sorry guys but i have to do it [bus thread] populating surfer forums
 

Ok guys - need some tips on increasing the number of posters on my forum. A new layout seems to have increased surfer traffic but actual posting activity and forum signups is still minimal to say the least.

any tips would be very much appreciated... :thumbsup

Sig whore contest? :(

Run a contest, "each post gets you an entry into a raffle" and then the winner get some cool prize....

I have a dead forum on my hands attached to my paysite. I am in the same predicament, but I'll tell you some things I've learned along the way. A forum is all about content, obviously. The more content you have, the more people will want to be associated with that content. Just make sure that your forum has plenty of interesting content pertaining to your niche, and that you're always posting new stuff. You might want to create some fake profiles and have conversations with yourself, to make it seem as if your forum is the place to be.

I've discovered it to be very difficult getting people to post, and virtually no one will begin talking if there's nothing already being discussed.

It's actually quite easy to do.... hit me up on icq#121747195

don't feel like sharing it here :)

share, share, you know, give a little take a little and all that crap

I'll be launching a 'geeks' forum in a week or so, I'm also interested in a few tips

I know one way is go to Yahoo answers and answer all the questions people ask about their PCs (and post your link there), but not so sure what your forum is about

another thing as someone already mentioned, create fake profiles, and talk to yourslef or ask your buddies to post there as well

one more tip, write good articles with your links in them and post them to the free articles sites like articlecity etc

may be write an ebook and do the same

get that ebook on your fav. P2P program, and see if you can 'spread it' amongst the masses ;) (make sure your articles etc have catchy names)

swap links with similar sites - very important + do some more SE shit so you get more visitors

can't think of any more right now

heh - i tried a contest way back when i started the forum and it didn't really work ... but it may just work, now that there is more traffic going to the forum. Thanks for the tip woj :thumbsup

yup - content is key and i've added quite a bit in the way of content lately and am trying to keep adding on a daily basis. Haven't really had a conversation with myself - but might just give it a try cheers mate :thumbsup

Give them a reason to post, try having a special forum that needs xx amount of posts to get into and if it's interesting they will post to gain access and hopefully carry on posting.

Contest contest contest. Give away all your money :P

Forum Builder. Coming soon. Maybe :)

I am echoing all the posts here already but it's all about incentives.

Prizes, content, passwords to "special download areas" and more. All of this stuff gets them to chat.

It also helps to have some girls posting in your forum, that gets guys posting.

ingenuity`

forum bots

any chance you could speed up the process? :)

Yep its tough to get a forum active..
As others have suggested, I would create a few fake nicks and make mutiple posts everyday, create a forum that requires a set level of posts to be able to access works well, as you have seen here on gfy, posts about controversial subjects gets people to post more often.
A rank system according to post count can help.
I've done contests too, one that works well is to have the contest tied to TOPIC starting, make a 5-10 topic min to qualify for the prize...run it for 2-3 weeks, you'll get activity in your forums like that.
You can also give prizes for the most prolific posters every month.
My experience with running forums over the years is only about 5-10% of the readers ever post..you see that on just about every forum going...same people doing the majority of posting every day.

I think thats just a reflection of society in general...
Good Luck

3 year old forum only 2 registered users newest registered user hgyhgt users online Admin

eh.

Here is a way I did it for a surfer forum I had.

1) Create a free section for anyone to see
2) Create a Members only section
3) Create 4-20 usernames and have them all post (have conversations with your other usernames)
4) Have those 4-20 usernames post outragous amounts of content
5) Post a whole bunch of stories/erotic tales (good for SEO)
6) Buy traffic from link Choker or Ravio
7) Watch the signups :)

Its a pretty simple forumla.

Jim

nice tips there - any specific sites to get erotic stories from?

offer your own free email pornsite..

i.e. make an fpa up just like many of the major sponsors do ( email type programs ) , hook the signup form up to your forum ( basically just edit a mockup of your register new user forum to include only the items you would want i.e. username password email )