Stable and active userbase?

I have just opened my forum www.bloggersplace.net it is a forum for people interested in blogging and for blog owners
How can I create a stable userbase and get a few active members to start off?

 

Tell your friends, offer some incentives to join, some advertising, posting content that others will talk about, ect...

 

I dont have many friends that would like to join such a forum, I've done advertising on other forums I am active on and I have posted some content but still no one wants to join.

 

This is where creativity comes out. It's like any business. What do I have to offer that people want?

 

This is what I need help with, It's hard to be creative with this.
What can I offer within a blogging forum?
I'm thinking custom software themes but I don't think this will work out to well, users will get the theme they want then leave the forum.

 

Start with the center of the niche... blog owners!

Go to big blogs, contact the owners and ask to interview them and say you will post it on your forum giving them a free plug if in return they join your forum and post a few topics, replies or so. They may like the fact that you interviewed them enough to post your interview on their blog which will give you free advertising

If your niche runs around bloggers, then that is the targeted users I would go after

 

I think there's a "Launch Team" program over on The Admin Zone forums which you can use to kickstart a new forum.

Otherwise as has been mentioned...quality unique content and a reason to visit!

 

You have to ask yourself what makes your blog forum better or unique in some way? Consistent traffic is hard to build..moreso on forums.

 

Nowadays, everybody is looking for something unique features. Try to add some new things in your forum so that people hits your forum daily.

 

Pending on your software... something I think that would be unique for a forum about blogging is to make the actual forum theme look like a blog but everything still run as a forum would It may cost a little bit here and there to create a theme that can do that but that would be pretty cool!