How did you start your forum?

[billybatz9]

Hey guys,

I thought this would be a good topic to start. How did you start your forum? Fake posts and members? Had friends post? Threw contests? Paid heavily on advertising?

Also, how long did it take you to see return users and then start really growing.

 

[petertdavis]

I started CoinTalk.com with a small group of friends. It took a good few years for it to really come alive.

 

[TheBigK]

I wrote my story on our site: http://www.crazyengineers.com/threads/the-story-of-crazyengineers-how-ce-came-to-life.38227/ .

Short Version:

I was fond of Discovery Shows : Megastructures and Extreme Engineering. Since I couldn't find out a way to work on a mega project, I decided to setup a site where engineers working on mega engineering projects from all over the world would share ideas, solve problems and write about the challenges they face.

Over a period of time engineers joined in to participate in all the interesting discussions we had created. We didn't get engineers working on mega projects; but the site was loved by engineering students and professionals; majorily from India. We continue to be one of the popular portals for engineers.

In the initial days - it was just me creating discussions and even posting replies. I remember the days when there was just me ( 1 member, 0 guests ) on the site. It's been a slow and steady growth since. Not a single buck has been spent on advertising.

 

[Carlos]

When I started my own forum, I could never get it off the ground. (However, it has always been a test site then.) That was back in the vB3 days, when it was extremely popular. I didn't give up, tho. I love video games and I still do. I took a huge risk in 2010, by buying CODForums for $1,000. I was on a acquisition spree a few months later by buying small sites until my funds was run dry. I eventually merged one of the sites into the original forum that I started.

CODForums is still going strong no matter what I do, however. I'm happy about that, because it tells me my money was well spent.

 

[Moshe1010]

Created many unique (scientific) articles that weren't available before. I did maybe 80-90 of them, with the help of other members throughout the years. It took a good 1.5-2 years for people to start posting questions and having discussion on the forum, but regardless, I kept creating unique content.