paid advertising? my youtube channel is unpopular as well so thats not going to help me much either.

however im pretty big on instagram but i already tried advertising it on there, it didnt bring in a single user :(

however the sites logo i posted (with the url) got tons of likes.

ive posted it to some craigslist states under "community" .. but i started getting scam emails and phone calls.. so i had to actually make my domain registration private (cost me more money :( )

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, i have made sure to leave the phpbb info at the bottom of prosilver, as well as any mods/extensions :)

i dont get paid until the 1st of next month, after bills i'll have a few hundred bucks left over is all (i dont make alot of money)
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david63
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Re: how to get a user base?

Post by david63 »

There are already several topics on this subject so without regurgitating them you need content, content and even more content to get noticed by the search engines. Also use backlinks to your board.
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Mick
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Re: how to get a user base?

Post by Mick »

And that would be unique content too.
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kd0frg
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Re: how to get a user base?

Post by kd0frg »

whats a back link??

ive uploaded some content, for instance i ethereum mod AMD RX cards (i edit their memory STRAP timings for faster ethereum hashing)

and have uploaded guide on how to unbrick a bad flash for rx480 and rx580 cards, with pictures

i have astrophotography ive taken with my access to my remote observatories

i have artwork posted that i like

i have a youtube gallery with a variety of videos (but only 2 categories)

i have the imgur extension

i offer computer trouble shooting via teamviewer (im an A+ certified computer tech with 20+ years experience, also a hardware expert when it comes to tablets/smartphones/PC's)

i have mChat installed, and a lot of good extensions, such as the share extension, guests are allowed to view the forum however the guest register extension is installed.

my forum is a large multi category website, (animals,ham radio, forsale/want to buy, politics, religion, personals, science, coding, gaming, businesses,cryptocurrency ..etc)

there's only so much i can do by myself

also my forum wont "remember me" is there a chmod i need to do to a file or something with the cookies setting?

whats a good way to advertise the site? like paid advertising? or is that not recommended?
kd0frg
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Re: how to get a user base?

Post by kd0frg »

david63 wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:20 am There are already several topics on this subject so without regurgitating them you need content, content and even more content to get noticed by the search engines. Also use backlinks to your board.
what should i search for so i can read some?
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KevC
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Re: how to get a user base?

Post by KevC »

kd0frg wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 2:32 pm my forum is a large multi category website,
That's your problem.

Those kinds of sites don't really work. Think about the sites you visit. They're almost certainly all on one subject because that's where the expertise is that you were after when you joined. When you have multiple subjects there isn't a focus for the site or the people on it so posts and users are really hard to come by.
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kd0frg
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Re: how to get a user base?

Post by kd0frg »

KevC wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 2:36 pm
kd0frg wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 2:32 pm my forum is a large multi category website,
That's your problem.

Those kinds of sites don't really work. Think about the sites you visit. They're almost certainly all on one subject because that's where the expertise is that you were after when you joined. When you have multiple subjects there isn't a focus for the site or the people on it so posts and users are really hard to come by.
Well its http://www.midwestforum.org -- its uh.. what do you suggest i do? i just want to run a forum again.. the domain is registered already and set to private on a whois.. um.. gee i really didn't think about this stuff.. its centered for people in the midwestern united states, so it's kinda narrowed down a "little bit" LOL.. i could always buy another domain and change the site and forums but .. is this really a bad idea? are you certain it is doomed?
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KevC
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Re: how to get a user base?

Post by KevC »

It's your site so you can stick at it if you want. From looking at it, it's clear you know more about one of those subjects than any of the others as one forum has more than 50% of all the posts made. Maybe think about specialising in that one. I tend to think if you can't think of anything to post in a forum on 'ham radio' for instance, how do you expect anyone else to? But people in to ham radio are probably on one of 2 or 3 huge sites already covering the subject and top of any search you might look for on the subject. You're only going to get people who are interested in one of the other subjects and coincidentally happen to like radio as well.

But you have to give a forum 12 months to get going. It takes time for word to get around, you need to link it in your sig on every site you use and hope you pick up people here and there. Then re-evaluate it when the hosting is up for renewal.
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kd0frg
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Re: how to get a user base?

Post by kd0frg »

yeah im a ham operator lol, and i like astronomy/astrophotography, and art.. i know a little about gardening as well.. not so much home decor.. i know alot about anime and manga, i know a lot about cars, i know how to make wine and mead/beer but im not going to post my family secrets on there lol.. but i can certainly help others that are starting.

i like so many subjects.. i just kinda want to run a big multi forum.. an alternative to facebook yet with the options to share to the social media sites (which is in place) .. and get some good moderators, since i dont really have any accept 1 but she doesn't like or know how to use a forum -- i dont use any other forum except this one.. ive got some posts on techpowerup but i quickly left after being flamed multiple times, that's kinda what i want this forum to be, a professional clean worksafe friendly/loving one that is multi-purpose.. that was kinda my dream/goal.. and i love phpbb, always have -- i think it's the best there is, i just have always used it and liked it. the last forum i ran was over 11-12 years ago, and it was just a local car forum for my local city i ended up having to take it offline because of all the drama. And one of the users started a new one i named for him (my area code racing.com) but that too died years later. Seemed like everyone moved to facebook.. and i hate facebook accept for local family communication (i have 69 friends lol mostly family or old school mates)

i'll take your advice and maybe make a vinyl decal for my car with the URL on the back window and give it a year, do some local advertising in the paper maybe, start off cheap.. thanks for the advice though :) i appreciate it.. I'll continue to add content and expand it further.. ive since then forwarded midwestforum.org to ultraforum.org -- might as well go global.. but its currently offline like i said to a dns error i made :oops:
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Re: how to get a user base?

