How do you start a forum?
- Thread starter wiskers6
- Start date
Hi wiskers6,
Sure it can be about anything but before you put in the energy be sure theres a market and also be sure that subject is also not too competitive and full of a ton of forums already.
Also before you start, think about how you'll market and get traffic, because starting a forum is hard. You have to work to get them there, but then they won't join if it's an empty dead forum - yet you need members to post before it starts to look active enough to join. So it's a catch 22.
To answer your question, the main things you need are a domain, hosting, forum software and marketing. Is that what you wanted to know? Your question was pretty general so I just gave you a general answer. Let us know if you had a more specific question.
Sure it can be about anything but before you put in the energy be sure theres a market and also be sure that subject is also not too competitive and full of a ton of forums already.
Also before you start, think about how you'll market and get traffic, because starting a forum is hard. You have to work to get them there, but then they won't join if it's an empty dead forum - yet you need members to post before it starts to look active enough to join. So it's a catch 22.
To answer your question, the main things you need are a domain, hosting, forum software and marketing. Is that what you wanted to know? Your question was pretty general so I just gave you a general answer. Let us know if you had a more specific question.
Charlie-Bodylastics
New Member
forums are soo much work to get started and most of all the keep going and monitored.Bodylastics has a forum i completely forgot about after i installed it.. after abut a year i went back while cleaning out the server and it has grown to a life of its own.. most hosts with cpanel or Fantastico you can easily install a forum with lil to no knowledge.. i have used hostultra.com in the past for sites and such and they have everything you need.. you just need a domain.. 
wiskers6, a lot of people decide to start forums and think it is going to be something very easy. That usually isn't the case.
In the beginning the problem is getting members. Depending on various factors that might be more difficult for some new forums than others.
A while back I heard from a person who had been running a forum for 6 months and had a total of only 17 members.
After you get going and start getting members, having a more active forum and a growing forum, you are then faced with a lot of other problems that some people aren't prepared to handle.
There have been a number of 5 Star members who have started forums without having enough time or taking enough time to devote to moderating them. They became so loaded with spam that they ended up taking their forums down.
Spammers can be a very big problem. They try all types of tricks to get their junk posted. It is important that you make certain you will be able to deal with that, unless you don't care about it, and there are some forums who don't care how much spam is posted. Those types of forums usually aren't very helpful for people who are trying to find something useful or to get involved in beneficial discussions.
The important thing to remember is there is more work involved than most people might think. Before you start a forum you need to be sure that you will be able to devote the amount of attention to it that it deserves.
In the beginning the problem is getting members. Depending on various factors that might be more difficult for some new forums than others.
A while back I heard from a person who had been running a forum for 6 months and had a total of only 17 members.
After you get going and start getting members, having a more active forum and a growing forum, you are then faced with a lot of other problems that some people aren't prepared to handle.
There have been a number of 5 Star members who have started forums without having enough time or taking enough time to devote to moderating them. They became so loaded with spam that they ended up taking their forums down.
Spammers can be a very big problem. They try all types of tricks to get their junk posted. It is important that you make certain you will be able to deal with that, unless you don't care about it, and there are some forums who don't care how much spam is posted. Those types of forums usually aren't very helpful for people who are trying to find something useful or to get involved in beneficial discussions.
The important thing to remember is there is more work involved than most people might think. Before you start a forum you need to be sure that you will be able to devote the amount of attention to it that it deserves.
L
longroad
Guest
There are services which will populate a forum with good posts for you.
Just make sure you have a plan for when the service ends otherwise the forum will end up a grave yard.
Just make sure you have a plan for when the service ends otherwise the forum will end up a grave yard.
Charlie-Bodylastics
New Member
Relink Software - Forum Autoposter
i use their blogging software now very nice.. i tried to get on as a betatester with the forum poster. when out of beta will be a great tool
S
SystemTrading
Guest
I have just started a forum myself and let me tell you it is no walk in the park. Below are my ramblings.
For my site I wanted to have lots of content other than just a forum. I have spent countless hours finding and posting content on the site. This strategy has paid off as I was almost immediately listed in the top 10 in several search engines for certain search terms. However this is an ongoing process and content needs to be updated almost!
I am fortunate enough to have a large database of users to start an email campaign. I have received plenty of traffic from my emails, but very few people are posting anything. This is the hardest part. I am trying to find a way to incentivise people to post, but I have come up with nothing so far! If anyone has ideas I am all ears!
Hope you find this information helpful. Best of luck with your forums!
For my site I wanted to have lots of content other than just a forum. I have spent countless hours finding and posting content on the site. This strategy has paid off as I was almost immediately listed in the top 10 in several search engines for certain search terms. However this is an ongoing process and content needs to be updated almost!
