1. Home
  2. Forums Index
  3. WebmasterWorld / Community Building and User Generated Content 11:54 pm May 20, 2026

Forum Moderators: rogerd

Message Too Old, No Replies

Can't seem to gain posts?

         

Zion

12:57 pm on Jun 20, 2010 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Ok I dont know if this is good are bad, but it feels bad.
My site has been online around 2-3 weeks.Since then I had been adding content and trying to attract members.
So far the post count is just about 1000 posts and 86 members.
It is a forum. On it I hae installed:

a facebook like button that connects to fcebook to show what you thread you liked on the site.

a style I felt reflected what the website is.

A rank system where by posting/making threads and reffering and more earns you xp to level up and gain ranks. This changes your title per level and you gain a star per level.

A rep ystem where you gain rep for good posts from members, the more rep= the more strenght you have, its hard to explain.


If a guest is on my site and only looking they ca view 4 pages then they are asked to join. This helps to get people to join and not just look around.

A donation system if people wish to donate. If they donate they are auto placed into the vip group that have extra privilages and have the VIP picture under their avi, they can also see the area 51 part off the forum that normal members cannot.

arcade nnd highscores. We have a game section on that site with flash games that you can play and try to get highscores to compete against each other. They can also organsie tournments. If they have a highscore it shows to the right or their posts.

point market. From posting and making threads they gain credits. These can be used in the marketplace to buy things such as the ability to have animated avis, make all their font blod all the time etc etc. Also they have buy gifts and gamble their credits in the gambling section. And much more.


Also There is more but not even time to mention.
Even though I have spent time getting it to what I want it seems that only 1 or so member joins a day within the past few days. I was thinking of using adsense to gain some members but it seems costly for each click.

I need some advice, and dont be afraid to say what you feel.
I feel like I have added enough stuff to keep members intrested but what can I do to actually "Get" the members and therefore get the posts?

[edited by: tedster at 1:32 am (utc) on Jun 21, 2010]
[edit reason] sorry, no personal URLs [/edit]

rogerd

5:05 pm on Jun 21, 2010 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Administrator 10+ Year Member



Zion, it sounds like you are doing a lot of things right. Here are a few thoughts:

1) During your initial launch, consider not enforcing the limit on pages viewed without registering. Keeping lurkers engaged at this point is important.

2) A thousand posts in 2-3 weeks doesn't sound bad for a new forum. Try to limit the number of initial forums/topics so that it is easy to find the active content and your home page doesn't show a bunch of forums with no activity.

3) Some of the features for rating and promotion of members won't mean much right now. When the community gets busier, these may become more important. Beware of too much clutter.

Do you think your modest signup rate is due to traffic? I.e., is the problem that you are getting a very small number of new visitors, or that nobody is registering?

Here's an oldie-but-goodie discussion of launching a community: [webmasterworld.com...]

tangor

9:38 am on Jun 22, 2010 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Sounds like you've got all the bells and whistles in place.

What about the content? Unless the subject/theme/members are general in nature it will be difficult to grow a forum beyond a handful (heck, one of my forums only has 94 members!, the rest are 10k up).

The folks who will post will only do so if they are interested. And folks who post are generally 10% of the lurkers/readers.

rogerd

1:47 pm on Jun 28, 2010 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Administrator 10+ Year Member



Tangor is right, Zion. Imagine that one built a great new highway, complete with nice landscaping, rest stops with good food and cheap gas, a few toll booths, and so on. You still need a destination that people want to get to in order to create traffic. For a community, content is the destination.

Some specific kinds of content entice lurkers into registering and posting. Controversial topics are one. Polls are another, particularly if they are hot-button items (e.g., Windows vs. Mac, is the iPhone overrated, etc.) In some communities, "introduce yourself" topics will work.

Mark_A

2:07 pm on Jun 28, 2010 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Zion: My site has been online around 2-3 weeks.Since then I had been adding content and trying to attract members.
So far the post count is just about 1000 posts and 86 members.


Don't sweat it Zion, I would say for a site that has been online 2-3 weeks your forum building is going very well indeed. Afaict some people take years getting a forum established.
 

Join The Conversation

Moderators and Top Contributors

Hot Threads This Week

  1. Home
  2. Forums Index
  3. WebmasterWorld / Community Building and User Generated Content 11:54 pm May 20, 2026