Attracting New Members

[bjl584]

We are attempting to attract new quality users to the forum. Some things have been tried in the past, but results weren't so good.

Mass emails were sent out to all inactive members in an attempt to get them to return to the forums, a few campaigns were tried on Reddit and Facebook.

I'm looking for any and all input from the regulars on ways to attract new audience members, and get lurkers to post.

All ideas are welcome and will be considered.

Thanks

[riverwed070707]

Tricky. Message boards have really fallen to the wayside. This is the only one I'm still part of or check in with any sort of regularity. I actually like the slower traffic because i can check in once a day and be done with it rather than feeling compelled to open it several times a day, couple that with the fact that I only check it on my computer because I don't like the mobile interface. I just popped over to the facebook page and was surprised to find there are 44k followers but barely any engagement on the constant posts. Trying to think of something that would set it apart from any other financial facebook page or community - some regular features that keep content fresh and people coming back (Frugal Friday - what did you save on this week, unpopular opinions always get people chatting - maybe a topic to debate finance related of course, host a challenge??) or looking for submissions to analyze budgets/problems. Members here love giving feedback on those but we rarely get them anymore. Do you follow Ramit Sethi on social? I love his deep dives on peoples finances - he presents it from more of a coaching standpoint but I take something interesting away from every post.

IDK if cross-platform poaching is discouraged, but if admins are in other finance groups and someone poses and interesting question/response/problem, invite them to come share it here or ask their permission to share it with the community simultaneously generating content while bringing awareness that we exist.

[Petunia 100]

Way back when, I was active on the MSN money boards. Their articles drove their traffic. There would be an article, then a "what do you think?" sort of question at the end, and clicking on comment took you to the message board forum. People would discuss the articles and start new threads.

[james.hendrickson]

Way back when, I was active on the MSN money boards. Their articles drove their traffic. There would be an article, then a "what do you think?" sort of question at the end, and clicking on comment took you to the message board forum. People would discuss the articles and start new threads.

thats a solid idea Petunia!

[ua_guy]

I think two things could help. One would be shoring up the user experience with a more modern forum/message board. I have no idea what that would cost, but running a popular forum database and front-end like Xenforo. You can really feel/see the difference with the newer stuff.

I like Petunia's idea of driving traffic via articles.

I remember way back in the day (recession era) when lots more people would simply come here for help managing basic finance. Maybe the forum just needs a big downturn in the economy - although, I'd rather just live in good economic times...lol. But in that theme, there are still people needing financial coaching. Some big topics to explore in the modern world are helping people strategize how to buy their first place, or become independent enough to move out of their folks' place. Beginning investing. I think there's opportunity to condense those far-reaching topics down into simple advice. All that to say, maybe reduce the number of forum categories, but add ones like: Moving out on your own. or, Buying your first place. Or, starting to save for retirement after 40. Use lightning-rod topics to drive engagement.

[kork13]

Depending on the depth of your business background.... Maybe just think of it as a marketing problem. But first I'll caveat -- I've never studied either subject, so I'm shooting in the dark. But it seems to me that your biggest problem is traffic volume. When people get here, start to interact, ... many of them will stick around.

First off, do some good "self" reflection. Describe the "customers" (users) that you're pursuing. What is the problem you're solving? How do you differentiate yourself from "competitors"? Think about what might draw your customer to not only come here in the first place, but also what's going to keep them coming back?

I think you need to seek out new members who are asking financial questions. Get them here to ask those questions, get some answers, like those answers, then recognize the value of our community & want to keep asking more questions.

Study up on SEO practices. Consider that most people only look at or click on the first 5-8 results that pop up on a google search.... And the higher up you are on that list, the more likely you are to attract web traffic.

Beyond SEO, you could consider some carefully crafted paid ads as sponsored search results (not sure if this site actually generates sufficient income that could justify & support such an expense)... if possible, specifically targeting people asking a question about a financial topic. ..... That said, given that you don't sell anything besides ad space, I assume this would be prohibitively expensive.

Along a similar but different (and probably less costly) avenue, what about contacting people with a following who could help by way of influencer marketing or popular blogs? Or getting on as a guest on popular podcasts or radio shows focused on personal finance or family/parenting issues. All of these require a really focused message that you'd need to develop, but could create a groundswell with the audiences of people whose opinions are trusted.

[james.hendrickson]

Hello to all, I am new here

Hey Barbara, welcome!

[mattbram]

Content to pull traffic + member incentives (ie. you get X, if you refer a friend)

[myrdale]

Would it be worth considering adding a new forum section devoted exclusively to Cryto? Sometimes I see threads on the subject in General, sometimes in Alternative Investing Strategies, or else where. When I think "Saving Advice" crypto discussion isn't the first thing that comes to mind, but there is plenty of discussion out there. It might attract people interested in that topic over debt or other financial discussions.

[mumof2]

I am from over seas so find it hard to follow some of the threads as things are done so differently in each country but I enjoy reading others journeys...I think it depends why you are on here...it is just for information..to get ideas..or confirmation on what you are doing..is it to get help on budgeting, best accounts etc...is it to keep yourself accountable....remember some of you are great financially others are really struggling with debt....so it can be daunting to write on here if you are struggling and someone is talking about being a millionaire etc....these are just some thoughts...not sure what others think