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

[agilent]

I have a similar situation. However, I won't even let people view my forum until they register, they just get sign on message when they go to my website. They can't see anything. I have been told to allow people to browse, but for now I have decided against it. I have finally established some long over do peace in my forum and I want to keep it that way.

My advice to you is to keep it like you have it. They can browse the forum which is plenty. If they want to post then they will have to register. If you start letting visitors post, you are going to end up with a bunch of trolls on your hands.

[0tolerance]

i dont think there is any "Fear" of registering, most people are too lazy, people on my board when they signed up didnt post from there on because they were too lazy to confirm their e mail address in the confirmation email.

people are very lazy, in order for them to sign up, you have to make it so simple and then you have to have something they want.

im finding it hard to get feet through my door, i get the uniques.. heck one of my domains that i had directed at my site got 4,000 uniques a day but maybe 1 person signed up out of that every few days.

and yes 3 months is about right for the page rank. 90-100 days

[Ted S]

Keep in mind that a well designed site with proper user flow and landing pages will typically see 3-5% conversions. Many communities are able to boost that to 7-8% and even as high as 10% for first time visitors but those tend to be larger, in-demand sites. If you're getting a member or two for every 100 new guests that's something you can inch up but it's a whole lot different than if you have 0 sign ups for 1000 members.

[dooch]

Thanks for your replies, I think its probably my frustration its now growing quicker than it is. If thats the case then my guest to sign-up is really good and maybe I should chill out a bit!

[Hornstar]

have attachments that people want, and make then register to download them.

[0tolerance]

yes, thats a really good one..
i infact did this to download a mod off a forum.

but i never intend to visit that site again, lol.
so perhaps it would be good to make people post a certain amount of times.

[EvilKitty]

Originally Posted by 0tolerance

yes, thats a really good one..
i infact did this to download a mod off a forum.

but i never intend to visit that site again, lol.
so perhaps it would be good to make people post a certain amount of times.

This will result in a lot of spam, believe me. A forum i used to frequent, though now dead at around 10,000 thread and 162,000 posts - the admin had offered up a GTA full game save (You know, when that sort of thing was in demand) and there were hundreds of sign ups and hundreds more spam posts that needed to be cleaned up by the mods.

Probably one in every two or three hundred of those users actually stayed to post more, and barely one or two totaly ever became a regular.

If you want people to come back its got to be unique content that they cant get anywhere else. Naturally, once you've snagged them and they're apart of the community, the work is less daunting... but that initial sign up can be a +++++.

[Jah-Hools]

Searching is a big deal at the tech orientated site I run, so I am tempted to make searching for guests require either image verification or registration..

Both will aggravate a LOT of people if I do this...

So I am holding off from doing it for the moment..

I move quite a lot of threads to members only areas - so I think some folks gradually get the idea its a good idea to register..

Interesting topic!

[hotcouponworld]

90% of our board is open - you can see all the posts, but you can't post unless you're registered. We also have a database that you have to be a registered member to access, and that's a popular feature on our board so people register to use it. We mod the first post for spam, but after that, people can post, but they do have to be registered. I think having the important features be available to registered members provided a sense of scarcity for the resource, so they register. But we want them to see the information. Nothing I hate worse than going to a board and you can't even see the forums. I don't bother to register to sites like that personally.