Using Forum Posts To Gain Members Posted September 8th, 2006 in General, Guest Contributors, In The Beginning

It’s not a big secret that people go on other forums looking for members. Now the ethical question is how they try to gain these members. I’m going to outline in this post how gain members by forum posting in a very ethical way. There are also some ways to help boost your conversion.

1. Include your forum link in your signature but don’t just put “xyz forum” make it more of a tag line like “I like to xyz all the time” or even find a famous quote that uses a word that describes your forum. And don’t link the whole phrase but rather the anchor text that describes your forum the best.

2. Optimize your signature link by changing up some colors, adding some punctuation, changing up the font size, using bold, or throwing in some italics. The whole point is to draw attention without being spammy. Do it tastefully.

3. Think about your thread titles. This is the probably the most important part in gaining more views to your thread which in turn means more views of your sig. I suggest you read this blog to get more information on headline writing.

4. Don’t write a 2 line post but make it more of a paragraph 5-8 sentences and ask a bunch of questions to stimulate readers into posting a response.

5. Keep it personal, throw in a few tidbits about yourself. Heck, your not only there to gain members but to learn more about your demographic and what they want and like. So the more you get to know other people the better. People tend to underestimate popularity a lot!

If you keep those 5 points in mind when trying to gain new members I think you will notice a large increase in conversions. I know from personal experience you will get more PMs from members asking questions about your site. But remember, keep it ethical or you will feel the wrath from the members and from the staff.

Rex
www.cruiselinefans.com