How To Advertise Your ProBoard

[sunshine16]

Word of mouth really is the number one advertising tool.There can be a problem when someone doesn't have a lot of friends or their friends are not into the same things they are in.I have just put in my new proboards site on google and on yahoo and I have also created a group on myspace for it.I am hopeful that this roleplaying site will not die like my others have done.I know why I haven't gotten many members.It's because I have no graphics on the site.So I just have to work on the graphics and then hopefully it will be more appealing.

[onelonewolf]

This is a long thread, and I don't have time to sift through 32 pages--so forgive me if this has been asked already.

But is there a way to put keywords on your proboards? Key terms or something for search engines to pick up on? I want my forum to be the number 1 Fallout 3 forum on the net--and I intend to get a website to go with it...but to do that, I need high search engine ratings.

And I cannot find a place to input any sort of keywords or anything in the admin panel...also where do I put meta-tags? Can I do this on proboards? Someone mentioned you can, but I don't see where or how to do it.

Thanks,

~LoneWolf~

[🎶Sossity🎶]

Dec 4, 2009 19:26:08 GMT -8 onelonewolf said:

This is a long thread, and I don't have time to sift through 32 pages--so forgive me if this has been asked already.

But is there a way to put keywords on your proboards? Key terms or something for search engines to pick up on? I want my forum to be the number 1 Fallout 3 forum on the net--and I intend to get a website to go with it...but to do that, I need high search engine ratings.

And I cannot find a place to input any sort of keywords or anything in the admin panel...also where do I put meta-tags? Can I do this on proboards? Someone mentioned you can, but I don't see where or how to do it.

Thanks,

~LoneWolf~

Hi

Please ask for advice on the support board:

support.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=support

[Ara (Crow)]

I have to say something for this. Something I have heard and seen is that a large number of advertisements located on various sites. Different genres and all that. Most people think it is the best way to go. Something I have always found and thought when I see a site like this is sinmple: too amyn advertisements can make a site look desperate. I advertise alot but not on every site around. Advertising on "dead" sites can sometimes be a good thing. Your ad will be the most recent post and attract attention from passing people. In my option, there is a fine line between too amyn and too little. Anyone can tell when they should stop advertising so much, and its better to just link back for awhile when you know you posted too many advertisements.

[OiLerz284]

I think its better to advertise on other sites instead of just advertising sites. The reason for that is because usually around 90-97% of the people on advertising sites have their own sites, and so could be too busy to join another. But people on other sites usually dont, so they could join your too.

BUT, advertising sites that recieve LOTS of guests are usually a good place to advertise. Like this site.

[iota]

I submitted my forum to the big search engines and small ones too. I advertise it on this forum int he designated section and on RPG-D <-- biggest RP directory around. Affiliating is a must, always give guests the ability to post in the advertisement and affiliation Section, they will be more inclined and more incoming links to your forum is a bonus.

i recieved an affiliate request from an anime forum, they don't allow advertising on their forum, they didn't even have a designated section, i don't do double standards.

So, in short.. advertise, affiliate and put a picture in your signature that links to your forum, submit your forum to the search engines and various RP directories and get people to review your forum on here for example. Word of mouth is always a plus too. These are the only real ways to advertise, for free.. you have to put in the work to reap the rewards ^^

[Zuki]

I believe that the best way to start advertising is to start at the heart of it all - here. People come on here to seek proboards, get opinions, and discuss, so there's really no better place.

Affiliates do help, I've found, and it does help not to have a double standard. While I don't permit non-affiliation advertising on my board because it's so new (don't want more guest ads than posts, really), I also don't go around posting ads on other people's site. Affiliates are treated with respect, and if you're determined to succeed, you eventually will.

[sirolk]

Posting in sites like this definitely help attrack newbies, but word of mouth if done right can bring in new members too. However you have to keep in mind that word of mouth can just as quickly (if not faster) turn new and old members away from your site. In the end use a variety of methods to recruit, just don't overdo it in those areas.

[pumpkinpie]

May 31, 2006 15:43:39 GMT -8 @myke said:

It is common knowledge that we are not allowed to advertise anywhere on ProBoards Support, which in a way is good, as everyone here already has their own board. You want to reach people who have no board of their own and who may be looking for boards to join.

