What are good advertising techniques to spread the word about a new forum? Assume the forum has something unique about it that would attract users. Would a referral contest work good? Say the person with the most referrals after a month wins a $150 prize, would it generate referrals? Can you even implement a referral system with a forum? I'm kind of lost here so any advice is welcome, thanks.
$150 is a little crazy, especially for a new forum - I have doubts that people who came for that would stick around. On the other hand, putting text ads on relevant sites, antagonizing other forums, and adding yourself to forum lists can help. You might look into getting some forum builders to help you get started (people who pretend to be lots of forum members having a conversation). Just be sure all your other marketing is in line before you do it, since you don't want everything to die after your paid posters go away. Also, going to other forums and looking for people talking about things discussed on your forum, and then crediting the relevant thread can help. And of course, if you have a well-trafficked blog or site connected, it helps to highlight good threads from time to time (even if you're creating them and highlighting them on your own at first).
Well it's a TV show related forum so I figured a $150 DVD prize would be a good incentive. I could always add a value that would make it so only people that are active can win the prize. Thanks for the tips. The promoting on other forums could work as long as I wasn't obscene with it, eh?
I would split up that $150 so that more than one person can win something. For example, 1st place can win $75, 2nd place $50, 3rd $25. Also try posting your contest on Post A Contest.