In my 7+ year life as a webmaster, I’ve only had 1 successful forum website. I am currently still running it. Forums are GREAT, they are awesome, but you have to remember a few things to ensure success on a forum.

#1) Original Content - Sure a forum is all about user interaction, but you also need to have some original content on there at launch. You MUST have something to draw visitors and get them interested in actually commenting and posting. For example, I had one article about men’s hairstyles on my forum that drew a LOT of attention from search engines. It was just a simple post (and I didn’t even write it actually), and because of this article, there were links to me from Yahoo answers, search engines, google, and even other forums.

#2) Dedicated Forum Staff - Without getting a couple buddies to help you out, it’s impossible to get a good forum started. Users DO NOT want to post in a dead forum. You need that initial activity. If you can’t get the friends needed to get activity, then you should try paid posting. I’ve personally never tried paid posting, but I heard it can work wonders. Once you get a dedicated user base, it will be easy to promote some users to be moderators and super moderators.

#3) Benefits for the registered - Give them some kind of benefit to being registered other than just posting. For example, on one of my forums I had given registered users access to a lot of hidden areas. I also had contests open to only registered members. Furthermore, I had downloads, freebies, media, etc. These are the kind of things that you need to draw new members. Also be sure to MAKE IT KNOWN that these freebies are available to registered users. What I did was post a little message on the top of the forums if the user wasn’t registered telling them about the benefits of registration.

What DOESN’T Work AS Well as it Should
Contests - Believe me, I’ve tried. Although a contest is an OK way to get some visitors, MOST of them will not be interested after your contest is over. Although you might get some new, dedicated members, contests are not the great way to get new members as some sites will say.

Post Exchanges - This also is not a great idea since it will not only take up YOUR time (by making you post on other’s forums), but it will also give you another dead user once the post exchange is done.

Thanks for reading guys, and MORE in PART 2 coming later.

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I think it’s best to start off the blog with a comprehensive listing of some webmaster resources that you may or may not have known. All these sites will have some very valuable information that will help you increase traffic, increase your search engine rankings, and most importantly, monetize your online business.

SitePoint - Although I cannot say it’s the #1 resource on the web, it sure comes close. If you aren’t a member of Sitepoint Forums then you are definitely missing out on some great knowledge. Not only does Sitepoint contain hundreds of articles related to everything about webmastering, it is a very good resource to ask questions of other webmasters. Many big earners spend their time on this site, and you can also buy/sell/trade online properties such as advertising, templates, sites, and domains.

ProBlogger - This site is mainly aimed at helping bloggers make money, and to be honest, this was the site that initiated my interest in creating the blog you see here. Personally, I like making actual websites over blogs, but I felt that it was time to delve deeper into the online business world. Although this site is for blogs, it has many hints and tips about site monetization, generating traffic, SEO, and the like. Definitely worth a read.

Webmaster Talk - A site similar to Sitepoint. Actually, it’s almost like a clone of Sitepoint, but this is a good site to use to get more opinions, share your links, or sell/trade online properties.

Webhosting Talk - If you have questions about webhosting, this is the only site you’ll ever need. Great activity and many helpful members here to assist in helping you pick a host, find deals, and the determine the difference between a VPS and a shared server.

StevePavlina - Another blogger just like myself, and he’s quite a big earner. He has some very useful articles about blogging and webmastering, but most importantly, his site informs about personal development as a whole.

MattCutts - Matt is one of the most trusted experts on SEO and Google. This is definitely the place you want to go for helpful SEO information.

ShoeMoney - A lot of random stuff, but he has a lot of good information about online businesses and websites.

Wicked Fire Forums - A webmaster forum with, but the best part is that there aren’t many rules. It’s not as uptight of a community as Sitepoint, and the result is that you will have a lot more fun. The downside is that some members aren’t very professional and you may not get the answers that you want.

Hopefully I can add to this list as time goes by. If you think there’s a site that I completely missed, feel free to e-mail me and reccomend the site. However, I give no guarantee that I will add the link.

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