Hi all. This is my first post on this forum... I am about to start pulling my hair out here trying to get people to pay attention to my site... I have been trying to get the word out for my new site, but being a community site, I can't just advertise because nobody is going to sign up for a community site without a "community". The site I have is a unique idea, and a very good one and 100% free to use. I have been out in forums related to my project, trying to get a handfull of people to just come and sign up and participate just to get it started. The concept is new, so it requires an explanation or at least a little browsing around to understand the concept, but without content, there is really nothing to explore... The problem is, any time I post the link, my thread is either deleted, or people start spewing out things like "F*CKING SPAMMER!".... Now I don't go in and start posting things like "Hey check out my site!" I make sure the forum I am on is related to the project, and that the project would be an advantage to anyone using that forum, and then I do my best to introduce it in a friendly way and explaining what it is, and why they may be interested, and then offer to answer any questions they may have about it. I get the same response almost every time. I may as well have just gone in like an ass and SPAM them Viagra style... The next thing I attempted was offering a promotional contest prize give away for signing up and participating. The first thing they accused me of is being a scammer!!! I mean, I can't even give money away for free!!! I am beyond frustrated to say the least. I am not giving up, but I am hoping that maybe someone here has an aswer to this problem. I just don't know what to do...
That you are accused of spamming and scamming because of the way you presented your new site? Or more likely, such a new member of the forum, all the regulars automatically call you such for posting. Easy tip on any forums, especially DP, is to get acquainted with the forum, read the posts, comment on the posts, say hi to everyone, etc. In other words, be part of the community BEFORE you even go into your spiel about your new site. Get the word out on your site by advertising it in other ways. Poke around this forum a bit, especially in the buy,sell,trade forums and you will find lots of good ways to advertise. Hope this tiny bit helps you out. Oh, and welcome to DP!
I was actually considering posting something like this as well...So just as an overview your trying to start a community, anywhere you post links to your community you get flamed/banned. I am starting to think that it might possibly be the content that your linking to the people dislike. Could be the format, design, what you write. Instead of looking at the people calling you a spammer, look at what your linking them to. Other than that I would possibly suggest another form of marketing.
I am frustrated because I don't know where to begin, or how to begin. I understand the part about getting aquanted on the forums, but I also see a huge difference between a polite introduction to something useful to me and a blatant outright SPAM trying to sell me something that means nothing to me. For example imagine this scenario... Imagine a forum for dog breeders. (My real project is not for dog breeders, but this is just an example) Here I come: "Hi all! I have been breeding dogs for over 10 years, and have won several awards in many competitions, but have always had problems while registerring many of my dogs due to the slight variation of color or other details. I'm sure many of you have also had this issue, so I have been putting together a website which we can work together to create a resource to help us all avoid this problem. The site is www.[[enter random website here]].com Please stop by let me know what you think of the idea, and let me know if you have any suggestions... Thanks! " The usual response: "F*CK YOU SPAMMER!!!" Now do you think something like that would justify that sort of response? I think not, but then again, I am me, and they are them.
you cant just join forums and start spamming sites, you need to be a old member on forums, you need to have a few posts and you need to be a name people have seen before you can start posting threads about other sites.
I think in general most forums are overloaded with spam so if someone new comes in talking about their new site and how great it is, then it will be labeled as spam. I am a member of many forums and personally have never gone on about my site specifically. I put it in my signature and if a specific topic calls for it, I may mention my site. But, that has only happened a handful of times. That is the way to do it in forums or else you unfortunately will be called a spammer. That is the truth of the matter. Best of luck with your site, don't give up.
Thank you all for the advice. So come check out my site!! I keed I keed!!!! Really, I can understand what you are saying, and I will work on that. Sadly, I have always been a "get straight to the point" kind of guy. I also think I should hang out here more becuase I know that marketing is REALLY my weak point.
Gather a few trustworthy members, offer positions for exchange in getting people signed up and have contests for PayPal, etc.
I think that is spam. I would ban you from any of my forums because it seems like you're looking for free advertising. With related forums, you're also competing for the same users. Why would any webmaster help you take his/her users away to a different forum? I think you'll have to pony up some cash to get your forum going. Hire a couple mods to delete spam and start a new thread every day. Use Adwords or SEO to get some traffic.
you really need not to care what other say about you or your website .. because you will find lot of peoples claiming "top internet companies have scammed them" .... but its not true .. As far as promotion is concerned , always read forum rules ( most allow link in signatures) . And gift/promotions are concerned write terms and conditions very clearly and wisely , so that you cannot be sued for anything ,... donot let them turn you down and learn from experiences.
The first step ypu might want to take is to take advantage of your signature and put a link to your site there.
General netiquette is a set of unwritten and unspoken rules. You cannot go into a competing forum and advertise your site. It's just rude. Would you stop someone in the street and ask them to do your laundry without first making friends with them? Forums are a great way of getting traffic to your sites... but you have to do it in a way that helps everyone, and doesn't offend anyone. Like my sig for example..
People are often protective of their forum. You should never just go post about your site as a post on another forum. Put it in your sig file (some forums don't like this but most don't mind), then participate in the forums in a normal manner. If you just go around to various forums and make a single post that is an ad for your site, which is what it sounds like you were doing, no wonder you got the reaction you got. Would you want people doing that on your forum? Go out and promote yourself in your signature, and contribute to the forum, and people will follow your link.
It's because they see you for what you are appearing to be: Someone who joined the forums simply to siphon off members to your forum with no intention of really participating in the forums at hand. Not too many forums enjoy this. Think of it this way, you have your dog breeding forums going, and you have to deal with new people signing up to do nothing but invite your hard earned members over to whatever dog merchandising website or forums they have running. It gets old after a while and seeing you're not really contributing to the forums, they can ban/delete you with little harm done to their own forums. Most times, the admins get thanked for getting rid of a spammer. It takes time, give advice in the forums and get to know folks first. Bring something to the table so to say for their forums, then over time, introduce a link in your sig perhaps.