Whats wrong with my forum?

Discussion in 'Forum Management' started by error47, Dec 24, 2008.

  1. #1
    I started my forum in July of '08 and I've been getting very low activity. It's a general chat forum and I've spent hours and hundreds of dollars running advertising it. I don't want to give up on it but I feel that it is going nowhere.
    What can I do to revive my forum?I am willing to pay someone to promote the forum for me, I will pay anyone a good amount for activity. If anyone would like to offer their services, please let me know what you can do and how much you are asking for. Please note that I will only pay for activity I receive, nothing in advanced. Anyone have any other tips for me?
    Oh and the link to my forum is : www.EliteTopics.com , let me know what you think.
     
    error47, Dec 24, 2008 IP
  2. Ziveeman

    Ziveeman Peon

    Messages:
    20
    Likes Received:
    0
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #2
    Hey I remember you :) We've done an exchange before.

    What have you been spending your money on for it? Honestly if you've been spending your money right you should be getting more traffic than from what it looks..
     
    Ziveeman, Dec 24, 2008 IP
  3. kailash

    kailash Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,248
    Likes Received:
    42
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    190
    #3
    To promote your forum, you can hold contest like top forum poster, pay per post etc.

    Kailash
     
    kailash, Dec 24, 2008 IP
  4. sakto

    sakto Active Member

    Messages:
    1,517
    Likes Received:
    42
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    90
    #4
    I co own a forum with sizable numbers of members. The thing you should consider when having a general forum is the target audience or demographics.
     
    sakto, Dec 24, 2008 IP
  5. yousellstuff1

    yousellstuff1 Active Member

    Messages:
    1,195
    Likes Received:
    17
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    75
    #5
    You might want to change the look of the forum. Its a nice look but some might turn away at the beginning. Its to dark.
     
    yousellstuff1, Dec 27, 2008 IP
  6. HA Y AN BOI

    HA Y AN BOI Peon

    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    0
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #6
    Okay, promote you self on myspace and youtube, make videos or tutorials.
    Or what gets ppls most attention is porn. So....... Im just helping. also I've
    notice your running ver 2.3.5 you might want to upgrade your board to a 2.3.6
    just letting you know.
     
    HA Y AN BOI, Dec 27, 2008 IP
  7. PixelRaider

    PixelRaider Banned

    Messages:
    57
    Likes Received:
    2
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #7
    From what I can see your forum has a good setup. There aren't too many forums, they seem well organised and laid out. I also like the skin on the forum, there's a good balance between the dark elements (black / grey) and the bright elements such as the category headers.

    Having said that, I don't think dark skins suit general chat forum if i'm completely honest. Normally i've found that darker skins are more suited for gaming / hacking forums. The majority of general chat forums i've found normally have light skins that are "nothing special"...easy on the eye, no fancy graphics...quick load times etc..

    I wouldn't bother spending your cash on PPC Advertising because unless you're already a well established site with an active user base, nobody who visits through an ad will join up. I'd recommend having yourself a look at the Content Creation forum. Here you can pay members (about $0.07 per post) to post on your forum, normaly they're good quality and you can get a few hundred at one time. At this this way you know you're getting something with your money...using PPC Advertising (or other, not really sure what you're spending at the moment) is a gamble as you can't guarantee posts for your money.

    One last thing i'd point out, try to filter out the religious adverts from your adsense. Religion is a very sensative thing and can be enough to make people turn away from your forum. Sad I know, but it's the harsh reality.

    Best of luck :)
     
    PixelRaider, Dec 27, 2008 IP
  8. error47

    error47 Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    481
    Likes Received:
    6
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    128
    #8
    Thanks for the good advice pixelraider. I've already tried paid posting and it didn't work out too well. I'm looking for a way to get loyal members that will post and have some thoughtful conversations. And I can't really find any light skins that I like other than the invision default.
     
    error47, Dec 28, 2008 IP
  9. fattony69

    fattony69 Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    443
    Likes Received:
    8
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    130
    #9
    Way too many forums. Like for example, for sports, you could put all the subforums into Sports area. Same with other areas. That way, you will look more active. When you get more members, you can make it more diverse.
     
    fattony69, Dec 28, 2008 IP
  10. Deviant Geek

    Deviant Geek Peon

    Messages:
    440
    Likes Received:
    4
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #10
    i agree with fattony. slim down the forums a bit. you can always expand and move threads around as you grow.
     
    Deviant Geek, Dec 28, 2008 IP
  11. Razz910

    Razz910 Guest

    Messages:
    98
    Likes Received:
    4
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #11
    Guys, I also thank you for the advice.

    I started "Beyond Discussion" couple of weeks ago. Beyond Discussion is basically a all discussion forum, and I have the same problem as "error47".
     
    Razz910, Dec 28, 2008 IP