Sucess with referral contest

I am thinking of referral contest on my Soccer Forum. How this goes, anyone had any success ....i made invitation availible (just a click and it is in the forum)

I wonder how this goes and what should i watch out for ?

Thank You

 

Set a minimum post count for the people being referred.

It's quite obvius how something like this is open to abuse.

Have you tried other methods of promotion first?

 

I wouldn't do it (referral contest, that is). Referral contests are almost always unsuccessful for the same reasons really. They are typically expensive for the owner and do not pay well enough for the members. It's hard for members to refer others to your forums and even when they do, the chances of those referrals sticking around to be long term members are slim for you.

I would suggest to instead come up with something unique - not a referral or posting contest, as everybody seems to do these and they just aren't fun and exciting...both are temporary as well.

 

I really want to attract members ... what are other ways of doing it ? other than referral.... Since it is soccer forum i expect boost in traffic soon forum is quite active at the moment and i decided to go with referral and see. Will be low budget 50-100 dollars we will see ..... so what are other options for getting members niche ones ...

should i recruit personally on competitors forums

 

Asking members in your competitor's forums to join you is defintely not the way to do it. Not only is it wrong, but it will earn you a horrible reputation. I will say, however, that I have seen the most success with signature promotion. This is all about registering at forums similar to yours and including a link back to your forums in your signature - do this (where allowed!!) and you will see good results. Best part about it is that it's free...worst part is that it requires time.

Paid ways would be to buy advertising on other websites and forums similar to yours or run other promotions/giveaways.