The fear of signing up...

A couple of questions...

I've recently launched a new board for a pc game that'll be released.

I think it has potential to be a "big board" in terms of it could be the main forum to discuss the game.

In 1 month its got 150 registered users and averages 10 users on at anyone one time. [I know these numbers are low atm]. When subtly advertising the board on other forums I usually get.. "yeah the site looks excellent but you need to register to post on it..." I dont understand the fear of registering... ?

I dont want to allow guests to post.

Why is this?... and how do you as a board owner get ppl to sign up. I could restrict threads to 1st post viewing but i think this will deter more ppl than gain their trust.

Do ppl think I can sell their hotmail address or something!!

Their are a few other forums springing up with similar content but I feel im well ahead in terms of content and users however im frustrated by ppls fear of my new site.

Also, I see lots of users are lurking around in the gallery, checking our the screenshots, yet not signing up to the site.

Any tricks in terms of turning guests into registered users?

I feel like im on the brink of actually creating a board this time that is active, some help from the "big boys".. and girls would be appreciated...

Oh and another question whilst im here... how long before google will give my new site a page rank? I'm finding loads of different answers. Is 3 months about right?

Thanks

[towermatt]

I agree. To me, they need to be able to see it.

If they want to listen to the radio or watch tv, post a pic to the gallery, play the arcade...anything like that, they have to register. Otherwise totally open.

[wtrk]

3% to 5% signup ratio is what you can expect. like the guy above said, if your really kicking ass you can maybe double that. but you should be happy with 3%, that 3% can really add up if your audience is large enough.