Back at the beginning

Hello

I'm right back at the beginning of launching a forum website, just wondering what is the best way to star this promotion for the site. The site is called Weddingtalk and basically a discussion site to allow people to share and discuss wedding ideas, i know there is quite a lot of compo but believe there is enough people out there getting married to make a success of it.

I am aiming at the UK market to begin with, but unsure the best free ways to raise the profile.

Cent

 

The problem with this is each new member has a shelf life. People only get married once (or twice, etc) but each marriage ceremony is a one time thing.

This isn't the besty for forums as you hope to have some long time posters.

I would suggest getting some experts on the board (either paid or in exchange for adverts or offer to design them a site!) to answer questions at first. Maybe a local photographer, or a wedding planner, or a florist.

It is difficult enough to get a board off the ground but if it looks empty, you won't get the newbie questions you are after.

 

I really like your idea about getting a professional to be a speacilist in answering question. I really like that idea.

In defense (sorry I know I couldnt resist) of it being a poor topic for a forum,
I believe that there will be a rolling belt of new engaged couples, that will replace the brides who used the site during there engagement, bearing in mind engagements can last anything from few days to a few years.

Anyway thanks for the idea about a proffesional, think I might take that bit of advice!

 

Sorry Centrium, you may have misunderstood me. You will always have the base there (like you said, for every leaving couple there is one engaged).

What I meant is that without some "regulars" that are there through all that, it is sometimes hard to get off the ground.

I have seen some SEO forums grow VERY slowly starting with a small base and slowly adding one good member at a time. Then somewhere down the road they had so many core member the ever revolving newbies rounded it out.

My point was merely that it is harder for a wedding forum to get those core members that are there for a really long time.

 

Ahh yes I did misunderstand a little, my fault.

Yes I agree its a problem i've had with my previous forum too, all in all looking for the best advice I can get, and from what you have said so far I'm quite appreciative of it. I also can see how it could work as well for this site, I'll keep you posted.

Apart from getting a wee team set up, you dont happen to know any good ideas to brand the name do you!

 

When it comes to wedding stuff content truly is king. If people can find info all in one spot it puts you in the running.

Also, wedding fairs are huge for getting publicity (as you probably already know). If you want to splash out big time then rent a booth at the different wedding fairs. Just make sure you have the goods in order to convert or your time could be wasted.

I would also try to partner with local wedding shops. Maybe get very professional cards with very nice decorative holders and ask if you can put them in their shops (wedding dress shops, florists, etc). Since you are only providing info and not competetion, they may be receptive.

Start local and grow from there.

 

Hi. I just got married a few months ago, so I know the whole deal regarding wedding forums as my wife was on them constantly. A good forum would definitely differentiate you from other websites, as you would have constant return visitors. You might be suprised at the volume of posts that you get and the length of time posters stay on.
Many people follow up with honeymoon pics etc, and now that the average length of an engagement is at least a year, you might have members that hang around for a while.

This website is pretty popular on Long Island, and has a large following.

http://www.liweddings.com/

Good Luck!

 

Thanks for visiting, hopefully your input will begin some content.

Thats kinda the strategy we were looking for, we were planning to cpature UK brides before heading onto the rest of world. Im not sure how to go about parterning with local shops but will give it a go.

 

Thats what Im hoping for, our forum is going to be a content management system essentially to pull together plenty of resources for people and let them talk at same time.

I'll have a look at the link, my first challenge is to get people to the site, posting and get the site promoted. All in all not an easy launch, but these things eventually reward you!....dont they!!

 

Do a search for similar forums and then maybe make an offer to buy the site. Something with a couple of thousand posts but not much happening recently is the way to go.

Then an option is to transfer everything over to your site or continue to update the bought one.

A lot of sites just wither and die when the owner moves on to other things or is not spending the time promoting the forum and keeping it up to date.
You would be surprised at how many rarely used forums are out there.

At least you then have a base of posts to start from which adds to the credibility then promote it....for starters by joining the coop network
You should be able to pick one up for well under $500.00.

I can't see the point in only targeting one area....after all the internet is the World Wide Wed....lol

OT....Hey yfs1, our other forum has gone, it's a 404 error, any idea as to why or where.

Cyclops.

 

Im gonna have to attempt to do this one, so soon after XMAS, dont really fancy buying another website. Still its a good idea that can apply to anyone who is thinking of starting a forum.

 

i wouldn't be worried about regular "returning" members. There are many wedding professionals that would be able to benefit from the forums. Not to drum up new business per se, but to discuss ideas and events. I'd specifically target wedding planners and photographers, they are always online looking for ways to improve (I used to do marketing for wedding photographers as a full time gig). Professionals could make or break your forum, so I'd roll out the red carpet if I were you.

 

It took me a while to decipher this statement

I would say it was sold for the tools and the forum was scrapped. Hardly any of it was indexed anyway so it wouldn't have been much value. It was a good community but a poorly promoted one.

 

You should advertise at wedding-related sites.