Avertising 101

This a tutorial I found somewhere on how to get members when you Advertise, what to do and what not to do.

=======How to Get Members========

How to get Members
1. I've noticed that a lot of you have 0-20 posts listed in your post count. This indicates to me that you don't frequent other parts of this forum. Did you know that there is a wonderful board here called Discussion: Your Forum which contains loads of information on how to better your forum, how to advertise, and more?

2. Why not put a colorful graphic in your signature (remember, your entire signature should be no larger than 500 pixels wide by 250 pixels high, and that includes text and graphics) with a link to your board. Once you have that signature there, wander on over to the General Talk section of this board and add your thoughts to the conversations going on there. People will get to know you there, see the link in your signature, and then be more likely to visit your forum.

3. To get your forum looking its best, visit our Get Opinions About Your Board section, where you can get helpful advice about the colors, layout, content, etc on your forum. Make sure you read their RULES before posting, as there are very specific guidelines for posting there. While you're there, try your hand at rating a forum or two. The more forums you give quality rates to, the more likely your forum will get rates in return. Again, rating a forum requires specific RULES be followed, so be sure to read those first.

4. List the theme of your board in your subject. No one is going to want to open up 16 threads that say "click here lolz join" and find out it is a subject to which they could care less.

5. Bump at different times during the day if you can. That way you hit different time zones and will get new people.

What's the worst things you can do that will turn away people?

1. Well, one is to look completely desperate. Bumping your advertising thread constantly just makes others get annoyed at you. Why should they join your forum if you've just bumped their forum off the front page for the 1,000th time? It's best to wait until your forum drops off the first page before bumping again. It is even more courteous to wait longer, in order that others will have a chance.

2. Another bad thing is to own 15 boards and bump them all at the same time. You've just bumped 15 other members off of the front page, and do you think they're even going to look at your boards now? Also, showing that you have 15 boards is going to make people wonder if you even have time to participate in them all.

3. PMing members with a link to your board. This is a big no-no and against the Rules.

4. Another way to turn away members is to have bad spelling in your advertisement. People are looking for quality, not "1337 speak" or bad grammar or spelling. Use the spell check button!

5. Don't overwhelm others with a wall of text in your advertisement. A simple 2 or 3 paragraph summary of your board is enough to entice people to click on your link.

6. Don't have your board set to "guests must register" mode. No one wants to sign up for a board without having seen what it offers ahead of time. Would you buy a book without knowing what it's about?

7. Don't falsely inflate your "views" numbers. If someone sees a thread that has 300 views but no replies, they're going to think "oh, it must be something no one cares about" and move on.

All this is true!