I believe, lots of friendly people makes for a good forum as one poster said, fun activities, that help people interact, and great moderation.
Wow, that is an amazing start for a first month. I would like to see that forum, how about a link to it? This might be a good example on how to run a forum. If you do not want to post a link, send it to me in a PM.
Not wanting to disclose the link right now, will talk to my partner first. But, all I can say is advertise, promote and buy ad spaces on targetted places.