Below, I will list a few techniques I have learned, and encourage others to offer their own tips.

• Affiliates - Contrary to popular belief, affiliates do work. I, and many other has received members from affiliates from other forums.
  
  It is also not a good idea to only affiliate with boards of the same genre, For example, if you own a Harry Potter forum, why only affiliate with other Harry Potter forums. Those people who will be seeing your banner already have a place to discuss Harry Potter. I have found it best to affiliate with all kinds of different sites. for example, if a HP forum affiliates with a sports forum, then a member of the sports forum may also like Harry Potter, and may not have a place to discuss Harry Potter. So don't restrict your affiliates to your own genre, affiliate with all types of forums.
  
  
• Search Engines Google, among other has greatly benefited my forum as far as receiving members. Google adds ProBoards automatically, but it doesn't hurt to submit your forum manually. Here is a list to manually add your forum to multiple search engines:

• Submit Your Forum To Google
  
• Submit Your Site To Yahoo
  
• Add Me.com
  
• Free Web Promotion.com
  
• Free Internet Promotion
  
• Free Web Site Promotion Tutorial

Note: As with any service on the Internet, please review the privacy policy and terms of service for each and any service you use.

I have added my forum to each of these, and have received a lot of members as a result. but remember, as the other threads discuss, getting people there is the first step. Keeping them there is a whole new discussion that can be found in those threads. This thread is focusing on how to advertise your ProBoard.

• META TAGs - a lot of people will tell you that META TAGs are a waste of time, and that most major search engines no longer use them. However, smaller search engines do use them and they cannot hurt. I use META tags on my forum, and search my keywords and find my site, so META Tags do work.
  
  Below I will post an example of how a graphics forum may set up their META tags. This will go in the bottom of your headers:

___________________________________________________


<meta name="description" content="Short Description Of Your Site/Forum">


EDIT: removed unnecessary tags, description is the only one that is searched, description should include some key words relating to your site.
title and head tags are already in a Proboard ~ASE
___________________________________________________

It is not recommended that you use the same keyword twice.

• Receiving Traffic From GOAYB and Other forums.
  
• GOAYB - What is the key to any web site's success on the Internet? Hits/visitors. The more places on the web that a sites link is displayed in, the more hits it will receive. The same goes for ProBoards forums, and GOAYB. If you spend time rating others peoples boards, and offering constructive comments and suggestions, then your site's link in your sig, is going to be displayed in every thread you rate. Thus more people are going to have an opportunity to click on your link.
  
  I suggest getting an eye catching banner, adding it to your sig and link it back to your forum. When you go rate a site, the author of the thread, and everyone else who visits it, will see your sig, and alot of them will click on it.
  
  On a good day, I get about 40 visitors from GOAYB. Guess how many come from my own thread? 10. So 30 more people are seeing my site as a result of my rating others' boards.
  
  So basically, not only are you helping others' out, but you are helping yourself out at the same time. It's a win win situation. If you do this long enough, and make a name for yourself here, then you will get more activity in your own threads.
  
  
• Posting On Other Forums Of Your Genre - Advertising directly rarely works, but I have found that if you join a board if the same genre of your own, and still add an eye catching banner to your sig, then your fellow posters on this new board will see your banner, it will capture their interest, and they will click on it, and maybe even register.
  
  So it is important to not be greedy. Join some boards similar to your own in subject, and become an active, productive member. not only will you be helping out someone else board, but you will be receiving traffic to your own board, again, it's a win/win situation.

There are so many ways to advertise and get members without ever asking someone to join. In fact, asking for joins seems desperate, and will not get you members, you have to make people think they are missing out by not being a part of your board.

I hope this guide/tips has been of some help, and look forward to everyone input/additions.

~Myke

I used the google one you mentioned, and I don't have a yahoo account so, I cannot use that one. The other ones you mentioned are free, but in return ask that you place a link to their site on your site. I wasn't too keen on that idea, because the general section of my forum, where we do post links and stuff, isn't even able to be viewed by guests, if they did go look for it. Anyway, does anyone know if Bing has a search engine to draw traffic to your site, or of any other search engines that they used and have had success with? Thanks!

