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4
Key Things
To Start Your
Online Forum
Community
Next thing
that goes
through your
mind is, "Why
don't I start
a Forum of
my own!"
So you go
ahead and
begin to research
on how to
do it and
realize that
starting an
online forum
community
is a lot harder
than you thought!
Well, this
article is
about how
to go about
starting your
own online
forum in the
easiest way
possible.
So lets here
we go:
1. Establish
Your Niche
Topic for
the Forum.
I have seen
a lot of forums
that I go
to and they
cover anything
and everything
in their forum.
Now it is
always good
to have a
"Chit
Chat"
or "Lounge"
area of your
forum to give
members an
opportunity
to talk about
anything.
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However,
the success
of your forum
is to have
a specific
niche topic
that will
not only get
your forum
indexed by
the search
engines, but
something
that will
attract your
core audience.
This is one
of the biggest
obstacles
to overcome
even though
it may seem
the easiest
thing to understand.
Many novice
forum webmasters
see that they
can add as
many categories
and sub-forums
as they can
in their overall
website forum,
and the main
topic gets
lost. In turn,
when a visitor
does happen
to come the
website, they
are turned
off by a 'General'
forum.
2. Select
the best Web
Forum Script
There are
so many forum
scripts out
there in which
this is another
huge major
obstacle a
novice webmaster
comes across.
Your first
tendancy will
be to use
the forum
script that
the forum
you are most
active on
uses right?
Ha! I caught
you!
Now there
is nothing
wrong with
this, but
sometimes
these forums
scripts are
so modified
and 'hacked'
as is sometimes
referred to
modified forum
scripts that
it will be
hard for you
to create
one just like
your favorite
forum.
I would suggest
to start off
with a free
forum script
that has the
feature to
'migrate'
forum information
to another
forum script.
For example.
Start off
with the free
forum script
phpBB. This
is by far
the most powerful
free script
available.
Even most
web hosts
have it part
of their package
that you can
install on
a single click
(we'll talk
more about
web hosts
later).
Once you have
phpBB installed,
this is by
far the best
forum script
in which other
'paid for'
forum scripts
have what
is called
'migration
tools' for.
These migration
tools is a
script or
tool that
can transfer
all of your
forum information.
So for example,
you website
is successful
and you wish
to 'change
your forum
foundation
script' to
a 'paid script'
such as vBulletin.
vBulletin
has a migration
tool for phpBB,
the process
would be seamless
and you wouldn't
lose any forum
information.
The worst
thing for
a forum community
is to have
a lot of activity
on the forum
and then the
webmaster
decided to
change the
forum platform
because the
free one they
started out
with just
doesn't have
all the features
of other forum
communities.
So the webmaster
changes the
forum script
and loses
the forum
information.
I guarantee
this will
KILL your
community.
So starting
off with a
wise plan
in the beginning
to grow is
a huge step.
3. Selecting
Your Web Host
The next thing
after selecting
what forum
platform you
wish to use,
is the painfully
hard decision
of finding
the right
web host.
A web host
is basically
a company
that 'rents'
you space
on their server
for typically
a monthly
payment.
Now depending
on your budget
to start off
with, I would
say do a search
on Google
for the keyword:
"Cheap
Web Host".
You will see
millions of
results. Go
through the
websites of
the top 10
results on
your Google
search and
decide which
one you need.
I URGE you
DO NOT start
a forum off
in a 'free
web space'
or 'free forum'
community.
You are tied
to that that
web host and
more than
likely you
will have
tons of advertisements
on your site
that will
annoy your
members and
more than
that, it really
screams that
that your
website is
not a 'permanent'
home for your
members. Perception
plays in key
role in the
success of
your forum.
If you forum
looks and
feels hard
to use. No
one will use
it. Would
you?
Please stay
away from
free forum
web hosts!
Either way,
you'll be
spending a
few bucks
a month on
web hosting,
but as you
build your
community
you can slowly
introduce
your own Google
Adsense or
Banner Ad
campaigns
that will
make you enough
money to cover
your web hosting
costs and
in many cases,
enough to
pay for your
gas that month
and more even
more!
Select a web
host within
your budget,
and make sure
that the host
you select
allows you
to have forums.
Since forums
consume a
lot of what
is called
'bandwidth'
and web space,
some budget
web hosts
have a maximum
on how much
bandwidth
and web space
to use.
From my experience,
if you start
off with at
least 1GB
of space and
5 GB of bandwidth.
That is MORE
than you will
need until
your forum
community
is large enough
to pay for
itself on
a larger web
host, or even
lease your
own what is
called 'dedicated
server'. Do
a web search
on Google
for what a
dedicated
server is
to find out
more.
A solid and
reliable web
host is one
that answers
customer support
in a timely
manner. Make
sure that
before you
decide on
a web host
to contact
that web host
via their
toll free
phone number
or support
email. If
they don't
answer quickly
back to a
potential
customer how
would they
respond once
they know
you are a
customer?
Do you homeword
and make sure
you are comfortable
with the web
host you choose
because the
last thing
you need is
to have to
move web hosts
and lose potential
forum community
information.
4. Driving
Traffic to
your Forum
Once you have
everything
up, you selected
your niche,
you found
your forum
community
script, you
installed
it on a reliable
host, you
expect a flood
of visitors
to join as
a member!
This is where
the make it
or break it
part of the
forum comes
into play.
If you have
no visitors
or members
participating,
your forum
won't grow.
My advice
is to start
off the circle
where you
began. Within
your network
of online
friends. These
days with
so many forums
and social
networking
websites,
there are
so many to
choose from
why should
anyone join
YOUR forum?
Well, you
can use this
network of
websites to
your advantage.
Start off
with the forums
you are active
in. If they
allow you
to advertise
your forum
or website,
do it. Otherwise
add a link
to is in your
signature.
If you have
thousands
of posts your
link on that
forum will
appear in
thousands
of places
instantly!
Then go to
other forums
relevant to
your topic
and try to
be active
there with
a link in
your signature
back to your
website.
Announce your
website launch
to your friends
in your Messenger
systems.
Better yet!
Try to do
a marketing
trick of giving
away something
to a random
member once
a week.
Above all,
make sure
YOU are active.
Even if noone
posts anything
that day.
Go in and
post. Try
to provoke
a conversation
with your
posts. Once
members join
and are active
give them
the honor
of being initial
moderators
of your forum.
This will
encourage
them and make
them feel
like they
are part of
your forum
community
and will keep
their loyalty
to your forum.
In turn what
will they
do? Tell THEIR
friends about
it. Now you
are beginning
to see what
is called
a 'viral'
effect to
driving traffic
to your website.
Most of all,
do not give
up. Keep talking
about your
forum and
inviting people
to join. The
more passionate
and excited
you are about
your forum,
the more others
will see that
in you and
your friends
and will be
willing to
spend time
on your forum
to build it
up.
Once you go
through these
initial steps
to starting
your online
forum community
you are on
the right
track to have
a successful
community.
Once this
happens, you
can easily
think about
even being
able to earn
money from
your website
that will
cover your
costs and
place some
'spare change'
in your pocket.
This is all
of course
if you have
the right
niche, the
right forum
script, the
right webhost,
and the right
methods to
drive traffic
to your forum!
To your success!
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