Hi there,

Just wondering if anyone here runs a website with a forum and is successful getting people posting in it. I want to know how you can turn website visits into forum posts. I do get a few people posting in mine but not many. Statistics show that I am getting on average around 60 unique visitors per day, most of which are getting there from the google adwords campaign I am running, but this is not translating into people signing up to and using my forum (which is the purpose of my site). Can anyone give me any tips and pointers.

Any help would be much appreciated,

Many thanks in advance!

P.S - If it helps, here is my website: sharesau.com

And what is the USP of your forum compared to others?

I like to think its the fact that mine is focussed in on one particular aspect which is Australian Shares. Most similar forums branch out into other things like US stocks and options and bonds etc etc. Im trying to stay away from the excess stuff and focus purely on Australian stocks (around 1 in 2 Adult Australians own shares so I know the market exists)

I think you could do some basic SEO and promotion, such as posting about your forum on related sites, Social Networks, groups, etc. that allow it.

Good luck.

focus purely on Australian stocks (around 1 in 2 Adult Australians own shares so I know the market exists)

That doesn't mean mean that ~50% have bought shares in Australian companies though, so you maybe overestimating your potential audience somewhat.

But as already said above you have to find where your target audience is to be found and market your forum to them. And the success rate of that will depend on YOUR knowledge of the subject, because when you post comments or information at those places you are marketing YOURSELF initially.

First thing I'd be asking myself is why do people respond to ads and then not sign up for the forums. Are the ads misleading? Does that give a clue as to what forums should provide? Are the forums dull in look? Unclear?

Secondly, many peole own shares in various things, it doesn't mean they want to do anything with, read about them or talk about them.

Thirdly, there are well-established sites out there already - are you pushing your USP (assuming it's worth pushing)?

And I'll just add that the best traffic is organic so it goes back to what others are saying here as far as having a good strong knowledge of the subject matter. Establishing yourself as a good, reliable source and willing to help. You've got to have that and you've got to spread your knowledge all over the place.

Are there enough interesting things to talk about regarding this subject?

Know and understand who your target audience is and when I say understand them, I mean you really need to know what interests or intrigues them.

Do you make posts on the forum that engage people to want to respond?

Do you Interview experts and post the interviews? Could be short blogs or videos with Q & A advice.

Post your own advice - short blog posts on other sites related to your forum subject. Then post the link to your forum under it (if allowed)

The key is to engage people enough to want to go to your forum to see more, voice their own opinions. You might want to consider doing a weekly blog with links to the forum for commenting.

SEO is important but you really need to build a good reputation and both of those take time. Be patient, be wise and persevere!
Good Luck

If this doesn't work then perhaps you should think about expanding the subject.

You have a very broad range for a new forum and you just seem to be overwhelming. Some content may help too - instead of just a forum, actually try to make a front page - maybe even a blog on your subject.

Posting articles about your forum can also help increase the promotion of your site.

Hi K90H,

In order for forums to gain momentum it usually takes traffic / content in the forum. I have seen many forums begin there successful journey simply by hiring people to sign up and make posts in the beginning. If done correctly this should lead to organic traffic and natural forum sign ups and member interaction / community building. Now there are so many super cheap ways to get people to come to your forum and sign up and post there is no reason not to spend a $100 or $200 to get 50 new users and lots of new threads and posts.

People usually less participate in forum that have less topic and less user.
You can go some sites to exchange posting mean you post in their forum and they post back yours as a return . You can look for those while it free. Beside that you need to make sure that most of your topic is attractive ,latest and do have professional members to reply.

Promoting the forum is totally different in promoting the other pages of the site. You can also start by giving promotions or rewards to the people who can send new members in the forum.