Post by AmigoJack »

kd0frg wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 2:32 pmwhats a back link??
What is Wikipedia?
kd0frg wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:49 pmi like astronomy/astrophotography, and art.. i know a little about gardening as well.. not so much home decor.. i know alot about anime and manga, i know a lot about cars, i know how to make wine and mead/beer
Consider me as an example user of this website (phpBB): I'm here because one of my interests is phpBB and this is the official website - no other website could substitute that, no matter how many of my interests and tastes also match there. I go to the "source". I would expect your anime/manga knowledge on websites specific for that. And your music taste somewhere else. Websites for the same interest. But you want multiple interests all come to your website - that'll never work, because you're by far not the only one with that concept.
kd0frg wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:49 pmget some good moderators
Those need to be fond of both: the software and its content, otherwise they won't be much help to you.
kd0frg wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:49 pma professional clean worksafe friendly/loving one that is multi-purpose
In reality idiots will hit you sooner or later. And with that comes the problem of banning users and re-recognizing them. For that you need another team member: an administrator.
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kd0frg
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Re: how to get a user base?

Post by kd0frg »

AmigoJack wrote: Fri Jul 21, 2017 12:05 pm
kd0frg wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 2:32 pmwhats a back link??
What is Wikipedia?
kd0frg wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:49 pmi like astronomy/astrophotography, and art.. i know a little about gardening as well.. not so much home decor.. i know alot about anime and manga, i know a lot about cars, i know how to make wine and mead/beer
Consider me as an example user of this website (phpBB): I'm here because one of my interests is phpBB and this is the official website - no other website could substitute that, no matter how many of my interests and tastes also match there. I go to the "source". I would expect your anime/manga knowledge on websites specific for that. And your music taste somewhere else. Websites for the same interest. But you want multiple interests all come to your website - that'll never work, because you're by far not the only one with that concept.
kd0frg wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:49 pmget some good moderators
Those need to be fond of both: the software and its content, otherwise they won't be much help to you.
kd0frg wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:49 pma professional clean worksafe friendly/loving one that is multi-purpose
In reality idiots will hit you sooner or later. And with that comes the problem of banning users and re-recognizing them. For that you need another team member: an administrator.
ah ok, well i'm already implementing backlinks then, but saying never is not a word i can accept im afraid(challenge accepted :), im going to try anyway and give it time, do some paid advertising, put more content up, and more subcategories, split things up real nice like, it's a work in progress still - thanks for your input though i appreciate it, you make a good argument and example for certain, but im quite sure i can get "some" users to use my website. It could be a decent friendly multi-source forum if users congregate their just for friendly chatter and to discuss multiple subjects.. until the website is done im not doing any paid advertising, just did some craigslist posts is all in different cities/states in the community section. And doing a vinyl for the rear windshield of my car, thats cheap. I forwarded midwestforum.org to ultraforum.org, (they wanted almost 5 grand for superforum.com or .org i think it was lol!) All i really wanted was some pointers to get users to my site, not putting the idea down or saying it'll never succeed, of course im not the only one to try this or have a forum like this, how about trying to upbuild me and give me some suggestions to help me reach the goal/dream :) -- instead of trodding on it :( -- thanks for the back links info i guess though. BTW I LOVE SONIC! :)
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Re: how to get a user base?

Post by stevemaury »

All i really wanted was some pointers to get users to my site, not putting the idea down or saying it'll never succeed, of course im not the only one to try this or have a forum like this, how about trying to upbuild me and give me some suggestions to help me reach the goal/dream :) -- instead of trodding on it
Because we have seen this over and over and over again. Such broad sites do not work. I'd like to tell you otherwise, but I'd be lying.
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KevC
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Re: how to get a user base?

Post by KevC »

kd0frg wrote: Fri Jul 21, 2017 8:16 pm All i really wanted was some pointers to get users to my site,
Getting users to a mixed subject site is extremely difficult because you don't have big hits for keywords on a specific subject. It spreads it too thin. The most popular sites on every one of the subjects you have a forum for will outrank you by a country mile every time. So then the problem is why would those people go to your site rather than one on that specific subject that has many many more users and posts and a captive audience of specialists and like minded people.

So there is no magic answer to the question of how you can get users to your mixed site as it stands because you're fighting a battle you'll never win against dedicated sites on each subject. You clearly know most about ham radio stuff so junk the rest of it and make a site about that. If you also have a passion for astronomy, make another site about that. But don't put the two together because they don't fit and you won't get overlapping users who want both in one place.

There's a big topic here on how to get users
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=362219
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Mick
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Re: how to get a user base?

Post by Mick »

Mick wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:50 amAnd that would be unique content too.
If I could meet up with other Class 'A's who got the ticket without any RSGB intervention that may get my attention but how many else would be interested, there can't be that many of us left?
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