10 Tips to running a forum

10 Tips to running a forum​

Brought to you by Admin Juice​

1) Opening; Do not open until you have at least got a banner, a template and all the forums set up and the permissions checked. If your forum is open without a banner/template it will be far less appealing to guests and you are less likely to get a good start, and if a forum gets off to a poor start you’re going to struggle to make it successful in the long term.

2) Once open, advertise. This may seem obvious but don’t just post topics on advertising forums then leave. Stay active at the advertising forums you joined and request all the services, and bump your advertisement topic as often as you are allowed. On top of using promotion forums to advertise, you can use lots of other resources; these include directories, topsites (only effective though if you have a high rank on them), link referral and most recently twitter seems to be a good method of promotion.

3) As administrator, participate as much as possible. Try to start threads on a regular basis and also reply to threads, especially try to reply to every thread in the introduction threads. If you don’t do this your members will think you are disinterested in your own forum and also you have almost no chance of establishing a decent community.

4) Make sure your forum is viewable to guests. One pet hate of all guests is not being able to see what they are joining. Hiding sections like tutorials is ok, but don’t hide the whole forum. A lot of people do this and it puts off any visitors, however nice the banner and template might be.

5) Don’t overstaff. Having too many staff might intimidate guests, especially if the posting is dominated by staff. It can also appear to be a cover up for a lack of activity from the actual members.

6) Get a good rank on Google. Google can give you a lot of traffic if you get a decent rank, so it is key that you get a high rank on google, especially if your forum is about something less common for example a tennis forum. If you are on the 3rd page of google for tennis forum, you are far less likely to get activity as people generally won’t go to the 3rd page of google when searching for something like that.

7) Get a domain. If money is really a issue you can get a domain for one year at http://www.co.cc for free. A domain makes your site looks more professional and also shows guests that you have enough interest in your forum to spend money/time getting a domain.

8) Try and do some sort of updates from time to time. If you never add anything new to your forum it is more then likely members will get disinterested and eventually leave. An example of an update is getting a new template occasionally, adding a new section or starting a contest. Doing this will make the community more interested in the site.

9) When hiring staff, make sure the person you are hiring isn’t going to cause problems. You should make sure if you hire someone they don’t have a bad reputation. Also if a staff member abuses his power to a serious extent (I.e deleting topics for no reason) remove him immediately before he causes anymore damage. I think at this stage that you shouldn’t trust the staff member anymore and if a staff member has breached the administrators trust I don’t think they deserve to be staff and you should take the precautionary approach.

10) Add modifications to your forum. If you don’t have modifications like quick reply for example and don’t add them even when it is suggested, it’s unlikely the members will want to stick around. And much like with the 3rd point, it shows a lack of interest and also some laziness. If you can’t install modifications then either learn or try and get someone else to do it and also explain this situation if someone suggestions a modification like quick reply.

Hope this helped!

 

I disagree with your co.cc recommendation, it still isn't "a domain" and you shouldn't be running a site if you can't spare what is practically minimum wage.

 

This is a good intro guide to forums - I took away a good couple of points. What worries me is that some people will create a forum without thinking about ANY of these points - and that's really scary!

 

I would add please please please don't get a bad vbulletin install that takes 4 days to send the verification email for login.
Oy vey.

 

I also dissagree with this, I think getting a .com or .co.uk domain should be done if you want your website to have a better chance of success. Dont get a .co.cc

 

Actually most users don't give a rat's arse about the fact that you're a TLD . If they feel good on the forum you'll have a solid base . You will however face some problems when it comes to ranking and monetizing and professionalism .

This are a really some good advices for newbs . Ofc there is a lot more when it comes to building a community . As the OP stated the admin's image must be one of the daddy , the good friend , the go to guy and the mother of all wounded .

Some other advices : implement good anti-spam measures and don't make enemies : members or competitors . Be friendly and coolheaded all all times .

 

You said banners are needed first before starting, what will the banners be used for?

 

Thanks for the tips, I would like to stress that activity is the most important factor for a successful forum. Also, i completely agree with ApocalypseXL in that anti spam mods must be implemented as members and visitors do not like to see spam and do not stay in a place where there is spam.

 

Forums can be very hard to get going, You really need to view it as a long term project, and put in long hours..

 

i think he is refering to at least a logo for your site.

 

Engage a good Mod team appropriate to the size of the forum. Ensure that they uphold the rules, but that they execise descretion, interact in a truly friendly manner and are neither too harsh, nor too soft.

A good Mod will start new topics and promote further discussion, ensuring that the threads remain on line and dont wander too far off.