Hi, I am starting a forum using MyBB software. It is a host site. How can I get people to join my forum?
Have interesting content, submit to directories and search engines. Be sure you invite your online pals.. if you have facebook or myspace make sure you add a link to your forum.. good luck with the forum.
10 cents per post is the usual. I pay more for my forum if they can write niche related content, not just general garbage.
Why hire people to post when you can do it yourself? Having somebody else do the work seems to show a lack of effort on your part. And if you aren't willing to invest substantial effort, time and energy, then I don't think running a forum is for you. After building content, you can begin to promote your forum. Be sure you actually have content though for your visitors to read and become interested in.
I'd have to agree with Nick on this one. Save your money and put some hard work into creating interesting posts. Also, networking and linking back to bloggers and websites with good PR can benefit you because they may be inclined to return the favor.
One great way to get members to your forum is to prove you are an expert or knowledgeable on the subject matter discussed on your site, by joining newsgroups and sites and discussing subjects that would be posted on your site and linking back to your website. I'd be particularly careful about joining other forums just to advertise unless they do not have content related to yours because in the long run you will just get banned and maybe even end up listed in spammer databases making it hard for you to join sites that utilize those databases for keeping spammers away.