I am fortunate enough to have a large database of users to start an email campaign. I have received plenty of traffic from my emails, but very few people are posting anything. This is the hardest part. I am trying to find a way to incentivise people to post, but I have come up with nothing so far! If anyone has ideas I am all ears!
Hope you find this information helpful. Best of luck with your forums!
You do have a good point on this, but when I see the bots all over forums with the same content as any google search I kind of get upset. Mainly when I see the bot posting more than the admin or moderators on the site.
Any good site will need time to grow, time to weed out the bad and a good mod taking care of things sometimes behind the scenes and sometimes in the front line.
you figure out about what the forum must be all about... and how you will be working on it...
A forum is the online equivalent to a huge group of people with a million interests in the real world. Your key challenges:
1. How to get them there
2. How to get them to stay for more than 30 seconds
3. How to get them to sign up
4. How to get them to return
5. How to get them to participate
I believe those are even in the correct order !
1. How to get them there
2. How to get them to stay for more than 30 seconds
3. How to get them to sign up
4. How to get them to return
5. How to get them to participate
I believe those are even in the correct order !
S
SystemTrading
Guest
A forum is the online equivalent to a huge group of people with a million interests in the real world. Your key challenges:
1. How to get them there
2. How to get them to stay for more than 30 seconds
3. How to get them to sign up
4. How to get them to return
5. How to get them to participate
I believe those are even in the correct order !
I couldn't agree more. I have done a pretty good job of #1 and #2, however I feel that I need to improve #3,4,and 5. Anyone have any ideas for me?
Well I won't even pretend to be the expert on building a forum getting people active and keeping them active BECAUSE there is so much for that I feel like
I could, should would do to build up 5 Star if I had more time.
However some of the contests we've done and the member recognition programs have helped quite a bit. Again just wish we could do more.
Feel free to check out out we have structured some of our
forum contests and member rewards programs here.
I guess my biggest suggestion is to work on building key relationships with members that share your passion for your subject.
Our most important asset and the most important ingredient for future growth and success, is our core members. Our members are what makes this forum tick and we are lucky to have so many good regulars.
I could, should would do to build up 5 Star if I had more time.
However some of the contests we've done and the member recognition programs have helped quite a bit. Again just wish we could do more.
Feel free to check out out we have structured some of our
forum contests and member rewards programs here.
I guess my biggest suggestion is to work on building key relationships with members that share your passion for your subject.
Our most important asset and the most important ingredient for future growth and success, is our core members. Our members are what makes this forum tick and we are lucky to have so many good regulars.
i say use invision power board as it will be the easiest for you to start making your caterogys topics and what not and you will be able to manage your forum with ease.
Like other are telling you make sure you have content and memeber other wise a forum is just going to waste your time and cause disapointment
Like other are telling you make sure you have content and memeber other wise a forum is just going to waste your time and cause disapointment
I was fretting over which forum to choose and I have decided to bite the bullet and get the big hammer - vBulletin. There is a vbSEO plugin which is really supposed to help you when it comes to board visibility. You can't beat the popularity and support.
Yes I really researched a lot and obviously chose Vbull.
VBSEO rocks too!
VBSEO rocks too!
S
Sportsgreen
Guest
It is probably just like starting any site the less competition there is the better and if there is a market for it great but there will be some hard work involved initially.
There is hard work initially, but the hard work never stops. There are problems when starting and different problems as the forum grows.
As a forum gets larger and more established, the spam problem also gets bigger. There are more spammers to deal with. How you deal with spam can be very critical.
In the beginning it is possible for a person to be so anxious to get members and for people to post that they might not mind how many spam posts they get because they feel it is better than not having anything. Thinking that way could be a very big mistake and it has lead to the early deaths of many new forums.
As a forum gets larger and more established, the spam problem also gets bigger. There are more spammers to deal with. How you deal with spam can be very critical.
In the beginning it is possible for a person to be so anxious to get members and for people to post that they might not mind how many spam posts they get because they feel it is better than not having anything. Thinking that way could be a very big mistake and it has lead to the early deaths of many new forums.
Starting a forum is very easy.
Just browse through various websites available on internet and find "Dofollow" forums. Find related subjects to your product or to your business and then get registered to that forum.
That's it. You are done. Get started with writing a thread or the article. Keep writing the content related to your product and you will keep getting the results. It will keep on increasing with the passage of time. More and more people will keep on adding on to that thread and you will start getting your online advertising on the roll.
Just browse through various websites available on internet and find "Dofollow" forums. Find related subjects to your product or to your business and then get registered to that forum.
That's it. You are done. Get started with writing a thread or the article. Keep writing the content related to your product and you will keep getting the results. It will keep on increasing with the passage of time. More and more people will keep on adding on to that thread and you will start getting your online advertising on the roll.
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