Xenforo - need better features or ideas for startup -- getting users to join

Pickupartist

Pickupartist

Member
Hi,
I am stuck with a basic problem of many startups: 2 users I have , nobody wants to join some no-name site with 0 users right? Any ideas to help get it started? Has anyone started their XenForo and managed to make progress with user signups a bit better :(

I am trying to make a nice community for "Desi" (South Asian) people , however, nobody is joining, I tried to reach out to some communities,

I added an arcade, I think maybe a photo gallery could help, but what does it take to get people to join? I know with some dating site frameworks there are fake user profile generators,
I am concerned that all my investment for the XenForo will go to waste if I cant get users :(

http://desiuniversal.com
 
I went to your site and I had no idea what it was about.
What's the point of your site ?
What content are you going to contribute to bring in members ?

You say it's about Desi .. but I saw no proof of that.
 
Get some friends to join as petertdavis said, create some fake users and start some topics daily.. if it is a community-based site, install a directory type addon and offer the local businesses free listings in exchange for them putting a note on their door stating they are listed there.. their patrons will see the note and check out the site..
 
Pickupartist said:
Hi,
I am stuck with a basic problem of many startups: 2 users I have , nobody wants to join some no-name site with 0 users right? Any ideas to help get it started? Has anyone started their XenForo and managed to make progress with user signups a bit better :(

I am trying to make a nice community for "Desi" (South Asian) people , however, nobody is joining, I tried to reach out to some communities,

I added an arcade, I think maybe a photo gallery could help, but what does it take to get people to join? I know with some dating site frameworks there are fake user profile generators,
I am concerned that all my investment for the XenForo will go to waste if I cant get users :(

http://desiuniversal.com
Click to expand...
First thing I'd advise is to give your site an identity. No disrespect to the creators of the default XenForo skin... But although I think it's amongst the best default skins, it's bland. Very bland. So give your site a makeover and pronto.

Perhaps this is the reason Digital Doctor says he has no idea what your site is about... It has no identity. And really, this fact has nothing to do with the XenForo script.

Secondly - your site has absolutely no content. Who on earth is gonna register on a forum that has nothing?! Nobody :) --- So work as well on adding content to your forum, as it seems all forums are basically empty. Remember content is king!

Third = Your arcade is boring. Sorry. But you only have 9 games. My poetry forum arcade on vBulletin platform has 1239 games. I'm not sure how the XFArcade works, but will be testing it later this afternoon. Anyway = add more games if you hope your prospective memberbase will want to play in it.

HTH ;)

J.
 
Digital Doctor said:
I went to your site and I had no idea what it was about.
What's the point of your site ?
Click to expand...

Same here - I equally have no idea what your site is about.

That it is intended for Indian/Pakistani/Bengali nationals and is a cultural/social site isn't really reflected in either your site style or content. And whilst Desi might be a common term for you and your fellow countrymen, you might want to include the words Indian, Pakistani, Bengali, South Asia/Asian and other related terms in your site description to broaden the scope of how your site might be found.

Your current site description is "Forum software by DesiUniversal" which is a lazy tweak of the default XF entry and isn't going to get you anywhere because it doesn't relate to your content. Perhaps try something different like "South Asian community forums for Indian, Pakistani, and Bengali Desi worldwide. Music, movies, photos, games, family, entertainment and much more. DesiUniversal for all your South Asia community news.". See the difference?

You also have very little in the way of content so even if a better site description helps, there still isn't much for the search engines to actually index. This is where you come in. You need to create new threads with good keyword content in the titles and post body. Think about popular topics within the group of people you are trying to attract and create lots and lots of threads related to those interests so that there's plenty for people to look at when they do visit. Also, don't just make statements or write "articles" (they're good but don't usually generate much of a response) ask questions, take strong positions, compel people to want to respond to your posts - give them a reason to register!! (y)

Your style also needs some work but do the content first. Give the search engines something to eat whilst you fiddle with the layout. Reds and Oranges seem to be strong Asian colours so maybe have a look in the XF Styles gallery for something that you can use to quickly and easily replace the current default theme.

Good luck with the site.

Cheers,
Shaun :D
 
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