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Forums a.k.a. "message
boards" can be great marketing tools for your
website. They attract repeat visitors and provide a
meeting place for them to share their thoughts, ideas,
questions and concerns.
Unfortunately many
webmasters that attempt to launch a board on their site,
end up closing it down due to lack of activity and
popularity.
So what's the key to
success, you ask?
Below you will find 5 quick
tips on creating and promoting a message board for your
website.
1. You Need Plenty of
Traffic
If your site is receiving
small amounts of traffic per day, then it will be very
hard to get the conversations going on your board.
Keep in mind not everyone
that comes to your site will even notice or visit your
board, and those that do stop by may just browse without
posting. In fact, the majority of the visitors to your
board will only look around.
Your site should be getting
at least 1,000 unique visitors per day before you even
launch. Don't open it up prematurely because it can make
your site look uninhabited if no one posts.
2. Create Some Starter
Conversations
Once you've created your
board, post a few questions to get the ball rolling. This
may coax people to jump in and post some comments.
And if you are using a free
board like http://www.phpbb.com,
you can create polls to spark participation. People like
interactivity and to give their opinion. Post a few polls
and allow your visitors to vote on topic.
Also, don't be ashamed to
talk to yourself. What I mean by that is you may want to
create a few usernames on your own and have them post
questions and answers. It may sound silly but if you're
lacking activity, this may help get some conversations
going. No one will know they aren't real people, except
you! ;)
3. Promote! Promote!
Promote!
Don't just provide one or
two links to your message board. Link to it from every
page on your website. Include it in the signature of your
emails, and if you have a newsletter, devote a special
edition to the launch of your board.
On your "Contact"
page, suggest that your visitors post a question on the
message board as an alternative to emailing you. This will
force some people to browse the board and possibly find
the answer they need. If your visitors begin finding the
board useful, they’ll return often and hopefully will
start posting.
4. Keep The Categories to a
Minimum In The Beginning
A big mistake that people
make with new message boards is that they create too many
categories. Remember that for most new forums, the number
of posts are going to be small at first. So if you have 10
categories and only 1 or 2 are being used, it makes your
board look scarce.
Try creating just one or
two in the beginning and then once the traffic starts
coming in you can add new ones.
5. Make The Board Easy to
Use
Don't force your visitors
to search for instructions on how to use your forums. If
they have to figure things out, they will be discouraged
and leave. Be sure to use a script that is neat and
intuitive.
I recommend http://www.phpbb.com.
Not only are they free, but the setup is easy and the
layout is nice and clean.
Hopefully these quick tips
will help you as you launch your new messaeg board. Again,
don't forget to promote it like crazy. If you can build an
active community, it can be quite the marketing tool for
your website.
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About
The Author
Lisa
Irby is the author of 2 Create a Web Site
-- a site that encourages you to plan
accordingly before diving into the web
site creation process.
http://www.2CreateAWebSite.com |
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