Building a community

[xploit]

I've setup a phpbb forum to hopefully replace a forum that has recently gone offline.

If you head over to archive.org you'll be able to see how successful the forum was with a few thousand users and good potential for revenue (the old forum was eXceem.co.uk).

The forum I have now setup is Devsters - Index page but already seeing phpbb as being a little issue as I used latest version - the number if available extensions is limited.

One if the main incentive networks that was used in the old forum was FreebieJeebies and after approaching them, they have removed links from within their member area to the old forum and replaced them with links to my site.

Looking at more ways to get people signed up and posting, but to earn revenue, there is now an option to donate a minimum of £5 to become a VIP user and access a few courses I have giveaway rights to.

Look forward to keeping you updated and hopefully share the progress and income of the community.

 

[K]

Never monetise from day 1.

Your ONLY focus should be to build a community first.

 

[xploit]

So far, 107 registered users but only myself and a co-admin are posting. Any ideas on ways to encourage users to post?

 

[seeqer]

So far, 107 registered users but only myself and a co-admin are posting. Any ideas on ways to encourage users to post?

Here is what I think. Please do not be offended. I am just trying to bring some constructive opinion.

Your forum looks like a dead forum or an unpopular one. The design looks boring so right there it leaves the impression the forum is not go anywhere or take off.

You have almost no content.

So to remedy to that here is a few things I have noticed online on forums that starts conversation

-) Tricks to start money online with no budget or with a low budget
-) Places to earn money that is easy (not complicated) even if it is hard work. A study case will help
-) Reviews about make money online clickbank resources ... which one is good or bad
-) How to promote clickbank stuff
-) Different method to make money online ... study cases
-) Make video on youtube about tools that can help make money online (free or paid)
-) Be a mentor in the forum and have a skype community (marketers loves skype groups that brings value)

I say clickbank because a lot of people are looking for clickbank products reviews and a lot of affiliate starts there.

You need content that is useful to the reader.

If you expect that people to come in and fill up your forum with valuable content, expect to be disappointed.

To increase visibility have a blog that talks about the subject of each threads you have where you share valuable information and then you invite the readers to the thread in your forum for further discussion

The blog will help you get visibility.

To make your forum come to life you need ... value, value, value.

Right now I am not even remotely inclined to subscribe to your forum and write any sort of content. It takes time to read and write and I have little time.

I mostly come here.

I used to go to warriorforum but the value dropped ever since the forum was purchased. So the drop in value made me leave warriorforum and it was the value in this forum when it was cpafix.com that drew me here and made me stay and participate.

Content is King and Value is Queen.

You need both to have a kingdom.

 

[AF-Roger]

I agree with K. Don't concentrate on the money aspect just yet. Strive to build the community first and foremost. You and any mods you may have now or in the future need to be active. That means not once a week, but daily. Why would new members ever join a community if the staff does not see the importance of posting themselves. Some staff members think all they need to do is police. That is just a small aspect of what it means to be a leader.

Seeqer's point is a valid one. Content. It has to be something a poster will feel the need to respond to. That being said, and this is the tricky part, you/we cannot make a poster post. You have to keep trying until you see some relative success with some of the things that will work for you and your traffic you have coming to the forum.

 

[xploit]

Many thanks for the feedback both of you and @seeqer im not offended at all, great post with actionable feedback, just what i need to replicate on the forum

 

[seeqer]

That being said, and this is the tricky part, you/we cannot make a poster post..

What do you mean by you/we cannot make a poster post. I am not sure about what you are going there? Do you mean one of the staff posting to a thread and then commenting on it as if making a debate?

 

[seeqer]

Another thing that crossed my mind.

DOWNLOADABLE GUIDES.

Having a place to go to read up to date information is one thing but being able to download a pdf version with pictures in it and blueprints is awesome. We can read those on tablets and perhaps even smartphones.

These guides can be used as bait to draw people to your forum. Affiliatefix when it was cpafix, unlike other forums, offered a free pdf about cpa marketing. It was a useful pdf for newbies. It was one of the reason I join because value was provided. With one glance I could see that there was some good stuff in it.

Remember, in making money online, almost every newbies have the shiny object syndrome. Exploit that to provide value and get new members. It can also start dicussion.

You can also add in the end tools and ressources to help the newbie with his quest to money and freedom. These links could perhaps be affiliate links.

You do not need thousands of them, just a few. Like Basic SEO that works. Basic market research that works. Basic facebook marketing that works.


PODCAST

The podcast are basically the pdf that are read out loud. Some people prefer to listen than read.

----

Bottom line, before you get a lot of engagement you need to get members. To get members you need traffic. To get traffic you need visibility.

A few good hooks may be all you need.

A good pdf that is either free if they become member of your site or sold at a low price on amazon.com and other place, will put your name on there and people will judge you and how relevant you are by reading it. In fact by becoming known as someone who can help newbies, you can draw people toward you and your forum.

As for videos, you do not need to show your face, just show them your screen as you do the steps outline in your method. Show people you know your stuff and you can share more on your forum. Some people will comment on youtube and others will go participate on your forum.

You can do the same on Facebook now that they have videos.

By having backlinks to your forum and people going to your forums or talking about your forums, can be a good way to get visibility and engagement.

If you do not want to spend a lot of time on make guides, get some plr guides about this matter, modify it and add your ideas, some tricks and your stuff and you get a new book.

I used to go to warrior forum for WSO but I stop because I got a few very crappy ones. Deliver value in your pdf and you may even get buyers as well and not just members.

They are bloggers out there that have now their own forums where they disscusse about things more in depth than the comment sections on their blog, but their blog is what draws people, the pdf they offer is the hook, in the free member area there is more pdf and there is a forum (sometimes just for paying members).

The pdf got me to subscribe to their mailing list and they occasionally send good tips and advice in their email.

So anyway ... you can do it. You just need to provide value through a variety of medium to get a bigger chance to make your forum work.

 

[xploit]

What do you mean by you/we cannot make a poster post. I am not sure about what you are going there? Do you mean one of the staff posting to a thread and then commenting on it as if making a debate?

I think that means we can't force a user that has signed up to post if they don't want to.

Its as you said though, provide enough quality content and the hook is there for them to bite...

 

[AF-Roger]

I think that means we can't force a user that has signed up to post if they don't want to.

Its as you said though, provide enough quality content and the hook is there for them to bite...

Exactly

 

[seeqer]

I think that means we can't force a user that has signed up to post if they don't want to.

Its as you said though, provide enough quality content and the hook is there for them to bite...

I feel stupid :/

Thanks for the answer @AF-Roger and @xploit

 

[xploit]

So its been a few months, and my 100+ users is now 300+ users - we have changed from phpbb to xenforo but still looking for ways to get the users to actually post and be more active...

So, what do you think of the site now and if you were running it what would you do?...