Chad’s Blog
Pragmatic Technologies for Life and Business Success®
- Unless you have good, interesting and valuable starting content on your forum why would anyone spend time there or consider joining? They are not going to.
- I would suggest you create a repository of intellectual property (IP) that is available to forum members only and is uniquely position with how-to information.
- Market to all of your current and previous clients, prospects and anyone you know and share with them the exciting new place / community you have created (after you built the initial content) and invite them to check it out and join.
- I would charge for membership yet select a smaller group of subscriber that would become the initial group (for free) to start the momentum of posting going.
- Promote and market your new site and forum in every possible media: news release, networking events, verbally with anyone you talk with, speeches, newsletter, blog, your paperwork (invoices, correspondence), get people to interview you on their blogs (written, audio and video podcasts).
- Feature the best of the posts in your monthly newsletter (assuming you have one) and create enticements to have new members join.
- Strive to become “the place to go” for the greatest and latest of your industry wisdom.
- When possible discuss “success stories” and share on your site and inside the forum.
- Create a referral network both domestically and internationally that would send your target audience to the forum and to you.
