Hi DPers, My website is http://de.crypt.in - as you can see, it is highly targetted and falls into a tiny niche. I'm looking for ways to get more members and give the forum a jumpstart. I've been posting as much as I can but new users (the 2 of them) just don't seem to like posting. Given this scenario, should I continue doing what I can or should I give in and pay for some company to post for me? Since the content is so specialized I have my doubts about what such a company's posts will bring to the forum in terms of relevant content and quality. Do you have any other tips on how to go about defeating this huge obstacle?
I do have the same problem with my new forum: doolder.com/forum I wouldn't pay for people to post, actually I'm working on building a list and will send my suscribers to the forum all at once to get a kick start.
it will be worth anyway so why not. lot of people really would like to see active people in the forum before they sign up.
there is a site called forum promotion where you can promote and do post exchanges with other members for free.
If you can't advertise and get new members to join you may want to pay some users to post to get some new content up. Obviously this would be a short-term solution.
I've never run a forum before so this is just a guess... Have you though about posting a controversial topic within your niche? If people feel adamantly enough about something they are sure to share their opinion. Also, if you have built up some relationships with people over the internet, you could ask them to help kick off your forum. Just some thoughts
Forum posting is a good idea, but if you really want to have the job done properly then I would do it yourself. If you don't have time then outsource it to somewhere here for cheap I guess. Forum posts can help your website rank for many different keywords when it is aged and has a high PR.
Agreed with @trendsa. I would be willing to pay for it, but I don't think you'd get much value out of outsourcing it in most situations. You'd need to find someone who understood your niche and enjoyed helping out people online. If you could find that person I would def be willing to pay.
So I'm leaning towards looking around on general forums and identifying people with the right skill set, and then PMing them with offers. The reason I wouldn't look around on security forums is because...well, if you're already on a buzzing security forum why would you join my emptier one... What do you think?
and why would you left it as empty? I have seen many security forums was started with low traffics and a few threads posted. They have build up by being a niche under the security category and not too genetic one. I would recommend you do the same. You cannot be everything for everyone unless you are the first one in the market.
If paying someone to make posts for you frees you up so you can do other things that will help you make money, then why not! I say do it if you can find a reliable person to do that for you.
I wouldn't pay anyone to post in your forums.. Forums can be slow to develop, you need to have people having meaningful discussions where others would want to contribute. Give it time and it will develop naturally.
It could cost you a lot for pushing them to post because you'll pay them. The only solution would be your second thought Search around, find for interesting people or those actively participating in these niche-targeted forums and then contact them. You could even hire them as moderators of your forum and then they'll be able to accompany every new member coming in that'll support your previous posts. What do you think? I hope that helps.