[victory1]

One of the way I've been advertising my Sony reader Forum by answering troubleshooting questions on other message boards and then giving them my boards address for further assistance or just to learn about their reader in general. It's been working well because I got quite a few members, especially the ones that inquire if ebooks bought from Amazon on an Amazon message board or Barnes & nobles on B&N message board will work on a Sony. No one had any problems with me answering the question on both boards and then giving the person our site address. I've managed to have over 500 people joined my board in a little over 6 months and my board is completely open accept for the member Bulletin that consist of 2 boards (Introduction and Members Corner - used to discuss how to improve or what we need to be discussing on the forum).

With that said; I tried this approach for the 1st time on Yahoo Answers this past Friday and they delete the questions and my answers, and then suspend my account. I knew it was uncalled for so I sent them an e-mail disagreeing with their reason for suspending my Yahoo Answers account and it was over turned within 48 hours!

At the bottom is my answer to their suspension!

Hello Lilly,

Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Answers Customer Care.

We appreciate your inquiry about your suspension from Yahoo! Answers
and/or the deactivation of your Yahoo! ID. We reviewed your case, and
have decided to reinstate your account.

We appreciate your continued compliance with the Yahoo! Terms of Service
and the Yahoo! Answers Community Guidelines:

info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/utos-173.html

answers.yahoo.com/info/community_guidelines.php

Thank you for using Yahoo! Answers, and we hope that you will continue
to be a valuable contributor to the community.

Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Answers Customer Care. Your case
number for this issue is ########. Please reference it in all future
communication about this particular issue.

Regards,


Yahoo! Answers Customer Care


For assistance with all Yahoo! services please visit:

help.yahoo.com/




Original Message Follows:
-------------------------

Violation Reason:
Spam

In Yahoo! Answers you may not post links with the purpose of
directing commercial activity to a non-Yahoo! site or an email address.

My Answer
Bull. It's a fan site for the Sony Readers. Started by owners of the
Sony Reader and is a completely free message board. The exact reason it
was started is because so few help information is found for the Sony
Readers since like the Amazon Kindle you can direct people to Amazon
board for help; the same can be said for the Barnes & Noble Nook since
they also have a message board. The reason the site was giving is
because it's relevant to the question. They CAN get help at the Sony
Reader Forum since it's made up of people that do actually owns the
product. Don't consider it spam since it was directing them to the
correct place to get answer to their questions. But since you feel that
was a violation fine.

[Candice]

Aug 18, 2010 13:16:13 GMT -8 xxprim said:

Thank you so much! I was trying really hard to advertise, and I didn't know you could put it in google!

Hi,

Welcome to D:YP. Please remember to read over the Discussion: Your ProBoard Rules. Also, please remember that all posts should be four sentences long at the minimum.

Thank you.

[Adeley Penguin]

I have made an rpg, it has been around a week now and I have 0 members!!!!!!!!!
A lot of people don't want to join a site unless they have a couple of members, so how can I get my first member?
What type of advertising can I do to get members?

[Pideaux]

As has been stated a thousand times already, word of mouth, word of mouth, word of mouth. Just started a site less than a week ago and half of the members are all friends of friends.

With this site, another thing I've noticed is that I think a lot of people are attracted to a more mature environment. So many RP boards out there look like they're run by 10 year olds just by peeking into their chat box for a moment. Since there is no where else to go, most of the more mature people are stuck there. I think maturity will tend to draw potential ((great)) members out of the woodwork. I even state on my advertisement that we are advanced, but that it only has meaning in your maturity.

[Dr. Z]

Start a fan page on facebook ?

[Owlstar]

I think telling people directly about your forum, affiliates, and just plain advertising helps the best. Those are the three main ways I've drawn in members, though it doesn't decide how active they are. I've told a few friends about my role play, and they proceeded to tell a few other people. But only one of my friends stayed active. >.> Ads and affiliates have also drawn in quite a few members as well. I've noticed that Google doesn't help as much, because you have to be very specific with the words you type for it to show your forum. That's what I've found for mine, anyways.