Need advice on Competing with another established forum

Hi everyone, there is a local forum that is well-established and entrenched with more than 200,000 members and very active. It is backed by a large company of editors, moderators, etc. However, it lacks several important features that I believe my forums will more than provide for.

Before I go out on a head-to-head war, (which I will lose if it drags), perhaps i can get some ideas from you guys on how best to start competing and to get these people from the local forum to join mine? I need something hard & fast to get a substantial mass to sustain the momentum or i foresee it will be a piece of cake for this other company to copy my ideas and implement them on their forums.

Any ideas / advice however crazy will be welcomed

 

you should have somthing they dont have eg just say its web design site you could offer your members tutorials

 

i already said i have features they don't have

what i'm asking is how to draw the ppl into my forums swift & deadly

 

Well if they let you advertise on their forums . Join the forums make some useful posts with your link or your link in your sig.

The thing is their maybe rules against this. And they may also deny your adverts. You dont want to make a bad name for yourself in their community...

You may also look for members that are not happy with their rules and take them with you.

Try to advertise your forum in places they do not. Find people in the city you live in that has no idea who your competition is and you can build a member base that way too. Eventually if your forum is better the others will find out about it to and come on over.

 

tks.. but this is the slow & steady method. By the time i even get their attention, this established forums will have copied all my ideas already

So i need some fast effective marketing that will draw a huge mass in a short period. I don't mind spending abit to achieve that, as long as i get the first-movers advantage

 

What if you took out newspaper ads. Got flyers into local stores. Find people using other avenues that live in the area via myspace. Do your marketing campaign the same time your forums go up. That would give you a nice little burst and get you noticed....

 

In my experience, quality will lead to steady growth, but money will accelerate it. If you're prepared to spend the money, I'd suggest some sort of conteest.

Install a referer mod, so that you can keep track of which users are bringing you the MOST new Active users (by active, they would have to have posted a minimum of x # of posts). Top 3 names that are listed as referrer get a cash 'donation' made to them via paypal. I'd do something like 50% to 1st, 30% to 2nd, and 20% to 3rd.

DO NOT post results as the contest if going on - that way, you're less likely to have people giving up early in the game.

Emphasize in YOUR message, and what should be relayed to prospective new users what your value proposition is and why your site is better.

Concurrent with this contest, 100% agree with mototips - do some advertising wherever you can, let your friends in on it, and start sending out PMs to key people you think are well networked.


Good luck!

 

tks for your suggestions. *Jots down in notebook*

Somehow or other feel that i need something with a BIG BANG, that will draw curious eyes to the forums. But I don't know what....

 

Interesting problem. This sounds like a perfect example of how a DIGG or Stumble might help you. Try to figure out an angle that will allow you to get a massive viral traffic burst. You might try an Adwords campaign or purchase links on some high traffic sites with similar interests.

 

Both of these ideas are good.

What kind of "local" forum has 200,000 members? I'm wondering what niche you are looking to fill?

-Raymond

 

If you live in a big city I can see local forums having alot of members... The niche would be whichever city he is going for i would think

 

'MASSIVE VIRAL TRAFFIC'.... thats the key & the eternal question i'm searching an answer for

 

I wish there was a magic "massive viral traffic" button we all had to push whenever we needed. I've seen it done before by a "guru" selling his "coaching" program. The guru (Rich Schefren) created a series of free "manifestos" that he hyped through affiliates lists. The guy was relentless and it worked. He hooked, cleaned, and fried 1000's of fish for big dollars. And all of this in the same pond that all the other gurus fish in daily!

Perhaps you could create a free product these people would want? Try to line up any guru in the field and have them hype to their lists. Once you hook the key opinion leaders, the viral stuff happens as the sheep follow their shepherds.

On the other well establish boards, try to find people with tons of posts who seem respected by others. Approach them and tell them about your free info/product and ask them to review it. Set up a web page or blog to let people talk about it.

Ok, you get the idea. None of this is turn-key and requires much planning and effort.

 

that's very helpful sharing, tks!

gives me some great ideas..... rep coming your way

 

First off, don’t implement all the ideas at once. Implement them in a slow and steady manner; usually large forums lack personal touch which is something that can be found on a smaller forum.

That large forum that you are thinking of competing against wasn’t built in a month or two, it has been probably around for years and this is what you need to target at. Don’t build forum for short term, build them for a long run. Don’t think for even once that you will start getting large amount of members and posts and even revenue in first couple of years.

Secondly ask yourself, why you want to start the forum?

Is it to just get back at the big forum or to make easy money or because you want to build something that address a topic you are genuinely interested in would stay interested in even if you get a small pool of members and little or no revenue and may even loose money for next couple of years?

If later is the reason, by all means go for it and you will be successful no matter what. After all success is a relative word, it means different things for different people.

 

actually came up with a strategy, what if i didn't implement the new feature first (the one that the other forum does not have too)? Then slowly grow my base membership & popularity. When i have critical mass, then release it? What do you guys think?

Only downside is, if the big forum catches on to this missing feature and implement it before i do, i'm screwed.....

 

There is always space for another forum, provided you have long term goals and dedication.