Rebranding of a forum with over 1k messages

[emmy]

Hello Fellows,

I just started a forum in May 2014 and i have been looking for a way to get people registered on the site/take part on the discussions. The site is around 20 members - pretty much 5 are bogus. I have been active in the forum using these "B" to make Google happy by posting a lot on the site daily - Using twitter linked to Facebook - I make sure i post at least 5 news/article to the site everyday and i share that on social media mentioned above. I get about 75-100 visitors daily (depends) on how many post(s) i send to twitter and visitors disappear after they finish reading - probably never come back, unless i post anything again. I want a forum that members can think of and would like to come back - Just like i live here on XF

I am really frustrated about the Niche (soccer) i am in now and i know i don't have the patience if i will say.
I know the Niche (soccer) is very broad. Now i am even thinking of changing brand/what the forum is about? This is simply because i am not seeing members or user taking part in the discussion. I have a long time career. This is just a hobby and because i like been on internet.

Really confused here guys...any advise will be appreciated.

 

[TPerry]

I am really frustrated about the Niche (soccer) i am in now and i know i don't have the patience if i will say.
I know the Niche (soccer) is very broad. Now i am even thinking of changing brand/what the forum is about? This is simply because i am not seeing members or user taking part in the discussion. I have a long time career. This is just a hobby and because i like been on internet.

Instead of soccer in general... punch it down to a little finer point, like a specific team, location, etc.
You do realize that it normally takes at least a year for a forum to take off (sometimes two) if it's going to take off at all? It's not an instant thing.
I run mine because I like to - and they get hardly any traffic but that is fine. I'm in the "Field of Dreams" stage.. build it and they will come.

 

[iTuN3r]

Instead of soccer in general... punch it down to a little finer point, like a specific team, location, etc.
You do realize that it normally takes at least a year for a forum to take off (sometimes two) if it's going to take off at all? It's not an instant thing.
I run mine because I like to - and they get hardly any traffic but that is fine. I'm in the "Field of Dreams" stage.. build it and they will come.

Yes and that works pretty good !! It was same for me first 2 years then slowly it started coming around .

 

[emmy]

Yes and that works pretty good !! It was same for me first 2 years then slowly it started coming around .

@Tracy Perry & @iTuN3r - I have pouch it down to two categories - Hopefully, that will help Thank you guys

 

[iTuN3r]

@Tracy Perry & @iTuN3r - I have pouch it down to two categories - Hopefully, that will help Thank you guys

Well if it's soccer i would say target local soccer teams/clubs etc also make sure to print some flyers etc for site , cover local soccer events /news publish them on your site including images helps a lot . That's where i started i didn't even bother with online advertising except using facebook otherwise i was out there trying to cover few club activities etc to bring in folks on board. Made some great friends on the way helped me to grow community slowly.

 

[Sheratan]

You can try to make a prediction article about incoming games, like champions league and review the results.

 

[Bram]

Looking great now @emmy

 

[Dad.]

I think you should add some forums for the more dominant leagues, such as Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga, Champions League, etc. at least before MLS, and Im an American. Just because, well, even by Americans, those are more popular.

The theme reminds me of digitalpoint.com as well.

 

[Bram]

I'd start with a proper general thread for these leagues first

 

[Sheratan]

another idea. Try to make an event "guess the results", member who can guess the game result 3 times in a row get some nice previlages upgrade like custum title, bigger avatar etc

 

[emmy]

I think you should add some forums for the more dominant leagues, such as Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga, Champions League, etc. at least before MLS, and Im an American. Just because, well, even by Americans, those are more popular.

The theme reminds me of digitalpoint.com as well.

@Mike Creuzer Thanks for your point. I had those dominant leagues earlier, but it looks like you have a lot out there. Thinking of going local now and will gradually grow . Thanks all

 

[Bram]

Try creating some original articles. Top 10 of hardest tackels in football, Top 10 of the worlds best players, Top 10 of refs that looked the other way, Top 10 of clubs with highest attendances etc.

With a bit of research you should be able to create unique content for your site. Some threads though that contain only copy/pasted content from news website which is an absolute no go. Google won't like you for that

Create your own cool stuff, feature it on your frontpage and end every article with a question to your community to increase user engagement.

There are thousands of nice articles possible