Starting a forum may be the best way of increasing traffic to your website, reducing marketing expenses and improving profitability, but still you need to take adequate precautions because ultimately it all depends on how well you manage your forum. Having invested in the most advanced forum software, you may feel that you have done your homework, but that will certainly not be the right thing to do simply because there are many other variables that can easily stunt your forum’s progress. A good forum software is no doubt necessary, but since it does not necessarily guarantee hundred percent success, it is recommended that you concentrate on other factors as well, especially those that directly affect your forum’s progress.
The most common factor that has often proved to be the bane of online forums is the lack of sticky threads. You see, sticky threads are basically posts that receive the most response from users or we can say that they are the hottest topic of discussion in a given forum. These are the posts that mainly determine the level of user activity in an online forum. It is quite obvious then that the lack of sticky threads creates user disinterest in a given forum, which in turn leads to stunted growth of the forum. All these are reasons enough for you to keep your eyes open for sticky threads on your forum and also ensure that they get highlighted so that users can find them easily.
Another factor that can easily stunt your forum’s progress is the unavailability of appropriate forum interfaces. You see, users like to visit only those forums that allow them to select their areas of interest and not forums that just have random topic made available for discussion. Now, since a good forum interface allows users to do just that, it becomes quite obvious as to why the lack of appropriate forum interfaces can stunt forum progress. So, if you want to have a successful forum running on your website, just keep your eyes open for the best available forum interfaces. You need not necessarily buy the most costly forum software; all you need to look out for is a software system that has all the requisite interface features.
If you want to avoid your forum’s stunted growth, you will also be required to hire the services of a full-time moderator. You need to do this because forums are often targeted by not so genuine users who use them for posting messages that are completely unrelated to the website in question. Over a certain period, such posts can create problems for genuine users who might be there to express their views and opinions. Apart from this, forums also run the risk of getting spammed or being targeted by hackers. If you do not have a moderator, chances are high that your forum might get inundated with thousands of posts every minute, something that will not only stunt your forum’s progress, but can also wreck havoc on your website. So, hire a moderator before you start doing anything else. It is vital.
There are many other factors that can stunt your forum’s progress, but the once explained above are probably the most important. So, for the time being, it is recommended that you concentrate on these only. However, if you are anxious to know more, then just click on the link below."
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