Best way to get users to sign up
 

Hi i run the http://www.mac-forums.co.uk/ forums :-) hello!! we have just added vBadvanced but what can i use to get users to sign up? or make them sign up as there is not a lot that says sign up etc etc

James

Getting new members to sign up to a forum involves a lot more than just having a big "sign up here" message on the board. You need to work out what unique content your forum offers that will draw new visitors to join and then feature this content on the front page of your site to draw them in.

This may involve a lot of work brainstorming on your part to plan a way to target and draw in new registrations. First sit down and list everything you cover on your site, then highlight everything on this list that you feel is unique to your site or is covered in a much better way compared to any other site. Then concentrate on these things and how you can advertise them to visitors on the front page to draw their interest.

The key factor with any successful site is unique content. If you have no unique content then what reason do any visitors have to join it when another site with a larger community may already exist?

So basically you need to create something unique on your site and then market that unique content to visitors to draw them in.

This is especially true when you are trying to run a site that shares space with other very similar sites. Apple Mac forums already exist and have been running for a long time with a lot of members having already posted on them so they already contain many answers within their existing topics for any visitor to search. You can therefore not compete with those from the start as your forum doesn't have this wealth of existing post content. Instead you need to create some site content. Articles relating to the Mac that could be useful guides that are unique and useful enough to draw in visitors to your site.

In addition you also need to think about SEO to get your site noticed within any search engine. I won't go into SEO optimisation here as it is a large subject and one that I earn part of my living from. But I will say, sign up to Google Webmaster tools and take advantage of everything it offers to help promote your site to get it noticed.