Make a forum popular?
polycounter lvl 15
I have a question, I recently made a forum (with friends) and I was wondering what I could do to attract more people? How is polycount and other forums so famous?
I know it takes time to get this big but what are some things I could do?
The forum is about games really, mostly steam and mods and all that stuff related to steam, we also have a mmorpg section and other general forums.
Any suggestions PC?
I know it takes time to get this big but what are some things I could do?
The forum is about games really, mostly steam and mods and all that stuff related to steam, we also have a mmorpg section and other general forums.
Any suggestions PC?
Replies
So, creating a gaming forum without the history of NeoGaf or GameFAQS and trying to become super popular is going to be hard. That said sites like Giantbomb.com or Destructoid, while not solely forums, have built up lively communities in recent years. So it is possible with enough quality content and incentive for people to start posting.
Thank you for your thoughts, they really helped MattQ86.
Its like running a popular strip club without the strippers. It dont work.
Make it because you have a need for it. It will naturally attract others who can also use it.
Forums rely on people and, and they require a certain sort of people(not many people are into forums).
You need content and opinions, words that is interesting for people to read.
Of the hundreds of small forums that pop up, the ones that stick around are the ones that start with incredible talent (like Kolby's forum, though I have no idea what happened to that over the years)
I would, however, set out to make a community that is based around something a group of people would love. Facepunch is one I frequent, because its based around the love of Valve titles and stems from the Gary's mod community. So there's lots of like-minded people (really, kids) in there who know quite a lot about different Valve titles. Being as active as it is, its fun to be there around launch dates of their different products.
So really, just set out to create something yourself and others will love. Forums like SA, JoeRogan Board, and so on that are an 'anything goes' approach are extremely hard to get lifted.
So find who you want to target your forum at, then try and make it the best possible place for those people to engage in whatever activity it is. If there are several forums already on your topic, it's gunna be harder to get yours off the ground, so concentrate on providing the best possible service you can.
Now I must focus on original content! If only my pc was up and running I would be making mods left and right! No worries
If you would like to join to check it out and give me more pointers I can PM you a link or something. It's all originally made, hand crafted
seriously, he's started up 3 or 4 now that start out with a who's who of Badass Artists and a couple moths later he shuts 'em down. Really, how can a place called the freaking Sinister Circle doesn't make it is so far beyond me it hurts.
Step2: Start topic on popular forum about migrating to non dictated forum
Step3: When community agrees there should be a new forum, post link to your forum
Step4: ?
Step5: PROFIT
Or just stick with the many awesome communities that are already out there and try to be active on them.
One good way to attract some attention for your forums is to provide some manner of content to the users. A lot of forums are begun around some manner of creative project. Polycount itself was founded around the concept of producing Quake 2 models. It eventually expanded its scope, but that was where it started. Starting a forum just to start a forum is not actually a very good idea. It helps immeasurably to have a basis that people can be enthusiastic about.
You could create a webcomic, or a web video series. But one of the nicer ways to attract attention would be to offer some tutorials. Tutorials are great. They usually don't take as long to produce as webcomics or videos. They can be even better at drawing visitors. And they are great for repeat visits. They are also a fine way to improve your search ratings. People don't often search for specific media, but they are always searching for tutorials and how-tos.
Pick a focus for your forum, and stick with it. Produce some manner of content to draw users in. After that its up to the moderation and the community itself. Since the whole effort is ultimately dependent on other people, there is no sure-fire way to insure success.
Yeah we are currently creating some tutorials and offering "phree stoof" like steam games, we are also getting our own server soon.
I could look into the web video series idea, sounds good