Despite the boom in social networking sites such as MySpace and Ning, the simplicity of bulletin boards, both from the administration and users perspective, keeps them popular. So much so that any long time member of such a community invariably ask themselves on how to create an online forum.
Fortunately, the latest versions of popular bulletin board software are even easier to install and manage. It’s a breeze installing them and in less than a day, anybody can have a decent-looking forum.
Here are the basic steps to making a forum:
1. Study a niche.
What is a niche? In internet marketing, a niche is simply a group of surfers with similar interest that we can tap to buy our products. At its most basic sense, a forum is an online community or space (which can also be considered a product) that we offer for the use of like-minded individuals.
We should study our intended niches intensively. The perfect combination is a big population with little competiton from other forums. Keep away from saturated niches like webmastering and gaming, unless we can identify a sub-niche with enough population to keep our forum going.
2. Register a domain name.
What is a domain name? It’s the name of a website we enter in the browser address bar. For instance, the domain name for this blog is reapmoneyonline.com. Choose domain names that are relevant to our intended niche. It’s been a recent fad to go for cute-sounding but short names like poondle.com but wouldn’t it be more descriptive if we instead use poodletown.com for poodle owners?
Search for domain names using the online tool InstantDomainSearch. Be sure to click the link the says “Click here to encrypt your searches.” Somebody’s probably waiting to steal our ideas. For domain registrations, check out affordable domains at Moniker.
3. Buy a webhost.
What is a web host provider? A web host rents out space in a server for our use. There are usually 4 major packages to choose from: (1) shared hosting, (2) reseller hosting, (3) Virtual Private Servers, and (4) dedicated servers. For begginers a shared web host is enough but if we plan to develop more sites, it’s best to start with a reseller package. Check out ResellerPanel’s reseller packages. For shared hosting, HostGator has affordable packages.
4. Install a forum or bulletin board script.
Fortunately for us, there are FREE web forum software that rivals the paid ones in quality. The standards in free forum scripts are set by Simple Machines Forum (SMF) and phpBB. Other popular and free forum scripts includes MyBB, punBB, and Vanilla.
Most webhosts usually have automatic script installers such as Fantastico. We recommend the free bulletin board software MyBB for those who are trying to make their first forum. It’s easy to install and modify and the online community is supportive.
4. Market the forum and get members to sign-up.
Finally! We have a forum up and running. Now what? We have to bring in users to populate our online community. We need to promote our forum in other sites and bulletin boards.
When people come to an empty forum, they usally leave. Getting the first few hundred posts is often the most difficult to do. Some administrators surmount this obstacle by hiring paid forum posters. They are usually usefull in kick-starting a forum into life.
A favorite trick among administrators is to provide incentives for members in other forums where they hangout to help them populate their online communities. For instance, some admin has bought the services of DNtemple members with DNbucks to make some post. Get creative!
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How to create a forum.
Despite the boom in social networking sites such as MySpace and Ning, the simplicity of bulletin boards, both from the administration and users perspective, keeps them popular. So much so that any long time member of such a community invariably ask themselves on how to create an online forum.
Fortunately, the latest versions of popular bulletin board software are even easier to install and manage. It’s a breeze installing them and in less than a day, anybody can have a decent-looking forum.
Here are the basic steps to making a forum:
1. Study a niche.
What is a niche? In internet marketing, a niche is simply a group of surfers with similar interest that we can tap to buy our products. At its most basic sense, a forum is an online community or space (which can also be considered a product) that we offer for the use of like-minded individuals.
We should study our intended niches intensively. The perfect combination is a big population with little competiton from other forums. Keep away from saturated niches like webmastering and gaming, unless we can identify a sub-niche with enough population to keep our forum going.
2. Register a domain name.
What is a domain name? It’s the name of a website we enter in the browser address bar. For instance, the domain name for this blog is reapmoneyonline.com. Choose domain names that are relevant to our intended niche. It’s been a recent fad to go for cute-sounding but short names like poondle.com but wouldn’t it be more descriptive if we instead use poodletown.com for poodle owners?
Search for domain names using the online tool InstantDomainSearch. Be sure to click the link the says “Click here to encrypt your searches.” Somebody’s probably waiting to steal our ideas. For domain registrations, check out affordable domains at Moniker.
3. Buy a webhost.
What is a web host provider? A web host rents out space in a server for our use. There are usually 4 major packages to choose from: (1) shared hosting, (2) reseller hosting, (3) Virtual Private Servers, and (4) dedicated servers. For begginers a shared web host is enough but if we plan to develop more sites, it’s best to start with a reseller package. Check out ResellerPanel’s reseller packages. For shared hosting, HostGator has affordable packages.
4. Install a forum or bulletin board script.
Fortunately for us, there are FREE web forum software that rivals the paid ones in quality. The standards in free forum scripts are set by Simple Machines Forum (SMF) and phpBB. Other popular and free forum scripts includes MyBB, punBB, and Vanilla.
Most webhosts usually have automatic script installers such as Fantastico. We recommend the free bulletin board software MyBB for those who are trying to make their first forum. It’s easy to install and modify and the online community is supportive.
4. Market the forum and get members to sign-up.
Finally! We have a forum up and running. Now what? We have to bring in users to populate our online community. We need to promote our forum in other sites and bulletin boards.
When people come to an empty forum, they usally leave. Getting the first few hundred posts is often the most difficult to do. Some administrators surmount this obstacle by hiring paid forum posters. They are usually usefull in kick-starting a forum into life.
A favorite trick among administrators is to provide incentives for members in other forums where they hangout to help them populate their online communities. For instance, some admin has bought the services of DNtemple members with DNbucks to make some post. Get creative!