How should I kickstart my Q&A forum?
- Thread starter mojo999
- Start date
I've done a little (and by that I mean very little) research on this subject recently.
The general consensus was to talk to yourself (using different forum ID's of course) to get the ball rolling.
IMO, it would be better to have a couple of buddies from different IP's post scripted questions so you can post the answers... not that I think more than 1 in 10,000 members would ever be smart enough to check the IP's of the forum participants and out you for it.
The general consensus was to talk to yourself (using different forum ID's of course) to get the ball rolling.
IMO, it would be better to have a couple of buddies from different IP's post scripted questions so you can post the answers... not that I think more than 1 in 10,000 members would ever be smart enough to check the IP's of the forum participants and out you for it.
The best way to get the ball rolling on a new forum is to tack it on to an established site. If you have a decently sized newsletter / list, blasting out an announcement about it will help a great deal.
If you're starting literally from scratch, you're going to have a tougher time getting it jump started. Do as much promotion as you can, and while paid posting IS an option, I've only had lackluster results with it for the most part. If you do go the paid poster route, I'd suggest finding a team to do it with multiple usernames. If you go to DP and individually hire a bunch of retards, expect frustration.
Personally, I much prefer the blog-then-forum combo. Establish the blog and get a list going, then do the forum. Depending on the scale of the project, you'll probably want to be active in your forum (at the very least in the beginning). Blog+newsletter+forum = very close contact with your users, great trust building.
Edit: This also depends on the size/niche of the project, but you could offer some form of reward or incentive for the user who refers the most new members. I've done this before and seen pretty decent turnout, but you'll want to make sure you know how to check the validity of the 'referrals,' in the event some douche wants to game you. If you don't want to give out anything of value, offer something silly like a badge or special title - or even a mod position, which will cut down your work.
If you're starting literally from scratch, you're going to have a tougher time getting it jump started. Do as much promotion as you can, and while paid posting IS an option, I've only had lackluster results with it for the most part. If you do go the paid poster route, I'd suggest finding a team to do it with multiple usernames. If you go to DP and individually hire a bunch of retards, expect frustration.
Personally, I much prefer the blog-then-forum combo. Establish the blog and get a list going, then do the forum. Depending on the scale of the project, you'll probably want to be active in your forum (at the very least in the beginning). Blog+newsletter+forum = very close contact with your users, great trust building.
Edit: This also depends on the size/niche of the project, but you could offer some form of reward or incentive for the user who refers the most new members. I've done this before and seen pretty decent turnout, but you'll want to make sure you know how to check the validity of the 'referrals,' in the event some douche wants to game you. If you don't want to give out anything of value, offer something silly like a badge or special title - or even a mod position, which will cut down your work.
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I also tried the method elime explains because I find that it's much easier to generate big traffic to a blog than to an empty forum.
The only thing I wasn't sure about as whether I should place the blog in the root of the domain :
http://www.example.com - for the blog
www.example.com/forum - for the forum
Since I really have no interest in updating a blog for an indefinite time, just while I get good traffic to the domain, I would end up with an abandoned blog in the root of the domain.
So I think for a while you are going to be stuck with an empty forum in the root of the domain while www.example.com/blog generates traffic and forwards people to the forum , or you can start a blog in the root of the domain and end up with an abandoned blog sometime in the future with a huge link pointing people to the forum.
You could also delete the blog from the root of the domain and move the forum to the root with a 301 redirect so you don't lose the forum's SE rankings but that is a bit more complicated.
Vbulletin (don't know about phpbb) also has some excellent mods to increase participation. You can block images from unregistered people, track member referrals , award points for participation etc. I would give out $50 amazon gift cards every month for the member with most referrals or most helpful threads started etc. That has to be cheaper than paid posters.
The only thing I wasn't sure about as whether I should place the blog in the root of the domain :
http://www.example.com - for the blog
www.example.com/forum - for the forum
Since I really have no interest in updating a blog for an indefinite time, just while I get good traffic to the domain, I would end up with an abandoned blog in the root of the domain.
So I think for a while you are going to be stuck with an empty forum in the root of the domain while www.example.com/blog generates traffic and forwards people to the forum , or you can start a blog in the root of the domain and end up with an abandoned blog sometime in the future with a huge link pointing people to the forum.
You could also delete the blog from the root of the domain and move the forum to the root with a 301 redirect so you don't lose the forum's SE rankings but that is a bit more complicated.
Vbulletin (don't know about phpbb) also has some excellent mods to increase participation. You can block images from unregistered people, track member referrals , award points for participation etc. I would give out $50 amazon gift cards every month for the member with most referrals or most helpful threads started etc. That has to be cheaper than paid posters.